Chronicles of the CPDC

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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Despite all of that I still really enjoyed the story! Wonderful work!
NHWestoN
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by NHWestoN »

Making mistakes is how you learn. Unless, of course, they're fatal, but that likely doesn't apply here.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I'm hoping that there will be no fatal mistakes made.
Wortge
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

Sandwich Residence, Wednesday 11:47 AM

Peanut rested on his bed, minutes after waking up. He decided to slowly go to the living room eventually, looking for his pet-sister along the way. He saw her sitting on the sofa once he reached his destination, the cat almost falling asleep while doing nothing. Peanut decided to sit right next to her, slowly nuzzling his head against her shoulder.

Grape noticed the gesture and leaned on Peanut, purring. "Getting up late today, aren't you?" She teased while petting his head. "You're so lucky Max didn't catch you sleeping."

Peanut giggled. "Did you have fun last night, with the Internet cats?"

"Yeah, it was fine." She shrugged. "Only Jon and Spline came. The two are long-time friends, so I felt a little ignored there, but I had fun nonetheless. Jon's a really fun, kinda weird guy. I enjoy his company, despite his associations with, uh, that club."

"You should give it another chance, you know? They unbanned you a long time ago."

"Don't start, Peanut. I'm not going back there, we've been over this."

"Come on, Grape!" Peanut whined, clutching Grape. "I hate having you in bad terms with one of my friends! And I miss you so much being there only by myself!"

"You endured months of me being in bad terms with Bino when he became your friend, you can do the same to Rob too."

"But you can't compare the two. Rob's willing to be a friend, you just have to convince him you mean no harm, the more you stay away like this, the more he will assume you just dislike him forever now."

"The thing is, at this point, I actually mean harm."

"Grape! Don't say that! If you accidentally snark like that during your apology, then you two will really be done for!"

"Why are you treating this 'apology' as if it's inevitable? Go enjoy the 'dog club' without me, Peanut. It's in the name, isn't it? It's not for cats. What do I have to apologize for anyways? How about you drag Rob here and make *him* apologize for having a fit over something that even Bino doesn't care about?"

Peanut widened his eyes, smiling. "So if I bring Rob here you'll apologize? You'll be friends again?"

"'Again'? We were never that close, don't assume that. But yeah, *if* you do that, I'll try to be in good terms with him. I'm not gonna keep visiting the club though, their food isn't even that good compared to the old one's."

"The G.O.D.C? Did you know that it just got shut down?"

"What?! What did Bino do? Frankly, it lasted way longer than I expected without Fido ther- Oh, nevermind, forgot Bino lives here now." Grape shook her head. "I guess, somehow, Bino had a point about his 'alpha leadership' keeping the club alive."

"It wasn't caused by Bino not being there, actually. Apparently Duchess messed with the wrong dog there, she got some club dogs to beat someone up but they turned out to have very powerful owners. I've heard Duchess, Yeltsin and Boris got arrested and Rex really doesn't wanna try to get things running again by himself after all that."

"Wow... I didn't expect Duchess's gratuitous orders for violence to actually get her into trouble. Could the Gardens be turning to normal? Just because I'm finally away from that madness?"

"Uuh... I really wouldn't count on it."

"What do you even mean by that?"

"Well, you know the Miltons' 'seasonal gimmicks'? As Fox calls them? These past days they're seeing if the-" Peanut interrupted his sentence as the house's doorbell rang.

"Oh, Max's here!" Grape prepared to stand up. "Uh, how about you get the door this time?"

Peanut stood up. "Why? Trying to hide how excited you get for his weekly visits?"

"No! It's just... My instincts, I don't think he's alone."

The dog walked up to the front door, opening the door and seeing Maxwell and Bino, standing some feet apart. "Hello! Uh... Bino and Max." Peanut struggled to decide on a name order.

"Hey-oh, 'Nutty'!" Max tapped Peanut's head, smirking. "Hope you have some Grape left for me! You're looking a bit sleepy, you think you can hide that from me? What's up? Been partying hard in the big city?"

"Oh! Uh... I was just gaming up late." He smiled, embarrassed.

"Ah, really? I'm gonna give you two a better reason for staying up late sometime, alright? There's some really great spots in Brooklyn I've been finding, I'll show you two around!"

"That's great, Max. Can't wait." Peanut replied monotonously, glancing at Bino.

"Jeez, you really are tired, aren't you?" The black cat started entering, going towards Grape. The two started to exchange greetings and shows of affection on the sofa shortly.

"Annoying as always, isn't he?" Bino began talking to Peanut. "Always trying to meddle in our lives."

"Uh." Peanut took some seconds to prepare a mood switch. "Yeah, why does it matter for that stupid cat that I just woke up? I'd rather sleep than have to deal with his ***."

Bino cringed. "Uh, you could at least avoid the swearing, Peanut. I barely even do that. Or are you trying to imitate Rob now? No need for that."

"No, um, sorry. Anyways, it's so great to have you here at home, Bino! Come in!" Peanut stretched an arm towards the inside and leaned his back on the wall, inviting Bino in.

"I'm not here for your house." The other dog shook his head. "Uh, how about we take a walk outside, for old times' sake?"

"Yes!" Peanut smiled broadly, wagging while walking outside. "I mean. Yeah, sure, whatever." He replied dismissively.

The two started walking the neighborhood after Peanut quietly bid farewell to Grape and closed the front door. "Sorry about taking so long to stop by." Bino began again. "Just wanted to avoid being close to the Max-Grape duo as much as possible."

"No worries. You've been using Max's visits to get to the dog club, haven't you?"

"Sometimes. Most times I use them just to finally get some alone time in my own house, it's blissful!"

"Ugh, that sounds awful to me."

"Because you're a lonely little pup who latches onto anyone new you meet. All that will do to you is hurt you more once they reveal their true colors, you know?"

"What? Don't you think people 'showing their true colors' just means them finally getting enough of your crap?"

"Maybe. But if they can't handle me at my worst, they don't deserve me at my best."

"Heh, well said. Do you expect me to reveal my 'true colors' at some point?"

"Hah! You do that all the time, I don't mind it as much as I did before. Try being yourself, Peanut, maybe I'll tolerate it... Actually, no, don't do that."

"No need to worry about it. You're kinda revealing your 'true colors' nowadays, though. Why are you going out with Rob so much? He's a pretty excitable dog. Grap- The stupid cat I have to live with even says he's like some bizarre version of me."

"Not at all, that guy's vicious! If you wanna get along really well with him, start talking smack about small towns, suburbs, forests, the countryside, Florida, anything along those lines. He loves it! And it's a great way to reflect back to our old home, it honestly kinda sucked, didn't it?"

"Of course not! I had good times there, with all of my frien- Uh, I hated that place. Especially that one guy, uh, King. King Robinso- Milton, he sucked!"

"Stop trying, Peanut. If I can handle Rob's excitable outbursts every time he talks about any place more than one hundred miles away from here that he's been to, I can handle yours too."

"Why don't you just let me act the way I *** well please?" Peanut raised his voice.

"What?! Agh! I'll stop trying to understand you." Bino started walking faster, making Peanut follow him instead of just walking along him. "Anyways, apart from just catching up with an old friend, I'm going out with you for a reason here. Have you heard of what happened to the Good Ol' Dogs Club?"

"Yeah, Fox told me about it. It's a shame, but Duchess doesn't have the right to do what she did."

"I don't care about your opinion. The thing is, Brian's behind all of that, believe it or not. The root of the problem is luckily within walking distance for us. Well, for you, that's why I had to hitch a ride with Max again. I'm here to tell you to come to the College Point Club and try to convince Brian to free Duchess. I tried it some days ago, but it didn't go well, and I don't think we're in good terms now because of that. You are, though. Meet Brian and do your magic. Make a cute little begging face and he'll do anything for you."

"Uh, begging faces only really work with humans. Cats sometimes too."

"Peanut, please spare me the details of your experiences with cats."

"I will. I'll talk to Brian for you then, but I don't really see how he can help, even if it's his fault. He's not exactly a judge."

"He's rich! Haven't you heard of what the Miltons have been doing to their local justice system just with their money? Brian can bribe someone to free Duchess, I don't care! I want my club back! Even if I can't even visit it anymore! It's not about me, it's about the dogs of Babylon Gardens!"

"Relax. I'll do my magic." Peanut smirked, boasting. "Are you coming with me to the club, then?"

"Absolutely not. Pretend you're doing this, uh, of your own volition." He enunciated proudly.

"Fine. I'm gonna try to help your club, Bino, for old times' sake, as you've said. Let's hang out some other day, alright?" Peanut anticipated his farewells as the club building came into view.

"Sure. See you later, Peanut. I'm glad to have you again, as messed up as you are. Glad to have an old face to keep a sense of normalcy in my life. An old face that doesn't hate me, that is."

"Bye!" Peanut waved as Bino turned around and headed back. The Pointer continued until he entered the building, seeing the typical scene during the lunch hours, the podium seats rearranged into table sets, many dogs eating at them. He didn't hesitate going upstairs, soon facing an orange tabby cat lazily lounging at the desk while playing a portable console. The cat hastily sat down properly upon noticing the visitor in his room.

"Hey, Peanut, what brings you here?" Jon put his game to the side and leaned his elbows on the desk. "GGs last night, by the way. You're a great Banjo main, gotta say."

"Wait, that was you? I thought it was Xander."

"Nah, just decided to play some games after being done with my night out. Xander doesn't play Smash, or even this console, I just haven't bothered changing his account details, if that's even possible. He's all weird with video games, you know? He says he's 'boycotting Nintendo', but I guess he forgot to tell that to Walt before he bought this. Too bad, now it's mine and I got a lot of games for it."

"Uuh... I went here really expecting Brian instead, somehow forgot about the fact it's you most days, sorry. Uh, is he at his office?"

"No. He's home today. Wanna leave a message? You can use the forums for that, you know? P.M. him or something. I know you're familiar with it. Unlike all the kiddos who think nobody uses forums anymore and we should make a Facebook page or whatever other spying tool's popular nowadays."

"Hm, I think I should see him personally. What day will he be here?"

"Sunday."

"Oh." Peanut frowned.

"Uh, this would be unprecedented, you'll allow me to use that word, right? Rob's really weird with it for some reason. But I can call Brian and see if he's fine with you visiting. Are you fine with that?"

"Sure! Go ahead. You mean visiting his house?"

"Yeah. Do you know where it is? Point Crescent, Malba. I can show it to you online, don't remember the number."

"No need to give me the address, I know. I showed it to Grape once."

"Uh, why?"

Peanut shrugged. "It's a great house. Brian seems so simple and humble, and then you just discover he lives in a giant mansion. You always expect people living in such houses to be really eccentric and weird, don't you?"

"No?"

"Oh. I guess my experiences with that are unique then. You mean Brian's family doesn't decide to hold random, neighborhood-wide events every year?"

"No! What are you even getting at?"

"Nothing, sorry about the tangent. Make the call."

"Your wish is an order, Peanut." Jon grabbed his cellphone and called a contact. "Hello, are you free right now, Brian?... Alright. Peanut wants to see you personally right now, is it fine if he stops by your house?" Jon listened to Brian in silence.

He looked back to Peanut. "What do you wanna see Brian for?"

"Oh!" Peanut briefly pondered the suspiciousness of keeping the reason a secret to Jon. "Uuh... It's about an old dog club I used to be a main member of, in my old city, River Ridge."

"Peanut B. Sandwich declares that he wishes to discuss matters surrounding an old dog club he used to be a part of. Before his relocation to NYC." Jon relayed verbosely, goofing around.

Jon listened in for a few seconds again. "Yeah, he's from there... Alright. Enjoy your day, Brian. Bye." The tabby stored his smartphone again, looking back at Peanut. "Brian's waiting for you. He'll be with his son, Luke. Go to his house and dial eleven on the intercom, that'll call Brian's room. You know what an intercom is, right? Look for a keypad next to the pedestrian gate, press 'one', 'one', and then the big 'call' button."

"Of course I know that, Jon. I have plenty of experience with visiting a mansion, even."

"Oh, alright. Just making sure. Being from Illinois, maybe you wouldn't know what an intercom even is."

"I'm not from Illinois! And of course they have intercoms there! What do you even think Illinois is like?"

"A decently-sized city annexed to a giant chunk of useless countryside... Eh, this state is the same, to be honest. I don't have the right to get all snotty about it, sorry. I've seen club members fresh out of the sticks who didn't even know how to use an elevator, so I have to play it safe with my directions, sorry if it seems condescending."

"Don't worry, Jon. Thanks for your help, I'll be going now."

"Always a pleasure to help, Peanut! It's my job, after all!" He put a paw on his chest proudly. "You up for some more matches this night?"

"I dunno, depends on what happens between Grape and Max today. If I'm not busy I'll be available." The dog walked up to the stairs. "Bye!"

"Bye! Good luck with your... Um, what was it again? His 'old club'?" Jon started muttering alone. "Never heard of that, kinda sus."

Kuczynski Residence, Whitestone, Queens, Wednesday 12:09 PM

In the large opulent bedroom Brian and Luke were in, there was a corner furnished with a desktop computer setup and many office supplies surrounding it, making the area into some kind of makeshift office. The father and son sat next to each other. Brian playing a game while sitting on a fancy ergonomic office chair, Luke watching the gameplay on a stuffed chair moved from elsewhere in the room.

Brian stared cluelessly at a menu. "'Enchanting table'? What even is that for?"

"It gives you many buffs, it adds a whole new dimension to the game. Not literally."

"Right. I'll put it in the secret room." Brian's mobile phone sitting next to the monitor soon started ringing, prompting him to stop and pick it up. "Sorry, Lucky. It's not from the office, you shouldn't worry about this taking too long."

"No worries, Dad. I know your work's important, please don't make your performance worsen because of me."

Brian put the phone next to his ear. "Hello, Jon... Yeah, I'm not immediately busy, what's the matter?... Uh, it depends on what he's coming here for, what does he want with me?"

He waited in silence, listening to Jon questioning someone else. "An 'old dog club'? Oh, dear. I really hope it's not what I'm thinking, but I think it's very unlikely it isn't. Peanut's from River Ridge, isn't he? Illinois State... Well, let him come in, I'll wait for him. Make sure he knows how to get here. I'll see what kind of horse he has in this race... Bye." Brian put his phone back on the desk and returned to his game silently.

"Well, that was quick." Luke commented eventually. "What are you doing with the horses?"

"Nothing. It's an expression, Son. 'Having a horse in a race' means being invested in some kind of subject matter."

"Oh, and what's that subject matter?"

"Some club member wants to talk to me about a dog club in another state that ended up closing. You know, the one club that's responsible for your sister getting beat up."

"Oh, really? Some member is related to the one club you helped in closing? What a coincidence."

"It got closed because of a friend of his. If it weren't for the two, Lisa would've never ever been there, not a coincidence at all."

"Right. He's coming here, then?"

"Soon. He's a good dog, don't really see how he could be related to that old club, I don't think he'd support the beatings they dished out there. All of this just makes me kinda curious."

"Maybe it wasn't that bad? I mean, remembering my sisters, maybe they deserved it."

"Luke! Don't ever say that! If you disagree with someone, if someone provokes you, if anyone does anything bad to you that doesn't risk your safety, you never react with violence!"

"Maybe my sisters were threatening them there?"

"Not according to what I've heard from the proceedings. But please, view your sisters with better eyes. We're gonna visit them in their new home this weekend, remember that. I don't want a repeat of what happened last time, but with you being the provoker this time."

"I'll give them a chance, unlike what they did to you. Where are they, anyways?"

"Forest Hills, Queens. Suburban, reasonably wealthy, within the city. A fair compromise, in my opinion."

"Oh, that's where Spider-Man's from."

"That's a place in your own city, Lucky! Do you really only know about it from pop culture?"

"This isn't even my city, I'm from Jersey."

"If you can see the Manhattan skyline from above your house you live 'in New York' to everyone not from the region, municipal boundaries notwithstanding. Don't be pedantic, as if anyone wants to even admit they're from New Jersey."

"Dad!" Luke whined. "Don't mock my town! Or my state! Come on!"

Brian turned and gave his son a tight hug from his seat. "Aaawn! I'm just joking, Lucky! I know you like it! Blame Rob for that, haha."

"Hahaha!" Luke giggled while still inside the hug. "I don't really mind it, Dad, I know. I just love provoking your hugging by making a sad face."

"Aww! You could just ask me!" He moved his chair closer to Luke. "You can also blame Rob for all the hugging, my pride!" Brian looked at his son straight in the eyes after some nuzzling. "Do you love me?"

"What? What's with that question? Of course I love you!"

"All I wanted to hear, Lucky! Guess what? I. Love. You. Too!" He groomed his son's cheek with each word.

"Calm down, Dad! Wow. Are you doing this because you're afraid you'll have to 'split your love' after visiting my sisters?"

Brian let go of his hug, returning to close to the computer. "If my supply of love for you decreases, please warn me! I'll really try to not do that. I just wanna show you how much I love you once in a while. Soon we'll be in our separate homes again and I can't really give you my love when like that."

"Do you want me to sleep here today? Mom won't mind... Both of them."

"Only if you're OK with it, don't let my clinginess pressure you into doing something you don't wanna do."

"Of course I'm OK with it! I love spending the night here!" He petted his father's head briefly. "Anyways, back to the game?"

"Right, sorry... How do you make a painting again?"

"Single wool surrounded by sticks."

"Wool, really? Canvases are generally made with cotton."

"They don't have cotton in the game. Maybe a mod has it."

"Not a rabbit hole I wanna get into... How do I choose the art in the paintings?"

"You can't choose them, you have to keep placing them until they're the right size and have the art you want. Do you want a four-by-four?"

"My mistake for assuming this game has some quality-of-life in this regard... Alright, that's fine. Let's finish the tracks to the underground temple now."

"Man, this is just like watching YouTube playthroughs back when I was one. You really have a knack for this."

"If you said that to Xander he'd take it as the gravest insult, heh." The landline next to the computer suddenly started ringing.

"Whoa, is that the visitor coming from your club? He's speedrunning the walk between the club building and your house, haha."

"I comfortably hold the record for that, since always, with all my practice. No way you can show me another one-hour-long video about that." Brian played before answering, grabbing the receiver. "Is this Peanut?"

"Yeah!" A voice came out. "Glad I got your house right, Brian! Could you let me in?"

Brian pressed a button in the machine's keypad. "Come in! I'll meet you at the front door, alright? Wait there, I don't want the kids potentially coming across some unknown dog inside their own house."

"Got it! Thanks, Brian!"

The older Retriever stood up, looking at his son. "Be right back, Luke. Feel free to start playing if tutoring me's been getting too boring, I don't think I'm gonna continue playing while talking to Peanut anyways."

Luke also got up and sat on the other chair. "I'm gonna complete the tracks for you, it's just busywork anyways. Bye."

"Bye!" Brian left the room, leaving Luke playing alone.

Brian returned after a few minutes, prompting Luke to stop what he was doing and look at the two entering the room. "Hey." He waved to the two dogs.

"That's Luke, Peanut. He's my son." The father stretched an arm to indicate. "And this here is my bedroom."

"Wow, Brian! Your house's so cool!" Peanut began with enthusiasm, looking around. "Is that the computer you use for working? That corner looks like a big upgrade compared to the club's storage room."

"Yeah, it's the best I could manage for 'W.F.H.'. If only I could have all of the employees here too. Anyways, let's discuss matters then." Brian walked up to two lounge chairs placed next to a large bookshelf and TV, him and Peanut sitting down on both. "You're fine with Luke listening in, right?"

"Uh, it's fine. I don't mind."

"Alright. Go on, then. Pretend this is the club's upper floor. You could've just called me instead of going here, but let's not try to pretend calls replace in-person conversations, right? We've had enough of that stupidity this year already."

"OK." Peanut nervously started, clearing his throat while collecting his thoughts. "There's a dog club I used to be a part of, called the Good Ol' Dogs Club, which was recently closed. What do you know about it?"

"What do *you* know about it, Peanut?" Brian leaned one elbow on his chair's armrest and held his head with one paw, giving the other dog a piercing look.

"Uh, know about what?" The Pointer started smiling nervously.

"You were the one asking the question. What do you know about the closure? I assume."

"Uuh... That it was your fault?"

"It wasn't, it was the fault of the criminals there. Who told you it was my fault?"

"Aah... It closed because Duchess beat someone up, don't mind my other answer."

"Yes. She ordered dogs to beat one of my daughters up."

"Oh! And that's why it closed? You wanted to avenge your daughter?"

"All I want is justice. When you pretty much order someone's murder, you're not supposed to just keep going on with your life. You must be punished and rehabilitated, although most people forget about that second part. Frankly, I also don't really care about it myself in this situation. I just wanted the dogs responsible in a place where they can't harm anybody anymore, shame that it ended up causing the shutdown of a club that's frequented by, I assume, a fair amount of innocent dogs."

"Oh, yeah... Uhm... I'm one of those 'innocent dogs', could you do something to help the club go back to normal?"

"Again, Peanut, who told you it was my fault? For everyone but me and a slightly paranoid dog, everything was caused by a perfectly natural police investigation."

"Ooh... Bino told me." Peanut confessed shyly.

"Alright, that's all I wanted. It's super obvious, but I wanted to get that straight out of your mouth. I kickstarted the investigation, if it weren't for me, Carla wouldn't press charges. Lisa just wanted to avoid all the bureaucracy, but I convinced her to help dismantle that club's questionable hierarchy. Nothing I can do about all of this, I'm not controlling it, I just started it."

"Uh, perhaps you could, bribe, someone?" The visitor quietly suggested, trying to make a cute face.

"What?! No! I know that's how you people do things back in River Ridge, but I'll never stand for corruption! No matter how noble I might think my 'goals' are, I'll never use my money to illegally exert political power!"

Peanut flinched, startled by the exclamations. "Ah! Sorry! Just a suggestion. Don't actually do that, if you don't wanna."

"Then what's there to discuss? I can't interfere in what's happening to your old club. You and your friend are looking for my help, so I assume you two can't do anything either. Unless you have a time machine and I can stop myself from encouraging an investigation, we can't do anything. Not like I'd do that even if it was possible."

"Ooh..." Peanut pondered. "Maybe there is a way then."

"What do you mean?"

"Gah! Sorry! Thinking out loud. It's a shame, then. I'll tell Bino you're not able to do anything, I guess he'll just have to accept the fact his club's gone."

"If he wants my help setting up a new one, I'm honestly up for giving him advice, maybe even outright financially help."

"Hah! Advice to Bino? He'd never accept that."

"Yeah, I remember him trying to give me advice once. No way he'd accept me turning the tables like that."

"Uh-huh. Uuh... I guess this is it, then?" Peanut looked around.

"I guess it is. But let me just clear something with you first, you're not doing this out of your own volition, are you?"

He smiled nervously again. "Doing what?"

"Asking me to save some club from your old neighborhood. I know you don't have much contact with it anymore, I know you would've never made the connection between its closure and me, I know you're friends with that club's old leader, who even *threatened* me a few days ago, mind you. Like, come on, Peanut, you know you can't just pretend to be interested in all of this suddenly. Are you just talking to me on behalf of Bino? I might have to count this as Bino breaching my 'don't you dare tell me to be lenient with people who almost ended my daughter's life' stipulation."

"Bino's my friend, Brian! I'll help him with anything he needs!"

"Would you help him with killing someone?"

"What?! No! Unless it's a god of death, zombie overlord or supervillain of some kind!"

"Take this seriously, Peanut. Thing is, you wouldn't help him with *anything*. Absolute statements about always helping your friends can for sure make you feel good inside, but they never mean what they actually mean. Stop for a second and think, do you actually want Bino's old violent friends free and their club running again, doing whatever they were doing once Bino was out of the picture?"

"Well, uh... To be honest, Duchess has been a very bad influence in Bino's life."

"Do you think his life would be better without her? Are you willing to help him with that, instead?"

"How would I help with that?"

"Uuh... You actually can't. It's done. She's jailed, will probably be deported eventually. So either her owners move back to England with her or she's gonna end up in some shelter there. I can't make things better for her, or even worse for her, although it's hard to resist bluffing with that threat. Here's a way you can help: Bino's now in his 'denial' phase. I know 'five stages of grief' is pseudoscience, but I'm gonna use it anyways. Help Bino by moving him to the 'acceptance' phase. Make him move on from his club, that he can't even frequent anyways. Make him move on from his girlfriend, he deserves better, probably."

"He really does! I think that should be easy, I remember him moving on from a break up very easily some time ago, I hope the same happens now."

"Rob told me a few things about the two. Apparently she was ignoring Bino's calls and it was making him really mad, sad, confused, delirious. Now he suddenly cares about her again because she's arrested, but that'll soon pass."

"Uuh... Speaking of Rob, does he feel like making amends with Grape? She told me that if I bring Rob to her for him to apologize she'll accept it."

"Rob *fears* Grape, Peanut. As irrational as that is. While I don't agree with him, forcing the two together will make him very scared and uncomfortable, and I can't accept that." He looked at Peanut sternly. "He won't keep that attitude forever, don't worry. He's stubborn about a lot of things, but he can't maintain a sour relationship forever. 'I fear Grape' will soon turn to 'I don't care about Grape' and then he'll be OK with fixing things up. But let Rob go on with his life first, don't force things."

"Alright. But Xander told me that Rob's been badmouthing Grape to other club members, that might be hurting her reputation, and... I don't think I can stand for it much longer."

"Really? That's not acceptable, I'll talk to him about that. I won't even tell him I'm bringing that up because of you, alright?"

"Alright! Thanks, Brian! Thanks for helping my sister!"

"Heh, you're welcome. It's the least I could do, considering it's my own friend acting badly... All of that because of some event that happened almost a decade ago. This Bino dog surely is some kind of conflict generator, isn't he? Haha."

"He is. But he can be a good friend. You should give him a chance."

"I've given him many chances, we're not exactly enemies. Despite the whole old dog club thing, I'm still receptive to him."

"I'm gonna bring all of us closer, alright? Back in my old home, Bino made a lot of enemies, I feel like he's heading in the same direction here, I'm gonna stop that." Peanut puffed his chest from his seat. "OK, Brian? I think my work here is done." He stood up.

"That's all you wanted to talk about?" Brian also got up. "Have a good day, then! Sorry about your old club, just remember it had nothing to do with you, or even Bino. Can you backtrack all the way to the front gate?"

"Of course! I remember everything. Your house's awesome! You should use it for something special, you know? You're wasting it like this!"

Brian followed Peanut to the room's door. "Uh, what do you mean?"

"Ever thought of opening the pool and sauna to the public for a day? Tours of your house with prizes? Maybe a water balloon war for the entire neighborhood?"

"What?! That all sounds really strange and tasteless, no offense. My owners would never be OK with that, even I wouldn't. And I don't think the neighborhood's association would appreciate the third idea."

"Ugh! You Ne- We New Yorkers are kinda boring, aren't we? See you later, then! Thanks for everything! And that's a beautiful Minecraft underground temple, Luke! Good work!" Peanut left the room while Luke glanced at him upon hearing his name, briefly leaving his deep immersion into the game.

"'Boring'?" Brian chuckled, commenting to himself. "That's the first time I see Peanut diss something, as light-hearted as it was, what's going on with him today?" He walked back to close to his son, sitting on the chair Luke was using earlier to watch him play. "How much of that did you catch, Son?" He affectionately put an arm around Luke, rubbing his belly.

Luke resisted laughing, smiling. "He wanted you to free his friend's girlfriend or something? Because she was arrested for beating up Lisa?"

"Free his friend's girlfriend and reopen his friend's dog club. I guess he believes I can just control the law with my money. And also assumes I would actually do that even if I could."

"Opportunist, isn't he? I appreciate the compliment to the temple though, although it was mostly your work."

"I'll gladly let him assume it's only you playing. If Xander caught me playing Minecraft he would never let me hear the end of it."

"Ugh, he's one of those people? He should let people just enjoy things, you know?"

"He does. Mocking something doesn't mean prohibiting people from enjoying it. The best kind of friend is a friend who requires you to have a thick skin, not some compliment machine who tries to maintain some façade of constant positivity. I sometimes feel like Peanut's like that, but I honestly believe he's genuine."

"He did call you boring."

"He called the entirety of the city's population boring. Maybe he even meant the state. You're safe from that, though, in both cases, hahaha."

"Hehe. Yeah, we New Jerseyans are constant partiers, as you know."

"But seriously, don't call Peanut an 'opportunist'. He's a good dog, he's just trying to help his, quite unsavory, friend. That friend's the opportunist here. First he thought he could get something from me by threatening my club, now he things he can get something from me because he's friends with a friend. That Bino dog's really not good news, and both Peanut and Rob like him, somehow. This is probably how Rob feels about Grape right now, ugh."

"How Rob feels about who? I'm not aware of that development."

"Oh you didn't catch that part of our conversation? Don't mind that, let's continue the game."

"Oooh, sudden subject change."

"This 'Good Old Dogs Club' stuff was done with almost a week ago already. I really don't feel like peering into it more. Hopefully Bino and Peanut failing to negotiate with me is the last time I have to ever think about it."

"Hopefully. Let's hope Lisa doesn't decide to bring it up too."

"I don't think she will. She barely brought it up when I visited her. I think she cares more about the fact that the attack convinced Carla to listen to her than the attack itself."

"I mean, where you live affects your whole life. Getting hurt and staying a few days in a hospital doesn't."

"Argh! Luke! Do you know what that tells me? It tells me that I hurt my daughters more than the dogs in that club!"

"Dad! Stop kicking yourself over that!" Luke moved his chair closer to Brian, petting his head. "It's fine, you did that to teach them manners. It wasn't just gratuitous violence."

"Ugh... I hope we all laugh at this one year from now. With my three disciplined, nice, forgiven, loving pups. Right?"

"If it all fails, you'll still always have me!" Luke consoled, leaning his head on Brian's chest.

"My favorite consolation prize!" He teased while petting his son fervently.
Last edited by Wortge on Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Wonderful work on this as always! Please never stop writing!
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Obbl
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

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I love how you characterize Peanut. He's such a lovable goof and always tries his best :D
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by NHWestoN »

Obbl wrote: Sun Oct 04, 2020 9:43 pm I love how you characterize Peanut. He's such a lovable goof and always tries his best :D
He's a good-hearted soul.
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

George Washington Bridge, New York/New Jersey State Border, Saturday 10:35 AM

Brian drove his red grand tourer on the suspension bridge's lower deck, facing some heavy but uncongested traffic in the weekend morning.

The dog briefly gazed right, taking advantage of the typically slow traffic on the bridge, looking upstream at the large river under it. "That flat bit of reclaimed land right next to the cliffs." He thought to himself, looking at the mentioned area. "I think it's a picnic place, would it be a good place for today?"

Brian returned his full attention to his driving, furrowing his brows at himself. "What? What am I even thinking? Not even Luke likes picnics, and I can't imagine what Lisa and Luna would think of that idea."

"Not even *I* like picnics. Reminds me of that blunder at the start of the year. 'Let's just replace our trip to Los Angeles with hiking in the mountains Upstate!' Hah! None of us were ever interested in something like that, not even Peter, why did he even suggest it?"

"And why did we all go along with it so easily? I was just thinking 'yeah, whatever, let's just get it out of the way already', but I really should've just stayed home."

"If that happened nowadays I'd just do the L.A. trip by myself, bring Rob with me, he'd love me forever for that."

"Nah. I'd use it as an excuse to organize the Easter stuff better... That was around the time when every pet was being hired and the P.I.S. boomed, too. Now that I think of it, being away at that time was really risky, especially being away in a place with no contact."

"Just us five in the middle of the lakes and hills, nothing to do, barely anything to see... Ugh, am I really like Rob in this regard? Except Rob likes the wilderness if it's just to check them for a few days. Me? Never been a big fan of traveling, not interested in living in the wilds, checking the wilds, checking other cities. Just spending my life in my little corner."

"He does complain about me being like that to me, but what can I do? I've tried traveling, was kinda forced to, every time, and they weren't particularly enriching experiences."

"Chicago was fun though, maybe I'm changing? Or maybe traveling with Rob is more fun than traveling with my family?"

"Of course it is, he's my friend for a reason. You can choose your friends, you can't choose your family, be it biological or adopted."

"I mean... You can, in a way. But that's not the reality for most pets. Not even little spoiled millionaires like me."

"Ooh, Rob... I know I've been spoiling you too much nowadays, but it's so easy! All you want in your life is to live in a big city and to travel. Without Xander's pickiness, keeping you completely satisfied and happy is just a matter of money."

"If your trip this November goes under, I'll surely be there to help. I'm gonna replace Shane, and we'll see how things go, I think I can manage."

"Can the P.I.S. manage that, though? Will they be fine with me being away for a few weeks in November?"

"Eh, I can work remotely from there. Hate doing that, but I can keep it minimal."

"Big ***ing hypocrite I am. Still somewhat relying on the stuff I'm so critical of. The IT manager I just told to 'drive to work like a grown-up' when he asked if he could work remotely permanently would be livid at this, haha."

Brian looked at a big welcome sign to the right of the state highway he was now in. "'Welcome to Teaneck', home of some university I've never heard of." He read mockingly in his inner monologue. "It's cute how they can maintain this 'small town feel' here. Welcome signs, towns with distinctive main roads, residential areas that look like they're pretending to be in West Virginia. Hard to believe this is arguably more central than my own neighborhood."

"Uuh... Please just overtake me already... Thank you... Let's exit here... Prepare mentally for visiting my son and starting to fix my daughters. Or something. If they're beyond repair I can just ignore them instead of punishing them and feeling like crap once it goes too far again."

"No... I brought them into this world, if I don't do anything about them all the negativity they contribute will be my fault."

"Will it? Do I really have to care this much? When I have a bad experience with somebody I don't really think of that person's parents... But again, spending time with them might be enjoyable in the end, if they become better dogs it'll make me really happy."

"And honestly, it's not a big effort at all. That's the same reasoning I used for briefly visiting Luke, and look at all the good that came out of that."

Brian soon parked on the house's driveway, walking up to the front door and ringing the doorbell as usual. The door eventually opened to a woman.

"Hello, Tanya. Good morning. I'm here for, um, the round two of Luke meeting his sisters." He explained in good humor.

"Good morning." She shook his paw solemnly after almost petting his head accidentally, disguising. "I was already aware of you two doing something this weekend, come in." She stepped inside, prompting Brian to walk in.

The dog got inside and waited for the human to close the door. "When we two will be back today is gonna be a toss-up. If things with my daughters go wrong, it'll just be a few hours, unless Luke wants to have fun somewhere. I hope to only be back here in the evening, hope you're fine with it."

"I don't mind. Enjoy your son, Brian, you deserve it. Even Mist doesn't mind you 'hogging' him anymore, because she understands how happy that makes him." She glanced in the direction of her dogs' bedroom. "I think they're both sleeping still, I know how much you like that." Tanya chuckled.

"Love it, Tanya!" Brian wagged, trotting towards the bedroom. "I'll welcome Luke to the non-dream world as I always do!"

"Please! Take good care of him!" She encouraged from the distance.

Brian gently opened the door to the dark room, sniffing cautiously to check where in the bed his son was sleeping in, noticing Luke and his mother partially cuddling on the bed. He lied on the small remaining empty part of the bed, hugging his sleeping son from behind while avoiding contact with Mist. He started licking his son's face affectionately after almost a minute, trying to wake him up.

Luke eventually twitched a little, opening his eyes to the dark room. "Dad?" He guessed quietly.

"My favorite voice in the world!" Brian tightened his hug, rubbing Luke's belly slowly. "It's time to go see your sisters. Or do you wanna sleep some more? I wouldn't mind."

"I'll get up. Just have to wait for you to unlatch from me."

"Haha. One more minute then... Did you know that dogs instinctively dislike hugs? We just do it due to human conditioning."

"So you admit that this love for hugs is also part of your humanity?"

"Just some food for thought." Brian let go of his son and got out of the bed, flicking a light switch on. Looking back at the two lying dogs, he noticed Mist was also awake, eyes wide open and listening in on the two.

Brian approached the bed again, scratching Luke's sides while he still remained on the bed. "Wakey-wakey, Lucky!" He laughed, leaning over Luke. "Ugh, this feels so corny. How do dads properly wake their sons up?"

"I can wake up on my own." The son mumbled before rolling once and deciding to sit up, sitting on the bed's edge. "Don't know about dads, but Mom just touches me a little while calling my name to wake me up."

"Doesn't sound as fun, does it?"

"Well, you can't keep this up for years. You just hug me so much because somehow, seeing me still feels special to you."

"Aw. If I'm annoying you, I'm sorry."

"Not at all! Keep loving me, if it makes you feel so happy. It's what you deserve for working so hard for us!"

"Heh, I'm flattered." Brian watched Luke getting up and attaching some personal belongings to his collar.

"Are we just gonna drive to my sisters'?" The younger dog asked when done, already aiming for the door.

"Yeah. I know it's time for breakfast right now, so I brought those weird yellow sticks you love to eat! They're waiting for you in the car, let's go."

"Yes! Thanks, Dad!" He cheered while leaving the room. "You're awesome!"

"Heh. I love cheering up that treasure with something as simple as cheap dog snacks. Makes me feel all 'warm and fuzzy inside', as they say." He looked at Mist before deciding to leave, the mother still awake and motionless. "Uh, Mist? I know you're up."

"Have fun, Brian. I hope talking to your daughters goes well this time." She replied emotionlessly, just looking at Brian from her lying position, sounding almost impatient.

"They're *your* daughters too. Are you interested in coming with us? It'll be a surprise for them for sure."

"I really doubt they'd appreciate a 'surprise'. But even disregarding their reaction, I'm just not interested. Have fun and keep Luke safe."

"You're the most important dog in their lives, Mist. Do you really wanna just ignore them?"

"I was just a tool for them, Brian!" She raised her voice. "They grew inside of me, they came out of me, and they milked from me for a few months before being sent away, that's all! That's all that being a parent to a pup your owner already decided you're not gonna keep is! Nothing more! Why do you keep insisting on this?! I don't wanna form some kind of special link with somebody I'm gonna barely see!"

Brian frowned, recoiling a little. "Sorry... It's just, you know, I had this same opinion too. And I regret that so much."

"What's the difference between befriending your son and befriending the first random Golden Retriever you see on the street?"

"Luke looks like me, smells like me. Every time I see his body, his fur, him just breathing, his body just working and him generally enjoying life... I remember I was the one responsible, it fills me with indescribable joy. I don't even know, Mist. It's a very special feeling. There's a reason for me to feel that way, it's just instinctive, we're all built to greatly enjoy the experience of having offspring, to perpetuate our species. It's the most basic instinct of all, and I love it."

"I know that, Brian. I actually spent years raising Luke, unlike you. But that doesn't mean I have to feel that way towards the children I had to be detached from. You yourself not only very easily turned against your two daughters, but also completely forgot about them after exiling them by manipulating their own owner. Even with your 'new mentality', you can easily ignore and even make your own pups suffer. And remember I'm not some kind of human-wannabe dog who works and has their own car like you, I can't just keep driving away to meet Lisa and Luna and use my millions to buy them expensive stuff. Being a good parent is almost effortless for you, it wouldn't be for me. Don't force the burden of raising Luna and Lisa on me too, please."

"I don't want you to 'raise' them. I just want you to... Meet them. Talk to them for a little and then be on your way. That was even the original plan I had for me and Luke, but the more time I spent with him, the more it evolved into a very deep relationship."

"Drive them here then, Brian. I'm not gonna go out of my way to meet those two spoiled brats."

Brian smiled worriedly. "Uh, I'll try to. I think it'll be hard for them to avoid sneering at your average two-story suburban house or some other rude attitude. Are you gonna try to be a little tolerant?"

"Nuh-uh. The second they let out something like 'Wow! Mom is so poor!', it's all over."

"Haha! You know? That's better than nothing." Brian disregarded, shrugging. "Maybe I'll be back here today with the two, we'll see."

"See you, Brian. Also, Luke's been waiting to get in your car and eat his snacks for minutes by now, go out with him already before I kill you again."

"Hahaha! Sorry, Mist. Have a good day!" He walked fast towards the exit.

"Goodbye, Brian."

The father exited the house, hurriedly saying his goodbyes to Tanya on his way out. He met up with his son, both getting inside the car after Brian unlocked it.

He fiddled with the car's GPS, browsing a map of the local area before starting to drive. "About forty minutes to get there, apparently." Brian told Luke. "Wanna go via the GCP, the Whitestone Bridge, or the Throgs Neck Bridge?"

"Uh, I dunno. Why do you expect me to know where those even are?"

"Really, Lucky? We've been driving all over for months! How do you not know that?"

"Ugh. It's buried deep into my mind somewhere, sorry... Throgs Neck is the bridge that's further away from your house, isn't it? Go through there, the view's better."

"Alright. I like it too." Brian got out of the driveway. "Have you found your snacks?"

"Oh!" Luke remembered. "Is it in the glove compartment?"

"Yeah, enjoy! For someone who was so excited for it, I'm surprised you've forgotten."

"That's your fault... What were you doing there? I hurried to the car and you just got stuck inside for minutes, I almost started going back."

"Just talking to your mom. She was giving us two the silent treatment for some reason."

"Are you two gonna marry?"

"No! That doesn't even mean anything!"

"Haha, just kidding... Some clients of yours would be offended by that remark, by the way."

"Dogs don't even naturally 'mate for life', that's just more human conditioning."

"So what? Does that mean you're against hugs too? You just said that hugs are also 'conditioning'."

"Hugs feel good, being forced into perpetually living together with whoever I was told to mate with doesn't. There's a special link between me and you, not between me and your mother."

"Then why were you even talking to her?"

"She's still a friend, Luke. I was just asking her if she wanted to come visit Luna and Lisa with us. Far from interested, by the way."

"Aww. I'd love to have Mom with us here right now."

"Do you think she'd mesh well with the two?"

"Absolutely not, hahaha."

"Well... If things go well with us four, I'm gonna drag them to your house so they can meet 'Mom'."

"Uuh... Dad... Things going well with us four is already really unlikely. And then if that miracle happens, you intend to try your luck having them come home too? You're being way too risky."

"If things fail, they fail, Luke. I'm giving the responsibility of educating the two to me, and me only. If things don't go well, you're not gonna suffer from that at all. It's all on me. Don't worry about it."

"I just want you to have some fun with them and be happy with it. No reason to make them be OK with my mother too. The things Luna called her, do you remember that?"

"She just called your mother a 'yokel' or something. It's kinda true, isn't it?"

"Dad! What?!"

Brian shrugged while driving, chuckling. "She spends her life stuck in her house and has an intense fear of the City, thinking I'm gonna for sure get you killed for making you see the world more. Just like I'm planning on saving my two daughters from their terrible parenting, I already saved you from living such a sheltered life with Mist."

"I wasn't being sheltered! In fact, she kept complaining I didn't leave my house enough!"

"She complained you didn't spend time in your own neighborhood. Now that you're traveling way beyond that with me, she'd probably prefer that old reality, haha."

"Every time I come back she's so happy I'm all fine. I think she worries about me a lot. Do you think I'm hurting her by being away?"

"Apologies for sounding morbid, but you're not gonna have her forever. Detaching from your parents a little is always good, even if it's by getting closer to the other parent. She's fine, she'll get used to things, probably did already. She has no reason to be so fearful, I even taught you how to do a few things by yourself and self-defend."

"Ugh, that day was so scary. I don't wanna use a gun, Dad."

"Nobody does. Well, outside of sport. But you gotta know the basics. And you were an incredible learner, Luke. So proud of you!"

"Hah. I try my best. There are so many VR shooting games, you know? They almost kinda trained me."

"Haha, really? And they say kids can't do anything anymore because they think everything is video games and cellphones."

"I wish."

"Are you gonna eat your sticks? You just woke up, you need to eat something, Son."

"Let me eat, then." Luke grabbed the package from the glove compartment, opening it while smiling in excitement.

"Aw, Luke! You're so adorable!" Brian glanced at his son eating his food happily. "If I crash because of how cute you look while enjoying these things, it'll be your fault, OK?"

"What?!" He stopped eating to object.

"Just kidding! Keep enjoying it! Don't mind that, that was an unnecessary comment. Try to appreciate the view."

"At this speed, I sure will. If we crashed right now I don't think the car would even get scratched." He resumed eating after complaining.

"It's the speed limit. I'm staying on the right, if they wanna pass me, I'm not getting in their way. Not my fault everyone thinks that an uncongested freeway inside of a city means a one hundred speed limit. Maniacs."

Burbank Residence, Forest Hills, Queens, Saturday 11:41 AM

Brian pulled his car into the driveway of a large suburban house, both him and Luke opening their doors and getting out almost at the same time.

"Wanna ring the doorbell?" Brian offered, getting behind Luke while approaching the front door.

"No! You do it!" The younger dog got behind his father again.

"Maybe switching things around would make the outcome different. Who knows, right?" Brian rang the doorbell, waiting.

A familiar woman soon answered it, facing the two. "Hello, Brian, Luke." Carla shook their paws. "After all that, we're back to this again." She commented while snickering.

"Life's a circle, right?" Brian replied, smiling good-naturedly. "Let's hope this won't be a repeat, alright? Where are the two?"

"They're upstairs, each one in their own room."

"Alright, timeout." Brian gestured. "This is already *way* too close to our first attempt. How about you call the two downstairs? Here in the living room?" He suggested while slowly entering, Luke following.

"That'd already get us off to a bad start, wouldn't it? They don't want somebody forcing them to leave their rooms."

"Uuh... I really don't wanna do things one daughter at a time like last time." Brian walked around indecisively before sitting down on the living room sofa, being joined by the other two. "Let me talk to you for a little." He looked at Carla. "Have the two been enjoying being back here?"

"The two have barely gone outside since we moved. I have no idea why the two wanted to move back so much, since they're clearly not in a hurry to 'go out' at the moment."

"Maybe they just want the assurance of living in a place where you can find stuff to do out if you want to. Are they liking the new house?"

"Uh... I think they're trying to pretend they like it just to satisfy me. As a way of thanking me, I suppose. They clearly don't like it as much as their old apartment, and the house isn's as good as the one I found in the Gardens. But location matters to them a lot, and it wins easily in that regard."

"Yeah. Your lives must've been chaotic recently, buying a house and then selling it after mere weeks. Let's hope everything settles down finally."

"Let's hope. Everyone's selling nowadays, it's a great time to buy. Is your friend enjoying our old condo?"

"Carla!" Brian chided quietly. "Don't mention that so close to the two!"

"Oh, sorry! That was a slip, my mistake."

"Ugh. I have to keep the link between me and your condo's sale a secret to them. Now that I plan on getting closer to them, that'll be quite a challenge, that barely crossed my mind." Brian massaged his forehead with both paws, anxious.

"Do you think they'll hate you if they know?" She almost whispered to the dog.

"I just don't wanna take any chances, this is really sensitive. I know you were gonna move anyways, but the way I helped, it was a big intervention. If they don't analyze things through, they might completely blame me for everything."

"Uh-huh. You know, just between you and me: Thank you for helping us. With the moving, with the extra money. I still prefer this house over our old condo, I hope it's not just the honeymoon period. My stay in Babylon Gardens was great too, even with how brief it was. Thanks for the suggestion, despite how everything ended. I've talked to the people there, the place isn't violent, Lisa just got really unlucky, I dunno."

"And thanks to us, now it's even less violent." Brian smirked, trying to look more neutral as soon as he noticed his cheeky expression. "But let's forget the past, and aim for the future. Or something like that."

"Do you wanna say something, uh, Luke?" Carla turned her attention to Brian's son, massaging his head encouragingly.

"Uh." Luke got shyer, muttering apprehensively. "I... I thi-"

"Don't force Luke to comment, Carla." Brian almost glared at the human. "If he's not saying anything, it's because he doesn't want to."

"Don't be rude, Dad!" Luke scolded, raising his voice. "She just wants me to open up a little... But I *really* have nothing to comment on this. I hope the two insult us less, I guess."

"They insulted you two last time? Even you? You're just a kid, that's terrible!"

"I'm not a kid! I'm six! They just called us poor, it's not really a big insult. Compared to Dad, I am, in fact, poor, maybe even you are!"

"Luke!" Brian scolded this time. "Way to go from shy to savage in seconds, jeez." He looked back to Carla. "Well, I'm gonna fetch the two upstairs then. Time to have the whole family here, sans the mother." He stood up, being followed by Luke. "The biological mother, I mean. Sorry, Carla. No offense."

"I know what you mean, Brian. I know I didn't birth the two, it's just an affectionate title."

"Let's hope they soon call me 'Dad' too. Both affectionately and literally." Brian walked away with an arm around Luke. "Good day, Carla."

"Good day, good luck." She watched the two walk upstairs.

"Time to guess a room again." He talked to Luke quietly. "Choose one, Luke. Do you wanna introduce yourself first too?"

"No! You're the one who really wants to be friends with them!"

"I want to be a *father* to them, that's way more than just that. Just choose the room, that's your only responsibility today."

"It's just a random choice, why do I have to do it? That door." The dog pointed to the left.

"Alright. I hope I remember their faces." Brian walked up to the door, opening it and seeing a dog lying on a human bed while using a smartphone. "Hello..." He stared at the dog's collar for a little. "Luna. Glad to see you again. Are you enjoying your new home?"

"If I can forget about where I lived at the start of this stupid year, yes." Luna looked towards her father as he approached, sitting down at the bed's end. "Hello, uh, Dad. Welcome to my room. Thanks for ruining those stupid dogs' lives, by the way. Well deserved! Stupid hicks thinking they could mess with my sister! Or us!" She boasted proudly.

"Heh, thanks." Brian stood next to her, cautiously putting a paw on the top of her head. "That wasn't all me. Carla helped more, if anything. And try to think of that as us helping those dogs better their ways, make them into better people. Not 'ruining their lives', it's not meant to be punitive."

"Agh! Stop pretending! What a joke! We all know we only wanted those criminals stuck in a place where they can't do anything anymore, don't pretend we want their 'rehabilitation' or whatever. They should never mess with us! That's the only thing they'll learn from being arrested."

"Did you learn something from temporarily living in Illinois?"

"That it's even more boring than I imagined, why?"

"Just curious about your experiences. Back when I was there to see Lisa you weren't in the hospital, we didn't even get to talk at all."

"You didn't miss much. I wasn't even home that day, I was hanging out with some Pomeranian wacko there."

"Alright. I won't make you clarify on that." Brian stopped touching Luna, joining Luke, who was watching the two closely. "How about we go out for a little?" The father offered, stretching. "You have your little cellphone, right? You won't even miss out on anything while out. It's almost lunchtime."

"Sure, Brian." She sighed, getting up. "Don't say 'little cellphone', it sounds condescending."

"It's small, isn't it?" Brian let out a quick chuckle. "Sorry for that. You know, I can't imagine using cellphones for everything, to me it's just for calls and checking the time. Maybe if I have to wait for something for a real long time while outside I might browse the Internet for a while, and just hate the experience, yuck."

"I don't know what you're complaining about. What do you use then, a tablet?"

"Never had that. But I think it'd be better. If I'm outside I just enjoy the moment, if I'm home I use a desktop computer. Much better than the limited experience of using a smartphone or any mobile device in general. I wish they still used styluses nowadays, I hate how imprecise fingers are compared to those."

"Haha! Gosh, how old are you exactly? 'Living in the moment'? Desktops and styluses?"

"I'm twenty-two. Born November the twenty-first, nineteen ninety-seven! No need to tell me yours, my little star, I know." He patronized jokingly.

"Oh yeah, that's ancient. Let's hope the generation gap doesn't make things too awkward." She finally got up, joining the two.

"I'm your father! There's no way there can't be a 'generation gap'! And in the case of a parental relationship, it's part of it. I'm meant to be the older, wise tutor who guides you through life. Let's try that."

"Don't expect me to just obey you, that's asking for too much... Twenty-two, how old is that in dog years?" The three started going to the other bedroom.

"I dunno. Like, seventy? You're not meant to use that metric outside of puppyhood, you can't just simplify age down to 'six years equals eighteen years', it's unscientific, it's not how aging works. Also, the planet spins around the sun at the same rate, no matter what species you are."

"Ugh! Stop being a nerd! Go grab Lisa." They stopped next to the closed door. "You'll have an easier time with her, she's nicer than me."

Brian chuckled. "I'm glad you're at least self-aware of your attitude." He opened the door and stepped in. "See if you can get to know your brother a little, he looks shy, but he opens up very easily."

"Dad!" Luke complained. "Didn't you just tell Carla to not put me on the spotlight like that?"

"Building a friendship with your sisters is necessary. Building a friendship with some random human who declared herself their 'guardian' isn't." The older Retriever justified quickly before walking towards Lisa, lying on her bed in almost the same pose as her sister before, also using a smartphone.

Brian stopped next to her, leaning on the bed with one arm. "Everyone here is just lounging on their beds with their cellphones. What's so special about New York that you two can't just do the same in Chicago?"

"Calling that place 'Chicago' is being very generous." Lisa stood up already, storing her cellphone. "And we'd probably be out somewhere if we weren't meant to be waiting for you today."

"Carla told me you two haven't been going out too much anyways, I don't think that's a good excuse."

"And what's your point? Do you want us to move yet again?"

"Not at all! Just wanna know why living in New York matters so much. Legitimate curiosity."

"Because despite everything, it's the country's main hotspot. And this city would have to fall *really* hard to even fairly compete against whatever cheaper ***holes people are 'fleeing' to recently. I know that first-hand now."

"Alright. Let's enjoy the 'hotspot' right now, then." Brian turned towards the door. "We're gonna go out for lunch right now, all four of us, the family's finally together! Let's go, Lisa. I'm so glad to see you all fine, by the way!" He put an arm around her.

"Even in the hospital I was 'all fine', I was never in danger. Those dogs there in that club? All muscle, but no punch! I've never felt such weak 'punches' before! Pathetic!"

"I just meant you don't have your casts anymore. And you've been punched before?"

"Uh... Confidential. You need a level three friendship to know that."

"I'm your father. Our bond transcends 'friendship'."

"Oh, shut up. You're not raising a family, stop with this human-centric 'power of family' garbage." The father and daughter joined the two siblings at the door, who were locked in a very awkward silence.

"Did you at least try, Luke?" Brian stopped to ask.

"Uh, I said hi." The son smiled nervously.

"Eh, good enough." Brian briefly petted his head. "You two haven't seen my car yet, have you? GranTurismo MC! Pleasure to drive, never had the chance of being a passenger, though. Hard to find a suitable driver, the driver's seat not being suitable for humans and all."

"Hm." Lisa muttered. "I saw you parking it from my window. Is it some kind of Ferrari?"

"No! It's a Maserati! What's the problem with you all?!"

"What? Sorry for not knowing, jeez."

"So much for being so proud of being super rich or whatever. Can't even distinguish luxury cars. You're rich but you have the wisdom of a peasant." Brian scoffed, going downstairs with his offspring.

"Are you serious, Brian?" Luna interjected. "You complain about me being 'arrogant' and then go on to act like that?"

He shrugged. "I'm gonna copy you two a little, whatever makes you feel comfortable. Sorry if it understandably comes off as rude."

"Ugh. You'll never live our terrible first meeting down, will you?"

"Don't pretend you two are now paragons just because you know I'm wealthier than you." Brian looked at Carla while walking through the living room again. "Goodbye, Carla! See you in a few hours!" He waved.

"Goodbye, Brian! Good to see you getting along!"

The dogs left the house, Brian opening his car's door while the rest gathered close to the other door. "Who wants the front seat, by the way?" The father grabbed their attention by asking. They stared at him in silence, indecisive.

"Come on!" He hurried. "Luke's not an option, since he's always sat on it until now."

"I'll bite the bullet." Lisa broke the silence, stepping away from the door. "Go on, you two."

Brian entered the car as the rest settled in their respective seats. "What do you mean 'bite the bullet'?" He looked at Lisa before starting the car, furrowing his brows. "Do you think being closer to me will be a bad experience?"

"No. I meant bite the bullet for being the one who has to make the decision. We don't hate you, you know? Stop worrying so much about us, expecting us to turn on you or something. Even Carla kept thinking we'd kick you out of the house today if she didn't tell us not to do that."

"Bad impressions, sorry. I thought you'd make things really hard for me today, but I think I'm the one not helping now, sorry."

"It's fine, Dad. Don't worry about it." Lisa petted his father's head.

"Whoa! Now that's the affection I wanna see, treasure!" He petted her back, wagging.

"Alright, going too far already! Chill, don't do this stupid 'treasure' stuff with us two."

"Heh, you're right. I need to be more original. Even calling Lucky 'treasure' is kinda copying another father I know."

"'Lucky'? Really?"

"Really! Lizzy! Wait, no, that's terrible. Sorry about that."

"Just drive already! And 'Lizzy' is a nickname for Elizabeth, not Lisa."

"We don't even know where we're going." Brian turned the car on without starting the engine. "Do you three have any ideas? The world is our oyster." He started tapping the GPS.

"What does that even mean? Sounds gross." Lisa replied again. "Drive through Times Square."

"Why?!"

"It's not so crowded now, and we end up rarely visiting that place because we live so close to it already. That makes it somewhat of an original idea, like a Parisian visiting the Eiffel Tower."

"No! Enough of that! Going to the City to see Times Square is so nouveau riche! That's something only rich third-worlders do!"

"You can be more acid than us sometimes, wow. Go to somewhere in Greenwich, I dunno." Lisa looked behind her seat, seeing the other two dogs on the backseat. "Are you two mutes gonna suggest anything?"

"I like Greenwich." Luke piped in shyly.

"Good." She nodded, going back to sitting properly. "After we're done finding some place to eat there, we could stop by our old building. Just to reminisce about better times."

Brian smiled nervously, remembering his friend. "I think it's healthier to move on, Lisa." He started the engine after setting up a GPS waypoint at a nonspecific spot, driving off.

"Just drive through our street. I don't mean enter the building or something like that."

"Oh, alright. I think that's safe."

"What do you mean 'safe'? Is Manhattan now in some kind of civil war since we left?"

"No! Uhm... It's safe from you potentially experiencing very debilitating homesickness. From coming so close to entering your preferred residence."

"I'm not gonna die for not living there anymore, don't worry. Unless some club decides to rough me up here in Queens too. Properly, this time."

"Please don't use that as an excuse to move back to Manhattan if it happens."

"I'd never! Why are you even implying that?!"

"Circumstances were convenient for you, Lisa. Don't pretend like they weren't. The logical answer to 'River Ridge is too dangerous' isn't 'we should move to New York City then', you just used Carla's disillusionment as a tool."

"So what? Yeah, I moved here because I wanted my old life back, not because I think River Ridge was actually dangerous. I'm sorry it took an accident for Mom to even make moving back an option. Do you not want us here in the city? What's even your point?"

Brian sighed. "I... I dunno... How fast everything happened, it's almost like you wanted something bad to happen. Horrible things can massively benefit people, even if you're initially hurt by it. I'm no stranger to that."

"I didn't get in trouble on purpose, I just got unlucky. Or lucky, if you consider the outcome of everything. That's all."

"I mean, you still don't know if this is the best outcome. What if living in Queens is even worse than living in Babylon Gardens? You've been here for barely weeks."

"Haha, come on, Dad. Don't act like you seriously think there's a chance living there's better."

"If you don't care much about amenities, I can easily see somebody preferring that place. And then when you consider the cost of living here compared to the cost of living there, it's not such a no-brainer."

"That doesn't apply to any of us! Maybe to Luke, but not to us three! And we all care about the 'amenities' too! I don't wanna live in a freaking forest where you have to drive everywhere!"

"So you don't like *Forest* Hills?"

"Agh! Don't compare it to that podunk! It's still much better!"

"Fair enough. I wouldn't trade home for anything, probably, but I'm not most people."

"Why don't you live in Manhattan? You certainly have the money for it."

"Too cramped for a family with me and four humans. I'd have to live in some building with shared leisure areas, condominium rules and the such. And I also like owning a car, doing that in that island is a nightmare."

"Huh. Actually good points. I understand... Also, you live with four humans? That sounds terrible."

"It really isn't. Wanna drop by my house later today?"

"Ugh, we'll see, Dad."

"What about Luke's house? Mom's there."

"Pass."

"What do you two think?" Brian raised his voice.

"I think you should speed up!" Luna answered from behind. "I'm hungry! Why use this sports car if you're gonna drive it like some granny?"

"Oh, come on, Luna! Not you too! Do you wanna try driving? There's some really empty roads around, some as close as New Rochelle, we could go there later."

"New Rochelle?! No! Or anywhere! I don't wanna drive! I only get driven! Driving is manual labor for peasants!"

"Jeez, let me go back to you." Brian muttered to Lisa. "Do you wanna try driving after lunch? Maybe lounge on a lawn with a view of the river and city? I saw a pretty good one this morning."

"These are interesting ideas, Dad. I welcome them."

"Whoa, really? I'm so happy, Lisa! Luna will change her mind too, especially with you going along, I really hope." He tried to mutter to not be heard by the daughter in the backseat again.

"Please just pay attention to your driving now, you're being *way* too talkative."

"What can I do? This is the first time I'm properly with all of my children. If you three started brainstorming ideas for a restaurant now, it'd be ideal."
Last edited by Wortge on Wed Nov 25, 2020 9:54 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Glad you got back to writing this! It is still coming out incredible!
NHWestoN
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by NHWestoN »

...... and I'm all caught up again! Whew, that was fun.
Wortge
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

Shields Residence, Wednesday 2:15 PM

Rob hugged his mother on the living room sofa in his parents' house, as some form of a very long goodbye after getting back from an outing with the two.

"I love you, Mom." He finished before just putting an arm around his mother, squeezing her lovingly. "Thanks for everything."

Dana chuckled, petting his head lightly. "Thanks for everything today or thanks for everything ever?"

"When saying that to you, it needs some clarification, doesn't it? Heheh. Thanks for today. I'm sorry for kinda forgetting you two recently, I really shouldn't take having you for granted."

"Don't worry about it so much, Robbie. I loved spending this morning and afternoon out with you, but you should do this when you want to, you shouldn't see it as some kind of obligation."

"It wasn't! I loved it! But sometimes, I get so caught up in thinking of all other ideas I have, and forget I can just spend the day out with you two. That's why it took so long."

"We already had that short trip to see Hobart. If you're worried you're somehow depriving us of your company, you really aren't. If anything, we two were worried you were starting to miss us. Remember that it was Buster who decided to come to visit you back in the middle of the year, if you don't come to us, we will do it instead!" She finished with a strong rub to his belly.

"Hahaha! You should come visit me at some point, you know?"

"We should! See what I mean? You live in a new, expensive house and we two here haven't even bothered visiting yet. It's us who should be scolding ourselves for forgetting about you, not the opposite."

"If you say so. I'd love to show you around, I never thought I'd live in a place like that."

"And it's not only you there, our lastborn lives there too, right?"

"Haha! Right. Don't let him hear that."

"Is he liking it?"

"Kinda. He went from hating it to tolerating it and I don't think he's moved past that, which's fine by me. Did he give you his thoughts when Shane dropped him off here while I was away in Chicago?"

"He told us it's fine to live there but that it's far from the reality of most people living in the city, something like that."

"Oh, I've seen him say the exact same thing to some of my friends."

"We really discussed his future that day. Options of places he might want to move to, possible roads to adoption to make those options a reality, the possibility of emancipation."

"Oh." Rob frowned, looking down. "Sometimes he makes it seem like he gave up and wants to live with me for the rest of his life, but I guess he's still thinking of moving. Speaking of emancipation: Is he already legally owned by Shane?"

"Yeah. We took care of that pretty quickly, don't worry."

"Phew, should've asked you that a lot earlier. What about his vaccines?"

"Mostly taken care of, why isn't Shane telling you about this stuff?"

"Whenever he brings Hobart here he does it at like, seven AM. Sometimes I don't even notice he was out for the morning."

"Still waking up late, aren't you?"

"What can I do? Everything's open in the afternoon, most online activity happens at night. By process of elimination, I'm gonna sleep through the mornings, that's how I miss the least possible amount of fun."

"Hmm. But that's not the healthy option. What's the point of 'missing out on the least possible amount of fun' if that can make you die a few years earlier, which would make you miss out on a lot more?"

"Agh! Stop! I sleep well enough, I just don't do it at the usual times! You know how to scare me, don't you?!"

"I sure do!" She briefly hugged her son, comforting him by nuzzling his head. "Go jog in the parks during the mornings, OK? Not everything has to be malls, restaurants and the Internet."

"I do walk a lot! I used to be a little underweight a few years ago, even!"

"Oh, really? Ever thought of building up a little more muscle?"

"No! I don't wanna look like I work for the K-9s!"

"What? That's what makes you object to that idea?"

"Yeah! I don't wanna give people the wrong impression, that's all. I've rarely seen a dog with big muscles who didn't work for the police, apart from the naturally muscular breeds."

"What's wrong with that? Isn't being a K-9 a big dream for a lot of dogs? You get to be envied by a lot of dogs without even having to put on the work for it."

"It's only a dream to brainwashed morons who think there's anything noble about being a mindlessly loyal slave to those stupid ugly hairless apes. Definitely not the impression I wanna give."

"Ugh, Rob! Sometimes I think that raising you without a lot of human contact was a really bad idea."

"Look, I don't hate humans, I just don't wanna be mistaken for having the most human-loving profession there is."

"Are you having problems with Shane? Sometimes I seriously worry about that."

"No! Not at all! I love him, I owe my life to him. As in, I owe my quality of living to him, I don't mean he had to save my life at some point or something like that."

"Yeah, I was about to ask, don't scare me like that." The two dogs maintained a silence while Rob hesitated deciding on getting up and saying goodbye. "What about Shane's trip, Robbie?" His mother asked suddenly.

"It's not looking good, is it? Are you already planning on going to Europe with me and Dad as a replacement?" He smirked.

"Did you talk to him about it?"

"Not really. I thought that things would be fine because I see plenty of available flights to Europe online, but apparently if you're an American human you're only allowed to travel for 'essential' reasons. It's just that there's still a lot of people who need to do that."

"I mean, even if he's allowed to, it doesn't mean he should. It's a big risk this year."

"Shane got infected already, Mom! Stop that! He didn't even feel anything, he has no idea when he got it!"

"He still needs to be cautious! Do you think humans would be taking things this seriously if the virus weren't extremely dangerous?"

"Well, he doesn't need to fret. The decision's been made on his behalf by the apes in charge already, and he probably won't be able to travel to the Czech Republic for tourism in November. How are things gonna go with me, I dunno, but I'm honestly optimistic."

"So you're really considering going with us?" Dana started scratching her head anxiously. "Oh, dog. I've heard that traveling abroad without a human is a bureaucratic nightmare, do you know how to handle things?"

"Well, Brian is a master when it comes to that, since he's in charge of a company that basically tries to do the work of a human owner for thousands of pets, so he can advise me on everything. You should've seen him at the airports! He had some paper for me that could let me in the flight even if I forgot to get a permission slip from Shane! How is that even legal?"

"I mean, judging by your opinion on humans, don't you think it's nice you don't even need Shane's permission to fly somewhere in that case?"

"I feel like if we abuse that too much they might make things harder or something. Like, they can make me depend on Shane for a few things, I don't care. I just don't wanna have to always be accompanied by him throughout my whole life."

"I don't think that progress can be undone, don't worry, Son. Things are way better for us today, I'm really glad to have brought you into this world instead of the one I grew up in."

"Aw, Mom! Don't make me feel bad for you, were things really that bad?"

"They were worse, but not outright 'bad'. I didn't have a bad life but, of course, the same couldn't be said of all dogs, even today."

"Yeah, it's a shame." Rob hugged his mother tightly again, dragging his arms around her fur. "But you're glad that everything turned out like this, right? You have me! You have Dad! You have Hobart and Kessie!"

"I'm infinitely glad, Robbie." They ended the hug. "Enjoy your life, that's all I want from you. But please don't make it end too soon by enjoying it too carelessly, I hate how I have to warn you about that."

"Don't worry, Mom. Love you!" Rob finally stood up, walking towards the front door. "I'll see you soon, hopefully! Tell Dad I said goodbye once he wakes up, alright?"

"Alright! Bye, treasure! Get home safe!"

Rob left the house, listening to the door being locked from the inside after some seconds. He started to look at the other half of his parents' duplex as he got to the sidewalk, stopping.

"Hmm... Should I?" Rob pondered, looking at the door of the other residence. "I've never visited him at his house like this before, but I'm feeling adventurous today... And this day is far from over, I shouldn't be heading home already, let's go do something." He walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.

"Who is it?" A strange voice came from behind the door after a long hesitant silence.

"I'm Rob!" The dog answered. "I'm just here to visit Bino, if he's home. Sorry to disturb, and for not noticing in advance. Spur of the moment visit, you know?"

No reply came other than the sounds of the door being unlocked. It eventually opened to a black cat, smirking menacingly at Rob. "Oh, so you're the 'Rob', huh? I've heard you're being quite a thorn in my girlfriend's side recently."

Rob stepped back, scared. "I- I'm just keeping my distance from cats who hit dogs with blunt objects and then act like it's slapstick, don't make things worse than they are, where's Bino?"

"Bino's sleeping, what do you expect him to do now that his club's gone? That thing was his life."

"Uh, maybe he'll cheer up by going out with me again, could you get him for me?"

The cat hesitated briefly before shaking his head, rolling his eyes. "Oh, sure. Could you go easy on Grape? I've heard you banned her and did a lot of nasty stuff to her just because Bino told you to do it, stop that before I have to play the part of her knight in shining armor." He smirked exaggeratedly.

"I didn't do 'nasty stuff', I've been completely ignoring her."

"You've been telling everyone in your neighborhood that she's violent. She's still new around here, you're hurting her chances of making new friends."

"That's not 'my neighborhood'! I'm from Manhattan! And all I'm doing is looking after my friends, I don't want them to get hurt for getting too comfortable with your contentious friend."

"*Girl*friend, mind you."

"The ***'s the difference? Unless you're planning on moving together and having kittens that's just a friend who's allowed to kiss you. Who even told you I'm warning people about Grape? Even my friend, Brian, told me to stop that, and because of *him*, I've stopped it already, so you're in luck. For all I know, I've forgotten about Grape, now just go get your pet-brother already."

"I can see how you two get along well." The black cat scoffed, turning away. "I'll trust you to keep your word, if you don't, there will be consequences." He threatened while walking inside.

"What would you do, try to fight me? I'd never hit a handicapped cat, that's stooping too low."

The cat stopped, not turning. "What?!"

"Physical violence isn't necessary!" Rob yelled from the front door. "Can you hear me from here?! Do I have to speak louder to compensate for your destroyed ear?! How did that even happen, was it the alligator?!"

He finally turned to face Rob again, his expression showing a mixture of surprise and anger. "What?!" The cat repeated, hissing. "How do you- That's it! This is the perfect excuse to teach this little Bino-wannabe a lesson!" He stomped towards Rob.

The dog stood his ground. "I'm not gonna touch you, I've told you that already. Do you really wanna hurt one of Brian's friends? Wanna join, uh, 'Duchess'? And her lackeys? Things didn't go well for them." Rob smirked.

The cat slowed down. "What does Duchess even have to do with this? Agh! Whatever. Grape wouldn't want this." He turned back again, facing his pet-brother, who had just inconspicuously arrived in their part of the house. "Oh, Bino. Your new fan's here, go talk to him." The cat walked further inside, leaving the two alone.

"Phew, you really didn't lie about your cat roommate being bad news." Rob sighed with relief as Bino joined him at the front of the house.

"Yeah. If you think I have a bad attitude, remember I've spent most of my life with that furball." The mutt started, rubbing his eyes. "What was he arguing with you about?"

"He was threatening me so I'd leave his attempted murderer girlfriend alone, as if I'm not giving her a wide berth already. He also wanted to censor the private conversations I have with my own friends, which sometimes go on about how Grape might be, you know, dangerous."

"Uh-huh. I think you should keep defami- telling them the truth about her, if you ask me."

Rob shook his head. "Brian gave me *** for it, I'll avoid the topic, but not because of that stupid cat. 'Leave Grape alone or I'm gonna hit you!', what's with those two cats and violence? Jeez. No wonder his right ear's like that, do you know what happened to it?"

"I dunno." He shook his head, grimacing. "He's just some alley cat who's still not used to living properly in a house even after years. He probably got that ear from getting into a fight with a mouse, hahaha! Stupid, annoying, unrefined, yokel. A true 'forest goblin'. Did you know that he used to live in a farm? Not a big surprise, is it? Rural people suck."

Rob furrowed his brows. "Not really, Bino. I love my brother, and he's 'rural'. Although he's changing."

"Oh! I mean, *some* rural people suck. I just don't get the appeal of being surrounded by trees and nothing, do you?"

"I don't. Are you mocking me?"

"I'm not being subtle at trying to appeal to you, am I? Disregard that. What are you here for, Rob?"

"I was visiting my parents. Since they literally share a building with you, I decided to stop by. Are you up to do something today? An idea coming from you would be nice, I've had enough of always being the one in charge of deciding where to visit, like some kind of permanent tour guide. You people should enjoy the city!" Rob raised his arms. "Living here is supposedly so cramped and expensive, isn't it? Let's go enjoy stuff you can only find here to compensate!"

"Uh, I'm fine with going out with you, whatever." Bino shrugged, closing the front door without bothering to lock it. "I needed to discuss a lot of stuff with you anyways, do you have anywhere in mind?"

"I was hoping *you* did. What about Times Square?"

"No! I had a terrible dream about it once!"

"Alright. I've heard plenty of complaints about that place, but that one's new." Rob giggled. "I'm just testing your tolerance, sometimes it feels like you're fine with anything."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah! Feel free to complain about things to me, alright? And I mean complain about the food, the parks, the city, not just other people. I feel like you're just trying to make me like you by presenting a false persona, no need for that. Be your own self."

Bino looked at Rob weirdly. "Uh... I'm just trying to not lose my friendship with someone as well connec- Uh... As fun and nice as you. Sorry for all the pandering, it's hurting me too, kills my pride."

"Haha, yeah! That's what I'm talking about! Don't try to go easy on me, I don't mind you telling me how it is. So... Let's finally decide on something, how's Battery Park City for you? I love it!" He began wagging. "There's great food! Tall buildings all around! The 'Greenway'! We can go to the park and look at the statue and the boats! There's Brookfield Place! There's the big reflecting pools next to the Oculus! I can bring you there and show you where the name of Shane's uncle is!"

"OK! Chill! I know!" Bino held the Retriever by a shoulder to make him stop. "We'll go there, then. It's quite far, isn't it?"

"Uh... Let's see... Astoria Boulevard Station is N and W, we need a W Train, because the N diverges at Canal. We could leave the train at Cortlandt, or maybe even South Ferry."

"Ugh, leave these calculations to yourself. Let's go, then." Bino stretched, the two dogs starting to walk towards their destination. "I'm glad to be getting some exercise, at least. Losing some weight. Maybe I should start training for the K-9s, old dream of mine."

Rob briefly glared at Bino. "What? Didn't you tell me I shouldn't trust them?"

"And you shouldn't. But if I join, I'll be the exception. What better way to fix an organization than from the inside, right?"

"Huh, I don't think it'd be worth it. What do you wanna join them for? Do you think you'd enjoy the work or do you just want the good rep from impressionable bootlicking dogs?"

"What does that word even mean? My brother thinks he's hot *** for managing to join the force of that boring dead-end town I fled from, I'd love to see his face if he finds out I just managed to join the largest, most famous police force in the country!" Bino smiled proudly, puffing his chest.

"Bad idea, you just want that to make someone jealous? What happens after you get it? You keep working the job you only got out of spite?"

"I'll just quit after a month. I'll say it's 'too boring' and throw it away. Imagine his face! Getting the perfect job and then just going 'Eh, I don't need it, it's not good enough for me'. Haha! I'd love it!"

"I know some K-9s, they don't really get universally respected, even being in the 'most famous force'. Like, passing all the exams or whatever and starting to work gets you a big celebratory party, but that quickly fades into you just being yet another typical working dog."

"I'm not talking about my reputation here, I'm talking about my reputation in the Gardens. Just picture the news getting there, 'Did you know that Bino's training to be a K-9 in New York? He's absolutely ripped now! He's looking like a wolf! He got in! Can you believe Bino turned his life around like that? He truly is the greatest dog who's ever lived here in Babylon Gardens! A shame we weren't good enough for him!' That's what I want them to feel."

"You know what? Go for it. That sounds petty, but at least it's healthy. Hopefully that'll distract you away from your inoperative dog club there."

"Oh, screw you, Rob! I was just forgetting about it! You know that everything is Brian's fault, right? He destroyed the G.O.D.C. just because his daughter told him to."

"Of course I know that. I even asked you about your connections with the dogs who attacked her just before the legal actions started."

"Oh, right." Bino scratched his head. "And I thought me immediately blaming Brian was just my amazing intuition, heh."

"Nope. Zero tolerance for physical violence, be it Grape or your old Midwestern friends. That's why I asked if you were responsible or even compliant."

"You can't do anything about it, can you? Maybe tell Brian to revert things?"

"What? There's no 'reversal', he's barely in charge, all he did was brute-force justice. Say what you will about the justice system, but if you're on the right, it's slightly easier to make it work. Forcing everyone involved to be suddenly freed would be way harder, and would require a lot of very dishonest acts."

"And Brian isn't up for that, is he?"

"No! Are you seriously expecting anyone to get your club up and running again by letting criminals go free? Go ask someone else, Brian and me would work against that, if anything, sorry to disappoint."

"Ugh." Bino began mumbling to himself. "The Miltons? No. Fox? No. Rex? No. That stupid, sissy dog, can't do anything for me. Useless moron, almost worse than Fox!"

"Why are you whimpering? What even is that noise?"

"Agh! Stupid vocal chords! I'm just thinking too hard."

"You should move on, Bino. Your girlfriend was one of the ones arrested, wasn't she? There's better fish out there, be glad you just escaped a potentially abusive relationship, judging by what she tried to do. You're luckier than your stupid cat roommate, haha. Dog knows what Grape does to him."

"First Peanut, now it's you trying to give me some 'you're too good for Duchess' speech. What's going on? I only care about my club, Duchess can rot for all I care. Couldn't even answer her phone after I moved, I can't even remember her voice anymore! If she thinks she's too good to accept my calls, then she'll see what I do once she tries to get me to help with her 'one phone call from jail'. Hah! I'll give her a taste of what it's like to be on the calling side for once!"

"You know that 'one phone call from jail' is a movie myth, right?"

"Then what was that pound on about? Oh, whatever. Let's not dwell in the past, do you know how to form a dog club?"

"No. Brian probably does."

"Ugh, I can't just ask him about that stuff."

"Why not? He can give at least some advice. His circumstances were different from yours, he always had his rich humans backing him financially, although only with the bare minimum, which still is a *lot* for renting an office building in suburban New York. Everybody loves some underdog 'starting from nothing' story, but that's rarely the truth, and the same applies to Brian. But he can still tell you how to set things up, in case you somehow get things started. How did you even start your old club, anyways?"

"I dunno! Fido dealt with most stuff at that point. We're litter-mates but that dog likes to act like he's ten years older than me, glory-sponge."

"That's the brother without the dead rat, right? Huh... Well, you're a smart dog, Bino. So I'm sure you can figure things out without Brian's help."

"I'll go for it! Sorry for all the members my club's gonna inevitably snatch away from yours, but it'll be for their best. No hard feelings. I'll show you two how to do things properly!"

"Go for it, tiger! Even us three co-founders will ditch the C.P.D.C. and join it! We can't wait for our collapse caused by the mere existence of your new incredible club!"

"OK, are *you* trying to pander to me now? Stop that. And also never call me that again."

Rob shook his head. "Just teasing. I love feeding your ego, it's the funniest thing, hahaha." The two dogs started climbing the stairs to an elevated subway station. "Do you have your MetroCard ready?"

"Oh, yeah. It's somewhere here." Bino struggled with fishing something from his green collar.

"Hurry up. Taking more than one second at a turnstile immediately strips you out of the privilege of looking like a local, and then I'll have to pretend I'm not with you until we're inside the train."

"Ugh, why are you like this?" He flashed a card to Rob. "Here. I'm gonna swipe this in the most 'New Yorker' way possible."

"Don't hold it like that! You should treat this as the most mundane thing ever."

"It *is* the most mundane thing ever! So what if somebody thinks I'm a tourist because I'm playing with a card? Guess what, hypothetical stranger? No matter how I act, my house remains inside the city limits! And nothing will change that! Because I have no power of deciding on where I'm gonna live, from what I've experienced!"

Rob started walking faster, passing the turnstiles way ahead of Bino. The duo eventually neared each other again while waiting at the platforms. "Are you done by now?" The Golden Retriever asked impatiently.

"Nobody will think you're from Babylon Gardens, don't worry."

"Right. It's not about looking like a New Yorker, it's about looking like a local. When I was in Chicago recently, for example, I also tried my best to blend in. So hard to get a picture of the Bean without looking like the most stereotypical tourist, but I think I managed. Just for my brother."

"You went to Chicago just to see the Bean? That really is very touristy."

"Not *just* for that. I took a picture because it's iconic. It's the one thing you can show and make people go 'oh, you took this picture in Chicago'. Well, that and the Sears Tower, the river. Maybe the Navy Pier."

"Hah, you call it 'Sears' instead of 'Willis', you really could pass off as a local."

"Great! If only I could perfect my English accent for the next time I'm in London."

"When is that?"

"Oh, you're interested?" Rob widened his eyes, wagging his tail. "I have a layover there this November! JFK to Heathrow, Heathrow to Prague-Ruzyne! Can't wait!"

"Huh, this November? Are you doing that with your owner?"

"Uh-huh."

"During a pandemic?"

"Yeah! Why do people keep saying that?! I don't remember the world stopping during the Swine Flu! I know the restrictions are necessary to prevent the spread, but people repeating that as if a pandemic stopping life for whatever species are affected is common knowledge is pretty dumb."

"Just thought it was not the ideal time for it. Good luck with your upcoming trip. Good luck to your human, mostly, let's hope the humans allow him out and in."

"Yeah..." Rob looked down. "I think he's gonna need it."

Harlow Residence, Wednesday 9:08 PM

Rob reached his bedroom, seeing his brother idly playing a video game while sitting on his bed's edge. He rapidly crossed the space between Hobart and the TV before getting to his computer, turning it on. He leaned on a window, looking at the view before starting his session. "I'm finally starting to get back home after you." He began talking to his brother. "What's the deal? Getting bored outside?"

"Yeah. I wanna go back to the rural life already." Hobart paused his game to answer.

"Really?"

"No, just pulling your leg." He chuckled. "I'm in no hurry, but don't take me living here for granted. I don't pay attention to the time too much, sometimes I'm early, sometimes I'm late, don't worry about it. The outside is still satisfying my 'hillbilly' needs."

"Rob!" A voice from downstairs was heard just before Rob sat on his chair. "Come here for a sec!"

"Oh, is he calling you downstairs like that normal? I don't think I've ever seen it." Hobart commented. "What did you do, Rob?" He chuckled.

"Not really. He usually just comes to my room but, you know, maybe it's not a talk that you need to hear. Things here are changing to suit you."

"Oh, secret talk? I won't spy."

"I don't think it's meant to be a secret. I already have a suspicion of what it's gonna be about, getting mentally prepared already." Rob breathed in before raising his voice. "I'm coming, Shane!" He shouted, getting out of the room.

Rob reached the living room, seeing Shane sitting on the sofa, just waiting for his dog. "Hey." He sat down next to the human. "Do you need something?"

"Just to talk." He put a hand on Rob's head, scratching it slowly. "It's about the Europe trip."

Rob saddened, sighing. "Not gonna be good news, is it?"

"Nope. I'm gonna rip off this band-aid already instead of avoiding the subject. We can't do it. It's not even about the trip being impractical or too risky, it's outright impossible with the restrictions. I can't even enter the EU at the moment, and despite your travel withdrawals, tourism isn't considered 'essential'."

"Alright, alright." The dog replied dismissively. "I've been expecting this more and more as November came closer. And to think when things started going crazy back in March I was thinking 'Wow! Shane was kinda prophetic when he decided to not travel during the summer!' And here we are in ***ing October with this *** still going on. If only those stupid, moronic American humans would follow all the guidelines properly! Nobody would even remember them darn corvids by now!"

"Things aren't that simple, Rob. The whole world's struggling, Europe's almost closing down again."

"New Zealand's fine! If only we followed their example!"

"Because it's in the middle of an ocean! Would you like living there?"

"Well, no. But still, it's an example."

"You act like you'd be super obedient if you were a human and had to follow the same guidelines as us. You mock the restrictions whenever you get the chance! Don't act like you'd even agree with them if you were on the other side."

"If I were a human I'd have offed myself the second I realized a third of my life is fated to be monotonously making things for other people."

"And do you know who those 'other people' would be? Spoiled dogs like you! Where do you think everything you enjoy comes from?! Volunteer work?!"

"But I'm not forced to work! I'm lucky, that's all! Life isn't fair, your birth's completely random, and that affects everything in your life. Ordering by luck, you can be born a dog, a cat, a human, a pig, a fish, a plant, a bacteria. Just because there's cows out there fated to do nothing other than get fat and die, doesn't mean we'd have to give all other species a taste of that life too, right? Same goes for pets and being forced to get jobs."

"Huh. So you recognize how easier life can be for some pets? What happened to all the complaints you had on 'human oppression'?"

"They're still there, humans have this really annoying superiority complex and general mentality that makes them think they're literally not 'animals'. But with this push for pet equality, I really fear I'll start being expected to work and be looked down upon for not doing so. Lots of pets don't work and the world's fine. I'm kind of a leech, but it's not hurting things, right?"

"It isn't, Rob. I would *never* force you to work, or do anything you don't wanna do for extended periods of time. Does that make you relax? Put that in your head, stop seeing dogs trying to live like humans as a threat to your way of life."

"I hope they're not. But if I wake up one day to the news of 'All pets are now completely equal to humans! Everything now will have to be mandatorily adapted to all pets! All pets, human-dependant or not, will now be forced to go to school for eighteen years! We can't just let people vote and freely join the job market without some universal basic education after all!' If I ever hear stuff like that, we're leaving New York, that's what it would take. We'd flee to Toronto, would you agree to that?"

"I dunno, probably. Let's not think about that stuff. Wouldn't that happening destroy Brian's company?"

"Not really, maybe it'd help it, even. It transitioned from just holding the ownership of a bunch of ownerless pets to dealing with professional training and asset management, I think if every pet was free to seek an independent life a lot would flock to it for those things."

"Well, that's good to know. Tell him to not support policies that could lead to mandatory pet training, as much as it'd help him. He's rich enough already anyways, and even with his limited political rights, having that much money makes him a lot more influential than you and me."

"I like to keep his work very separate from our friendship, and it's not like he can single-handedly change things. Why are we even talking about this?"

"Because you started talking about how being a human must be horrible and how you don't want the same fate for all other animals."

"Oh, right. Being a human is what's keeping you from going to Europe, you know?"

"And it could easily be me being a dog barring me from that too, especially in normal times. Not everyone can get a few thousand dollars deposited on their card, an easy permission slip from their owner, the documents that prevent them from being mistaken for some stray dog and taken to a pound, all that non-human jazz."

"You've been looking into that, have you? Would you like becoming a dog now?"

"No! Stop asking that! Is that some kind of fantasy of yours?"

"Of course! My ultimate fantasy! I'd finally be able to hate all humans with no exceptions! Just kidding. There's a friend back in the club who keeps talking about humans suddenly turning into other animals, the guy probably read some fiction online and believed it, but it's fun to think about. You're already kinda living like a pet, your apartment's owned by the P.I.S. and Brian pays for its expenses with his own money."

"Yeah, a dog's partially sustaining me, I like to avoid thinking about that whenever possible. But back to what I called you here to talk about: Are you planning on still traveling? I remember you brought up the possibility of doing that with your parents."

"I did. It's possible, right? We have all the documents, the humans with my parents are fine with it, would you let me?"

Shane grimaced. "I would, Rob. But that's only because I trust your parents more than myself when it comes to taking care of you. We had plans of renting a car and going to Croatia, though, how will you handle that?"

"Oh, uh... Bring Brian along?"

"Four dogs? Isn't that a bit too chaotic?"

"Ugh! I dunno! I'll see what I can do, but I haven't given up, alright?"

"Alright, Rob. I've given up, though. Feel free to come up with something for yourself, I'll transfer you all the money I originally set aside for the trip once you show me your plans, that's how much I'm willing to spoil you." Shane chuckled, patting his dog's head before getting up. "You could get some of Brian's money for it, you know? Especially if you settle for traveling with him."

"Really, Shane? So much for not using rich friends as 'money dispensers'."

"Hey, I'm sure sparing a few thousand bucks is way easier for him than for me."

Brian and Rob's Direct Messages, Discord, The Internet, Wednesday 10:06 PM


RobHrlNY Today at 10:06 PM
Yo
Glad to see you online
Are you free to talk for a bit right now?
or are you spending time working or playing with your pups
or about to sleep

BrianK Today at 10:09 PM
I'm free
Sorry for being so absent recently
But you can only choose to do one thing at a time
And I don't sleep this early
come on

RobHrlNY Today at 10:10 PM
alright
Feeling like *** right now
Can you guess why?

BrianK Today at 10:10 PM
Did you try to look up stuff on the Internet praising New York and telling you how great it is
But found some "everyone is fleeing cities and in the future everyone will work remotely from suburbs and farms" echo chamber instead?

RobHrlNY Today at 10:11 PM
NO
don't even bring that up lol
forget about those poor jealous peasants
It's something else
something I told you I've been dreading already
It's pretty obvious

BrianK Today at 10:12 PM
Oh, the Europe trip?
Did you finally discuss things with Shane properly?
Instead of assuming everything is A-OK because he's not mentioning anything to you?

RobHrlNY Today at 10:12 PM
Yeah, he called me downstairs to talk for a bit
Humans are banned from Europe
or just Americans
idk
idc
I just avoid looking up the restrictions because it's super scary
how you can just get basic liberties taken away like that
I know it's an emergency, it's to save lives, but still
How it just goes on for months and months
it's nuts
But yeah, he simply won't be allowed to enter the EU
I was always worrying about our experience there being less than optimal due to stuff being closed to him, or even to both of us
But since there's still a downright blanket ban, it's simply impossible

BrianK Today at 10:15 PM
Yeah, the Schengen Area has banned non-essential travel
but
you know
I could just make a reason for him to travel
You'd be surprised by the sheer amount of things that are considered valid reasons
I'm surprised tourism isn't considered one of them
Since so many lives depend on tourism
But let's not act like any of these harsh restrictions actually come from a rational concern for human lives

RobHrlNY Today at 10:17 PM
Really, Brian?
don't be corrupt
I'm not gonna have you fake a corporate task for Shane just so he can travel to have fun
that's kinda despicable
Is that what you're offering?

BrianK Today at 10:18 PM
Pretty much
It's not like that'd hurt anyone
What's the point of avoiding a loophole on something you don't even support?

RobHrlNY Today at 10:18 PM
But I support the ban!
it's just
I thought things would be fine by now
Do you think Shane shouldn't be traveling?
that he'd be risking himself by doing that?

BrianK Today at 10:20 PM
Traveling is always a risk
Always has been
You can crash your car, get in a plane crash
Get sick somewhere
Be the victim of a crime
The fact that in all these years, you or Shane haven't ever been at least pickpocketed is almost miraculous
But going back to your question
Considering the new extra virus going around
Its effects, the likelihood of the development of certain effects in Shane's demographic
Comparing that to many other diseases that have always been around
And not even considering the fact that he's been infected this year already, with no symptoms
No
Shane isn't at a significantly higher risk for traveling
But we can't do anything about it
The restrictions are an EU thing
All you have is my suggestion
But even once you're able to get there, there's still all the local restrictions to worry about

RobHrlNY Today at 10:23 PM
ugh
Do you think the restrictions aren't justified?

BrianK Today at 10:24 PM
They're somewhat justified
If they're a means of preventing an overload of the healthcare system
Caused by the rapid spread of a new mild disease the humans lack any immunity to
Escalating the goal beyond just that is destructive, though
Continued measures of mask-wearing, distancing where possible, contact tracing and personal hygiene are great
But extending indefinite bans on basic rights of travel, gathering, and generally earning a living isn't
Thing is, you can manipulate people
You can make people only hear cherry-picked news about outlying unusually bad cases, "long-term effects" (PVFS), outright pseudoscience
You can make people believe a disease is analogous to a cancer and that they're fighting for their lives
You make that by, technically, just reporting the truth
But presenting it in a scary way
You could do the same to the flu, to the common cold, to car usage, to going outside and tripping on something, to getting hit by lightning
Have you heard of the "Dihydrogen Monoxide Hoax"?
That's basically what's happening
The overblown response is caused by the normalization of extremely authoritarian measures first attempted by a certain imperialist dictatorship
The fact that country is also manipulating statistics to pretend that their response is way more effective than it really is also helps

RobHrlNY Today at 10:26 PM
lol
calm down, Brian
Sounding like a conspiracy theorist there

BrianK Today at 10:26 PM
Life is stranger than fiction, Rob
If you believe there's nobody benefitting from the decimation of small businesses
The collapse of entire industries
The ruining of basically all non-corporate entertainment
Everyone #StayingAtHome, watching anxiety-inducing news constantly and ordering everything online from tech giants
If you believe there are no selfish interests in perpetuating and maintaining this hysteria
Then you're incredibly daft
I mean, look at me
I have to pretend to the board I'm supporting some kind of insane "Keep the humans very restricted until there's widespread vaccination" strategy
And do I do that because I want them to think I'm really selfless and concerned about human lives?
No
I do that to speculate their shares as humans potentially restrict themselves into uselessness
And the damage I might be causing with that is indescribable
Total economic ruin, the borderline collapse of human city life
Thousands of deaths, millions of lives ruined
Lives that, if you averaged their ages, are most definitely not mostly already beyond their 70s
Is it worth it? Even if it's benefitting some animals?
It isn't

RobHrlNY Today at 10:29 PM
***, Brian
let's move on
There are selfish interests in making everything go back to normal too
I just don't know what to think about all of this
I think in the end everyone loses

BrianK Today at 10:31 PM
You're typing that from the luxury apartment you got with money coming from animals working in the place of sacked humans
Don't pretend "We're all in this together" while you experience no suffering stemming from everything, or even outright benefit from it

RobHrlNY Today at 10:31 PM
But I AM suffering
The city's declining
My trip's cancelled
Even with some unethical benefits I'm getting, I'm badly affected

BrianK Today at 10:33 PM
People are losing their livelihoods to government overreach and you're here comparing that to missing out on an Europe trip, Rob
come on now
You and Shane are almost unscathed
And that's why everything is so bad right now
Because the people in power are all in the same privileged group as you two
Trying to stop the world for months to see if that eradicates a disease is easy to suggest when that lets you still keep your standard of living
Not easy when you're struggling to survive
Not easy when you're forced to move out to a place with a lower cost of living
Am I hitting too close to home with that one?

RobHrlNY Today at 10:34 PM
I mean
It's not easy to call for reopening things while gasping for air in a hospital too
using that same logic

BrianK Today at 10:36 PM
Is it?
Are the humans dying angry at us for not completely shutting down civilization?
Has that ever passed through the minds of aging people dying of pneumonia before?
When that's caused by infectious diseases that have always been spread around?
Do people dying in a car wreck regret the fact they've never supported a complete ban on driving?
Do people dying in a plane crash regret ever deciding on going somewhere far? Or the fact that flying is allowed?
Maybe once China sets new precedents by banning planes, cars, and going outside, those will also start being considered serious concerns

RobHrlNY Today at 10:38 PM
Alright, that's enough
let's move on
I see your point

BrianK Today at 10:38 PM
Let me tell you something
I feel like spoiling you even more this year now
How about you travel with me instead of Shane?
It'd be just like Chicago, that trip was really smooth, wasn't it?
And no bodyguards this time, don't worry

RobHrlNY Today at 10:40 PM
Oh, Brian
The whole reason why I started this chat was to try to ask that eventually
while trying to not make it look like I'm begging you
I'm so glad we're on the same page

BrianK Today at 10:41 PM
Hah, I saw that coming
I'm ready for it
Remember me asking if I'm a good replacement for Shane?
Let's keep that going
Where was your trip to again?
Hungary?

RobHrlNY Today at 10:42 PM
Czech Republic
then drive south to Croatia

BrianK Today at 10:42 PM
Oh
That sounds really fun actually
I'd love to try doing a road trip
In another continent too
I just need an IDP
Do they have Type C rental cars there?

RobHrlNY Today at 10:43 PM
What's that?

BrianK Today at 10:43 PM
Type of species adaptation for the rental cars
So people other than humans can drive them
My species and breed only allows me to drive C cars

RobHrlNY Today at 10:44 PM
Oh, that
They have a lot of rental companies close to airports
I'm sure you'll find something
Your choice will be limited, of course
But they do have options for non-humans in very international places
You know, some countries have animal full citizens and all
Non-human animal citizens, I mean

BrianK Today at 10:45 PM
Rob, everyone knows that when you say "animal" in that context you're excluding humans
You can stop saying "non-human" so much, most people think it's awkward

RobHrlNY Today at 10:46 PM
But I like it
Hobart complained to me about that too, haha.
He said that "non-human" is "stupid PC-speak"
but like
it's not politically correct speak, it's just correct speak
Humans are animals too
And if you treat them like they aren't
That'll keep giving them excuses to justify their innate sense of supremacy

BrianK Today at 10:49 PM
Do you feel like traveling somewhere else?

RobHrlNY Today at 10:49 PM
uh
why

BrianK Today at 10:50 PM
This trip started as a plan for you and Shane
But since now it's moved to something between you and me
You're probably less limited
If you're holding back on going on an amazing trip because of Shane's budget, just tell me
I can give you anything

RobHrlNY Today at 10:51 PM
Really not holding back on spoiling me, huh?
Give me a superyacht

BrianK Today at 10:51 PM
Don't try to be funny
You know what I mean
If you want something more ambitious than a trip to Europe
Just tell me

RobHrlNY Today at 11:01 PM
Well...
Hopefully you're still here
I'm kinda concerned about us going around as two lone dogs who can only speak English
I honestly can't even distinguish Czech from other Central European languages
I know in these small countries most people know decent English
but still
I really want to do my first (maybe last?) trip without Shane in a place where I at least know the language
or
hear me out
A place where someone with me knows the language
So I was thinking
Let's get Xander too
And go somewhere where he can help us understand things better
I have a trip to Japan planned with him
Me, him, and Shane
I'm sure you know this already, it's in March
But judging everything, things might still be ***ed by then
How about we just replace this trip with that?
Us three, Japan
Xander translates everything for us
I won't lie, I'm also way more hyped for this trip than for the Europe one
So let's just do that instead

BrianK Today at 11:04 PM
That's fine
I'll take care of things
And you don't need to be concerned about traveling with no humans
I've heard of clients who do that all the time
Knowing the language or not
Just make sure it's not some country really off the beaten path
When was your trip planned to happen?

RobHrlNY Today at 11:04 PM
November 10 to November 28

BrianK Today at 11:06 PM
Alright
Let's do that, then
If it seems like I'm doing this way too hastily, I'm not
I've been anticipating helping you with this for some time
Because your plans with Shane just stopped seeming realistic once we got so close to November
I'm gonna notify Xander in our Discord server
Go there

RobHrlNY Today at 11:07 PM
Alright


'The Three Dogs' Discord Server, Wednesday 11:07 PM


BrianK Today at 11:07 PM
@ZentrixSM
Me and Rob have been DMing about his Europe trip tonight
And we need your attention here now
A quick reply would be appreciated, I'm about to go to sleep

ZentrixSM Today at 11:10 PM
I'm here
who goes to sleep at 11
gross

BrianK Today at 11:10 PM
People who have a livelihood that isn't copy-pasting crap from Stack Overflow for eight hours
People who don't live confined to their homes 24/7
People who don't have a whole personality built on just being a miserable sack of garbage who finds no enjoyment in going outside or building in-person relationships
You know, any useful member of society

ZentrixSM Today at 11:11 PM
holy ***, chill
I'm not like that anymore
woke up on the wrong side of the bed today?
or going to sleep on the wrong side? rather

BrianK Today at 11:12 PM
Just had enough of people like that recently
sorry
Rob's going to overhaul his trip to Europe this November
Because Shane's unable
For hopefully obvious reasons
He's planning on just expediting his trip to Japan with you
But replacing Shane with me
You up for it?

ZentrixSM Today at 11:13 PM
oh wow
Sure
If things can happen that early, do it
I'll get Walt's permission already, but remember I'm going with no money

BrianK Today at 11:13 PM
That's not even mandatory, in a way
The days of subordination to humans in America are gone
And it was all done by their own hands
Good riddance

RobHrlNY Today at 11:14 PM
Brian, chill
what the howl
And then you two tell me it's me who's the human hater here
Weren't you just telling me how bad you felt for jobless humans?

BrianK Today at 11:14 PM
Yeah, but then you remember they all overwhelmingly support that kind of stuff
But you have a point
Not everyone does support it
And the ones who oppose it usually also oppose even the reasonable restrictions
It's a mess, sorry for bringing it up
Japan, right?
They don't even force businesses to shut down there, it's just a superior culture in general

ZentrixSM Today at 11:15 PM
what??
don't put foreign cultures on a pedestal, once you immerse yourself into them you realize anyone from any country can have crap opinions

BrianK Today at 11:15 PM
I'm just being facetious at this point
Let me go to sleep already
See you two later
I'll organize the bureaucratic and monetary part of the trip
Ideas and plans on what to do there, Rob will take care of that
Maybe you too, I have no idea on what to expect

ZentrixSM Today at 11:16 PM
We'll go to 北海道
It's mostly villages and mountains

BrianK Today at 11:16 PM
Oh
Let me log off before I make a snarky comment
I'll read the rest of this when I wake up tomorrow
Bye

ZentrixSM Today at 11:18 PM
I don't think you'll have much to read
Rob?
@RobHrlNY

RobHrlNY Today at 11:19 PM
Still here
you hyped?

ZentrixSM Today at 11:19 PM
sure
For everything except the flight

RobHrlNY Today at 11:20 PM
Oh, come on
it's one of the best parts
We'll take an afternoon flight to Haneda, you'll get to see Alaska if it's not too cloudy
Do you remember that from when you visited?

ZentrixSM Today at 11:21 PM
Of course not
I sat on one of the middle seats
And I used Narita

RobHrlNY Today at 11:21 PM
ok
that's just revolting
even worse than not leaving Tokyo

ZentrixSM Today at 11:22 PM
I know
But you'll make me learn how to enjoy a trip properly once we get there, alright?
no need to tell me how I was having fun the wrong way right now
Also, what happened to your plans of going to Europe with your parents instead of Shane?
Why is it suddenly Brian now?

RobHrlNY Today at 11:24 PM
Because he knows how pets can act independently
And I'm bringing you and switching to Japan because none of us can speak Czech, Croatian, Slovene, etc
I've never traveled with my mom
but I'll be honest
she kinda seems like a buzzkill
she almost reminds me of Shane's ex in that regard
just without all the New-York-hating and Rob-hating
Buster has traveled with me and Shane once before, he was there to just enjoy the ride and seemed kinda clueless
So traveling so far with only the two seemed like a somewhat risky idea
But Brian?
If he acts like he did back when I accompanied him to Chicago, we're all safe

ZentrixSM Today at 11:27 PM
oh, I see
Yeah, Brian knows all the pet intricacies
maybe even wildlife intricacies
And I actually know some Czech

RobHrlNY Today at 11:28 PM
"Some" Czech?
When you put it like that, I assume you mean you know it fluently, somewhere between intermediate and advanced

ZentrixSM Today at 11:28 PM
No, I'm not humble bragging
I legit only know simple sentences and general pronunciation rules
I'm gonna get off Discord now, OK?
My brother wants to play some stuff
before I leave, when is the trip?

RobHrlNY Today at 11:29 PM
10/11

ZentrixSM Today at 11:30 PM
uh
that's 4 days from now
is that in DD/MM?

RobHrlNY Today at 11:31 PM
yes
November 10, not October 11
Sorry for using a rational date format

ZentrixSM Today at 11:31 PM
Agh, get out of here with that ***
none of your insufferably smug european internet friends are reading this
no need to go all "oh america sucks and is so backwards, am I right?"
"oh, utmost apologies for saying america, I meant USA. south americans, please don't get mad at me"
isn't the city you love so much in this country, anyways?

RobHrlNY Today at 11:32 PM
You're reading way too much into that
sorry
Go enjoy your cat, Xan

ZentrixSM Today at 11:32 PM
I will
bye
Last edited by Wortge on Wed Nov 25, 2020 2:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Wonderful work on writing this chapter! I do look forward to reading more!
Wortge
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:06 am

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

This chapter was only about 1/4 done when I posted the last one, which means the backlog of already-finished chapters is now gone and I'm posting them as I finish them. I'll try to keep the updates at still around one per week, but mind the possibility of less frequent updates.

Sandwich Residence, Monday 11:09 AM

The cat and dog of the house sat on the sofa, Grape boredly watching her housemate play a game on a portable system.

"Uh, pumpkin starts." Peanut commented his gameplay monotonously. "I'll buy them in bulk, five of them."

"Cool." She remarked disinterestedly.

"I want twenty-five of them, though. I'll have to repeat this four more times."

"Uh-huh." The cat rolled her eyes while resting against the sofa harder.

Peanut played the game in silence for a few minutes. "Do you have any suggestions for where to plant the patches?"

"I dunno. Fertile soil?"

"Oh, I know! Check this out, Grape!" The house's doorbell rang after a few seconds, interrupting the two.

"Finally!" Grape blurted out before covering her mouth. "Uh, I mean, I'll get it!" She got up, reaching for the door.

She opened it to two familiar pet-brothers, an orange tabby cat and a Beagle, Peanut soon getting up to join her in the greetings. "Hey, Jon." Grape greeted neutrally. "Let's go for it already, alright? Cod knows how long it will take to get there without a carpool."

"The woes of transportation!" Jon exclaimed, getting closer to Grape. "Let's get that over with, alright? See you later, Bro! And Peanut too." The tabby edged walking away from the house.

"Do you know how to get there, Grape?" Peanut asked before the two took their first steps.

"Jon will lead the way, don't worry, Peanut." His sister assured.

"You still need to know where you're going, just in case, and also to prepare you for going out only by yourself. You're using Bay Ridge Avenue Station, right? You take the Q25 bus to Flushing Station, then the 7 train to Court Square, the G train to 4 Avenue, and then the R train."

Xander glanced at Peanut, surprised. "You sure learned that fast, didn't you?" He commented. "I don't even know enough to make sure if that's correct, haha."

"It's easy!" Peanut chirped. "I've even done that route before!"

"If Jon's unable to guide me, I'll call you." Grape replied. "Although in that case getting home might be one of my smallest worries, see you later, you two. Let's go, Jon." The two cats walked away while the two dogs stayed.

They quietly walked inside, Peanut closing the door. "Alright, what are you up to, Peanut?" Xander broke the silence while sitting on the living room sofa, looking at the console sitting next to him, the screen facing up.

"Don't look at that!" He rushed to get the game back. "It has nothing to do with how we'll spend our day here, sorry! Let me get rid of this tediously boring nintendrone garbage." The dog started walking towards his bedroom with the console in hands.

"What? No need to hide the stuff you like from me, please. And why are you ***ting on it so ba- Uhm, dissing it so harshly? Pardon my French."

Peanut stopped, turning back. "I just wanna show you that I understand your point of view. I've never tried watching somebody playing this game, maybe it really is boring." He put the game on an end table and sat next to Xander. "Speaking of French, bonjour!"

"Bonjour. Vous avez bien compris la salutation cette fois? Bon à voir. Nous allons trouver la meilleure façon de passer la journée chez vous, d'accord? Tout sera mieux que ce jeu, je préfère regarder la peinture sécher!"

"Oui, oui, je sais. Maintenant tu te plains? On va jouer, hmmm... Imaginer!" Peanut announced cheerfully.

Xander looked at Peanut with surprise again. «Oh, you're that fluent already? I'm glad I held myself back a little at that moment.»

«I've been having fun learning with Gaspar, Xander! He says I'm a quick learner! It's much easier than Akkadian!»

«Yes, there's probably more literature.» The Beagle chuckled. «You want to do the role-play thing, right?»

«Right!»

«Honda Accord! You like satirizing whatever piece of media you pick for these things, so I'm gonna try to come up with something that's very mockable. Let's hope things go better than the 2001 club re-enactment or whatever Jon decided to call that, what were we thinking?! Why did that dog bring an actual human baby?!»

«No human babies here, Xan! My mom's infertile! Let's start our...» Peanut pondered. "Uuh, how do you say 'brainstorming' in French?" He switched to English.

"'Échange d'idées'? I don't think there's a term for that in French, they'd just say 'brainstorming' while using the French pronunciation."

«Uhm... Let's start exchanging ideas! What movie do you want to do?»

«Now, what's the stupidest thing I can remember?» The Beagle started pondering, closing his eyes while massaging his forehead. «Oh, Marvel garbage! It has to be that! I hate those commercialized, mindless, focus-group-tested, lowest-common-denominator filth!»

«What? You were talking way too fast, sorry.»

"Oh, sorry. That probably made no sense in French anyways. Let's just cross the English Channel and switch back to this Anglo-Saxon-French mishmash called 'English'! We'll do 'Avengers Endgame', alright? It's the only one I've watched."

Peanut giggled. "You only watched the last one? You didn't understand the plot, did you?"

"What plot? The movies have the same complexity of a rollercoaster ride. Just dumb fun. 'Obviously bad guy needs to be stopped by a group of humans with one comically exaggerated characteristic each! They will now travel the world searching for the magical problem-solving thingamajigs!' It's so ridiculously simple, literally a children's movie! Which is fine, but then you see people praising it as an innovative masterpiece and rooting for it to be the highest-grossing movie of all time."

"You just told me you watched it, didn't you? You contributed to that."

"Yeah, Rob wanted to watch it on the release date." Xander rolled his eyes. "I don't think he even cared about the movie, he just wanted the 'theater experience'. He invited me to watch it with him and I didn't decline, because I put my friends above my integrity, I guess."

"Did you like it?"

"No, four out of ten."

"Eh, earning four points from you is no easy task. Which characters do you wanna pick? It'll be pretty hard to do things with only us two, but I've been doing this with only Grape since I had to move anyways. You know that not all of the heroes are humans, right?"

"Oh yeah, they're like, aliens from another galaxy. They look just like humans because the writers come up with some 'humans are the ideal form so everything across the entire universe ends up looking like a human as it develops sapience' excuse. Do they not realize how insulting that writing is?"

"I don't mean the aliens. There's the raccoon! I mean, he's an alien raccoon, but he's played by an animal actor!"

"Played by an already very well-known raccoon actor, who's never played a role that wasn't a 'quirky wisecracking side-character', has no actual superpowers when compared to all the humans in the cast, gets called every single slur for a civilized animal throughout the duration of the film. Yeah, that's some nice 'representation' there." Xander deadpanned.

"You're perfect for him! A super cynical, sarcastic jerk! Let's go with that, alright?"

"Peanut! Since when do I have to worry about you biting back like that? Hahaha! Fine, that character goes to me. I think he has like, ten lines, let's go over the more important plot points." The Beagle got up, walking to the middle of the living room. "Are you gonna grab the box?"

"Sure!" Peanut got up and ran to a corner of the room, walking back while dragging a big cardboard box and stopping close to Xander. "We have Spider Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Nebula, Rocket, Hawkeye, Hulk, Scar-"

"Enough! How do you remember all that? I can barely remember the plot, even. Let's simplify that to Iron Man and Spider Man."

"Spider Man is barely in the movie, he got 'snapped' in the previous one."

"Then why did you list him? Stupid ***ing 'snap' bull***, I almost forgot that. Never forget all the redditors who were all like 'Oh, I think killing half of all living things is kinda justifiable' that year and now suddenly they really pretend to care about old people dying because it's an easy way to make yourself look selfless by keeping living a miserably isolated life."

"Why are you even bringing that up?"

"Ugh, sorry. Brian's been ranting about the current state of the world nonstop nowadays, just after Rob stopped complaining about people leaving the city. And then it's me who gets the reputation of being the big complainer around here."

"Don't act like you don't deserve that." Peanut scoffed.

"Peanut! Really?! Are you this defensive because I'm attacking a superhero movie? I'm sorry, you should just be glad you're not into zombie stuff."

"I am! Have you watched The Walking Dead?!" He wagged excitedly.

"No! It's all the same crap! 'Oh, we need an excuse to have constant mindless battles with hundreds of gunshots and people getting their bodies severed, how do we do that? I know! Everyone in the world turns mindlessly aggressive except for five people who must kill them all! Such a fun concept!' Ugh! I'm so glad the industry survived that trend in the early 10s, might as well just settle for superheroes now."

"Hm, I suppose those movies don't have the depth you desire. Let's stop choosing characters and jump into things, alright?"

"Alright! Um... I don't even remember the characters in the first scene, let's just improv even more than before." Xander glanced at the box sitting next to them. "And forget the paper bag stuff, as if we need any immersion." He sat down, patting the floor next to him to indicate to Peanut to also do so. "OK! So, we're here!" The Beagle started talking after Peanut sat down next to him. "We're the characters who survived the events of the last movie, where the purple meme guy erased half of the universe to prevent a collapse due to lack of resources. Sadly, he also erased half of all resources, because thinking logically is for well-written characters. I have to give this exposition just in case there's some complete madman out there who's watching this as their first movie in the series. Do you have anything to add, um, indeterminate superhero listening to me?"

"Yeah!" Peanut answered, trying to change his voice. "We should hunt down Thanos at once! It really sucks that so many people died, but we can just bring them back with the stones again!"

"Wouldn't suddenly doubling the world's population be even more disastrous than halving it?"

"No! It's fine! It's only been weeks, it's not like it'll take years for us to do that."

"Maybe you're right, um... Well, we already have his location! He's hiding in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan! Onwards to our private jet! Prepare the establishing shots!" The dog got up, hurrying Peanut.

"Xander! Don't deviate from the canon that much!"

"Apologies! My magical energy trackers or whatever were uncalibrated! He's actually hiding in a farm on some random planet! Let's go burn down half of his crops and see how he likes it! Onwards to our private rocket!"

"You talking about me?" Peanut got up, changing his voice again.

"Hey! You told me I should be playing Rocket! He's included in whatever amalgamation of superheroes I'm impersonating right now."

"Fine! But I couldn't resist joking about using an object that a character is named after."

"Alright, *Peanut*. Let's travel to the planet, it's in your kitchen." He started trotting towards the mentioned area of the house, Peanut following. "Wait, are your humans home? I shouldn't be just running around your house like this."

"They're not. And me and Grape are great when it comes to cleaning the house up after having our fun alone, don't worry."

"You keep that hidden from them? Naughty Peanut!" The visitor laughed. "Anyways, um. Thanos!" He pointed at Peanut while deepening his voice. "You've killed trillions! That's so rude! Where are the stones?! We're confiscating them due to your very concerning misuse of them!"

"They're gone. Reduced to atoms."

"Everything is made out of atoms, you idiot! Where are they?!"

"I erased them! I used their own power to destroy them."

"What's with you and erasing things?! Enough! Now it's my turn to try erasing something!" Xander stared reluctantly at Peanut. "Um... How do I behead you in the most PG way possible?"

"Kick me in the head!"

"Peanut! I'm serious!"

"Do it! It's just playtime, I've been through much worse."

"Well, can't be worse than the incident with Grape." Xander raised one leg and tapped Peanut's head with a foot, the other dog exaggeratedly falling sideways onto the kitchen floor. "So long-eh Bowser! The universe is finally free from your horrible understanding of supply chains! Too bad the stones are gone. Now what's the next step of our master plan?"

Peanut got up and faced Xander. "Let's go home and be miserable for five years! Woo!" The two started walking back to the living room.

"Yeah! We've failed and that's OK! Not everything we try to do in life has to succeed, after all! Now let's focus on recovering from our losses and rebuilding and making su- Nah! Just kidding! Let's find a way to magically revert everything, Disney-style! New guy!" Xander pointed at the other dog. "What do you propose?" The two sat down again.

"Well. I just figured out time travel is possible, as you do, I say we go back in time and undo everything that has been done, you know, with the stones, that still exist in the past."

"Terrible idea, I've already moved on past everything, I have a loving wife and daughter now and, as you know, once you achieve that, the rest of your life is pretty much just a meaningless epilogue of constant joy. Leave me alone and stop trying to change the past, it's not happening."

"But it'd be so great! We could just snap our fingers and everyone would be back! It's the perfect excuse to have another odyssey, it's what the people wanna see! We're the Avengers! We must not only protect the universe from threats, but also prevent anything we deem bad from ever happening!"

"No! You're crazy! Changing the past makes people disappear and weird stuff to happen in the present! And bringing people back would be catastrophic! Where would they even appear?! Not everyone was just resting at home when the 'snap' happened! What about the fact that everyone they know who survived have moved on with their lives without them by now?! The world can't even support a population of seven billion anymore, we can't just double the population out of nowhere! Didn't the writers say that even plants and bacteria were 'snapped'? How would undoing that even work?! What about all the people who died due to consequences of the 'snap', rather than directly from it?! It's stupid! I'm sure this was never even brought up in the movie! Even though it's the first thing that crosses your mind when you think about it!"

"Xander!" Peanut broke character again to chide. "It's just a movie, don't overthink it!"

"Haha! 'It's just a movie', the classic excuse! Maybe a movie some people unironically argue should be considered 'classic cinema' should have more thought put into it! Although I suppose that when your writing has to survive the scrutiny of hundreds of Disney executives, it's probably impossible to not make something extremely formulaic and soulless."

"It's fun! We're having fun, right? Let's begin again, um... You're really bitter, Iron Man! Fine, we'll go back to the past by ourselves! You shouldn't be that concerned, we're gonna make Hulk do the snap. He's a genius, so he'll do it in a way that will make everything work out perfectly."

"Oh, for dog's sake! Excusing bad writing by making the heroes 'geniuses'! Excusing bad writing by making the villains 'insane'! It's so bad! How about coming up with something plausible?! It's not hard!"

"This isn't going well." Peanut sighed. "I think choosing a work just because you hate it and want to riff on it constantly was a bad idea."

"I'm enjoying this, actually!" Xander replied excitedly. "But I think it's a good idea to go for something else, sorry for being so annoying, don't worry, I'm aware. But you're a friend, and friends are for these things, right?" He hugged Peanut with one arm encouragingly.

"Right! I understand your complaints, superhero movies aren't meant to be so logical. You just don't enjoy the genre in general, and you're annoyed by the fact it's so popular with everyone else."

"Indeed! I'm an annoying contrarian who can't stop complaining! But hey, if I could choose to be born as someone with higher tolerance for pop culture cape*** garbage, I would, really." He got up alongside Peanut. "Not like we're missing much, right? We'd go on a dragged out fetch quest to get all six Chaos Emeralds or whatever, get into some generic epic battle in the climax, some main characters would die, just to not go for a stock 'happily ever after with no sacrifices' ending. Nevermind the fact they'll be revived in some later movie inevitably anyways, dog forbid the audience of a kids' movie be forced to confront the concept of permanent death."

"I don't think it's because of that. I think they bring back dead characters because each superhero has lots of merchandise made out of them, and taking one out forever would harm those profits."

"Whoa, Peanut! You of all dogs analyzing things cynically like that? I agree!"

He shrugged. "It's not hard to figure out. I know most things are just made for money, but it results in a lot of fun things you can enjoy, right?"

"Right! Just look online for free artistic games and you realize how much worse media would be if people didn't make stuff for money. Say what you will about Endgame, but at least it ends at a spot that makes sense! What do you wanna do, then?"

"Uh, you just said the word 'Spot', and that reminded me of a few-"

"No." Xander interrupted bluntly.

"Well, let's go for the few things you enjoy, then! How about we go to the club and you play some of the games you like there? You could continue my 'training' too!"

"Uh, we could maybe go for that. What do you do at home? Where's your PC?"

"I don't have one. I'm just a dog, Xan! Why would my parents buy a whole computer for me?"

"Why not? It's a toy, in a way. Don't you have multiple consoles?"

"A phone and all my games are enough. Dad has a laptop, Grape uses it sometimes, I don't think it's here right now."

"Eh, I wasn't really asking for it. Let's go to the club, then." Xander started walking to the front door. "I'll try to get more back into SM, been doing way too much Beatmania recently. Actually, we could alternate machines today, what do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea!"

"OK, but what do you *really* think?"

"What? That it's a great idea! Why are you asking again?"

Xander shook his head, reaching the door. "Nothing, sorry. You're always so positive, sometimes I think you're not being genuine."

"Don't worry. I have 'low standards', as you'd probably say. I'm honestly looking forward to your idea, don't worry about me not enjoying things, if I'm not, I'll tell you." He started unlocking the door.

"Alright. I'm really glad you're opening up so much to me, really. Like, you actually called me a 'jerk' earlier! I worry so much that people secretly hate me for be-"

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" Peanut cut in, whining in shame while walking outside.

"What?! No! Go for it! I'm thanking you! I always try to be as sincere as possible to my friends, be it positively or negatively, I'm really glad you're not reluctant to call me out!"

"Hm, sorry for the confusion then. I'm glad to be your friend too, you and Grape are great at complaining about my work!" He started trotting towards the club, Xander reluctantly following behind.

"Uh, yeah, I'm glad to be helping you improve your arts via thorough criticism." The Beagle gazed at the Peanut's house from a distance. "Did you lock the door? Don't make me criticize your lack of concern for home invasions."

"Oh no! Be right back!" Peanut turned around immediately and started running back.

College Point Dog Club, Monday 11:56 PM

The two dogs entered the building, seeing a few dogs gathered to eat at the club.

"Oh, it's lunchtime already?" Xander asked rhetorically. "Quite a dead day today. There's like, four dogs, good thing Brian didn't pick today to be here, is this normal?" He turned to Peanut after getting away from the door.

"Uuh.. Not really. Today Hope's in charge, I believe, since Jon is with Grape and the others. The club's usually fuller during the days Brian says he's gonna be present, during Jon's days it usually ranges from this to a 'Brian day'."

"Oh. Oh no. Brian's presence makes that much of a difference? I'll make sure he never finds that you, hahaha. I really don't wanna see Brian go back to being paranoid about attendance."

"He's probably aware of that already, with all of the attendance tracking he does."

"Oh, right. I guess he just doesn't care then? That's really good to know. I mean, I want the club to prosper, but if it doesn't, there's nothing you can really do, people are just deciding to do something they deem better."

"Yeah, I agree. As someone who almost was a 'second-in-command' to another club."

"You were? Sorry if I'm intimidating you with my 'rank', by the way. Think of me as just another member. I know some club members get a bit anxious talking to me knowing I'm one of the founders, good thing I didn't even tell you that the first time we met."

"I don't mind, Xan. I've been friends with you for months, only now you bring that up?"

"Uh, yeah." He shrugged. "I bring that up to make you more aware, some dogs think that new members immediately wanting to be buddies with us founders makes them suck-ups, are you getting that reputation? I hope not."

"Nope! They all like me!" Peanut cheered.

"Haha!" Xander laughed while patting his friend's back. "I'm glad to hear that then, let's go play." They headed to the machines. "I'm gonna play for one hour or so, then I'm gonna see if there's food left, you up for spectating? Or are you gonna play something?"

"Can we play multiplayer?"

"Uh... You can." Xander hopped in, starting to play. "But most stuff I try doesn't have multiple difficulties, you might fail out."

"I don't mind. It'll be fun." Peanut also hopped in.

"I'll just turn 'FailOff' on. It means that if you fail the stage the game still keeps going for you until the end instead of just kicking you out."

"Sounds fine."

"Alright, warm-up!" Xander stretched. "'Apocalypse Sampler'! Umm... I'll warm-up with 'Witch Hunt', let's go." He quickly selected a stage.

"Wow, that's a fast pick for you, let's go."

"Even you're aware of that reputation? Hundreds of choices tend to make you very indecisive." The Beagle replied quickly before both dogs started to play. Xander played reasonably while Peanut just gave up after struggling for some moments.

"Just can't do it." Peanut sighed after the level finished. "Sorry, I'm having fun! Don't feel forced to play easier stuff just because I can't keep up, please!"

"Oh, don't worry. I can't do it either." He chuckled.

"What do you mean?! You missed only twice!"

"Yeah, that's horrible. Got like, seventy 'greats' too. But that's to be expected from the first play of the day, let me see what I can do after that." He started making another selection.

"Uh, hello?" A stranger's voice came from behind the two.

Xander looked behind him, turning and seeing an unknown large thick-furred white dog. "Oh, hello. May I have your name?"

"Cresselia." She answered straightforwardly.

The Beagle let out a quick snort. "Like, the Pokémon?" He laughed a little.

The stranger got a little more shy. "Uuh... Yeah, I think it's an inspiration."

"Xander here hates Pokémon!" Peanut informed from his side of the cabinet. "But don't let his opinions offend you, he still respects people who don't share them."

"Peanut!" His friend chided. "I don't *hate* Pokémon, I just don't care for it! And kinda resent its popularity."

"Oh come on, you clearly care. You even know Pokémon names, as you've just shown! And beyond Gen One!"

"Yeah, yeah. Cresselia, Marshtomp, Galvantula, Oricorio. I'd never be able to list them but you know a Pokémon name when you see it." He rolled his eyes, turning his attention to Cresselia again. "Sorry about the little tangent, I won't hate you for your name, that'd be ridiculous, it's not like you chose it anyways."

"Yeah, um." She looked at Xander anxiously. "My brother, my human-brother, he's the one who named me, he likes those games a lot, haha."

"Haha, it happens. It's still a beautiful name, beats being named 'Darth Vader' or something. Uh, do you wanna talk? Why did you approach us?"

"Oh, it's about the food. Can I just grab it?"

"Yeah, feel free to. Are you a member or just a visitor? Not like it matters when it comes to eating here, I'm just curious."

"I'm a member, signed up yesterday. Mom told me I need to 'get closer to all the other dogs around', heheh."

"Oh, I see. Yeah, socialization is one of the top motivations when it comes to joining us. I think Brian actually keeps track of the top reasons people have for joining, I should ask him some day, just out of curiosity."

"Who's Brian? I see his name being thrown around here sometimes."

"He's the main founder of the club. Golden Retriever, black collar, hammer tag, brown eyes, kinda dark fur. He's not here a lot anymore, an orange cat usually sits in for him now."

"Oh, yeah! Why is the one in charge of sign-ups a cat? That weirded me out a little."

"He was the one best suited for it? I don't really know, again, ask Brian. All I know is that he really wanted to work to make up for abandoning his old owners. Managing the club for Brian was what he ended up finding."

"He abandoned his owners? Usually it's the opposite."

"Yeah. His owners decided to move to Texas. You know, gotta raise a big family in a big cheap house, taxes are too high, the liberals are ruining everything, the usual stuff. But the puss was having none of it, asked one of his neighbors to take him in so he could stay here. Who are we to judge, right? It's his right of self-determination, just a basic pet right." Xander shrugged.

"Right. It's good to know the rights I have as a pet, need to look into that more."

"Knowledge is power. A lot of humans assume they can do anything to a pet, but that's not the truth, at least here, don't let your ignorance be used against you. How old are you?" He asked curiously.

"Uh, seventeen, years old."

"Uh-huh. And your name's 'Cresselia'? Didn't know Pokémon Diamond was that old, wow."

She smiled nervously. "Uh, I was named after the game came out, that's all."

"I understand." Xander nodded. "You were a shelter dog? Or just adopted too late?"

"No! Uuhm... I don't remember a lot from my early life, I remember always being with my current family, they just decided to rename me again after a few years, I don't even remember my old name." She smiled nervously, fidgeting with her ears. "Uhm, I'm gonna be getting some food now, see ya."

"See ya! Wanna try this game out? I noticed you watching before you said 'hi'."

"Oh, no thanks. Looks too intense. Don't wanna get all tired, dirty and wet."

"Alright." Xander chuckled. "The cabinets are sanitized regularly, you don't have to worry. And what do you mean by 'wet'? Do you lack the bladder control?" He resisted laughing.

"Oh, no!" She giggled, embarrassed. "I mean getting wet from all the..." She paused in realization. "The... Uh... Dogs don't- Dogs don't sweat, do they? Uh, *we* dogs, I mean."

Xander looked at her very weirdly. "We do sweat, we sweat from our pads, but it's not enough to bother you during play. You've never noticed that?"

"What are 'pads'?"

"The paw pads! You don't know what a 'pad' is?!"

"I do! Sorry, I'm sleepy." She excused, walking away. "I'll just go eat before I dig myself further into this hole. Bye." Cresselia hurriedly left, walking towards the food.

Xander turned back to Peanut. "Well, at least I helped." He commented humorously. "Weird gal."

"Kinda struggling to act natural, isn't she?" Peanut replied, turning back to the arcade's screen. "Reminds me of the transformed humans back in Illinois, the stuff they say sometimes, it's so easy to notice their discomfort for not being covered in clothes."

"Ugh, don't bring that nonsense up again. Cursed coins and unfounded rumors, you know that SCP is fiction, right? And I'm sure they'd never accept a concept as simple as 'coin that changes your species' nowadays."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'll stop. That dog was *very* suspicious though, if my ex were here she'd be able to tell if she has a human soul, but I'll assume she's just an unusual dog. We should be far enough from River Ridge to be safe from the things happening around there, right?"

"Haha. Your beliefs are so esoteric, Peanut. Let's get back into the game again, try not getting wet." He joked.

"How about I choose now? Let's play 'Beethoven Virus'!"

"Ugh, that file ***ing sucks."

"Hey, that's not very constructive, is it?"

"Alright. The music isn't for my ears and the stepping has aged really badly, how about that?"

"Better. Uuh..." He looked at Xander controlling the selection menu. "Choose that one!" Peanut pointed.

"'Tohoku Evolved'? Why?"

"Uh, I like the name."

Xander snorted. "Alright, fair enough. That's actually the name of a Japanese region. Topical."

"How is that 'topical'?"

"I'm going there. Next month. To Japan, not Tohoku."

"Whoa, really?! Hope you have fun, Xander! Are you going with Walt and Jon?"

"Nope. Brian and Rob. It's daunting, they wanna use me as a translator, even though I'm terrible at that. I can understand things, but finding the right words to use in another language is a headache."

"Yeah, it can be a bit hard. I've translated things in Akkadian to people, years back."

"Why do you even know that? Doesn't sound very useful, might as well learn Latin if you're interested in dead languages."

"It was extremely useful, actually. I wish I could tell you what I used it for, but Grape tells me to not reveal too much about my past experiences with new friends, sorry."

"It's fine. If you're not comfortable talking about whatever, I respect that. I'm still a 'new friend'? It's been some time knowing you already."

"I mean, any friend I've met after moving."

"Oh, alright. 'Before New York' and 'After New York', that's how you divide your life. I've never moved to another city, but suddenly changing your entire surroundings sounds very depressing."

"It wasn't that at all! I loved it! If I have to move another time, I'm gonna accept it and even look forward to it again, sorry if that offends you, but we'd still keep contact."

"That's fine. I'd never try to convince someone who wants to move to not do it just because of me, that's really selfish. Weren't you super depressed after getting here, though?"

"Agh! Xander! Why bring that up?! Tarot was just too busy with important stuff and I was being a big stupid moody pup!"

"Alright, alright, calm down. I don't know why you're so ashamed of that." Xander finally selected Peanut's choice. "You're going with an easier difficulty, right? I actually like this one, classic DDR stuff, thank dog I play with a C-Mod."

The two played the game, Xander shaking his fur after finishing. "Pushover compared to the one I started with." The Beagle said, panting. "Were you able to enjoy this one? That's a solid score."

"No, that's terrible, even for one of my first plays of the day." Peanut grunted.

"Come on, Peanut. Out of everything you can learn from me, don't learn my exaggerated perfectionism and tendency for self-deprecation."

"It really is bad, though. And being harsh on myself is the best way to get better! I can't wait to be able to enjoy more stuff!"

"Well, if you can take your own criticism, then go for it."

"Can you play a few songs by yourself? I'm gonna go eat and try to talk to that new dog, Cresselia. The way she acted, it's bothering me. She said she's seventeen, that'd put her birth at either 2003 or 2002. The Pokémon games with Cresselia came out in 2007 in North America, there's no way she can't remember her name from when she was three to five years old."

Xander chortled. "Alright, Detective Peanut. She just left, though. She grabbed some food and left with it, eating while walking. Lack of manners, no wonder the city's so dirty."

"Aw, really?! Oh, well." Peanut sighed.

"What do you wanna interrogate her for? I don't think there's a reason for her to lie about that. And if there is, it's very rude to press her on it."

"It's for her best, I have to make sure she's not a human."

"Did she look like a human?" Xander gave an incredulous look, chuckling.

"You know what I mean! If humans are being transformed here, then we're in deep trouble, I don't want that kinda stuff following me even here!"

"That's not happening, Peanut! It's just shady stunts by rich idiots who think they can force animal integration by taking advantage of rampant corruption rather than gradual adaptation, hasn't Brian talked to you about that?"

"Brian doesn't have first-hand experience! But I won't get into that argument. If you ever see her again, tell her to talk to me, alright? And make sure to inform her that you're a co-founder."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It might convince her more easily. Use your authority, it's not a perk you should ignore."

"Peanut! You know I don't care about being a co-founder, I even avoid having new people learn about that, it just makes them afraid I'll ban them for saying the wrong thing. And now you're here suggesting me to use that to press her into doing something she might not want to do?"

"Hm... Fine, I'll do it myself."

"Hah. I get that reference. We're done with that, OK? Sorry for going so hard on your superhero movies earlier today."

"You hate them but you understand a reference to them?"

"Of course. You think you can avoid knowing everything about them via cultural osmosis?" He looked at the game indecisively for some more seconds. "So much for me deciding my first play so fast today. Now everything's distracting us from playing."

"Oh! I still gotta go eat right now, even without the new dog, see you later!" He jumped off the cabinet's pads.

"Later! Gotta play a bunch of really hard stuff before you come back, let's go." The Beagle hurriedly selected.

"Feel free to choose hard stuff even if I'm playing with you! I just told you I don't mind!"

"You clearly do! You give up and then you're forced to just watch me! Stop hurting yourself just to not incovenience me, I don't mind easy stuff." He watched Peanut reaching the food before the level properly started, starting to play the game alone.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Glad that you are writing this again! I was just thinking about it the other day!
NHWestoN
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by NHWestoN »

Whew! Got behind again!
Wortge
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

Really long gap between posts this time. I never really stopped writing, I'm just doing it at a snail's pace recently, the fact that this chapter ended up ballooning to such an extreme length that I'll have to split it between posts also didn't help the wait.

College Point Dog Club, Friday 3:24 PM

A car stopped by the building's front entrance, two Golden Retrievers stepping out.

"Here we are!" Rob put an arm around his brother. "Let's hurry inside, I've heard the city is extremely dangerous outside of Manhattan."

"You're still harping on that?" Hobart complained, walking inside with Rob. "I'm not that scared anymore, relax. I think this place is quite nicer, in fact."

"Speaking as an ex-resident, I can inform you that it isn't."

"Hah! And what makes you think I value your taste in where to live?"

"The fact that you thought you wouldn't survive a week in Midtown New York and now you're not even thinking of moving out anymore."

"But I am! I just don't bring it up because it makes you sad. I've been eyeing Woodstock recently, what are your thoughts on it?"

"Boring, unremarkable, featureless and solely reliant on tourism based on sharing a name with a festival that happened decades ago, sixty miles from there."

"Yeah. That's what I expected coming from you, heh." The two dogs climbed the stairs, both seeing Brian sitting at his desk, busy with a phone call. The two waited close to the desk for Brian to finish his call, listening in.

"...Do you seriously not know what a 'retrenchment strategy' is?" Brian continued talking, making brief eye contact with the two arriving brothers but not losing focus on his ongoing call. "I really shouldn't be in a position where I have to lay things out in front of you, all the data's there, all I ask is for you to process it properly, I thought the twenty years of education you humans have to go through would prepare you for this, if you forget what something entails, Wikipedia is there for you, alright?" Brian listened on, sighing annoyedly once his caller was done. "What makes you even think you're in a place to be asking for something? Me not replacing you with someone who's adequately valuable is the biggest favor I'm doing you right now, and I hope that doesn't cost the P.I.S. too much... I don't mean cost more in terms of money! I mean in terms of productivity! Are you seriously *that* daft?! I can adjust your salary, sure, is that what you're gonna ask me about?... Your pay is one thing, the way you work is another, your position won't be adapted for remote work, that was just a temporary thing, it's been months already, if I wanted someone who can't do the minimum of showing their face around the office I'd just hire someone working from India for cheap... Oh, you're afraid of the 'deadly virus'?" Brian's voice changed to a mocking tone. "The offices are being kept as sanitized as reasonably possible, if that's not enough for you, you can go ahead and quit your job and barricade yourself inside, don't wait for big mama government to force you to do that instead. Show everyone how you 'value lives over money' and sacrifice your job to isolate yourself, but don't expect the company to pay you to half-*** your work even more. But this isn't about safety, is it? You just want an excuse to be even lazier, maybe move halfway across the country so you can live in a cheaper city while enjoying a New York City salary. Feel free to seek employment elsewhere if you really want that, I have people lining up for your position, and I'm sure most of them haven't lied about their skills to the same extent you did, but I suppose now isn't the best time to be unemployed, right?... Good to hear, see you at the office, don't take your position for granted, it's on really thin ice." Brian hung up, facing the two dogs. "Hello!" He smiled, disguising.

Hobart applauded. "I don't even know what you were arguing about, but you sure told that loser off! Well done!"

"Bart!" Rob scolded before Brian replied. "Don't praise that!" He looked at the club leader now. "What was that about? I didn't know you treated your employees that badly."

"Oh, spare me, Rob." Brian grimaced. "In a professional environment, you're not entitled to leniency if you're horrible at what you do. Maybe just seeing a snapshot of my interactions like this gives you a bad impression, but try working with that guy and you see how he really deserves that roughhousing. The fact he's still not fired makes me a saint, either that or just lazy, you know, you can't just fire and replace someone with two mouse clicks like it's one of your video games."

"Alright, alright. I know stuff's complicated, no need to patronize. I'm here with Hobart, he already told you he'd visit you at the club today, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did." Brian nodded, switching his focus to Hobart. "How's it going, Bart? Is the city treating you well?" He greeted amicably.

Hobart shook his paw firmly. "It's been forgiving with me, but with all the money, it's easy to assume that living here is always awesome. You know, 'playground for the rich' and all."

Brian nodded again. "Indeed. I hope your plans go well, with finding a better home and all, I'm sorry the one I got for Rob isn't enough for you, hahaha." He played.

"If you could find one at the same price range in a less crowded area, it'd be a dream come true. Something large, open, beautiful and with easy access to a town, just for the bare essentials. I miss hunting so much, Brian! Could we drive *really* far today? Like, Catskills or something?"

"On a Friday?" Brian furrowed his brows. "Traffic might be too much. And it's almost evening, we'd have to plan things out in advance for a plan that ambitious, and I can't even imagine the PR disaster that would happen if somebody caught me hunting wildlife. Don't do things in the spur of the moment like this, your Rob side is showing, we'll go for something less epic, alright?"

"Alright." He rolled his eyes, chuckling. "You're the one who decided to suddenly turn your next month into a Japan trip just because of a friend, what's a short day trip to the mountains compared to that?"

"Day trips don't start at 3 PM, Bart. And I actually anticipated the possibility of traveling abroad with Rob for a few months. Switching from my old plans for November will be trivial."

"Yeah. Uuh... How are your pups doing? Are your daughters behaving now?"

Brian sighed. "They are, but I'm sure it's because they're intimidated by me now. Not because of the base respect I, as well as *everyone else*, deserves. I think they enjoyed our reunion here in New York, too bad they really weren't receptive to the idea of meeting their mother, I decided to not push it and called it a day before going with my plans of driving them to her home."

"Are you planning on getting closer to your mate?"

He shook his head firmly. "Absolutely no chance. I have no interest in romance. I'm interested in raising children, but not in maintaining a romantic relationship. Try explaining that concept to a human, heh."

"It's a weird concept for me too. You see no problem in only being raised by one parent?"

"It has issues, but I wouldn't downright call it a 'problem'. You were raised like Rob, right? With your two biological parents taking care of you for more than a year. You don't know the reality of the overwhelming majority of pets, lacking parental figures of your own species, the ones who were actually responsible for your birth. It seems bad, but the empty void of a missing parent is easily filled. Like, I don't feel crushed by their absence, and if you wanna take a more scientific approach, there's plenty of research on that topic. There's little correlation between pets who still keep a relationship with their parents and overall happiness, compared to pets who don't."

"Well, then what's the point of being so attached to your pups then?"

"They're still friends, very special friends. I don't keep seeing them because I think they'll be crushed if I'm not a part of their life, I keep seeing them because I enjoy my bond with them, it's just a bonus. Well... That's thinking more of my son, Luke. I plan on seeing Luna and Lisa more to teach them some manners, there's some pleasure in that too, molding someone's attitude into a better one."

"Uh-huh..." Hobart looked around uncertainly. "Uh... Do you still have a lot to do here before we go?"

"A little bit." Brian held up a paw. "Could you go downstairs and enjoy the club for a little while waiting for me? Fifteen minutes or so?"

"Oh, sure." Hobart started walking away, his brother becoming undecided on whether to stay or leave with him.

"Do you like it, by the way? The club facilities."

"Love them. And I'm not saying this because Rob told me you'd have a panic attack if I told you the club sucks."

"Bart!" Rob interjected. "Come on! You were so close to helping Brian with his worries about the club being inadequate!"

"I meant what I said, though! The club's fine, sorry for being a little joker. I'll be going, then, see you in a few, Brian." He started walking away.

"Rob, stay." Brian commanded as Rob edged following his brother. "I have some stuff to discuss, just like old times." He smiled.

"Ugh, I don't know if I should feel nostalgic or scared." The other Retriever approached Brian's desk, leaning on it, mirroring Hobart's previous stance while talking to Brian. "Go on then. I know you don't worry about the club as much as before, sorry for telling that to Hobart, I didn't expect him to spill it to you immediately, but I guess you two are already closer than I imagined."

"He's a fun dude, yeah. Far from the forest hermit you tried to paint him as. I don't really mind people thinking I'm extremely concerned about the club. I wish I could go back to just being that now, now I have to care about a lot more things, things that affect a lot more people than just a leisure site, there's just so much on the line. But I'm managing, don't worry about it. I think our planned travels will distract me somewhat from that, even."

"Let's hope, let's see if I can show you how to enjoy a trip properly, wipe this stupid 'traveling is boring and pointless' opinion out of your mind."

"You already did that with that day in Chicago. I never knew you were that knowledgeable."

"Hah! I'm not. Just because I know a lot about some very small, insignificant things, doesn't mean I know that deeply about everything else. You know, you just look around you, you see a building you remember reading about, and tell your friend next to you about it. That's all, no hours of research needed."

"And it's fun, I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say about Japan too."

"Yeah... I don't know if I'll manage that, we're going to Hokkaido, that's like, the Alaska of Japan."

"Uh, you didn't really like Alaska, did you?"

"Well, it's good scenery, but if I wanted mountains I'd just go to Colorado... Ugh, nevermind. I should avoid thinking like that, 'What's the point of going to the Alps or Alaska when there's Colorado?', 'What's the point of going to a city when you live in New York City?', everything's still very different! It's just that with mountains, you really can't do anything with them other than look at them or try to climb them and almost die, no thanks."

"Have you ever tried mountain climbing?"

"I've done plenty of hiking, some skiing, not a big fan of either. But no, I've never climbed a mountain, me and Shane have no interest."

"Alright, that's good to know. Let's try to keep my zone of comfort in mind once we're in Japan, alright?"

"I will. There's Xander in mind too, that guy's super picky. I already accepted the fact we'll probably be in a rental car eighty percent of the time, then we'll stop at some random village, Xander will read the name for us, and off we go again."

"Can't we just go to Tokyo instead?"

"No! I've been there three times! Even Xander's been there, and he never left! We three won't fall for that trap!"

Brian flinched. "Alright, alright. Funny how the city enthusiast of us three is the one least receptive of spending time in a big city instead of an empty island, heh."

"Because I've had enough of it! Of course the very first thing I wanted to check out in that country was Tokyo, now it's time for the rest." Rob began wagging his tail wildly, speaking faster. "I've already been to Kyoto, Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Toyama Matsumoto Sendai Nasushiobara Tottori Fujinomiya Hakone Aizuwakamatsu Kashiwa-"

"Rob!" Brian yelled, stopping the other dog. "Why are you like this? Anyways, come here, come face the monitor, I'll buy the tickets under your supervision."

"Alright, Son." Rob walked to the other side of the desk, leaning on Brian's chair. "What did you find?"

Brian pointed at the screen. "This one."

Rob grimaced. "Really, Brian? It's a three hour layover at Narita, gross."

"What's wrong with it? It's not like we have many choices, you know?"

"Except we do." Rob started using the mouse and keyboard, navigating the page while leaning closer to the monitor. "Here we go." He moved away from the computer. "November 12, JFK to Haneda, Haneda to New Chitose. One hour and twenty-five layover. Enough time for you two to soak in some Tokyo, even. Can't do that at Narita, that place is nowhere near Tokyo."

"You're planning on getting out of the airport?"

"No. Just looking at the shops inside the airport or something, I dunno. They have planespotting areas too, I think. I've never actually used Haneda to connect, hehe, we just drive or take the trains to go elsewhere."

"Let me see what I can do with this then." Brian assumed command of the computer again. "Uuh... What type of seat do you want?"

"Uh, right window seat for Tokyo, left window seat for Sapporo. Reverse that for the flights on the way back... Wait, no! Right window seat for the trip from Tokyo to New York, sometimes the plane flies over Uptown Manhattan, coming from the west."

"Wanna take a look at your old home, huh? Fine... Uuh... So it'd be right-left-right-right?"

"Oh, uh... I guess? Go with whatever." Rob shook his head dismissively, giving up. "Guessing which approach the plane's gonna use is a gamble anyways, we're gonna go over all of this just for the plane to use some super boring approach over the ocean, just wait and see."

"Too late for me to not care about it... Alright. You're gonna sit on the window seat, Xander's gonna sit on the window seat one row behind you, I'll take the middle seat across from yours."

"Oh, you're not gonna be in the same row as Xander? Gonna spend the flight with me? You're playing favorites, aren't you?" He smirked.

"I'm choosing you randomly, really. We could all go in the same row, but I don't know if Xander hates not getting a window view like you do. At least everything has direct aisle access, since it's all first class."

"Fine, fine, it's alright, I'm kidding. I wasn't even thinking of flying first class, but now I remember you're the one in charge here. We two won't be able to talk much, though, first class seats usually have those walls separating seats, they're like, mini suites, do you know what I mean?"

"Of course, Rob. You think I've never flown first class before?"

"Oh, here comes the casual flexing. How are your donations going, by the way? Have you been giving more of your millions away?"

"Uh, yeah. But in a better way. I noticed how selfishly I've been acting, spending unnecessarily high amounts of money on people just close to me, instead of people who actually desperately need some money, especially during these times. I've been helping local communities recently, separating a part of my balance to help businesses greatly affected by the recent gubernatorial restrictions on operations."

"Ah, really? Proud of you, Brian! That's good to see!"

"Heh. Yeah, it beats buying a lavish apartment as a disguised way of punishing my daughters pettily, at least."

"Ugh, forget about that already. It's all in the past. They're now back here and assume it was all their owner's fault, right?"

"Right, I hope. But yeah, helping the community! For somebody who spent his life trying to offer something positive to the people at no cost, it sure took me a long time to consider being charitable during the ongoing crisis."

"Eh, better late than never, Brian. Aren't you a little guilty over how much your enterprise benefits from it all?"

"Yeah, a little. We're just cautiously watching how everything unfolds, I think the period of extreme growth has mostly passed. Some higher-ups are seriously trying to get the company to lobby for harsher restrictions, but I've been shooting that down recently. Enough, we shouldn't crush the city's economy even more just for short-term benefits, ***ing murderers. Of course that's not the same strategy that the mainstream media's pursuing, those psychopaths will keep feeding the public with scary stuff that any other respiratory illness can also cause until humans aren't allowed to do anything other than stay home to watch their garbage, maybe pets too."

"Ugh, Brian! Enough! Why do you keep downplaying COVID like that?! This isn't 'any respiratory illness'! Two hundred thousand people have died!"

"Three million Americans die every year, on average at a younger age than the median COVID-19 victim. I'm not saying this isn't a crisis, it's a rapidly-spreading disease that requires special measures, just not apocalyptic violations of not only human, but *animal* rights that have been proven to be mostly ineffective. It's great that we ended up talking about this, becau-"

"No, it's not! I've had enough of this! Finish whatever you're doing and go out with my brother already!"

"Chill, Rob! We all wish we could avoid this topic, but we can't! The future of the city is in danger! You should be more invested than me, if anything! Don't you love all your amenities?! They can't survive without humans, even with the rise in independent pets! I know you hate humans, but if they all destroy themselves while trying to bring 'COVID numbers' down, because they've been tricked into equating that metric with the 'privilege' of freedom, you have a lot to lose!"

"Why are you even like this now? Weren't you arguing with me earlier in the year because I was complaining about travel restrictions while 'people were dying'? What's with the one-eighty?"

Brian shrugged. "That was ages ago, Rob. I still support the early lockdowns, looking at the data available at the time, we were very close to a serious overload. I supported it as a last-ditch, very brief measure, back when their effectiveness was uncertain and we needed time to prepare. But now it's been turned into the very first thing on the table when governors want to rally support coming from hysterical media-brainwashed zombies. How about using all those months between the 'waves' to actually prepare our terrible healthcare system? Nope, just blame it on the people. Refuse service to people needing cancer screenings and psychological treatment and blame those deaths on COVID-19 too, not on your insane policies, that seems to be the narrative too. What's with *your* one-eighty, by the way? I remember you downright mocking some of the responses, why are you playing their defense now?"

"Because not taking things seriously is what caused this mess to drag on for so long! It's what caused Shane to have to be stuck here in this city, doing nothing, for so long! Maybe if humans weren't so reluctant to abandon their usual lives for at least two weeks, those two weeks wouldn't have to turn into ten months!"

"A lot of humans don't even have the *option* of 'abandoning their usual lives', Rob! Stop being so selfish! Easy for you to say that when you're a dog who still kept going out all the time at that time, enjoying how uncrowded everything was and desperately hoping all the research on dog-to-human transmission turned out negative. You can't control a widespread virus without causing much worse effects than the virus itself would cause, focus should be on mitigation. We're honestly in a good place right now. Mortality is at the same levels as previous years, so are hospitalizations. These two metrics should be the main focuses, and they've both been met, despite continuing relaxing on restrictions. In fact, there's very little correlation between lockdown strictness and downward trends in cases. By now we have seven months worth of data on the results of different strategies tried by many different countries and states, it's all there for you to analyze. Do that yourself, don't depend on the media or the government to do that for you, they have far from your best interests in mind."

"Right, right, whatever. Are you going anywhere with this?"

"Yes." Brian nodded firmly. "Thing is, the writing is on the wall, pay attention to the news, if you're feeling masochistic enough, and it's nonstop news about new cases 'surging', 'exploding', 'skyrocketing', 'spiking'. They can't even scare people with increasing deaths anymore, because those have stabilized, with better treatment now available. What does the media say? Are the 'spikes' created by constantly increasing, somewhat unreliable testing? Are they caused by the colder weather? Nope, it's caused by them selfish idiots trying to survive with what's left of their 'non-essential' businesses after the first round, and if we don't do anything, society's gonna collapse! Just like in all those places that had no 'lockdowns'! Oh, wait, no, that never happened. But still, they're gonna use that fear to introduce new human bans on businesses, and this is where the club comes in. If this is anything like the last time, they'll heavily rely on K-9 patrols to enforce restrictions on operations, nobody's gonna survive another round of that, so I have no choice but to take matters into my own hands. We all know a good number of club members are K-9 officers, so I'm just gonna introduce a simple stipulation: If you're caught being part of a 'COVID Patrol', you're banned for life from the club immediately. I won't hear any excuses about 'just following orders', nothing justifies barely-disguised tyranny. Same goes for members caught using 'snitch lines', although enforcing that might be nigh impossible. I hope these measures make things at least a little bit harder to enforce for those little dictators. They might be a bit too harsh, but at this point there's no way to do things other than fighting fire with fire. I'm gonna announce this very publicly in the coming days, what are your thoughts on it?"

"What- Brian! What?! How would that even work?!"

"I have sympathizing contacts in the force, I can check the assignments of every single K-9 member. But aside from that, people could also just send me credible pictures of K-9 patrols so I could identify members, I'm good with that too."

"No, you're not! You keep thinking Bino is Byron!"

"They have the same freaking tag! That only happens with them!"

"Ugh! This isn't a fight the club should be getting itself into! Isn't it illegal to interfere with police work like that?!"

"Not at all. I mean, of course my police contacts are breaking the law, but this is private property, I could be banning members for just breathing if I wanted to, banning them for enforcing authoritarianism is within my rights too."

"This isn't worth it, Brian. Stop acting like you're starting La Résistance. Most club members aren't gonna agree with you, you're gonna alienate people away from it. Aren't you worried about attendance? There's no way this plan will help the club with that, they'll have other clubs to go to. Think before acting, keep compensating businesses with your money, that'll help them way more than trying to use the club to undermine the police."

"You think I'm not aware of the overall sentiment here in the club? Most will support me with that. This is the best course of action I can take at the moment. It won't completely stop future business closures, or even reduce them significantly, but it'll help decrease public support for such regressive policies."

"I think that just like you claim people are exaggerating the dangers of the disease, you're greatly exaggerating the dangers of the lockdowns."

"I might be. But we all should be extremely wary of such usage of 'emergency powers'. If the majority of people believe the 'temporary' trampling of fundamental rights can be justified by any crisis, any crisis that you can easily manipulate the layman into believing is an apocalypse, then the future of expanding pet rights is in jeopardy. If humans are willing to do this to themselves, imagine if the killing of dogs becomes a possible emergency measure in some future crisis, for example. 'Would you rather kill your dog or have you and your whole family die?', I can already imagine all the hysterical, baseless, emotionally-driven arguments during such an occasion."

"Argh! I'd *really* prefer to not even think about such things! I abstain, alright? Go do whatever you want with your club, I just don't wanna take any responsibility for it. It's your funeral. At least if you start banning people left and right you won't get to pick on me for that Virginia member incident anymore."

"You banned that member because he was 'threatening the city's future', what's possibly more threatening to the city than continuing support for harsher restrictions?"

"Nothing! It's terrible and we're all gonna die!" Rob mocked by exaggerating. "Whatever. Did you voice this idea to Xander already?"

"Yeah. He backs me up one hundred percent. We don't really do 'council decisions' anymore, but if we did, this would be two in favor and one abstention. Two-thirds supermajority."

"Ugh, you're both going crazy. I'm gonna go downstairs now, don't make Hobart wait more, alright?"

"Alright. Just wanted to discuss the new K-9 policy and the Japan flights with you, I'll be going soon." Brian watched Rob walking away from the desk. "See you later! Open your mind, alright? You're tolerating policies that are needlessly killing thousands." He tried to persuade just before Rob left.

"So are you! Let's just agree to disagree, alright? This will all be irrelevant in one year anyways, bye!" Rob left hurriedly before Brian could object, walking up to his brother once downstairs, who was leaning on one of the arcades' sides, watching the movement.

"Hey, Bro." Hobart looked at Rob and greeted casually, still leaning on the machine and trying a relaxed, neutral posture. "Brian's still not done?"

"Nope." Rob shook his head. "We discussed our upcoming trip, then he started arguing about the virus, he's going nuts over it recently."

"Hah! Topical. There's a lot to say about it, you know? Whole bunch of nothingburger. As tragic as all the panic over it is, it's fun watching all the humans cannibalizing themselves over it, especially around here. Bunch of sheltered urbanites, probably never had a sickness in their whole lives, stuck in their tiny sterile pods, afraid of the world."

"What?! Even you agree with that ***?! And do you think city people never face hardship or do you think city people all live terrible, dangerous lives? You're being inconsistent with your city-hating."

"I'm talking about the rich people, if they still even live here anymore. The poor are forced to go outside anyways, but living here, getting sick is probably the least of their worries."

"Weren't you super scared before, not even wanting to shake my paw?"

"Yeah. I was 'misinformed', as you called me back then. Do you know what's the best sign that someone's smart? Their ability of admitting they're wrong about something and changing their opinion, you should learn that. When I got here and noticed that bodies weren't piling up everywhere, that everytime I talked about the virus, people complained about bad things that came due to the restrictions, rather than the fact that half of their family died or something, I got a good picture of what's really happening."

"But the restrictions are there to not make everything get worse! You're all complaining about people taking things too seriously just because the preventions are making sure things don't get as bad as they can get! Why am *I*, of all dogs, the one being responsible here?!"

"You're not being responsible, you're being a pawn. Florida has no restrictions and they're not digging mass graves there. In fact, this city right here is the one that had to do that, back when restrictions were at their worst, so much for those, right? It's almost like they don't do jack."

"Ugh, Florida is Florida. They're probably more concerned over the fact that their cities will be underwater soon over there."

"Why do you always give that retort? As if New York's safe from that. Once this city sinks, you're free to join me in living somewhere in the country, alright?"

"New York is mostly fluvial, not coastal, at least Manhattan will be safe. But if that still happens I'll be off to Toronto, feel free to join me there."

"Nope. They're even crazier over there. Do you know what's the best way to get past all this 'COVID' crap? It's the Asian approach. The media will say they do things efficiently there and that they're such good boy citizens that their governments gave their humans their basic rights back already as a reward, but all they do is just stop giving a *** about testing. Without that, you don't even notice you're 'in the middle of a pandemic'. It's easy to sweep it under the rug, because droves of old people dying constantly is a normal, and always will be."

"Jeez, Hobart! They're still people! Why are you so insensitive?!"

"What do you even mean?! Old people die! Is that a controversial fact now?! Do you think Mom and Dad's humans will be around in ten years?! Howl, do you think Mom and Dad themselves will be around in twenty years?! You grow old! You get weak! And you die from things that younger people wouldn't even notice they catch! It's ***ing life!"

"Don't drag our parents into this!" Rob sniffled. "There's young people dying too! I'll just go ahead and listen to experts who know what the *** they're talking about! Not two random dogs with absolutely no expertise!"

"Do you mean the 'experts' who want their twenty minutes of fame showing up on TV or the ones who can't voice their concerns without facing censorship? And-" Hobart took a better look at his brother's face, seeing him covering his eyes while sobbing. "Are you seriously crying?! Oh, for crying out loud, Rob! Literally! Seriously grow up! Even if growing up brings you closer to death, you should really consider that!"

"Stop bringing up mortality! Argh! Enough! Wait for Brian alone, I'm going somewhere else, I'm sure you two will get along incredibly well today." Rob walked away quickly, not bothering to listen to a response, trying to adjust his mood to disguise his past crying. He left the building and leaned on the wall facing the club's parking lot, watching some dogs play outside while contemplating on what to do next.

He was suddenly startled by an unexpected hug, turning to see Peanut embracing him tightly. "Agh! Peanut!" He complained, still inside the hug. "What's with the sudden invasion of personal space?!"

"Just trying to cheer you up, I know how much you like hugs." Peanut answered, finishing the hug. "You look so sad! What happened?"

Rob covered his face shyly. "Ugh, am I really doing such a bad job at trying to look neutral? Sorry, I'm fine now... Thanks."

"It's almost impossible to hide such an aura of sadness, Rob. Are you missing having Grape as a friend? Is that what's happening?"

"No! Keep her away from me! The last thing I want to finish this day off is a concussion!"

"Sorry! Sorry. What happened then? If you're fine with telling."

Rob sighed, massaging his forehead. "I was arguing with my brother, nothing serious, but he just had to bring up our parents dying in the future and... I... I'm just really not good with that, Peanut." He leaned on the wall again, looking down. "Thinking of people really close to me just... Stopping to exist. Lying there, motionless in a casket, or reduced to ***ing ash. I know it's inevitable, but... Argh! It just causes this surge of emotions, it's painful! Right now I don't even feel anything while talking about it, but when it hits me unexpectedly... I just get too emotional sometimes, it's silly."

Peanut put an arm around Rob, the Retriever repeating the gesture. "Everything will be OK, Rob." He consoled. "Heaven is an awesome place, you know? It's pretty much New York, but it has awesome ziggurats instead of skyscrapers! I've been told it's like Dubai, have you been there? Dubai, that is."

"Ugh, Peanut. Don't try to cheer me up with religious escapism, although I appreciate you describing Heaven as a massive city instead of some boring garden. And of course I've been to Dubai, it ***ing sucks."

"Agh! What's with you and Xander these days?!"

"What do you mean?"

"Lack of constructive criticism! Elaborate on that, tell me *why* Dubai '***ing sucks'."

"Hahaha! Seeing you of all dogs saying that is kinda uncanny." Rob chuckled heartily, already leaving his somber mood. "Dubai's just a tacky collection of grand buildings in the middle of nowhere. I could delve into the politics of its region too, especially when it comes to dog rights, but I think I've had enough of politics for today."

"Alright. It's a shame that I can't talk to you a lot about my previous travels with my girlfriend. Grape wants our lives here in New York to be as 'normal' as possible, but, you know, there's nothing 'unnatural' about magic(k) and interdimensional travel, it's just a part of reality just like anything else."

"Uh-huh." Rob rolled his eyes. "You and your ex have really big imaginations, don't you? A shame it didn't pan out, but I guess it's the price you gotta pay to move here. Was it worth it?"

"We didn't breakup because of the move. It helped, but we two just realized that our friendship wasn't intimate enough to warrant being called anything more than that. Our romance started up as really forced already, because of the celes- Uhmm... Our romance was arranged at first, it's not as bad as it sounds, we ended up being very compatible, but then as-"

"Fine, fine, Peanut. I have negative interest in talking about romantic relationships, good luck with whatever works for you."

"OK. Uh... Onwards with what you like talking about, how's the trip to Japan going? I've heard you're ditching Europe and doing that with the founders next month now. Instead of doing it with only Xander next year."

Rob subconsciously furrowed his brows in annoyance. "Jeez, Peanut. How do you know that much about my life already? I thought that discussion was restricted to me, Xander and Brian."

"Xander told me all about it yesterday, with no reservations. Was he wrong in doing that? Was it supposed to be a secret? I won't tell more of my friends about it if it was, sorry."

"No, no. It's just... Like... I guess Grape knows about it by now, and then it's gonna spread to all her cats, even if Xander hasn't done that already. I'd rather keep that stuff only to the people closest to me, but, oh well. Go ahead and keep spreading the news at this point, it doesn't matter."

"Start spreading the news! I'm leaving today!" Peanut began to sing cheerfully.

"Peanut! Don't turn our lives into a musical, please."

"Just trying to make you brighten up! I'm sure you'd love a song that does nothing other than glorify your proud hometown, right?"

"Ugh, at this point saying good things about New York will just make me imagine millions of hicks disagreeing with you and saying that the city's terrible and deserves everyone abandoning it."

"Well, if you want people to stop abandoning New York, you should reconsider your support for the restri-"

"Peanut!" Rob interrupted again, much louder. "Seriously?! Enough of this ***! Brian's brainwashing everyone here just like he claims the 'media' is doing!"

"What's stopping you from 'brainwashing' them into believing the right opinion? If it's the truth, it should be easier."

"What's stopping me, is the fact that I don't spend entire days, doing research like he does! How can I debate him if he keeps throwing around facts I'm not even aware of?!"

"Well. If you admit he's more knowledgeable than you, what makes you think your stance is the correct one?"

"The fact that he's some millionaire who's probably only concerned about money! His conclusions, after 'analyzing all the data' or whatever, are what he wants to believe in, not actual reality."

"If he's only concerned about money, why does he oppose policies that would irrevocably accelerate the growth of his enterprise? He doesn't run a 'small non-essential business', he runs something they need to use if they want to survive the restrictions he opposes, in fact."

Rob massaged his forehead in thought. "Uh, Brian's strategy is a mystery. Maybe he wants to look like he sympathizes with them?"

"Then why is he planning on downright sabotaging things? With his plan for banning K-9s who fine businesses for servicing humans if that ever becomes law? You'd think just voicing his disapproval without interfering on things would be enough."

"Ah! How do you- How do you even know that already?! Enough! Why am I having this convo with you of all dogs?!" He suddenly burst. "What's with the debating?! I've never seen you act so formal!"

"Debating is fun, Rob!" Peanut brightened up. "As long as people don't get too worked up over it, it's a great way to broaden your mind! I don't even really completely agree with Brian, but I think you dismiss his worries too easily."

"Ugh, maybe I do. Let's go back to discussing literally anything else, uh... How was your trip to Egypt, Peanut?"

"Uh, what? How do you know that?"

"You know, I should be the one asking you that, many times over. I know that because Grape told me that, back in Central Park, remember?"

"Oh, umm..." Peanut scratched the back of his head, smiling shyly. "You know, it wasn't just a journey through space, it was also a journey through time."

"Yeah, yeah, spacetime, relativity, no need to show off your Wikipedia trivia knowledge like Brian and Xander do."

"I prefer printed encyclopedias myself. Aren't you the one who knows all country names, their capitals, and an obscene amount of city names?"

"Well, yeah! But that's from going out, not a Google Earth addiction or whatever, mostly. We're all complete nerds here, let's not pretend we're not. Back to your trip: You've just arrived in Cairo, I assume after a connecting flight in Europe, I don't think they have direct flights from Chicago to Cairo. What did you do after that? Tell me about your time in Egypt and I'll tell you about mine!" Rob began wagging.

"Uh, the flight! Right! I had a flight! Uuh... We visited a city in the Merimde, that's all. It was fun."

"Yeah, I looked that up. That's a culture, not a region, a culture that developed northwest of Cairo. Where exactly did you go? Ashmoun? Sadat City? El Qanater El Khayreya?"

"Uh, yeah! The second one!" Peanut finally decided to lie. "The architecture was great, it was really fun to visit!"

"You went to Egypt and didn't check out Cairo? Or even the Pyramids, maybe Alexandria? You know, that's respectable. I guess you're more of a 'cultural immersion' type of tourist? Not one of the ones who just have a bucket list of the most well-known attractions and just spend their time running between them so they can take their selfies and barely remember the experience."

"Of course. It was definitely a cultural experience. Lovely people."

"You know Arabic?"

"I... You can feel the positive energy coming from the people without needing to understand the language, right?"

"Uh, sure. I agree. While I like thoroughly exploring a country and only focusing on the major attractions I'm personally interested in, I don't really care much about the people, because, you know, they're usually mostly humans and I kinda-"

"Oh, Rob!" Peanut interrupted. "No need to go over your Egypt trip, sorry. It's just that I need to ask you about something before I forget about it, uuh..." He suddenly became reluctant.

"Go ahead. Need some club leader help? I'm open to that, I love being reminded that I used to be important to the club."

"Uh... I just saw Brian leaving with another Retriever, that reminded me that I need-"

"Oh, they left?" Rob got alerted, looking for the mentioned dogs and failing to find them. "Didn't notice that. The 'other Retriever' is Hobart, by the way. He's my litter-mate who moved here from upstate some months ago."

"Really? I haven't heard about him, hope he's having a good time settling in."

"Heh. About time I find something that you don't already know about my personal life, was beginning to worry already. At this point I was expecting you to somehow even know my birthday."

"Uh, May 16?"

Rob widened his eyes, speechless. "Uh... I'm having a serious talk with Xander next time I see him."

"Anyways, I need you to check some, uhm... Stuff, about a particular member." Peanut fidgeted nervously. "I know it's probably confidential, but... I just have to make sure, because the, uh, circumstances behind her, their, uh, existence, might have some relati-"

"Sure, Peanut." Rob answered by interrupting. "You wanna check some member's file on the club's PC? Is that what you're asking me for?"

Peanut smiled, relieved. "Yeah! Thank you, Rob! I know Brian doesn't like leaking classified data, but it's safe with me!"

"I'm sure it is." Rob deadpanned, walking to the entrance with Peanut. "It's just full names, their member ID numbers, their, uh, addresses, and birthdays... Look, it doesn't matter, alright? I trust you, and everyone can know these things in this post-privacy world anyways, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Most people would trade their privacy and freedom for the illusion of safety, Brian's been telling me recently."

"Agh! Enough of that! Is Brian trying to use the club as some kind of revolutionary obedience school?! What's happening?!"

"Oh! Don't worry, Rob. We're just talking to each other a lot the days he's here."

"Right, tone it down a little." The two started climbing the stairs to the administrative area. "Suck-up." He muttered under his breath, soon seeing a Dalmatian sitting at Brian's usual spot, the computer turned off. "Hope!" Rob called, stopping next to the entrance. "You can go home for the day already! I'm about to handle things in Brian's place."

She furrowed her brows, standing up while looking at Rob and Peanut. "Really? Without Brian's request? This would be unprecedented."

Rob twitched, moving his paws erratically. "Stop saying that, freaking, word! Go! Dismissed!"

Hope walked away reluctantly, passing by the two. "Alright." She shrugged. "Not like I'm gonna suspect a co-founder of being up to something shady, but this is a weird development. Later."

"Later." Rob listened to her footsteps getting farther. "Alright, let's go." He approached the computer, booting it and sitting down while Peanut watched from behind.

"That was a little rude, wasn't it?" Peanut objected while waiting.

"Ugh, I had to be blunt about it. Hope's super diligent, plays everything by the book even more than Brian, gotta tell her that it's my turn and it's final, no 'but's. If she found out I'm showing personal member data to a regular member she'd raise hell, and Brian would back her."

"What about Jon?"

"Uh, he probably values his salary." Rob looked at the computer's password screen, quickly entering a string of characters and failing to log in. "Ugh." He facepalmed in annoyance. "He just *had* to change the password some months ago, right. 'Not secure enough', dog forbid somebody get a hold of super classified information like, I dunno, budget for catering?" He grabbed his smartphone, tapping.

"Oh, is it impossible then?" Peanut frowned in worry.

"No, I have his password copied in the 'memo' thing here. Some unholy sequence of symbols, I don't even know if he remembers it without looking it up... Alright." Rob held his phone and tapped on the keyboard with his other paw. "Q, R, V, exclamation point, three, J, M, V, number sign, five, seven, A, J twice, carat, N, forward slash... What the *** is this?"

Peanut took a look at the phone screen. "Uh, that's a section symbol. Hold alt and press twenty-one on the numpad."

Rob complied, succeeding. "You're really giving Xander a run for his money when it comes to knowing about random stuff unexpectedly, jeez."

"The Internet, books, all of the world's knowledge is within your reach, you shouldn't be surprised."

"And in what encyclopedia did you read on how to type a section symbol?"

"Oh, uh... I needed to type that for a cheat code in an old video game, hehe." He giggled.

"Ah, such academic knowledge. C, R, sixty-two, F, plus. Cross your fingers..." Rob clicked. "Alright, we're in."

"You shouldn't say the password out loud like that, you know?"

"It's all for some info on some random small nonprofit dog club, who would bother? For someone who complains about 'IT guys' so much, Brian surely takes their stuff seriously." Rob browsed the computer's files aimlessly. "Uh, what do you want then, Peanut?"

"Oh! Show me the membership info of a very new member, uh, 'Cresselia'. A Samoyed, I think."

"She has a Pokémon's name? Poor thing."

"But it still beats 'Darth Vader', doesn't it?"

"Depends on the breed... Here you go." Rob moved the chair a little to the side to stop blocking most of the monitor from Peanut.

"Uh..." He looked at the member's personal info. "Aw, this all looks very normal. Weird."

"What are you even looking for?"

"Hmm... Signs that she might, uh, not have always been a, dog."

"What, you think she transitioned species? I don't think we have that technology."

"We do! There's an advanced curse that can grant any entity the 'inability to be touched by human hands'! In the off case that still happens, the spell will cause the offending human to randomly shapesh-" Peanut suddenly covered his mouth. "Oh no! Sorry Grape! Agh! I can't believe I broke my promise!" He whimpered, apologizing to his not present housemate.

"Is Grape coercing you into not talking about certain things? Too late, Peanut, finish whatever nonsense you were saying. If Grape doesn't want me to know something, then it's probably in my best interest to learn about it."

"No, Rob! Don't be so distrustful! It has nothing to do with she wanting your harm or something, she just doesn't want celestial stuff interfering with her life anymore, and that extends to not letting friends know about what we used to be up to before we moved cities. She wants her life to be 'as normal as possible', I just told you about that outside."

"Then how do your past fantasies relate to what we're doing right now? Do you think something transformed someone into this dog? Was it 'the coin'? Xander tells you a lot about my life without my consent, but he does the same to you, I'm well aware of you going on about the human-transforming coin of your old town."

"Ugh, I..." Peanut facepalmed. "I talked to Xander about that for a bit before Grape ordered me to never mention things, yeah. I'm gonna make an exception because you need to know a lot to properly help me here, she wouldn't mind, I'm sure, it's a way to potentially prevent things from there leaking to here, she'd do anything to prevent that."

"Right, uh... Let me face this with a very open mind, sorry about the dismissive skepticism. What do you think happened to this dog?"

Peanut cleared his throat, preparing to explain. "You know, there's a coin, it's part of a treasure hoard. Remember the Akkadian temple I mentioned that existed in River Ridge? That's where it comes from. It transforms any human it touches into an animal."

"*Another* animal?"

"Yeah, uh, the whole hoard does that, but it's been buried, only this one coin survived. Tarot had some more technical information about the curse, onset of the transformation is estimated to be between five and fifteen seconds after contact, it's instantaneous, caused by a concentrated burst of reality-altering and transmutation magic(k)."

"Uh-huh." Rob nodded, trying to not make it seem sarcastic. "Have you ever seen that at work?"

"No. But I've met several ex-humans who have had it happen to them, some of them actually noticing the coin making contact. It's in possession of somebody who's forcefully transforming people. Originally, the curse was intended to only discourage looting, or at least not have something meant for animals to be used to benefit humans instead."

"Right. That's crazy, you can't just change your species suddenly, like, what happens to the brain? To all the genetic code? What if it's a species that has more or less weight, where does the excess matter come from or go to? I'd love to witness that happening for myself, it'd change my life, make me reconsider how I rationalize the world. It's a fun thought exercise. If you ever find that coin, give it to me, OK? I'm gonna rub that *** against Shane's stupid human face with all my might! Make him join dogkind by force!"

Peanut furrowed his brows in surprise, giggling after. "We can't just let untrained people like you handle magic(k)al objects, that's precisely what got us into this mess to begin with." He reprimanded, holding up a finger. "Also, don't assume doing that would transform Shane into a dog, the transformation is random, he most likely would transform into something else."

"Oh! Uh, can they turn into like, plants? Or bacteria?"

"No. It's restricted to animals."

"Hmm... So they can turn into a dog, but also, let's say, an undiscovered species?"

"Uh, yeah! I guess. But most cases have been well-known, widespread animals. There have been cases of species that are well-known, but very rare, like a red panda, never got to see that one ex-human, that one's from beyond my time in the Gardens."

"I see. And all that stuff's confined to River Ridge? Where they had the squirrel publicity stunt?"

"It wasn't a publicity stunt, he was one of the first victims."

"Right, right. That's just what's in my memory, I know you believe it was something else, sorry." Rob shook his head. "Trying to keep an open mind, as I've said. Once we're done I'm gonna consider if it's likely that those humans were actually transformed and not just kidnapped. Uuh... Can they transform into like, fish? Maybe a worm? A dust mite? Those are animals too."

Peanut widened his eyes in horror after thinking for a moment. "Uuh... I was about to say 'no' without even thinking, but if that happened to any affected human, it's not like we'd be able to know... Oh no." He put his paws on his head.

"That's... Kinda horrifying, Peanut, hahaha! And to think I'd do that to Shane without even thinking, thinking he'd become my future best dog friend, but then he just shifts into an earthworm instead, right in front of my eyes. That'd be some serious body horror stuff."

"Yeah. Uh... Tarot really needs to hurry up, but I'm checking this with you right now to potentially help her."

"Oh, right. We're really getting distracted here, aren't we? You think this member is a transformed human, is that the gist of it?"

"Yeah. She talked to Xander some days ago, she assumed dogs get wet from sweating like humans do, then said she didn't remember stuff from when she was three years old."

"I mean, I don't really remember a lot of stuff from that time of my life either."

"She said she didn't remember her *name* from then."

"Oh... Yeah, that's a weird thing to lie about, and the sweating too... So you think she touched the coin here? I'm looking at her details, they're all very average, I guess you gotta talk to her instead of checking her personal data to dig deeper into this."

Peanut sighed. "Yeah... Do you know anything about her family?"

"OK, we're really throwing privacy out of the window now, aren't we? That gossiping dog I met in Harlem would be proud." Rob focused more on the monitor, trying to remember. "Oh! Rupert! I remember a member with her surname! Linus Rupert! I've talked to him! Black-furred, large build, mixed breed. Haven't talked to him in ages, he lives with three humans. They're a couple and their kid, a boy. I guess Cresselia is a new adoption, did she say she's new in the family?"

"No, she said she's been with them for most of her life."

"It says here she's seventeen!"

"Are you finally understanding why I'm so suspicious?"

"Uh, look, lying doesn't mean you're a human. I might be a bit of a misanthropist, but pretending only humans lie is very unfounded."

"She also said she had a human-brother."

"Uh, yeah. Linus has one."

"Have you seen Linus and the rest of his family all together recently?"

"I've never seen all of them together period, I only know Linus. What's your reasoning there?"

"She acts like she's been with her family for her whole life, clearly not the case. If one of their human family members is missing, maybe they got transformed and are pretending to be one of their pet dogs."

"Uh-huh. Or maybe they died and they felt like replacing that hole with a pet? A pet who lies about being an old adoptee?"

"That's a bit far-fetched, Rob."

"You're the one here saying that humans are turning into other things!"

"You can easily get proof of that happening, I don't know why you keep acting like it's impossible."

"Uh, where is the proof? I've already told you, if I ever see that stuff happening, or being properly documented, I'll change my mind."

"Uuh... Magic(k) users generally really want to avoid attention, they're not gonna show their powers to the greater public."

"Humph, classic excuse." Rob scoffed.
Wortge
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:06 am

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

"But there's still one more thing, how exactly would this family be affected by the transformations, being all the way here? There are no reports coming from areas so far away from the temple's ground zero, according to Tarot. Is this household connected to the Great Lakes Region in any way, Rob? Do you know that much?"

"Linus has family in Indiana." Rob answered immediately. "Lafayette, Tippecanoe County. Anything relating to places people I know have been to gets immediately recorded to my long-term memory, haha, you're lucky you ended up asking me."

"Is that close to River Ridge?"

"Uh, it's closer to Indianapolis than to Chicago, but it's still a quick drive, relatively."

"Then that's it! That family was visiting Indiana, one of them got transformed, and now they're back here, pretending the transformed relative is their new dog! Now all I need is to find Cresselia again, question her, and then warn Tarot!"

"Peanut! Think a little more realistically, please, here's what I think happened: They were all there in Indiana, doing whatever they do in Indiana, probably watching grass grow, and then one of them got kidnapped and replaced by a dog. They were convinced it was a transformation, you know, rumors about 'River Ridge transformation cases' and stuff, and kept living life with this impostor dog without even thinking of the untimely end of whoever it was who got replaced by the dog. That dog got lucky, I've heard most of those replacement non-humans are forced to go to some ***ty foster home in River Ridge where they have to role-play as humans, working jobs and wearing full clothing so they don't get sent back to the wild or given to a human. Really demeaning stuff, copying the worst of humanity. And the weasels running the joint actually think that *** will expand pet rights. Animal rights, even, I guess they want ants to vote too."

"You're way too sure about things you know nothing about, Rob."

"What's the alternative?! 'Oh, some humans are finally realizing how terrible it is to be one and spontaneously shapeshifting themselves into better things! But now they realized they still want all the terrible things from their old human lives! Now they're pressuring people into forcing pets to live terrible human-like lives too! Grab your clothes and spend eighteen years of your life on learning useless garbage like what a 'metaphase' is!"

"It's not 'spontaneous'! It's the coin! We both know that already! And what's so bad about wearing clothing? Would you rather have the humans all be naked?"

"Uh, yeah. If it's not cold, go for it. But they should wear collars like us too, like, at least a string hanging on their necks with a simple ID."

"That's... Hard to imagine, Rob. Anyways, I think it's about time I head home, thanks for all your help." Peanut started walking away. "Sorry for the breach of privacy, but it's for the best, later!"

"At this point, worry about breaching *my* privacy, Peanut, not Cresselia's." Rob chuckled. "Later!" The Retriever started hastily preparing to turn off the computer, doing what he could to disguise his objectionable usage.

"Uh... Oops." He started thinking to himself. "Now that I pretended to Hope I was taking over for the rest of the day, what should I do? Actually spend the rest of the afternoon here overseeing things? I really don't wanna get a taste of Jon's work! Oh no! I thought this would be a really small favor, turns out it's something I ought to be paid for at this point."

"Ugh... I'm gonna just ditch this place, I shouldn't be wasting my life like this. I'm gonna grab the keys from the storage, lock the stairs to here, then call Xander and tell him to close the club in Hope's place once it's time. Brian will never know!"

"... Three more minutes and I'm getting up." Rob thought again just before noticing footsteps coming from the stairs, adjusting himself to make it seem like he was doing something on the computer.

A very familiar brown-furred mutt appeared at the entrance. "Oh, Rob!" He smiled in surprise, trotting to the desk. "Finally kicked out Brian? Glad to see you learning things from me."

Rob snorted. "No, no, Bino. Just got caught up in some mess here. Uuh... I'm sitting in for Brian today." He immediately regretted telling.

"Still good to see. Does that mean that Jon is gone? Brian's finally leaving the club only for the, you know, *dogs*?"

"Well... This is his day here, but he's now doing stuff with my brother, and Jon was never supposed to replace him, originally it was Hope, but, uh, she... She has gastroenteritis and had to sta- Agh!" Rob shook his head brusquely. "Why am I lying about this?! Sorry! Hope was sitting in for Brian but I got rid of her to help somebody without her interfering and now I'm stuck here pretending I'm sitting in for her, that's what happened."

"You- You killed her?!"

"No! What?! I just sent her away. Did killings happen in your old club? Jeez."

"You just phrased that really badly, 'getting rid'." He rolled his eyes. "The GODC was a perfectly peaceful place, and also way better than this club. Can we just ditch it and go hang out somewhere already? That's why I'm here."

"Uh... How did you even know I was here?"

"I... I had other reasons for me being here, I wanted to ask Bri- Uh, they're none of your business, let's just go."

"How about you sit in for me instead?" Rob smirked.

"No! Enough of this place!" Bino started walking to the stairs. "Let's go!" He already disappeared.

Rob left hastily, grabbing the keys and locking the door to the stairs at the ground floor, glancing at Bino to check if he was still waiting. The two dogs joined up outside, walking away. "I still have to call Xander for him to lock the club up, remind me to do that if I end up forgetting."

"You shouldn't bother. Why lock the club up for the night? As if there's anything there worth stealing."

"Ooh. Good roast... At least my club, you know, exists."

"Ugh, it's really easy to one-up me during these trying times, isn't it? But I'll recover, just you wait!"

"Say 'trying times' one more time and I'm gonna go Grape on your tail."
NHWestoN
Posts: 19348
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2017 9:09 pm
Location: North of Boston Boy

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by NHWestoN »

"Go Grape on your tail"! That does sound terrifying.
User avatar
Amazee Dayzee
Posts: 25882
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:24 pm

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Glad that you are continuing this! I really like the way it is coming along!
Wortge
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:06 am

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

'Cats of Queens' Discord Server, Monday, November 9 2020, 12:09 AM

鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:09 AM
alright
lets get real political in here
@everyone how do you pronounce GIF?

_Ksk_ Today at 12:09 AM
Please don't use at everyone
Even if it's not even enabled

鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:10 AM
it's enabled for mods, isn't it?
i dare you to do it

_Ksk_ Today at 12:10 AM
I'd rather not

OldArch Today at 12:10 AM
@everyone How do you pronounce GIF?
there you go
The "cool mod" will do it for you
a little ding has never killed anyone

鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:10 AM
based

_Ksk_ Today at 12:11 AM
Spline, you're the junior mod here
Don't make us have to split this thing into some kind of tiered system

OldArch Today at 12:11 AM
This server has like 20 people, dude
20 active people
don't take it so seriously

_Ksk_ Today at 12:12 AM
I'm just kidding
I say it with a hard G, by the way

鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:12 AM
acceptable
i just spell G-I-F

OldArch Today at 12:12 AM
what
That manages to be worse than both GIF and JIF
Seriously consider switching
for your own dignity

鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:13 AM
i don't think ive ever said that in public tbh
but if i do that and they mock me
so what?
not gonna be bullied into following the mainstream

Suffering(✿◕‿◕) Today at 12:13 AM
I've always read it as GIF
without the j

_Ksk_ Today at 12:14 AM
Disappointing lack of J folk here
We want a serious argument, come on
Let's start a war

ZentrixSM Today at 12:14 AM
おっす
三日、 みんな!
僕らの間に十四時間の違いがあるまで三日
十四時間は日本に到着するのにかかる時間でもある
ああああああ

_Ksk_ Today at 12:15 AM
Not what I meant by "J folk"

鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:15 AM
k weeb
trying to show off more and more, aren't you
if thats not just google translate lol

ZentrixSM Today at 12:15 AM
Google's probably better than me
I'm still speaking like a robot too
And you're gonna call me a weeb with that nick?
Mister utsutsutsutsutsu

鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱鬱 Today at 12:16 AM
oh who cares about discord names
its just something silly, i tried finding the most unreadable character possible
but i shouldve gone for something more obscure
im gonna reset it to my actual discord name right now
hope your happy

ZentrixSM Today at 12:17 AM
I'm very happy
a bit anxious too
haven't left the city in months
and now I'm gonna break that streak by going to the other side of the world
and if you want something actually unreadable, there are actual cuneiform characters in Unicode
a friend of mine showed me that
But I don't know if they'd show up on Discord

Cyber13 Today at 12:18 AM
ill pass
here you go

ZentrixSM Today at 12:18 AM
oh man
I've forgotten that name by now
now change your avatar back and I can pretend it's 2019
I thought the utsu stuff was just the usual internet thing of joking about having depression
you know, "Suffering" gives me those vibes too
if you're feeling useless and constantly run out of things to do, try breaking your routine a little
don't want to play armchair psychologist here, or pretend I know anything about depression
but doing that worked for me

Cyber13 Today at 12:20 AM
no, you're reading way too much into that
i dont think im seriously depressed
just trying to be lolrandom and failing

ZentrixSM Today at 12:20 AM
yeah, I figured
I'm part of the hard G club, by the way
sorry to disappoint Monarch there

_Ksk_ Today at 12:21 AM
It's a dying breed, it seems
GIF's creator must be furious
How do you say that in Japanese, by the way?

ZentrixSM Today at 12:21 AM
ギフ
Gifu
hard G
you'd just write GIF, though
in French it's JIF
as in, the pronunciation
of course it's still written with the G

Cyber13 Today at 12:22 AM
rofl
imagine speaking french

ZentrixSM Today at 12:22 AM
What about it?
I think it's beautiful and satisfying to speak
I just hate this stupid impulsive urge for mockery every monolingual English speaker feels on the Internet when another language shows up
it's like
Oh, did I just hear French?
BAGUETTE SURRENDER OMELETTE DU FROMAGE
THAT'S FUNNY, ISN'T IT? I'M THE GOD OF COMEDY
JAPANESE??
LOL, WEEB, TENTACLES, お前はもう死んでいる!!
NOW LAUGH

_Ksk_ Today at 12:23 AM
Losing control there, Xan
I don't judge you for seeking to learn certain languages
I don't think anyone seriously does either, it's just jokes
I respect you for that, in fact

ZentrixSM Today at 12:23 AM
I know it's probably not serious
but it's also painfully unfunny
and it lowkey feels like a way of humiliating people who go through the trivial effort of knowing at least one other language

N3rveX Today at 12:24 AM
just learn another language 4Head
I wouldn't call that "trivial"
but I've never actually tried it, who knows

ZentrixSM Today at 12:24 AM
Then try it
at the start it's a slog, but once you're able to understand the basics it becomes really fun
all you need is a very small amount of dedication and competence
Something which even I have, it seems
If even I can do it, for 5 languages, you have no excuses

_Ksk_ Today at 12:25 AM
Take it easy with the self-deprecation, Zen
I honestly believe you're incredibly good at a lot of things
and then when you go all "Oh, I'm actually garbage and you should feel bad if you're somehow worse than me."
it doesn't come off as humble, just really rude
Tone down that attitude

ZentrixSM Today at 12:25 AM
Oh
You do have a point
sorry

Cyber13 Today at 12:27 AM
@N3rveX you chimed in but forgot to say whether you're in the hard g or soft g club
rectify that

N3rveX Today at 12:27 AM
I assumed we were past all that
we've been talking about something else for 5 minutes
for a chat, that's like, 10 days

Cyber13 Today at 12:28 AM
just tell us
why did you stop typing

N3rveX Today at 12:30 AM
because I know what's going to happen if I answer you
answer you without lying, that is
I say GIF with the soft G
and I don't really care
maybe I'll switch next time I have to say that out loud
just to avoid this debacle

Cyber13 Today at 12:31 AM
FINALLY
@_Ksk_ found one
N3rveX has the NERVE to pronounce it JIF

_Ksk_ Today at 12:31 AM
Heh
He doesn't feel strongly about it enough for us to have an argument, it seems

N3rveX Today at 12:31 AM
I don't
it's just how my family pronounces it

Cyber13 Today at 12:32 AM
just a part of the montana accent
I see

_Ksk_ Today at 12:32 AM
Wait a second
Why does your family say "GIF" regularly?

N3rveX Today at 12:33 AM
they don't
I just remember mom saying that once

ZentrixSM Today at 12:33 AM
Which mom?

N3rveX Today at 12:34 AM
human mom
I was with my cat mom for just a few weeks
she's probably back in Montana, probably can't even remember my name anymore
but, oh well, hope her humans enjoyed the money
I enjoyed the move, although the nature here sucks

_Ksk_ Today at 12:34 AM
Hey, we've got the sea, at least

Cyber13 Today at 12:35 AM
i dont think she'd forget your name, wolf
probably still laughing a little every time she recalls it

N3rveX Today at 12:35 AM
lol shut up
it wasn't even her who named me, it was my current humans
My old name was Canis

OldArch Today at 12:35 AM
what the ***
that's almost the same thing
what's wrong with your family
both old and new

Cyber13 Today at 12:36 AM
its all montana folk
dont try to understand them
'dang it bobby, the darn cat is a dog'
wait thats the wrong stereotype
what kind of stereotype does montana even have

N3rveX Today at 12:36 AM
The stereotype of adding extra space between the country's coasts

ZentrixSM Today at 12:37 AM
guys, please
Stop trying to outdo Rob in obnoxious big city elitism
and then he still comes crying to me going all:
"Waah, I saw somebody say that big cities are too expensive to be worth living in"
"Please say something that will quench my insecurities"

_Ksk_ Today at 12:37 AM
I mean, if you're elitist you gotta be elitist about something that's expensive
You can't be elitist about living in a big house in some irrelevant small city

ZentrixSM Today at 12:38 AM
You can though
it's what bothers Rob so much
People figuring out you can live in a much better house for less money if you let go of NYC's opportunities
they think having that knowledge makes them the elite
the ones who figured it out
even though everyone here knows that too lol
but, you know
This is home
It's expensive, overrated, stinky, trashy
but it's our city
but still
They have a lot of ammo to use against us, while we're just here going all:
"They talk funny and their cities have nothing interesting in them LOL"
some people couldn't care less about their cities/towns not having anything
their houses are all they need
some people are just all like "Ooooh, convenience!!" and would love a future where robots do everything for you while you stay home not moving a muscle
like in that trashy Pixar movie
are you from here, Monarch?
As in, born and everything

_Ksk_ Today at 12:40 AM
Yeah
Wasn't even adopted or anything, the humans just wanted some extra kitties running around
I'm in the Rockaways, born and raised

ZentrixSM Today at 12:41 AM
Ah, really? Didn't know that
Have fun at the beaches, if you're into that

_Ksk_ Today at 12:41 AM
Nope
That's too 'dog' for me

ZentrixSM Today at 12:41 AM
Haha
same

Xx_LifeDestroyer_xX Today at 12:42 AM
alright, timeout for a second
Xander, you can't just say that WALL-E sucks and then peace out like that
what's your problem

ZentrixSM Today at 12:42 AM
I didn't say it sucks
I just said it's trashy
it's trashy environmentalism
like, there's nothing wrong with an environmentalist message
but make sure it's correct first
the film ends with everyone going back to a dead Earth because they found a single living plant
like
Who seriously believes you can restore Earth's entire ecosystem with a single plant species?
I'm not even schooled, and I can see it's such a grating, illogical assumption
how does nobody else realize that?

Xx_LifeDestroyer_xX Today at 12:43 AM
They do
that crossed my mind too
but it's a movie
it's not meant to mirror reality perfectly
I think the ship has a lot of seeds onboard, since it was meant to recolonize earth eventually
the plant was just a sign that it was habitable again

ZentrixSM Today at 12:44 AM
Then why did they make such a bid deal out of keeping it alive?
you know, there's this thing called suspension of disbelief
and mine is extremely fragile
I swear I'm gonna 'go Grape' on the next person who excuses things with "It's just a movie"
sick of that, it's not a good excuse
make them find some kind of top-secret restoration kit, not a single plant, for example
Just something better, I don't know
but the writers don't either

OldArch Today at 12:44 AM
What do you even mean by "Go Grape"?

ZentrixSM Today at 12:45 AM
oh
it just means beat someone up lol
Shouldn't have mentioned that here, Rob's been saying that recently
well, let's hope Grape isn't online
or doesn't Ctrl+F her own name occasionally

GrapeJS Today at 12:45 AM
Grape's here, don't worry
and I'm disappointed in you, Xander
you're taking Rob's *** seriously?
that friend of yours is a negligent idiot

ZentrixSM Today at 12:46 AM
I'll /always/ take Rob's "***" seriously, he's my best friend
don't try to make me choose between him and you
because I'd choose him in a heartbeat

GrapeJS Today at 12:46 AM
he almost sabotaged my reputation just because a dog who pettily hates me encouraged him to
be careful with people like that
that's all I'm gonna say
and don't invent slang as a way of mocking me
seriously now, that's just low

N3rveX Today at 12:47 AM
I've never seen Grape swear before lol
is the city changing you, @GrapeJS ?

GrapeJS Today at 12:47 AM
cod
it's bad influence from my pet-brother
who's getting that bad influence from Rob
sorry about that
headache of a dog
why am i just not allowed some peace for once

N3rveX Today at 12:49 AM
What's going on with him?
with you and Rob

GrapeJS Today at 12:49 AM
he randomly came up to me one day all confrontational
because a friend of his who I know for a long time told him I hit him once
he started yelling, calling me a dog abuser and told me to leave
that was in the local dog club
he started telling everyone im violent
got in an argument with @CatnipJones58 too
months ago
mocked his ear scar to his face
just decided to be an enemy, basically
just because someone told him to be one

_Ksk_ Today at 12:51 AM
Oh, wow
Mocking Max like that is going a bit too far

Xx_LifeDestroyer_xX Today at 12:51 AM
uh
why were you in a dog club

GrapeJS Today at 12:51 AM
because of my brother
who's a dog
and if you think that's weird, go talk to @9MinutesJon , who runs the freaking thing

ZentrixSM Today at 12:52 AM
Seems like it's now your turn to slander someone to your friends, Grape
Rob doesn't want to antagonize anyone, he just had some questions to you and you took them personally
I assume, I don't know what you said to him
What did you do to his friend, anyways?
I've never heard that side of the story from you

GrapeJS Today at 12:53 AM
first of all, his "friend" is Bino
probably the most unpleasant dog in existence
if you think dogs are "men's best friend", Bino will make you immediately reconsider that
although Rob might do that to you too
ages ago, back when I was a different cat, I got fed up with him and hit him with a frying pan
he was hospitalized, but there was no lasting damage or anything
he started treating me way better after that, but I guess this whole situation shows me he still wants to harm me in less direct ways
that's all

ZentrixSM Today at 12:56 AM
Right
I'm aware of Bino, that dog loathes me lol
he has very distorted assumptions of what I do with you guys
And Grape, I understand you
I can understand losing control, although I can in no way condone such extreme violence
I've gotten mad at people before, but never to the point of hitting them
but we're not all the same, I understand that, I'm glad you recognize you were different back then
And I'm glad it all turned out relatively fine
Your act was potentially deadly
if you ended up killing him
you know
humans don't take kindly to pets killing anything beyond small mammals
you'd probably not be around anymore
Imagine what that would do to Peanut
control yourself, don't risk things ending up like that
don't get yourself in trouble, for the sake of all the people you don't feel like hitting

GrapeJS Today at 12:58 AM
thanks, Xander
I agree, things could have ended really badly
that didn't even cross my mind
I'm glad you're so much more reasonable than Rob
your reactions to that were night and day

ZentrixSM Today at 12:59 AM
Rob's fine, Grape
just make him understand he's not the kind of person who you'd hurt

GrapeJS Today at 1:00 AM
he kind of is, though
the way he tried to drag my name down after that day
that's not cool

ZentrixSM Today at 1:00 AM
he was just talking to his friends about you
about a troubling thing you did and, from what I got out of Rob, something you felt no remorse over
do you regret hitting Bino?

GrapeJS Today at 1:00 AM
I'll be honest, I don't
and if I do, it's because of all this trouble that's recently resurfacing because of it, not because of Bino's well-being

ZentrixSM Today at 1:01 AM
I really appreciate the honesty
what I can tell you is:
1: Stop doubling down on hitting Bino
recognize what you did was wrong and never repeat it
to Bino or anyone else
2: Stop avoiding Rob
he's a good dog, I'll convince him to stop fearing you
he's my best friend, you're probably in the top 10, we three being together again at some point is an inevitability
and I don't want it to be awkward

GrapeJS Today at 1:02 AM
let's leave that for after your trip, alright?
I'm not gonna hiss at him upon sight or anything, hopefully he'll have the same courtesy
let's hope the next time we three are together doesn't end up with another bonked dog

ZentrixSM Today at 1:02 AM
grape, i'll be really blunt about this
if you hurt rob
especially if it's so bad he needs hospitalization
Brian will use all legal resources he can against you
and I wouldn't even care
don't escalate things, keep your claws nice and sheathed
I know taking advantage of Brian's power like that is unethical
but if words don't get you to change your attitude, maybe legal action will

GrapeJS Today at 1:03 AM
whoa ho
what happened to the whole "think of peanut!!" angle?

ZentrixSM Today at 1:03 AM
His suffering would be an acceptable consequence
don't hurt Rob, period
and maybe that would be good for Peanut's safety long-term too
do you seriously smack him when he wakes you up with no permission?

GrapeJS Today at 1:04 AM
uh

_Ksk_ Today at 1:04 AM
Guys, enough
Leave these personal issues to DMs if you want to continue

OldArch Today at 1:04 AM
What?
no, keep it going
I'm finally getting the argument I wanted
by the way @GrapeJS do you pronounce GIF with soft or hard G

_Ksk_ Today at 1:05 AM
Spline, what even is your problem today?

GrapeJS Today at 1:05 AM
It's way past my bedtime, that'll be all from me
goodbye
I say GIF with a soft G, by the way

OldArch Today at 1:05 AM
WHAT
You can't drop that bomb just before going offline, come on now

Cyber13 Today at 1:08 AM
you guys wanna hop in voice chat?
we could do some quick among us rounds

ZentrixSM Today at 1:08 AM
you want to play more of that flavor-of-the-month garbage?

Cyber13 Today at 1:09 AM
yup
you down?

ZentrixSM Today at 1:09 AM
Oh, sure
it's so easy to run circles around you guys logically
I thought cats were supposed to be smarter
I can kill right in front of you and pretend I'm just a witness just by acting really flabbergasted immediately
it's ridiculous

O_s_Tor Today at 1:10 AM
don't just reveal your impostor strategies like that then

ZentrixSM Today at 1:10 AM
THAT STRATEGY WORKED LIKE
3 TIMES
and it's a terrible one too
might as well handicap myself at this point
but let's go
I won't be playing for long, I have to be up early tomorrow
like, somewhere before noon

Cyber13 Today at 1:11 AM
alright
get on VC already

ZentrixSM Today at 1:11 AM
I have to reconfigure my mic because of stupid VR garbage
patience

Cyber13 Today at 1:11 AM
isn't the VR in Jon's PC now? why is that an issue?
are you plugging it into yours and secretly enjoying it?

ZentrixSM Today at 1:12 AM
No

56th Street, Midtown Manhattan, Monday 11:40 AM

Xander and his owner drove along the narrow street, the dog paying attention to the passing buildings while Walt steered the car.

"You can drop me off after the Seventh, stop on the right side." He informed. "It's the tallest building in the block, not a small feat when it comes to this part of town, haha."

"Right." Walt nodded. "Can't really look up at the buildings from here, I'm not as vertically-challenged as you."

"Really, Walt?" The Beagle feigned some offense. "At least my height's close to my breed's average. Can't say the same about yours, can I?"

"Alright, sheesh. Was just pointing out I can't really see the top of the buildings from here, that wasn't even meant to be a stab." He pulled the car over, stopping. "Is this close enough?"

"Perfect. Call you later, Walt! See you!" Xander opened the door and bid farewell.

"Have fun, Xan! Take care!" The pet watched the car get back in the traffic after he closed the door, walking along the sidewalk while looking for the main entrance. He sighed deeply, scratching his head. "Alright, time to face my self-diagnosed social anxiety again, gotta get used to this, because the next days promise to put me to the test." He thought to himself. "Apartment six nine oh three, Rob Harlow... 'Shane Harlow' would be better, but he's working right now, I think... Ugh, if I can't do this here, imagine doing stuff there, like, how will I handle the hotel?... Uuh, 'Kono inu wa Buraian-shachō desu, kare ni wa yoyaku ga arimasu.'... Yeah! Keep it simple." He stopped his thoughts to pay attention to the skyscraper's entrances. "'The Offices'" He read over an entrance. "'The Residences', should be this door then... Jimusho, jūkyo... Rejidensu, ofisu... Koto, tsutomu, tokoro!" He passed the revolving door while lost in thought, approaching a lone gray cat manning the reception desk. "Oh hi yo- Agh! Sorry, I mean, good morning, uuh... I'm supposed to be 'announced'? Sorry, it's my first time visiting my best friend living here." Xander smiled while scratching his forehead, embarrassed.

"Good morning, mister. Who are you visiting?" The cat asked with a much deeper voice than expected.

"Apartment six nine oh three."

"Could I have their name?"

Xander leaned on the desk to make himself look more casual. "Uh, Rob. Harlow."

The worker nodded, tapping an unseen keypad. "And your name, please?"

"Xander Stevenson."

He held a receiver next to his right ear, waiting. "Mister Rob Harlow? Xander's here to see you, may I let him up?... Thank you, have a good day." He hung up and looked at Xander again. "Have a nice visit, the elevators are right there." The receptionist pointed. "Press the button next to it to call it, wait for the door to open, always check if the elevator actually arrived before entering, then press the button for the floor you want, the sixty-ninth in this case, got it?"

Xander tried to hide his impatience while listening to the unnecessary instructions. "Got it. Thank you."

He approached one of the doors and called an elevator. "Do I look like someone who's never used an elevator before? What the howl..." He started thinking to himself. "Or maybe it's just the signature patronization towards pets coming from humans, no wonder Rob hates them, he must face that a lot going out alone all the time. And that wasn't even a human! It was a cat! The more things change, the more they stay the same, I should've just tried to pretend I'm a resident."

"I noticed that faux-pas while greeting me, by the way!" The receptionist tried to make small-talk from his desk while the dog still waited. "Nihongo dekimasu ka?"

Xander widened his eyes, glancing at the still-closed doors. "Uh, iya soredokoroka. Hitokotode wanai."

The cat nodded, suppressing a chuckle. "Oh, OK. Just trying to practice when I can, sorry."

The doors opened and Xander got in, not replying and continuing his internal monologue. "Alright. That was a fine interaction, wasn't it? 'Just picture everybody naked'... I mean, he literally was, but still..." He eventually got to the apartment door displaying the right number, pressing a button and being startled by a loud buzz rather than the expected doorbell sound.

The door eventually opened to a Golden Retriever, Xander quickly realizing he wasn't Rob due to his slightly more rugged fur. "Hello, uh..." The Beagle froze.

"Hobart." Rob's brother finished.

"Hobart! Sorry. I'm here visiting your brother, first time at your house, hope you don't mind." The Beagle stepped in.

"Go ahead, 'Xan'." He patted Xander's back amicably, closing the front door. "He's in his room upstairs. And this isn't 'my house', it's just a temporary thing."

"Ha, 'temporary stay', I've seen that play out before, you know?" Xander commented while looking for the stairs, Hobart following him.

"With who? What are you trying to imply?"

"Oh, nothing, sorry, getting too comfortable with you already. Uh, still, glad to finally talk to you directly, you enjoying the club?"

"Quite. I've enjoyed spending time with Brian, most of all. That guy? Honorary country dog. Despite how fake and disattached from reality the people from here tend to be, he really gets things, you know?"

"Uh, right. I've never really argued with Brian because even if I'm right, he'd just start using super technical speak just to make me seem dumber and weaken my argument, glad to know you're on the same page. We're all New Yorkers here, aren't we? I mean, from New York City, even, not just the state."

"Eh... I was just born here, low point of my life. Is Brian from somewhere else? Is that why you're bringing that up?"

"No, it's just, uh, you keep priding yourself for not being from here, even though you are, just something that's been in my mind from everything Rob's told me about you, sorry."

"There's more to me than just my origins, most of my life's been spent in nature."

"Fair enough. Like, Brian was born in the Bronx, as part of an accidental litter, can you believe that he has the humblest origins out of all of us? Haha."

"Wow, really? He never told me that, can't wait to talk about it with him."

"He's never mentioned that? You people are way too reserved, I'm starting to think that I'm actually not shy at all by comparison." Xander finished just before finally reaching the door to Rob's room, entering it and approaching his friend, who was at his computer. "Robu! Robu-kōhai!" He stroked Rob's head affectionately. "Getting ready for the day?"

"Uh, what day?" Rob tried to recover from the sudden intrusion, turning his chair away from his monitor to face Xander.

"Our trip! Come on! You should be the one who's the most hyped for it!"

"Oh, uh, it's still some days from now. I don't really anticipate things that much, not like I've never done it before anyways."

"But you've actually never done it before! You're always with Shane! Take it a little more seriously, just in case."

"Except I have, remember Chicago this year? That was just me and Brian, and I had to prepare for that only one day in advance. It's all fine, I know how things will go."

"Chicago isn't in another country, Rob. Oh, whatever." Xander sat down on a nearby chair, looking at view of the city from the room's large windows. "How's your Japanese coming along, by the way?"

"Hah. Non-existent."

"Oh, come on, Rob! I told you to at least learn the Kana! It takes like, two days!"

"I'm not gonna learn a new freaking alphabet just to spend two weeks in a country, Xander! Imagine if I did that to every country I visited."

"Ugh, I mean, it'll be your loss. I'm sure you had the free time for it. I'm sure you *have* the free time, it's still not too late."

"Heh, it's not happening. You already take almost years to deduce the English alphabet, and that's twenty-six letters. Imagine five thousand or so."

"You take years to do that because you're a pup at the time. And you're thinking of Kanji, there's only like, one hundred Kana."

"Oh, *just* one hundred! What a piece of cake." Rob immediately deadpanned.

"Hahaha! Want me to give you some basic lessons? Here's a simple sentence, repeat it with me: Uuh... 'Daitoshi wa sōzōshikute konzatsu da, sutoresu mo aru. Oira wa mushiro nōjō ni sumitai!'"

"You're trying to make me say something shameful, aren't you?"

"Uh, not really. Maybe for you. Here's another basic one: 'Toshi wa zaitaku kinmu no shinpo de... Shinu!'"

"No, they won't! There's a lot of reasons to live in a city besides your ***ing work!"

"Whoa! What?!"

"Oh! Uh, I dunno. Just felt like reaffirming that, what were you saying?"

"Uuh... Nothing, nothing important." Xander got up, astonished. "Anyways, are you ready to go out? Nice place, by the way, way to make me feel like I'm impoverished compared to you two."

"Yeah, I love it, let's have some fun here once we're back." Rob turned the monitor off, getting up too. "We're gonna eat out somewhere, then you're in for a surprise, you fine with that?"

"Ugh, Rob, a 'surprise'? I mean, I have no choice but to follow you, dog knows what you're gonna force me to do in Japan, might as well prepare."

"I'm not gonna force you to do things you don't like, when have I ever done that? Do you have any restaurant ideas, by the way? Even McDonald's would be fine, this is my way of apologizing for the 'roulettes', alright?"

"Ugh, I'll think of something. No McDonald's though, I'm boycotting them."

"Oh, yet another corporation in your list? What did they do? Are you sympathizing with the cows?"

"Uh, no... Uuh, my adblocker stopped working with Twitch some time ago, and although I fixed it, I had to watch like, ten of those stupid Travis Scott ads before I did that, and I hated that, so no more McDonald's for me, not like I'm missing much."

"Hahaha, Xander!" Rob tapped his friend's back, starting to walk with him towards the condo's exit. "You can be so weirdly petty with stuff, you know? Not like I have any problem with that, I'm not gonna defend a giant fast-food chain. Might as well just force them to shut down, we've decided this year that 'public health' is a valid excuse to do anything, right? Let's just ban unhealthy food, that's 'saving lives'!"

"Agh, Rob! Shut up! I know Brian made you change your mind about that stuff, but nobody wants to listen to that anymore."

"Ah, sorry."

"Ah, gomen'nasai. Repeat with me."

"Oh, that's what it means? I've heard that before."

"It would be better for you to learn 'sumimasen', it's a less casual 'sorry', since you're gonna be saying that to strangers, not me and Brian."

"I'm not gonna say a word of Japanese while there, Xander! Put that in your head! I'm not gonna humiliate myself, that'll be your job, you're the whole reason why Japan was my choice, remember that!"

"Argh, you're ruthless. I just learned Japanese because I wanted to learn something that isn't Indo-European, should've just stuck with Basque."

"Nah, screw Spain." Rob looked at his brother briefly while passing his living room. "Going out, Bart! Take care!"

"See you later, Rob!" Hobart replied from the sofa. "Are you coming back with Xander?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good. Let's talk later, OK 'Xan'?" He looked directly at the Beagle. "I'd like to know more about all your cats, hahaha."

"Uh, OK?" Xander almost blushed. "Rob, why does he know that?" He whispered to his friend.

"Just giving you a taste of what it's like to be your friend recently, you dirty gossiper."

Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, Monday 1:57 PM

The two dogs crossed the neighborhood, Xander following slightly behind Rob while talking.

"... And then I finally found a copy of it." He continued. "Someone was sharing it on Soulseek, which I ***ing hate using. Every time I'm forced to download from there I feel like everybody thinks I'm scum because I'm downloading stuff without sharing half of my music folders or whatever etiquette they have in that super-slow dumpster fire. So I downloaded it, but guess what? It's in FLAC, but it's sampled at forty-four kilohertz! Forty-four! And I'm sure there's a ninety-six version somewhere, but considering how much I struggled to find anything period, I guess I should just be happy that at least it wasn't some MP3 rip."

"Uh-huh. Does it sound terrible or something? I don't know about audio stuff that much."

"It does! It sounds really muffled! It ruins the percussion! Thing is: At forty-four kilohertz the frequencies cut off at twenty-two kilohertz, even though you can hear stuff up to around forty kilohertz, so if you compare it to a ninety-six kilohertz sample rate, which only cuts off at forty-eight, just over the upper hearing limit, it's extremely noticeable. Most people aren't even aware of that, because most audio files you find are forty-four and you end up assuming that's just how headphones sound like, but once you try files with proper quality, it's night and day! You can't go back! It's a curse, I tell you! Be glad you live in ignorance."

"Uh... I mean, if you never found the version with the highest quality, it's not like you can even compare, right?"

"Yeah, but, just knowing that I'm not having the best experience possible, the fact that I'm missing experiencing a great chunk of the recording, it almost makes me just not want to listen to the album. And then there's people who actually defend that kinda stuff. I swear, it's like the 'you can't see beyond sixty FPS' of music. 'Oh, if you think FLACs sound better than MP3s, you're just experiencing a placebo effect', like, come on! Not everyone has defective ears like you! Of course sample rates make a difference, forty-four kilohertz is a terrible limit imposed upon us back when storage in PCs was more limited! It's about time we evolve past that, finding proper recordings shouldn't be so hard. And seriously, if you defend MP3s, you're just hopeless. Those things cut off at like, eighteen kilohertz. Do you know why YouTube videos sound so weird compared to real life? Because their audio is limited to one hundred ninety-two KBPS MP3s, imagine listening to music like that."

"Don't you think those differences in opinion happen because, you know, people have different ears? It's the price to pay for living in a multi-specietal society."

"Yeah, it probably plays a part in it. I've heard cats can hear things way better than dogs, maybe ninety-six wouldn't even be enough for them, and then there's the humans, who I've heard have much worse hearing, maybe that's why low sample rates are so prevalent and you have a lot of faceless people defending them, they just happen to be humans who can't hear a difference, the majority. All this makes me wonder how other species experience the world, that's something we'll never find out."

"Hah, right. No way to change your species. Unless you're Peanut, then you think there's some human-transforming epidemic going around or something."

"You mean the coin stuff? Uh, do you know what happened to Cresselia?"

"Uh, she was adopted by Linus's family, right?"

"Not that, I mean, I've only seen her in the club once, never again. Have you seen her again?"

"Not at all."

"Peanut's been trying to get in touch with her recently, having no success with that. I think she was scared off by me and Peanut the last time she went there, she was acting weird and Peanut thought she was disguising being an ex-human or something. Weird stuff. I just think she was nervous and confused, maybe tired. It's the simplest explanation, Occam's razor, right?"

"Right. Few days ago Peanut tried to get me to show her address again so he could check up on her personally, I had to stop him there, set him some limits."

"'Again'?"

"Oh, uuh... Yeah, I had to protect her privacy... You know, she lives with Linus, apparently. I asked Brian about their family some weeks ago, he told me that the couple's only child disappeared last year, almost nobody knows that. I really wanna check up on Linus, but the guy's been pretty much MIA. I'm still waiting for him to show his face at the club, in the rare days I go there, but I'm not gonna pay him an unannounced visit."

"Oh. Cresselia's avoiding the club, acting super weird, her family's missing a kid, that sounds really turbulent. I think we should just stay away from that stuff."

"I don't plan on getting myself involved, just wanna catch up with an acquaintance who might be going through some issues."

"Yeah, I support you. I don't know Linus, but maybe he needs a friend to overcome his missing human-brother, I don't think casting suspicion on his new sister is helping things."

"We'll fix things, but let's leave that for after the trip. Only three days left, isn't it? How do you say 'three days' in Japanese? Is it like, san-something?"

"'Mikka'."

"Oh, uh... Ichi, ni, san... Isn't 'three' 'san'?"

"You're thinking of on'yomi, when counting days you use kun'yomi, unless the number's over ten, or one. In that case you replace the 'ka' with 'nichi' too, uh, unless it's, uh, fourteen, twenty-four, and twenty, then it's optio-.

"OK, Xander. OK. And you wanted me to know all that in a month?"

"Don't be disingenuous. I wasn't expecting borderline fluency, just competent reading of syllabaries." Xander looked around him quickly, almost getting tired of walking. "Where are we even going?"

"I've only brought you around these parts once, at least recently, you should be getting the hint already."

"Uh, this is like, Hell's Kitchen, isn't it?"

"Of course it is. Also known as 'Clinton', to the people who think 'Hell' is a swear word, I guess. And I know you're sure what neighborhood this is, don't try to sound unsure with your 'like's, you're the most New Yorker person I know."

"'Most New Yorker'?" Xander repeated, chuckling. "Some months ago I was living a life that even someone in Kansas could also live, doing nothing outside of home and the club."

"Oh, do they have clubs that can compete with ours there in Kansas?"

"I dunno, you're the traveler here, do they?"

"Well, uh, Kansas is a... Um, Kansas is a decen- Good place, in uh, terms of the world average."

"Uh, what? Are you censoring yourself? Just let out your disdain for the Midwest, I don't care. I think it's kinda funny, haha."

"Look, I'm honestly trying to become a better dog, alright? Enough of my dissing of poorer rural people, that's punching down."

"Huh. Premature New Year's resolution? I'm sure that'll only last until you find somebody complaining about big cities again, or worse, hoping for their failure."

"I thought you didn't care about the New Year? And that's why I'm stopping, I feel bad when people say living in a city sucks, I shouldn't do that to other people too. Toxicity breeds toxicity, you know?"

"Right, right. Good luck handling your elitism, I guess."

"Do you seriously not know where we're going to, by the way? We're *really* close."

"Uh, your travel club?"

"Bingo! You already knew that, didn't you?"

Xander shrugged. "It's the easiest guess. Like, it'd be either that or you'd bring me to some convention at the Javits, maybe?"

"Oh, that's a good idea for later times, actually."

"Ugh, come on, Rob. I'm not nerdy enough for conventions, put that idea out of your head. I've heard plenty of horror stories about the smell in those things, hahaha."

"What? The smell's not *that* bad, and are you calling me nerdier than you? I've been to some conventions." Rob finished speaking after climbing a rowhouse's stoop, pushing a button on an intercom.

"Global International Worldwide Pet Travel Society and Archaeology Circle. Name, please." A bored voice came out.

"Rob Harlow with a friend, I'm here for my second biannual visit." He laughed.

"Welcome back, Rob! Glad to know you're still around." The door unlocked.

"'Still around', I guess things aren't going so well around here." Rob muttered to his Beagle friend.

"What do you mean? After many months of zero contact, it's natural to worry a little."

"We've had some online contact, she knows I'm alive. But, you know, I think she means 'still around' as in, still living in the region, and that implies that some of the members are, uh, moving out, maybe."

"Ugh, Rob. Stop worrying about that ***, alright? If half of the city catastrophically decides to move out, we'd still be beating Los Angeles, think about that."

"Yeah, I'll stop taking that so seriously. Consider that also a part of the 'new me'." The two arrived at the door to the club's main room.

"Hah. Took you long enough to randomly have an epiphany like Jon and Brian." Xander commented quickly as Rob opened the door, facing a brown-furred mixed dog.

"Hello, you two, pleasure to have you here." She greeted cordially. "I've heard the news, Rob!" She focused on the Retriever. "'Japan with a guide', huh? I want to hear all about it once you're back, alright?! No more excuses for inactivity!" She talked excitedly after closing the door behind the two visitors.

"No excuses, Gaia!" Rob joined her excitement. "Finally my life is going back to normal! About time! Humans or no humans, who needs them at this point, right?"

"Yeah, I... I've been thinking of doing something for myself, not as big as a trip to Japan, just something small, cheap, and that doesn't involve risking my masters' lives with careless exposure, but it's nothing really set at this point."

"Alright, uh..." Rob looked around the room quickly, seeing a lone cat standing next to the room's world map. "And you were here just talking to..." He struggled to recall the cat.

"That's Pouncer." Gaia informed. "Old member, but I don't think you two have ever met."

"Hm, nice to see him... Uh, where's Dennis? I know he's pretty much always here, almost your 'second-in-command', right?"

"Uh, he moved away recently. To Saint Petersburg."

"Oh, to Russia? Very interesting, didn't know he had ties to there."

"Saint Petersburg, Florida, Rob! Of course he didn't move to Russia, you do that on purpose, don't you?"

"Uh, no, not really. Just assuming the most interesting interpretation by default. Optimism, you know? Is his move permanent?"

"Unlikely. They just moved to their second home. He told me they're waiting for, you know, *everything*, to resolve before moving back." She spread her arms to indicate everything around her.

"Alright. Uuh..." Rob looked down while thinking of a reply, grimacing. "I... I can understand why, uh, that move would be appealing to humans at the moment. I hope he enjoys it there."

Gaia giggled briefly. "Not even gonna let out a 'don't let the door hit you on the way out', Rob? I know how much you hate the Florida migrants, even if they're old friends."

"Oh, Gaia... I've been acting like a really bad dog recently, just, complaining about other people so much. I... I've been fearing for the city's future recently, and, uh, that resulted in me seeing some people with differing viewpoints with some real hostility, viewing them as threats to my way of life, but I've decided to try to fix that. I'd hate to be in Dennis' place, truly, but I'm not gonna criticize his humans' decisions. I respect their choice, even if I believe it'll be worse for them in the long run, which I don't really do, to be honest."

"Huh, I see. I mean, I have my own thoughts on humans fleeing the city to skirt around restrictions, but let's not have that discussion... So, let's all sit down and talk, shall we?" She started walking back to the sofa with the cat.

"Let's." Rob replied, starting to follow her before being stopped by Xander, who held him up with an arm.

"Interesting speech there." Xander began after Rob turned to face him, talking quietly. "Since you're trying to become a better dog and all, how about you try fixing things with Grape, eventually?"

"I don't care about Grape, Xan. Get over that. I'm not gonna befriend someone who hates one of my closest friends."

"'Closest friends'? Are you talking about Bino? You two have known each other for mere months."

"And not once he has threatened to hurt me. Just be careful with her, Xander. I'm not gonna try to get you away from her, extend that courtesy by not forcing us two together, please."

"I just want you two to be acquaintances instead of enemies."

"We're not 'enemies'! I just don't want anything to do with her!"

"Then just apologize to her once, that's all I'm asking for."

"Apologize for what?! I'm not the one trying to ***ing murder people!"

"She's not trying to kill anyone! What the howl, Rob! Get over yourself! Aren't you 'trying to become a better person'? How about you try to see things from Grape's eyes here?"

"I *am* considering her perspective! She hits people that annoy her, that tease her, that mock her, that make the wrong joke while next to her. The second you resort to violence, is the second I completely lose all my sympathy for you! Unless she regrets her attitude, which she doesn't, I don't want anything to do with her."

"Uugh... Look, Rob. Me and Grape will continue to do stuff together, which we all do with absolutely no violence ever involved, by the way. If you nev-"

"You two!" Gaia called from the sofa suddenly. "What's going on?"

"Nothing!" Rob replied. "Nothing involving the club! Sorry!" He hastily trotted towards the sofa, almost leaving Xander behind, who followed him eventually.

The four pets all got seated. "Uh, do you two need some privacy?" Gaia tried to politely offer.

"Oh, don't worry." Rob shook his head. "We two will have plenty of alone time to talk about that *** later, hahaha. Let's talk about our plans then."

"Please. First of all, who's the guide?"

"Huh, I wonder." Rob stared deeply at Xander, Gaia and the cat joining him soon after.

Xander resisted hiding his face. "Uh, is this my prompt to tell you two that I'm his 'guide'?"

"You are?" Gaia replied. "I thought Rob had chosen some local, how much experience do you have?"

"With being in Japan?"

"Yes, of course."

"Uh, none, haha." He smiled shyly. "I just know the language, because I wanted to know how people were able to even write like that, heh."

"Don't lie, Xander." Rob intervened. "You've been there before."

"Once! And I never did stuff by myself. I know I'm supposed to help you and Brian there, but I'm not a freaking 'guide', you're really overestimating me!"

"You have to start somewhere, and language fluency is a great starting point! You'll get the hang of it fast, don't worry about it."

"Get the hang of what? What exactly do you even plan on having me do, handle all local interactions while there?"

"Of course! That's why we're gonna go to less touristy places, because we'll have you! We're gonna visit the 'Real Japan', you know I hate that term, but you know what I mean, the places the tourists don't flock to, where you never hear a word of English."

"Agh! You really want me to be an extension of your mouth there, don't you? I can barely function alone here, Rob! Imagine trying to interact with people in Japan! This will be your first time traveling without humans and you're gonna bring me and Brian so I have to try to translate all of his super-technical, loophole-y jargon that he's gonna use to try to get by as if he were human?"

"You're done with that once you leave the airport, Xan, and that's where everyone speaks English, stop worrying so much. And it's not a 'loophole', dogs have been allowed to go wherever they want to just with their caretaker's permission for a long time."

"You two aren't, uh, getting along too well, are you?" Gaia tried to pipe in.

"Oh, don't worry, Gaia. We two are lifelong friends, we can have loud disagreements without worrying about one of us deciding to never see the other again because of it, haha."

"Yeah. You'd never do to me what you did to Grape." Xander quickly added.

"Xander! Don't bring that up here again! I already told you we can leave that for later!"

"And we will."

"Who's 'Grape'?" Gaia tilted her head.

Rob turned to her. "She's a friend of Xa-"

"She's a cat I know." Xander interrupted by talking louder. "Rob here has been having a really weird opinion shift on cats recently, it's so silly! What, are you a closeted cat hater, Rob? Shame on you." He teased.

"I have nothing against cats! What?!"

"Hah! Do you think I don't notice how distrustful of Jon you've been getting? I wish I could say I don't know the reason for that change in attitude, but the cause of it is pretty obvious, it's someone who deserves a frying pan to the head once in a while."

"Don't say that crap! You'd never hit someone, Xander! I know that! Don't pretend you have the same temper as Grape just to convince me to accept her!"

"Look, we're being rude to the hosts, alright? Let's stop this, sorry for starting that again. Uh..." He looked at the Scottish Fold sitting with them. "Don't worry about things, uh... Pouncer. Rob isn't some secret cat hater, was just busting his chops, haha." He scooted a little closer to the feline.

"I'm sure he's fine, don't be concerned, we're just getting started, I don't mind the arguments." The cat responded.

"You sure lost your shyness fast, didn't you?" Rob commented to the Beagle.

"We just yelled in front of these two for minutes, I don't feel uncomfortable here anymore after that. I can keep a conversation just fine, I'm just bad at starting them, you know that already."

"Let's finally start talking about travel for once then." Pouncer began, getting closer to Xander. "So, you'll be his guide to Japan? I hope you all have fun. Now: Nihongo wa, yoku hanashimasu ka?"

Xander flinched. "Uh, nozomimasu."

The cat nodded. "Okā-shujin wa Nihonjin desu. Yoroshikereba, boku to issho ni renshū suru koto mo dekimasu."

The Beagle smiled nervously. 「Oh, uh, I'm a bit intimidated speaking it out loud like this, but it's best to do it first here than in Japan, right?」

「I agree. You shouldn't feel intimidated, my Japanese is probably worse than yours, haha. Mom-owner tried teaching me when I was a kitten, she says I sound 『really cute』.」

Rob and Gaia looked on cluelessly. "Heh." Rob uttered after some moments, looking at her. "Cats and Japanese, Xander really hit the jackpot today." He joked intentionally loudly for his friend to also hear.

Xander interrupted his conversation with Pouncer. "Omae o osou tame ni Gurēpu-san o okuru mae ni damare yo!" He threatened his friend playfully.

Rob shrugged. "Huh, I guess I better get used to this."
Wortge
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:06 am

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

Still working on this occasionally! Finally completed a new 'chapter' just as the thread got second page'd.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy International Airport Terminal 1, Jamaica, Queens, Thursday 11:01 AM

Walt drove his red compact along the access road to the airport terminal, his two pets sitting on the backseat, his dog wearing a backpack and all three in silence. The car pulled over and stopped at a drop-off area, Xander quickly opening his door and walking to the car's trunk, his owner opening it from the driver's seat. He grabbed a wheeled bag from it and started walking with it, approaching his opened door and preparing to close it, still in silence.

"See you in a few weeks, Big Bro!" Jon finally broke the silence by exclaiming from his seat. "Don't forget to bring me all the souvenirs you can afford! Remember that! Enjoy yourself!"

"See you later, Jon!" Xander replied, trying to disguise the fact he was starting to choke up. "Enjoy having Walt all for yourself for a few weeks, haha!" He laughed sadly.

"Later, Xander!" The human waved from his seat. "Call me if anything happens, OK? We'll always be with you." He tried to encourage.

"Don't worry about it." Xander closed the door, waving at the car as it drove off silently. "Ugh, what's with this feeling?" He thought to himself. "It's the start of my anticipated trip, why do I feel like I'm about to go to a boot camp? Do I actually have separation anxiety? Why do I have to be such a mess?" The Beagle started walking to the terminal's entrance, dragging his bag. "Aaaaaand I already regret telling Walt he could just drop me off and leave me alone." He entered the building, looking around.

"OK." He stopped to strategize. "Uh, it's check-in time now. Find the 'Japan Airlines' thingy, show my ticket and my bag, uh, maybe passport? Pet ID? Permission slip? ***, how do I say 'permission slip' in Japanese?" He started walking, trying to find the counter. "Maybe I should do it in English?... No! In fact, it's about time I switch my internal monologue to Japanese already. 「Nothing better than practicing a language by simply thinking.」"

He found the counter eventually, seeing a small line of humans in front of it. 「Alright.」 He sighed. 「Let's just walk there, show her that I'm here for the flight, and go.」 He looked at some distance markings on the floor. 「Am I supposed to keep my distance too? Eh, might as well, not like we're running out of space here.」 He started waiting, looking around, trying to look like he was bored by the mundanity of waiting for a check-in.

Xander's turn eventually came. 「Uh, good morning.」 He handed the worker a bundle of documents he had gotten ready while waiting. 「Subordinate citizen passport, subordinate citizen ID, a copy of my ticket, is everything all right?」

The attendant grabbed the documents, furrowing her brows at the American passport of the Japanese-speaking dog. 「Everything is in order.」 She replied after skimming the documents. 「Are you going to check a bag?」

「Yes, this one.」 He put his wheeled bag on the counter's conveyor belt. 「Thank you.」 Xander bowed.

「Thank you very much.」 She also bowed, Xander starting to wait for her to hand him his boarding pass.

「Thanks for what you did for me.」 He thanked again after getting the pass, quickly walking away from the counter. 「Ugh, so much thanking... Well, I did what I wanted to do. Now it's time for the kinky part of boarding a plane.」 The dog made his way to the security checkpoint, waiting in another line. He grabbed his backpack and removed a laptop computer from it as his turn came closer, carrying it under his arm.

"Good day." Xander greeted an employee at the X-ray machine neutrally, switching back to English. He put the computer and his collar on the tray and walked under the metal detector, stopping at the other side to wait for his items.

"Phew, no alarms. Not gonna go through whatever happened to that woman before my turn." The Beagle grabbed his computer and collar back, putting them back in their respective places.

"Thank dog nobody thought I was a stray for the five seconds I had no collar on, haha." He joked to himself, checking his boarding pass now. "Gate six, gate six, gate six..." He walked around fast but with no clear idea on a destination, looking around.

"Where are Rob and Brian? Are we really only gonna meet up inside the plane?" Xander started looking at the signage. "'Gate 4'... 'Gate 5'... 'Gate 5A', what?! Oh, nevermind, there's gate six, that almost scared me." He reached the boarding area, thinking of sitting down on one of the seats but ultimately deciding to stand next to the terminal's windows, looking at the plane.

"And there it is! A Boeing Triple Seven Three Hundred. That thing's gonna soon end up either in Tokyo or at the bottom of the ocean... Ugh, too morbid, Xander! No wonder even Jon complains about that sometimes, let me just remind myself to never say stuff like that to Rob."

"Speaking of Rob..." He started looking around the gate seats. "I guess the two aren't gonna just wait here at the gate the whole time, or maybe they're not even at the airport yet... Should I get something to eat? Haven't eaten lunch yet, and it's gonna be a long journey, and you know what they say about airline food..." The dog left his waiting spot, casually walking while looking at some airport shops in silence.

"Uh, what are my boycotts again? McDonald's, Wendy's, Rainforest Cafe, Fogo de Chão, uh... Oh, let's just go get some quick snack, I don't need a restaurant, I'm not Rob." Xander walked closer to a food display counter, looking at the contents while trying to not get noticed by the attendant before deciding to buy something. "What the heck is a 'Baklava'? Let's go find something less exoti-"

"Wie geht es deinem Japaner, Xander?" Xander was startled by the familiar voice coming from right next to him, turning to see Brian speaking to him. "Auf der Suche nach türkischem Essen? Ich wusste nicht, dass du so einen Geschmack hast."

The Beagle rapidly disguised his small scare. "Uh, are we really doing this, Brian?" He replied in English.

"Nah, just seeing if your brain fries up from all the extra language overload. Are you ready? Nice to find you already!" He smiled, offering a handshake.

Xander shook his friend's paw. "Well, with you here, I certainly am now. Decided to have Walt drop me off here all alone, just to train for all the talking I'll do for you two while traveling, but I did everything right in the end."

"Glad to know. I was thinking of coming here with Luke, but couldn't get the logistics of it to work out. He has to go back home once I'm through security, he can't drive, he can't take public transport because he's all the way in Jersey, oh well. I might videochat with him a lot at the hotel, hope you don't mind."

"Whatever brings you happiness, I don't mind. What about your other children, not getting the same love you give to Luke?"

"Ugh, they're... A complicated matter. What isn't?"

"The boarding, I hope."

"Oh, stop worrying. You're not alone anymore, alright? If you do something wrong and it embarrasses you, it'll embarrass me and Rob too, OK? We two will be with you until you're back here and meet up with Walt, no need to worry about your separation anxiety."

"I don't have separation anxiety! Look, do you have any idea on where to eat? I was looking for something that could sustain me for the next fourteen hours."

"No need to, there's food served onboard. Did you seriously forget that?"

"Yeah, but, it's airline food."

"What's the deal with it?"

"Is the canned laughter supposed to sound off now? What I mean is: It's probably bad and not even safe for dogs, I'd rather eat food that you can choose."

"Uuh... We're gonna fly first class, remember that. But I believe you have a point, let's go find something here then." Brian started walking away from the counter Xander was next to, the Beagle following him.

"Any ideas?"

"I don't really know this place, you know? Rob could help us with that a lot."

"And did you find him?"

"No. He's probably gonna arrive here at the last minute, you know how carefree he is. And he's probably not worried about things possibly delaying him and making him miss the flight, with all of his experience."

"I mean, it's his first time trying to board a flight with no humans. It's super scary! Humans kept looking at me as if I was lost and not supposed to be here! I have bags with me! Come on! And I'm not even the only pet here! Do I look weird or something?!"

"Calm down, Xan. Don't overanalyze."

"Ugh... Are you going somewhere? Our gate's the other way."

"I saw a small pizza place at the end of the concourse. It's pretty off-brand and bare-bones, but it's better than nothing. And maybe even better than Japan Airlines' food, which we'll have to eat anyways, it'll be a long time inside that plane."

"Uh, alright. I'm OK with pizza."

"Like a true New Yorker! Are you sure you don't have Italian blood in you?"

"Ah! What?! Why do I keep getting that now?! I'm just as 'New Yorker' as all of you!"

"Ooh, your Brooklyn accent really shines when you get worked up like this, these moments are probably what we have in mind when we say that."

"I've lived there for mere months! What exactly happened to your Bronx accent, anyways?"

"Go figure." Brian shrugged. "Probably got overriden by all the German from my new humans. I think it's only because of you two that I don't speak English with a German accent, hahaha."

"Heh. It's weird to imagine you speaking English like your owners do."

"Aber ich spreche Deutsch scheint üblich?"

"Stop that! Let's stick to English and Japanese, alright? You know that German's my weakest language, and speaking it to somebody who grew up with it is just asking for humiliation."

"Your German's fine, Xander, don't downplay yourself. It's a great way to talk between us two without Rob knowing, you know?"

"Yeah, we've done that before. It's super rude, in my opinion."

"That dog spends most of his life visiting other countries, him being the only one in our group who only speaks one language is just embarrassing."

"Oh, come on, Brian. You only learned German by chance, don't act like you'd be bilingual otherwise."

"Uuh... You're actually right, I shouldn't belittle people for not doing things I was forced to do, if it's not essential to them, sorry." The two dogs arrived at the pizza place at the terminal, ordering their food without talking between themselves and sitting down at the nearby tables after.

"Do you think you should call Rob?" Xander broke their silence as they waited for the food. "I think he wouldn't want to miss eating with us, maybe he's waiting at the gate alone or something."

"If he wants us, then *he* should call us. If he misses the pizza it's his own fault."

The Beagle glared at the Retriever. "Brian! Is there a problem between you and Rob recently? What's with this dismissive attitude?"

"What?! No! It's just... I... I dunno, I've... I've been dealing with so many inadequate people, I think my impatience is growing and affecting even my attitude towards my friends. Argh! Sometimes I hate my job."

"Hah! You hate it until you get the paycheck."

"My salary is nothing. Most of my money comes from unwarranted speculation. I'm just cashing out a lot of my stocks before everyone realizes this whole idea of 'new normal of widespread working pets' is overblown hysteria."

"Uh... You think your company has no future?"

"No! I just don't think it's gonna become the next Amazon or something. We're not gonna start having 'non-human hiring quotas' just because humans are suddenly aware of the fact human-borne contagious diseases exist, those are ludicrous ideas."

"But would you support them?"

"No. Market interventionist practices disguised as public health measures and social justice are some of the mos- Why are we talking about this?! Enough of the politics!" Brian suddenly exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry. We don't really ever talk about that, though."

"But *I* do! Not to my friends, of course, but to all the idi- People I work with. I don't agree with the direction the P.I.S. is taking! They want to worsen society just because it'll increase our earnings!"

"Well, welcome to running a corporation, I guess."

"Agh! I wish I could say I'm getting away from all of that with this holiday, but you know I'm not. I'm gonna have to contact them via videoconferences, watch those stupid ***ing grids of tiny screens with their stupid faces! 'Oh, do you like my home office? Do you like the little cute picture of my family behind my chair? Please don't fire me! Stay safe!' And the video quality is complete garbage! And the audio sounds like it's someone talking from another room! While underwater! Why do I do this to myse-"

"Brian! Calm down! Holy..."

"Sorry. It just feels really great to vent."

"See? Now you know why I complain to you about video games you don't even know."

"Small terminal, eh?" A familiar voice came from behind them, making them look and see their mutual friend. "How's it going, you two? Looking forward to everything?"

"Oh, definitely, Rob!" Brian immediately got up from his chair, smiling and hugging his friend. "You up for some pizza before boarding? We two have been waiting here."

Rob looked at the restaurant counter briefly, furrowing his eyebrows. "Uh, this place seems pretty bootleg... Oh well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?" He sat down with them.

"Really wasn't expecting you to make that comment, Rob." Xander commented, chuckling.

"Why? I'm not allergic to the word 'death' and derivatives, is that what you mean? Not like dying from eating here is a remote possibility, menus nowadays tell you if a certain dish is unsafe to certain species, you know? Unless you go to a really dodgy place, but you should be safe in a major international airport."

"Yeah. Some food might not kill you, but just make you wish you were dying instead." He deadpanned.

"Are you still complaining about our last roulette?"

"Our *penultimate* roulette! You still decided to do that one last time after that day."

"That one was super successful, though. Good times." Rob turned silent, reminiscing fondly. The three continued waiting for their pizza, Xander nervously grabbing his cellphone to check the time a few times.

"What were you doing, Rob?" Brian decided to interrupt the lull.

"I was in some gift shop, seeing if I could find some New-York-themed souvenir to give to my brother as a joke. But I left because the human running the thing started to oppress me."

Brian shot him a worried look. "Uh. That's... Really worrying to hear. Although most of the times you complain about 'human oppression' you're just complaining about a human asking you where your owner is with a baby voice."

"That's not-! OK, that's exactly what happened, but still! That's extremely patronizing! I don't need a ***ing human with me every time I step out of my ***ing house! You lanky hairless disease-ridden muzzled apes! Treat me with some ***ing respect!"

"Hehehe... Jeez, Rob. Swearing isn't gonna help you, just saying. Humans are very taken aback every time they see a pet doing that, remember that."

"Aww, they're disappointed I'm not acting like the little overgrown furry child I'm supposed to be? They can kindly go *** themselves, I don't give a *** about what type of censorship those mother***ers want to force upon me due to my species."

"Right, right. Don't act like humans wouldn't also be called out for being pottymouths, though." Brian glanced at the order counter. "Oh, I think the pizza's done, be right back."

Xander and Rob watched as Brian walked away from the table. "Huh. How's your whole 'becoming a better person' thing going, Rob?" Xander asked, a little sarcastically.

"Going fine! Why do you ask?"

"Dunno. Seems like your contempt for humans is still going strong."

Rob shrugged. "Being the little subservient second-class citizen I'm supposed to be isn't part of 'being a better dog', is it?"

"Eh, guess not. But nobody's gonna treat you better for acting so abrasive."

"I didn't say anything to the human at that store, just left without saying anything."

"Uh-huh. That's a relief, at least. You haven't learned Japanese swear words, have you?"

"No. Should I? Any slurs for humans? Just to keep their ego in check when needed?"

"Uh... 'Takai sarutachi' can be pretty derogatory."

"Ooh! Noted."

"And I already regret telling you that. Don't get in trouble there, please."

"Not a word of Japanese coming from me once there, Xan, I've told you that before. I'm just kidding." The two looked at Brian arriving back at the table, carrying a full pizza on a tray. "Pepperoni? You guys aren't very imaginative." Rob criticized once his friend sat down.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'm not gonna try a new style, especially today." Xander shot back, grabbing a plate. "Anything that lets us skip whatever they'll serve as lunch in the flight."

"With this timing, eating such a heavy meal, we might need to use the plane toilet before the plane's cruising, just a small warning."

Xander widened his eyes. "Oh. Uh, hm... Worth it." He shrugged, grabbing a slice.

Sandwich Residence, Thursday 3:48 PM

The cat and dog of the house were both on the living room sofa. Grape lay on it, face-up, while Peanut kneeled over her, both of them wearing paper bags over their heads.

"Maria! Please don't leave me, Maria!" Peanut sobbed loudly. "I can't imagine living without you, Maria!"

"Keep going strong, Esteban." Grape struggled to utter. "You have a full life ahead of you, please don't waste it grieving over me, that's my dying wish." She rested her head on the sofa abruptly after finishing.

"Maria! Nooooo!" The dog hugged Grape tightly, crying while burying his covered face on her chest, letting out a muffled yell. "Aaand scene!" Peanut sat up, clapping once to imitate a clapboard and removing his bag. "That was a great one! Do you think we can do one more?" He exclaimed happily while Grape was still removing her bag and adjusting herself.

"Enough for today, sorry, Peanut." She shook her head. "Can we do a more light-hearted 'Imaginate' for once eventually? All these tragedies really aren't helping my spirits."

"Aww, Grape! Am I making you sad? Sorry!" Peanut whined, getting up.

"No, no! I'd just like to play out a comedy or something once in a while, why do our recent sessions seem to be inspired by obscure foreign art films?"

"I've just been, uh, trying to expand the catalogue of genres I'm interested in, that's all. A friend told me to do that."

"Agh, Peanut! Your new friends are insufferable when it comes to movies, don't take that too seriously."

"Alright, sorry, we'll do a comedy next time. Xander told me to do that, to be exact."

"I know! It's obvious it's him. He's a good dog but, sheesh... His tastes."

Peanut sat down with Grape after being done storing some of the Imaginate props in a box. "I really wanna come over to his house again, but he's gonna be away for a long time. He's gonna visit Japan, starting today, in fact, I believe."

"Yeah, I've heard... Have you ever been to Japan? You know, with all your adventures with Tarot and all."

"No, Grape! Why do you think she'd be able to go to Japan with me?!"

"Why not?! Why are you acting like that's obvious? You two kept visiting completely different dimentions! Why is visiting another country obviously impossible then?"

"Dimension-shifting is completely different from teleportation, which is impossible only with Tarot's powers! She'd need to borrow that power from a celestial, who are completely different entities from ordinary psychics."

"Oh, right, right, whatever. Let's not open that can of worms anymore, ever."

"You keep complaining about Tarot working too much, but it's been giving her very good results recently. Some weeks ago she discovered that Keene somehow brought a demon back with him back when we did all that temple stuff, imagine what would happen to the Gardens if she ha-"

"Agh! Enough! I don't care! That place is doomed for all I care!" Grape suddenly burst, regretfully covering her mouth right after. "Sorry, sorry." She petted Peanut. "I'm happy her work's giving her the results she wants, alright? That's all I'm willing to discuss."

"Yeah, it's great! Now all that's really left are the coins, you see: Cresse-"

"No!" Grape yelled again. "Enough of that sh- Enough of that! How about you leave that poor dog alone?! She's even avoiding you!"

"She's not! She's never even properly met me!"

"Have you told Tarot about your suspicions, at least? Just so *she* can handle it instead of you?"

"Yeah! She told me to go take care of it myself because she's busy."

"Argh! The nerve!" The cat got up, walking towards her bed. "I'm off to sleep while Mom and Dad aren't here. Don't interrupt me, use your headphones, yell into a pillow if something exciting happens in your games, you know the deal."

"I understand, Grape!" The dog also got up. "I'm gonna visit the dog club right now, actually. I wanna see how things are going with all of the original founders away."

"Alright, enjoy yourself. This has nothing to do with that 'Cresselia' dog, does it?"

"Nothing at all! See you later!" Peanut trotted towards the front door.

College Point Dog Club, Thursday 4:04 PM

"Jon! Jon!" Peanut ran up to the desk the cat was using on the upper floor, almost slamming against it. "I'm here to talk about Cresselia!"

The tabby gave him a very confused, almost alarmed look. "Uh, who?"

"Cresselia! New member, white dog, probably ex-human."

"What?!"

"Ah! Didn't mean to tell you that!" Peanut shook his head, trying to concentrate. "Could you *please* just tell me where she lives? I... I fear for her safety." He tried to beg cutely.

"Uh." Jon tried to hide his captivation. "That's... That's a breach of the club's privacy policy."

"I know! Brian always tells me that! Even Rob tells me that now! All I need is to visit her once, it has nothing to do with the club!"

"Uh..." Jon started pondering, lounging on his chair. "You know, I'm kinda tired of just being stuck here today, how about you visit her with me?"

Peanut gave the cat a skeptical look. "Uh, OK. Why can't I just do it alone though?"

"Just wanna make sure everything goes fine, don't wanna get the blame for something." He started using the computer at the desk, looking for the member's info. "And you'll enjoy coming with me, won't you? With your captivation for cats and all." Jon smirked.

Peanut blushed immediately. "What?! How do you know that?!"

"That's supposed to be a secret? I was just told about it by Xa- I deduced it by observing your interactions with Grape, that's all. Try making it a little less obvious, alright? You two nuzzle yourselves way too much."

"Agh! It's just-! How do you and Xander get along usually, anyways?"

"I dunno." Jon shrugged. "Arms over shoulders, some very rare hugs, constant banter, we're not as physical as you two. There's nothing wrong with you and Grape's style of brotherhood though, you know? But if you consider that to be a secret, then that means that there's some shame involved, which woul-"

"Alright, Jon! Alright! Just find out where Cresselia lives and we two will visit her, OK?"

"OK, OK. I was about to ask you about the name again, glad you mentioned it." He started typing on the keyboard. "'Cresselia', huh? Isn't that some Pokémon? You know, I tried out the latest games, Xander has really vocal negative opinions on them, I thought he was just being picky as usual, but wow! Those games are *insanely* dumbed-down compared to the last generation I played, it's pretty sad. You used to have to work hard to get a legendary, but nowadays you just talk to some random NPC and they're all like 'Oh, yes. I do have a super-rare perfect-IV Pokémon I'm just willing to gift to you, why do you ask?'"

"Uh-huh."

"Oh, are you not interested? Sorry."

"Ugh, I don't mean to sound dismissive, it's just... I'm really focused on getting to the bottom of this, sorry."

Jon furrowed his brows, going over the information displayed on the computer one last time. "Jeez, uh. I don't know why this stranger is so important to you, but I'm glad I'll be there to make sure everything goes fine." He got up from his chair. "Let's go, then? I'll lead you. The house's like, five blocks from here. She's not even one of the hundreds of members from Flushing, lucky us!"

"Lucky!" Peanut tried to copy Jon's enthusiasm. "Speaking of Flushing, Grape really doesn't want to walk to the Meadows Park with me again, it's a real shame, I loved that place."

"Aw. I mean, it's a real long walk. Wanna come there with me instead?"

"Of course! I'd lov- Wait a second, why are you being so friendly, Jon?"

"Uh, what do you mean? We're not exactly strangers, we've even hung out before, albeit accidentally. Am I jumping the gun too fast here? I just wanna try to be friends with some of the club people."

"No, no, it's fine. We can go to the park someday, I'd love that. 'Club people'." Peanut repeated mockingly. "Just say 'club dogs', we all know you want to stop hiding your love for dogs and befriend us all."

"What?! Don't mock me, Peanut! It's not my fault the local cats here don't do anything!"

"Alright, alright. I'm just joking. Is this the 'banter' you mentioned?"

"Uh, I guess. Never took you for the cheeky type, haha." The two started leaving the building.

College Point Streets, Thursday 4:15 PM

The two pets continued making their way to their destination, Jon leading the way.

"...And there's also this weird game Xander plays." Jon talked while Peanut followed him. "It's like, only text, and apparently it's supposed to simulate an entire world. I watched him play it for like, three hours, a few days ago, and I don't think I ever came close to understanding what he was doing, haha."

"Sounds fun, Jon. I don't think I know that game either."

"Yeah..." The cat sighed deeply, looking down. "I'll... I'll miss that dog, Peanut."

Peanut furrowed his brows. "Uh, you're making it sound like he passed away. He'll be back soon, don't worry about it."

"I know! It's just... Argh! It's the first day, and I already feel like carp! I'm... It's just... I'm alone here, Peanut. Cod! I hate acting this sentimental, especially with someone I barely know, but I have to let it out! Without Xander, I'm completely alone here! All my friends are online, I barely know Dad, my old owners are gone, I feel like I've just moved!"

"I mean, you did, didn't you?"

"Moving one block doesn't count! I just... Feel really lonely suddenly, all it took was Xander's absence. I don't know why I'm telling you this, I guess this loneliness is what made me find any excuse to just go out with someone right now. I'm gonna try to arrange some meet-up with my friends tonight and stop clinging to you, sorry."

"Uh, I really don't mind, Jon... If this is all just an excuse to hang out with me then, would you otherwise just give me Cresselia's address and let me visit her by myself?"

"Oh, no. No way. I'd just say no."

"Oh, well, it's a good thing for me that you're lonely then, right?"

"Peanut! Kind of a bluntly sincere way of putting things, isn't it? Haha. Anyways, here it is." The cat pointed at the approaching house. "The address you want so much. I guess there's nothing stopping you from just memorizing this location and coming back later without me, argh! I *really* didn't think any of this through!"

"It's alright, Jon, it's alright." Peanut petted the nervous cat. "This has *nothing* to do with the club, OK? I'll pretend I know her address because I followed her home one day, something like that, if it's ever brought up."

"Uh... That's, even worse."

"Yeah! But it clears the club's name, right?" He rang the house's doorbell earlier than Jon anticipated, making the cat go a few steps behind him.

A woman opened the front door for the two pets. "Hello, little ones!" She greeted cutely. "Are you here for some of the Halloween leftovers?"

"No, uh..." Peanut answered. "I'm here to see Cresselia, your dog. I just wanna talk a little, uh, get to know her."

"My *daughter* Cresselia, please." She corrected. "Are you from the dog club? Glad to know she managed to get some friends even only going there for two days."

"Uh, I am, but he's not." He nudged towards Jon. "This cat right here is absolutely not a major figure of the club's administration, just a good friend." He put an arm over the cat's shoulders.

"I see... I'll get her then, wait here." The human walked deeper into the house.

"Are you *trying* to get me into trouble, Peanut?" Jon glared.

"What do you mean? I just told her this isn't about the club."

"You made it really... Oh, who cares, not like we're gonna run out of money if I lose my job."

"But it's important to you, isn't it?"

"I guess... I honestly only got it because I was kinda moody after I abandoned my old parents, I feel better now... I mean, I'm moody again, but that's because I miss Xander. Ugh, why do I have to be such a mess?"

"It's fine, Jon. You'll feel better soon." He started petting the cat.

"And stop stroking me! You're acting like a human!" Jon complained just as Cresselia arrived at the front door.

She widened her eyes upon hearing the sentence. "What?!"

"Not you!" Jon stepped back, waving dismissively. "Peanut here, my *friend*, wants to talk to you about some stuff before coming home, that's all, sorry for the incovenience." He started looking at the two dogs, watching in silence.

"Oh, uh, Cresselia..." Peanut started nervously. "I'm Peanut, do you remember me?"

"I... I've seen you, what are you here for?"

The mixed Pointer started to give Jon some nervous glances. "I'm here to talk about the possibility that you... Haven't... I'm here to talk about your family, some of the club members are worried about, uh, Linus, is he alright?"

"Yeah, he's here. Why didn't you ask for him instead?"

"Uh... I didn't wanna disturb him, I've heard that his human-brother has been missing, right? How's he dealing with that?"

"Uh, fine! He's very fine with it, he doesn't care much about it at all anymore! None of us do!" She smiled nervously.

Peanut looked at her weirdly. "Wow, uh, I mean, what? You all just got over it?"

"That kid is from the past! He's from before my new life here! Water under the bridge! Could we please just avoid this topic? Sorry, I just, I don't have much to talk about it. He disappeared and they all moved on, I'm the replacement, that's all there is to it."

"Alright. Do you know anything about his disappearance?"

"No."

"Nothing to do with a gold coin?"

"What?! How do you kn-! Only I-! Ah! Uh, no! Don't know anything about coins, what's with that question?!"

"Cresselia, listen to me, pretending to not know things won't make things better for you. Are you just pretending to not be, uh, what was the missing human's name?"

"His name doesn't matter! None of this matters! Leave me alone and let me live the normal *dog* life I want! Goodbye!" She almost slammed the door.

Jon approached Peanut slowly as he tried to calm himself after the quick argument. "Looks like you failed that speech check, didn't you?" He tried to lighten up.

The dog sighed, turning away from the door. "Ugh, I think that's the end of that lead. Oh well, not like it's a major clue, it'd just help us with narrowing down Steward's moves during the last year."

"Uh, OK. I don't know what that means. Do you two know each other from times back or something?"

"No! Uh, I didn't mean to think that out loud, disregard that."

The two started walking together again. "She just doesn't wanna be seen as a replacement to the boy, it seems. Like, it must bother you a little, if you're aware that the only reason you've been adopted is to replace somebody, somebody you've never seen. Someone who might not even be dead, imagine if they somehow find him after all this time, awkwaaaard..."

"Yeah, sure... Mom and Dad have us two because they can't have kids, they never outright told us that, but it's pretty obvious. Doesn't bother me at all, though! I love them!"

"Oh. If only that were the case for my old owners too, haha."

"Where are you going, Jon? This isn't the way to the club, I'm going home, and you're just following me."

"Oh! Cod, I'm an airhead." The cat facepalmed in shame. "Might as well just follow you home at this point, right?"

"Hah! Right. Gonna keep you from getting lonely, isn't it?" Peanut put an arm over the cat's shoulders again. "I do 'look just like Xander' after all."

"I was wrong in that assumption, you're a bit taller."

"And that's the only difference you can make out?"

"I'm- I'm working on it, OK? Baby steps."

"Yeah. You just *love* babies, don't you?"

"Peanut! You- You can almost replace Xander with the brotherly teasing, jeez."

"It's what I'm going for! Are you feeling better?"

"Quite. You don't have to do this, I'll get over Xander's absence soon, don't worry about it."

"I do it, because it's fun for me too." He rubbed Jon's head again. "How about we two go the Flushing Meadows Park tomorrow?" Peanut wagged in anticipation.

"Uh, I can't. I have work."

"So what? Aren't you 'working' right now?"

"Haha! Good point, actually. I'm shirking work hard right now, naughty! Let's go out at five, alright? Meet up with me when I'm closing the club."

"Nice, Jon, can't wait!"

"Ah, your smile! You're the cutes- Agh! Please pretend I didn't just almost say that."

"Gladly. But you wouldn't be the first cat to do that."
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Amazee Dayzee
Posts: 25882
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:24 pm

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Its really remarkable that you continue to make this story get even better through each new chapter you post! Really fine work as usual!
Wortge
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:06 am

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

Tokyo International Airport Terminal 3, Ōta Ward, Japan, Friday 4:35 PM

A Beagle sat silently on a mini-suite inside of the airplane, grabbing his laptop computer from a shelf and putting it on his lap while waiting for the time to exit the aircraft.

Brian got out of his neighboring seat and leaned over Xander's seat's divider. "So... How was the flight?" He attempted to small-talk.

"Uh, it was alright, I guess?... We sure covered a lot of distance, right? What can I even say? I'm glad we didn't crash." Xander almost chuckled.

"It could be worse, indeed, haha. What were you doing at your computer? If you don't mind telling me, crunching some data?"

"Hah! Nothing productive, sorry. This is Jon's old PC, I installed some retro stuff on it so I can kill time while at the hotel or whatever. Was just talking to Jon back home, it's nighttime over there already."

"Yeah, I know. Meanwhile, to us, it just seems like we're having a very long day. 'What do you mean it's still afternoon?!'" He asked playfully.

"Except it's Friday now, I was gonna point out the exact time we crossed the International Date Line for you two, but you were both away at the time, you missed something really interesting."

"Hey, you know how active Rob is, I have to make him some company. He told me that you have to get up and walk around the aircraft once every hour or else you get blood clots, are you having that?"

"Uh, I dunno, my blood seems fine?" Xander looked over his own body, mildly worried. "At least I got some sleep, have you two been awake for the whole flight?"

"Yeah, it's about four o'clock now. Rob told me that he toughs it out and only goes to sleep at night after long westbound flights like this, to avoid jet lag."

"Well, guess I blew that now." The Beagle shrugged. "I slept at the wrong time and now I'll have to be up all night and go to sleep during the morning and... Oh, wait a second, isn't that what I do normally?" He chuckled.

"I think you two have really bad sleep schedules from what you've both told me, maybe this reset will fix things." Brian glanced at the seat in front of Xander's. "Uh, did Rob just leave without us?"

"'You know how active he is.'" Xander echoed. "Let's go before he bites some human who tries to pet him or something." He got up and started grabbing his backpack from the overhead bin.

Brian stretched exaggeratedly before preparing to leave. "Welcome to Japan, then! Are you fine, Xan? Feeling anxious, maybe homesick?"

"I'm alright, Brian, stop worrying about it." He shook his head. "I'm just an emotional idiot, I'm really sorry about that sniffling in the middle of the flight, I don't know what my problem is."

"You're a pretty homebound dog, Xan, even I am. Changes of routine like this overwhelm you emotionally, and I've heard that crying on planes is actually perfectly normal. I'm no Walt, I'm no Jon, Sapporo will be no New York, but I hope you feel the most at home possible. You'll love this trip, and if you don't, I'll voice my grievances with Rob. You know, his idea and all."

"Don't let me hold back your enjoyment." He finished wearing his backpack. "Let's go hunt down Rob already, he's probably in a trance, running to the domestic terminal while forgetting about us."

"You're projecting a really weird personality onto Rob. He's probably just walking casually to the terminal, trying to look like the most independent dog there is, like he's going to work or something."

"Haha, right. 'Going to work', just pretending to be someone who he'd never want to be. The mutt goes on and on about how bad humans are for acting like we all depend on them, but dog forbid Shane stop pampering and sustaining him for free."

"Yeah, he's a bit of a hypocrite, but nobody's perfect, right?" Brian started walking away from his seat, Xander following. "He could emancipate from Shane, although that'd be a really callous, sudden betrayal of a lifelong bond that I'd never support without some very compelling reasoning. Then he could just live off me, who, believe it or not, is not a human."

"Aren't you managing the company that enables all those terrible 'betrayals'?"

"Well, I'm in no place to judge my clients. Some pets just want to find a job more easily, some want to run away from their human forever, even if that human treats them well and supports their independence. We still must serve them regardless of their ethics, basic professionalism."

"Right, right. You'd berate Rob personally but still just let your company take him in... I'm just imagining you, Rob and Hobart living in the same house, that's a crazy scenario."

"Gotta bring Luke and my daughters to live there too, haha. That'd be a lot of Golden Retrievers, do you ever wonder why all your friends are Retrievers?"

"What? Only you and Rob are. Not my fault you're both so attached to your giant purebred families, and I barely know Rob's brother and your children."

"Yeah, you're right. Technically I'm not purebred, I think I've told you about that."

"Oh, right, I remember. Your father is mixed but you just got nothing from his side."

"And every day I pray that Luna and Lisa never find out about that. I'm surprised Carla has never tried to trace their pedigree or something, with her vanity, I'd surmise it'd be a matter of time."

The two dogs reached the terminal building connected to the airplane, looking around for their friend while casually walking. "Wow, he really just randomly disappeared, what's Rob's problem?!" Xander almost growled in annoyance. "This reminds me of that scene in that stupid movie-game, 'Heavy Rain', where the kid just randomly runs away and gets run over by a car."

"He's leaning against that window, chill." Brian pointed. "I know Rob isn't very concerned with self-preservation, especially for someone so scared of death, but I don't think he'd meet such a stupid end."

"Oh, haha. Let me just shut my mouth already." The two approached Rob. "So..." Brian started. "Why exactly couldn't you welcome us to Japan all in one group?"

"Just wanted to go to a more open space already, sorry for rushing you two." Rob excused. "I don't think we all have to be together for something as meaningless as crossing a jetway anyways."

"A what?" Xander tilted his head.

"Really, Xander? The walking dictionary here doesn't know what a 'jetway' is? It's the moving bridge that connects a plane to the terminal."

"Oh, really? I'll keep that in mind. Speaking of words, can you read *that*?" The Beagle pointed at an exit sign.

"'Exit'." Rob shrugged.

"Don't play dumb, read the Japanese part."

"Oh, uh... 'Takuro'."

"What?"

"Haha, I got that wrong, didn't I? I just said something that sounds Japanese, if I had gotten that right I'd try the lottery right now."

"It's 'deguchi', be ready to see that written everywhere."

"Yeah, 'exit' is a pretty common word, from buildings to highway exits. Do you know how to say 'exit' in Thai, Xan? I remember that one."

"Uh, it's 'tengork'."

"Agh, you're no fun."

"By the way, Xander." Brian nudged his friend to get his attention. "I actually learned some Japanese during the flight using the IFE, just to pass time. Check this out: Getsu, Ka, Sui, Moku, Kin, Do, Nichi!" He tried to list as quickly as possible.

"Oh, days of the week? Good job, Brian. Although you might want to start out by learning just how to say something like 'I'm American' before jumping to stuff as situational as that."

"I can do that! 'Watashi wa Amerikajin desu.' Right?"

"Uh, yeah. That conveys the meaning. Nothing wrong with using 'watashi', but most male pets use 'boku' when talking to humans, just keep that in mind. 'Watashi' might be seen as feminine when used in a casual context, but when said to a human in a formal context it might be interpreted as you, uh, asserting yourself as an equal to a human citizen."

"What's exactly wrong with that?" Rob immediately interjected.

"Look, I don't make social norms, I just try to live by them. Pets aren't seen as equals to humans because they're mostly completely uneducated, different beings who are only fed and kept in a home for companionship. If you don't wanna be treated like a child, then maybe don't live like one."

"What's wrong with just wanting to be treated as an equal? It's not extra effort, just basic courtesy! Humans are already giving me everything I want, why is just wanting to be treated like I can function by myself such a big deal?!"

"That's undoing how humans have treated pets for thousands of years. In the end, all of this barely affects your life, nobody's outright stopping you from doing human stuff, they just think it's unusual but go along with it. Also, I've seen you referring to human strangers as 'it', you don't even do that to wild animals, is that treating humans 'as equals'?"

"They see no issue in calling non-humans 'it', why would I treat them better than they treat us? Uh... Why are we even having this argument?! We're in Japan, guys!" Rob suddenly raised his arms, walking away from the window. "Come on! Let's enjoy some stuff in the airport before the next plane departs!"

Brian and Xander started following their friend. "Are you gonna try to buy souvenirs for your brother again?" The Beagle asked.

"No, no. I wanted to buy souvenirs of the city he reluctantly lives in for him, not a city he has no connection towards."

"Right. Jon told me to bring back some paraphernalia for him, don't know how willing I am in taking that seriously."

"Let's avoid gift shops and the such, way too touristy."

"You know that you *are* a tourist, right?"

"Yeah! But I'm a discrete tourist. You know, I'm missing the fanny pack, and the large camera attached to my collar."

"I don't think I've ever seen a tourist dressed that stereotypically."

"I have! And don't forget the selfie sticks! Argh! Worst thing that's ever happened to tourism travel!"

"Eh, I feel like worse things have happened to the tourism industry recently." Xander deadpanned.

"Don't bring that up! Forget about that! Forever! This is the part of the world where nobody gives a ***, and it's a ***ing breath of fresh air."

"They do care about it. Maybe you should hear things directly from the Japanese, instead of depending on unreliable translations."

"Yeah, yeah. 'Just learn Japanese, you guys! It's easy!' I get it... Look, next flight will take off at six thirty, we have a little over one hour, how about we take a quick look around Tokyo? This terminal is connected to the monorail."

"Won't there be a lot of bureaucracy for us if we have to leave and re-enter the airport?"

"Yeah, but nothing complicated, I've done it before with Shane."

"Ugh, I'll pass. Opinions, Brian?"

"One hour is cutting it way too close, leave it for another time, Rob." Brian opined. "Didn't you tell me you wanted to check out the airport's observation decks, anyways?"

"Humph, looks like I've been two-thirds supermajority-ed again." Rob changed his direction. "Let's go there then, might be fun... I used to planespot a little, for a few months, back in my College Point days."

"I did that just a few days ago, actually." Xander told. "With a friend of mine."

"Which friend?"

"Uh, Spline. The gray one, you know?"

"Ah, right... Spline, Spine, Spiney Spline! You can be less shy about your cat friends with us, you know? No need to reduce people so close to you to just 'a friend'."

"OK. But if you don't want me to feel insecure about them then you should at least stop teasing me over it."

"Doesn't your roommate do that to you all the time?"

"Yeah, Jon does, but... You know, he's a cat."

"And of course the cats get the preferential treatment, haha."

"See? You're doing it again. It's not just because they're cats. A cat mocking a dog for having cat friends is one thing, a dog doing that is another."

"Uh, how so?"

"Just look at that new friend of yours, for example. He's like... He wants some kind of segregation between cats and dogs, it's not just joking, it's actual disgust for being friends with non-dogs."

"Uh, yeah. He's *really* nuts over that, dunno why. I'm not gonna try defending that, he can be really unpleasant." The trio arrived at the outdoor viewing area, stopping near the tall fence overlooking the tarmac. "Your first time in Tokyo, isn't it, Brian?" Rob put an arm over his friend's shoulder. "I'm no stranger to this place, was here as a pup, as an adult, I even had a very special trip to here once, where Shane got Dad to come along with us, as a surprise! I loved that vacation so much!" The Retriever cheered energetically.

"Yes, it's my first time. First time in Asia, in fact."

"Ugh! How do you even withstand never going to Asia for so long? I'm glad to be helping you with that."

"It's just never been a priority in my life at all."

"It will be after this trip, just you wait!" Rob boasted. "Look at this view of the city! That tower there is the 'Skytree', second tallest structure in the whole world!" He pointed excitedly at the tower jutting out from behind the distant wall of high-rises.

"Uh, I can barely see it."

"Wanna take a closer look?"

"I get what you're suggesting, no, we're not leaving the airport."

"It wouldn't hurt, I swear. You two wanna eat something here?"

"Chill out, Rob! We're just gonna wait here, no eating, no shopping sprees, no sightseeing, do you think you can contain yourself until then? I just wanna sleep right now, ugh." Brian sighed while rubbing his forehead.

"Dog! You're just like Sarah! Fine, let's stare at the sky then." Rob threw a small tantrum, crossing his arms.

Xander walked a little closer to Rob. "Scattered cirrus coverage today, you see that?" He directed Rob's view towards the sky. "Looks like there's a few cumulus at around six thousand feet? Great day for flying, calm wind too."

"Uh, that's good to know. Are you making that stuff up?"

"What, cloud types? No, it's very easy to learn. We're here to see some airplanes, you should be aware of such basic aviation knowledge."

"Says the dog who didn't know what a 'jetway' is. I like seeing the planes, not knowing about how to pilot one."

"Right, uh..." Xander started fishing for his smartphone. "A frien- Spline uses a website when he's planespotting, it shows the positions of most airliners in the world, I think, let me see if I can get it to work." He started tapping.

"Oh, that sounds cool."

"Wait, my Internet's not gonna work here, will it?"

"Do you have an international plan?"

"Like, for the cellphone's Internet? No... Oh, yeah, it's not working." The Beagle quickly gave up, dismissively storing his cellphone back.

"Brian can get something for you, probably, just tell him." Rob glanced at the daydreaming Retriever. "I don't think he's listening to us."

"I'm good, Rob. I don't even know what carrier this thing uses." Xander turned his attention to the tarmac. "There's a plane landing there, runway two two. I actually remember the runway numbers of this airport because of that flight sim, haha."

"Does the city look like how it does in the game?"

"Uh, sure... Real life seems a little hazier, heh."

"Yeah, that's Asia in a nutshell. This is nothing compared to Kuala Lumpur or some Chinese cities, at least from when I was visiting them."

"Really? Pretty sure even New York looks like this sometimes."

"I swear it's way more common here. I've even read some stuff about it, apparently it's because of wildfires in Malaysia and just industrial pollution in general."

"Uh-huh."

"Are you bored? If you are you have anybody but me to blame."

"I'm not bored, I'm... I'm tired. Aren't you? Back home it's like, five A.M.!"

"I'm not. Didn't you already sleep anyways?"

"You can't call sleeping on a plane 'sleeping'! It helps pass time but I don't feel rested at all!"

"Hahaha, Xan! You just slept on a freaking first class seat! How can you be so picky? And those seats are big enough for humans, you could probably treat one as a full bed."

"No, I couldn't. It's still just a seat, it's only big enough for your butt."

"You can recline it and then lie on it. In fact, that's how I spent the whole flight."

"Oh, uh, I didn't know that."

"Xander! Are you serious?! Why didn't you tell us?! You seriously didn't know that the seats recline?!"

"I- I didn't find any buttons or anything! I've learned now, chill."

"Hahaha, terrible. You never noticed that people were not just sitting? Ask us for help sometimes, alright?"

"Ugh, I'm... I'm shy, Rob. Always keep that in mind, I won't ask for help unless I'm dying, don't you realize that every single thing I know is self-taught?"

"What do you even mean by that? Like, you taught yourself Japanese without asking us because it's obvious we wouldn't be able to help you, not because you were too shy to ask us."

"Well, Brian knows German, and I learned that without his help."

"Because you wanted to surprise him! Isn't that what you told me?"

"He wasn't even surprised because I ***ed it up completely when I tried to speak to him for the first time."

"You still got there in the end, now you get to share secrets between you two even with me in the same room."

"We've never done that!"

"Hah, sure you haven't."

"Ugh, can we just go to the other terminal already? I think we've seen everything you can see from here already."

"We haven't even seen a takeoff yet."

"Haven't you already seen enough takeoffs throughout your whole life?"

"Why does it matter that I've already seen that? Those moments are gone, experiencing something in the present will always beat just remembering it."

"Things get old eventually, you can't be the only person who enjoys doing something for the fifth time as much as the first time."

"I still enjoy it more than just reminiscing it. I've had to spend more than a year stuck in New York, when you're forced to live like that, you learn how to enjoy repetition."

"Oh, just imagine not traveling for more than a year, what an unusual lifestyle that is." Xander deadpanned exaggeratedly. "Also didn't you go to Washington last year? And, you know, Chicago? Boston? Upstate? You've been busy this half of the year."

"Those are barely trips, Xander, we used to drive somewhere at least a few hours away almost every week before the apocalypse."

"Ugh, don't fearmonger, Rob. Life will go back to normal for everyone soon, I thought you wanted us to 'forget about the pandemic forever'?"

"What? I didn't mean the pandemic, I meant Shane's marriage."

"Oh. Uh... Do you think those times might be coming back once everything's settled?"

"I hope! It sucks to live in the present, but I think I can look forward to the future."

"Nowhere to go but up, right? Be careful with doing so many road trips though, you could get in an accident any day."

"Seriously, Xander? You're sounding like my brother, stop that."

"It's still a worry, though. Well, you do you, whatever."

"Let's just go to the other terminal already, alright? We might get lost or something."

"You getting lost? Doubtful."

"Aw, I'm flattered. I've never used the domestic terminal though, I don't know exactly how to get there, but with *your* Japanese knowledge, it will be super simple!" Rob suddenly put an arm around Xander.

"All the signs are in Japanese and English, I'm no help here, you can figure things out by yourself."

"Well, I'm gonna pretend I can't read English then! Shall we go?" He stopped touching Xander, starting to walk away.

"Uh, alright." Xander reluctantly followed, looking back. "Brian! We're leaving!" He called for the distracted dog.

"Oh!" Brian took notice of the two, running to catch up. "Sorry. I was distracted watching the planes. You know, actually doing the thing we came here for."

"Did you hear our entire conversation?"

"I heard it, I didn't exactly process it. You two sure are talkative today, aren't you?"

"Hah. Well, you two spent the whole flight by yourselves, I guess we two had to catch up on things."

"Indeed."

"Xander!" Rob called as they were walking inside the terminal building again. "What does that say?" He pointed at a multilingual direction sign.

"Ugh, are you serious?" The Beagle complained. "'Kokusaisen noritsugi.'"

"What's that in English?"

"'International flight transfers.'"

"That's not what's written in English!"

"I thought you couldn't read English?"

"You're just changing it up to pretend you're not just reading the English, haha! I like it, I like to know you actually know."

"Ugh. Taidana, baka da."

"What did you just say?"

"I said that we must go through a security check and then take a bus that goes to the domestic terminal, that's how we get there."

"You got all of that from those signs?"

"I got that from actually researching things before coming here! How do you even survive without Shane? I'm the one here who's supposed to be completely out of his element!"

"I've done this only with Shane plenty of times, don't act like I'm depending on you to figure things out."

"But you're *acting* like you're depending on me because of my language knowledge."

"Alright, fine, I'll lead the way and figure things out in the moment, as I always do. Help me if somebody can't speak English though."

"Gladly. That's what we always planned on doing, no pretending to be illiterate and all the funny stuff you're trying now."

"I won't abuse your Japanese powers anymore, haha. Sorry." Rob looked back at Brian. "Are you OK, Brian? You've quieted down again."

"This conversation is between the two of you, isn't it?" He replied. "I'm just taking the time to ponder some stuff that needs my attention during this downtime, sorry if I seem really spaced-out."

"You're trying to work in your own head? I'm tempted to tell you to take it easy, but I have no idea how grueling your job can get, and if this is actually necessary. Just take care of yourself, there's a time for the P.I.S., there's a time for the club, and there's a time for your fun."

"Argh! I even forgot about the club! Thanks for bringing that up."

"Uh-oh. Take it easy."

"Hah! Don't worry about it, Rob. I'm gonna sleep soon anyways."

"Really? You're gonna disregard my jet lag advice? Oh well, enjoy waking up at eleven PM."

College Point Dog Club, Friday 4:39 PM

"...And here you have the stuff for the end of the month." Jon explained things to a Malamute while pointing at his monitor. "Nothing beyond that, I don't think I should be handling things planned for after Brian's return just yet."

"I understand." Flash nodded. "You're doing a good job, I think everyone else is in agreement too. Any plans for a second listening party, by the way? I think the first one went smoothly, all things considered."

"Uh..." The cat cringed. "I don't know what the dog- The club members are telling you, but feedback on that hasn't been, uh... It wasn't not bad."

"'Wasn't not bad'? Can't you just be more transparent with me? Just tell me people thought it sucked already."

"It didn't 'suck', it just... Look, your music selection could've been better, why did you play freaking ballroom music?! This isn't the twenties! I mean, it is, but... You know what I mean!"

"It wasn't just 'ballroom music'! It's an artistic interpretation of the gradual decline into dementia! The original album is six hours long! Do you know how much effort it took for me to cut it down to twenty minutes?! And all of that work was wasted! Because y'all think anything that isn't pop and rock is too boring! Even though I played a lot of that anyways! You just can't stand a mere twenty minutes of actual art!"

"Jeez, I can see how you and Xander get along so well. We can have one of your listening things later, wait a few months. But this time, give me the playlist in advance so I can veto it, please."

"And why would I trust *your* music taste?"

"Because just like the rest of the club, I'm a complete 'plebeian', as Xander would say, are you familiar with that term?"

"Oh, quite. Yeah, whatever, I'd trust you in making a playlist more palatable to the general public, I guess. See you later then!" The dog turned away, leaving the room.

"See you later!" Jon waved, quickly grabing his portable console again as Flash exited. "Now: How the F are people able to wall jump at this spot?" He started playing a game quietly.

A brown dog entered the room after a few minutes. "So, you finally did it, didn't you?" He grunted while approaching Jon, glaring at the cat.

"Uh." The cat was initially alarmed before looking at the visitor. "Oh, you're the mongrel who goes here every week just to have hissy fits over me, what do you have for today?"

"Your downfall!" Bino leaned on the desk passionately. "I'm about to start my new dog club! And guess what?! Absolutely no cats allowed! This insult of a club will soon be history!"

"Didn't you tell me that last month already?" He replied, unaffected.

"I'm now closer! So, how are the dogs here reacting to the fact that the leadership has been *completely* stripped from dogs?! As I've always warned would happen!"

"Stop chewing the scenery, you're right next to me, no need to yell. The dogs don't care, and the dog leadership's still there, they'll be back soon, I'm not planning a coup or whatever goes on in your mind."

"Of course you are! In fact, I have proof that their trip to Japan was all just part of your plans! Just wait until I show that to the rest of the club!"

"OK, now I'm interested." Jon sat down more properly. "What's that proof?"

"I'm not gonna show you! How dumb do you think I am?! What do you even expect to gain from this takeover? Despite everything, I've never seen another cat in attendance."

"Eh, Spline's here sometimes."

"Who?!"

"Oh, nothing. Don't wanna sic you on him. Do you have anything of value to say? I have to close the club really soon, then meet up with a friend. Mutual friend with you, in fact, funny stuff." Jon laughed lightly.

"We don't have mutual friends! Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious, I'm gonna go on a date with Peanut. You know that dude, don't you? One of your old friends from Chicago."

"I'm not from Chicago! And Peanut's not my frie- Wait a second, a date?!"

"Yeah, we two are gonna hold hands and sing Disney-esque songs while waltzing along the bucolic sunflower fields of the city! You should learn from him, it seems like he's enjoying life a lot better than you."

"I'm not gonna dishonor myself just to 'enjoy life'! I know Peanut's into weird stuff, he keeps that away from me though, and I appreciate that."

"That's good. I'm glad you two are good friends."

"Stop trying to be friendly! I know that deep down you're just yet another mean cat."

"Ugh, I can't keep a passive-aggressive attitude going for too long, it's exhausting. It's the most stereotypically feline thing, and I can't do it properly, doesn't that show you that I'm actually barely a cat?"

"Oh, you're gonna try to convince me that you're actually a dog in disguise now? Or better yet, that you actually used to be a dog but 'transformed' into a cat just like all those weirdos back in the Gardens?! Not falling for that! Just know that this club will be history! Enjoy it while you can!" Bino exclaimed while turning away.

"Have a good day!" Jon shouted as Bino left his view. "Jeez, what's with this burst of activity here in 'the administration'? Right in the last minutes of my shift too. Let me just finish everything really quick." He mumbled to himself while getting up.

The cat put some of his belongings in a small case and made his way downstairs, announcing the club's closure to a few members before going outside and finishing his routine procedures.

"Alright." Jon continued mumbling, looking around. "Is Peanut seriously gonna stand me up? There's no way, right? If he does I'll assume he got petnapped or something, yikes."

"Jon! Are you ready?!" Peanut asked cheerfully from behind.

"Ah! How did you-?!" The cat turned around. "Uh, so let's get to the park then? Let's enjoy these last hours of daylight."

"I can't wait to see what that globe looks like in the evening!" Peanut started walking already, taking the lead. "What's with this purse you're carrying, by the way?"

"Oh, it's just where I carry my Switch. Too big for my collar, obviously."

"Hm, cool. Ever thought of wearing pants? They're handy for storing things too."

"A bit too incovenient, isn't it? Maybe a fanny pack would be better, no need to have the thing cover my entire legs. I'd also have to wear shoes for them, because wearing pants with no shoes on seems like a fashion disaster."

"You're concerned about fashion? You're not wearing anything right now."

"Come on, Peanut, there's a lot of fashion involved in something as simple as a collar and a bag. It still has to complement my fur pattern and colors. Don't you see how many coats try to mimic fur? As if the person wearing it is trying to look like a naked leopard or whatever? Being naked doesn't mean you don't care about your appearance, your apparel."

"Yeah, I understand. I have a lot of clothing I use for some Imaginate sessions, if you know what that means."

"I know a little. Apparently it's one of Xander's guiltiest pleasures."

"Heh, that's what he tells you? But, you know, wearing that, and seeing some animals around wearing t-shirts, jackets, shoes, it makes me want to try it out someday. Just going out with some basic clothing."

"Really? I mean, winter's coming. But I think going around like a walking advertisement just like all the humans is pretty stupid."

"I think it'd be cool! The humans find that cute, you know?"

"Humans find anything cute."

"What do *you* find cute, Jon?"

"Uuh... Horses. A little."

"Interesting... What about dogs?"

"You have to do that to me, don't you?... Some breeds." Jon answered shyly.

"Beagles?"

"That is a gross implication, Peanut."

"I'm not saying you have to act on that attraction, I'm just asking if you have it at-"

"No!"

"Alright! Alright." The two pets continued walking, in silence, Peanut boredly bopping his head after some minutes. "Do you wanna start playing your Switch?" The dog eventually broke the silence.

"My Switch? No, not now."

"Aaw! Why not?"

"What?! Uh, because I'm busy walking to the park! I'm not gonna play a game while walking!"

"I can guide you! But I also wanna see you playing, ooh... This might be tricky."

"Forget about it, I just wanna walk. Maybe I'll play a little while there, if we really run out of things to do."

"OK. It just feels like we're wasting time here doing nothing but walking."

"You just can't sit still, can you? Do you irritate Grape often?"

"Yeah. She complains a lot."

"Sad to hear. Can I entertain you in any way? In any way that doesn't risk me being run over by a car?"

"Uuh..." Peanut quickly looked around the neighborhood. "Oh! Tell me about your life here!"

"My life?!"

"Yeah! You moved from far away, didn't you? How did you settle in?"

"Oh... Wow, uh... I don't think I've ever talked about my life to anyone."

"Then make me the first!"

"I mean, Xander knows all about my past, but that's because he lived through it."

"You don't mind telling me a story, don't you?"

"It's fine, it's good for passing time. Here we go, then." Jon collected his thoughts, unsure on how to start. "Uh, like, I was born in Texas, Southern Texas, lived there for a few months, maybe a year? Got adopted by a young couple pretty early, had some friends there, bunch of dogs and cats, really active bunch."

"Do you miss them?"

"Uh, not really. Memories are foggy."

"And then what happened?"

"Well, you probably know what happened, since we're not exactly in Texas right now. The owners suddenly moved to New York with me, no idea why. Not like I'd understand if they explained things to me, being a kitten and all. They told me we'd be moving to far away just a few days before the move, two days before, I believe."

"Oh, were you able to say goodbye to your friends?"

"I... I kinda didn't process things. I played with them a little the day before I moved, but the thought of never seeing them again after that never crossed my mind. It's obvious, like, we're moving to a place well out of reach, no plans of returning, at the time, of course I'll never see them again, but my mind was just thinking about a new house, not new friends."

"You really never saw them again?"

"Nope! Away I went, one-way road trip, destination: Queens! What a drive! And every hour that passed, my dumb kitten mind started to realize: 'Huh, we're way too far from home right now, maybe I'll never see everything I'm used to ever again.'"

"You had the chance though, right?"

"Well, yeah. This year I had the chance to trade the place I've lived for eighteen years for the one I've lived for only one, the chance to see all the friends I'm not even sure are still there and a town that probably considerably changed over time. I had to refuse that, quite forcefully."

"Uh-huh, I remember."

"But yeah, eventually we got here. I... I actually don't remember how I met Xander exactly, just that we've been friends for my entire life here."

"How long did it take for you to meet him?"

"Uh, I remember being at his house before even entering mine, so, yeah."

"Oh, you met him straight away then."

"Yeah. He told me to check the city out with my parents before they started working, I remember. On Monday we went to Central Park, I had so much fun! It was just so different from Texas, and knowing that was gonna be home from then on, I just remember being really fascinated by the City."

"Me and Grape did the same! It really was lots of fun."

"Yeah, uh... Tuesday was... We were planning on taking the ferry to the island with the Statue of Liberty, but, uh..."

"Plans didn't work out?"

"Very light way of putting it... Cod, I hate talking about it." Jon rubbed his forehead.

"Uh, if you don't wanna, it's fine."

"Ugh, it's OK, I'm just being too sensitive. Uuh... Kinda close to where the ferry was, there were these two really tall towers, that day, uh-"

"You *really* don't need to elaborate, Jon. I get it now."

"Well, I won't then, but yeah, our sightseeing days were cut short after that. That's when I really started seeing Xander, pretty much every day, he... He really helped me, with getting used to here, with that trauma, he... There's a side of Xander that I believe very few people see, he's grumpy and blunt but, he can be... Argh! Every single conversation I have veers into me talking about my brother! I miss him so much! Why am I acting like this?! It's only been a day! I spent weeks without even thinking about him earlier this year, why does having me live with him make me so suddenly lonely now?!"

"I think you're just taking his company for granted. When that's suddenly gone, you can't get used to it."

"Yesterday night was pure torture! Just... His computer just sitting there! Empty! And Walt is working at night now! I was completely alone! I thought having the house for myself would be fun, but it wasn't! I always thought I was the introverted type, it's weird. And just reminding myself that as soon as I'm home again, I'll have to face that again, it makes me nervous, I just have nothing to do!"

"We'll have things to do at the park, don't worry."

"Isn't everything there closed by this time? I'm just enjoying the walk, to be frank."

"There's a lot to enjoy! We can sit at some bench, and then we both take turns on your Switch."

"You... You're really fixated on this video game, aren't you?"

"I just know that's the stuff you enjoy. You know what? How about you come to our house this night? We're gonna have a sleepover! We'll do everything you like, video games! We're gonna play some RPGs too!"

"Jeez, Peanut. You... You don't have to do this to me, sorry if I'm guilt-tripping you by crying over Xander leaving, I'm actually relatively fine."

"This isn't just a favor for you, Jon! I'm myself really looking forward to it! Come home with me!"

"Do your owners approve of that?"

"They're fine with anything, I've learned over the years, no worries at all."

"Permissive owners, huh? Walt's like that too, but I'm not sure if it's him being nice or if it's him just not being able to bring himself to care too much about raising pets."

"Uh, you should try to get closer to Walt, especially now."

"That's... Not like me at all, I try to leave him alone."

"Try it! When he's watching TV, sit down next to him and slowly lean against him."

"He doesn't watch TV."

"What does he do?"

"He's at his computer, ninety-five percent of the time or so."

"Then stand next to him and ask him about what he's doing, how about that?"

"No! That'd be really annoying!"

"Would you rather be lonely?"

"Sure. I'd rather be lonely than annoying."

"Alrighty, I won't insist. So, are you sleeping with me today or not?"

"Sleeping with you?!" Jon recoiled.

"Not what I meant!" Peanut smiled, embarrassed. "Do you accept sleeping at my home today?" He rephrased.

"Sure, Peanut, sure. I need to try new things, I hope it'll be great."

"Yes! Thank you! It'll be so awesome!" The dog cheered, almost tripping.

"Let's hope. You know, if you're really looking forward to something, and then you actually try it but you end up not even liking it, it just makes you even more depressed."

"Why are you saying that? Are you afraid you'll be disappointed?"

"Yeah. So make sure you try your hardest to make me have fun, alright?" Jon sped up briefly to reach Peanut's side, putting an arm around him in a brotherly fashion.

"Oh, Jon! You're really warming up to me, I'm noticing that!"

"Only now? You can be my replacement Xander for the time being, is that fine? Are you OK with that role?"

"Yes! I can pretend to complain about movies if you want to!"

"Uh, please no. Be yourself."

"I'm always 'being myself', showing a personality that a friend's more comfortable with is a part of that."

"That just sounds manipulative... Where is this park exactly?!" Jon suddenly exclaimed, exasperated. "It looks so much closer to the club in a map!"

"I get that complaint every time. Just when you get tired of walking, it'll show up, wait and see."

"OK. I've now decided that I'm tired, is that the park?" The tabby pointed in front of him.

"Yup! Just past that viaduct!"

"Oh, you're actually right. Huh, funny."
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Really fabulous work that you did here! I was wondering when the next chapter would be posted because I was really looking forward to it and you did not disappoint at all sir!
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Obbl
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Obbl »

Aww, this one was a lot of fun and Peanut and Jon are so cute :lol:
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Wortge
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

Time flies, huh? For some reason I always assumed that the last chapter was posted about one month ago, even as the weeks went on and on, but it turns out it was posted all the way back in February, sorry about the long inactivity.

College Point Streets, Friday 8:58 PM

The cat and dog friends continued on their way home after visiting the park.

"...Also, speaking of pen-and-paper RPGs..." Jon continued, walking along Peanut. "They're gonna release a game based on Cyberpunk next month, people are actually really hyped for it. Xander says that the game will probably be a 'complete disaster' because the constant delays indicate it's not even close to finished, but I disagree, the game went gold months ago already, I think they're just taking their time to really polish the game."

"I've heard about that! I wanna play it, but it's not coming out for any console I own, do you think I'll be able to play it once I come to your house eventually?"

"Sure! I doubt Xander's gonna touch that game, but I've pre-ordered it already, you can come home to try it out, as usual."

"Sure will!"

"He gave me such a mouthful when I told him I pre-ordered, haha. 'Speak with your wallet', 'cancer killing the industry', etcetera. I like his anti-hype reasoning though, he says that if you lower your expectations a lot, you're either pleasantly surprised if it's good, or vindicated if it's bad, win-win. But I can't just pretend I think the game will be bad."

"Right. Uh, you're talking about Xander yet again, I thought you wanted to avoid that."

"How though? I spend more than ten hours a day right next to him, talking about things, that's a lot of stuff to comment on."

"Recent development, though, how was your life before living with him?"

"I'd put my laptop next to my bed and play on it for hours, play the Xbox at the living room TV sometimes too, when that was available."

"It was just all gaming?"

"When at home, pretty much... It's kinda funny, my old owner was initially very against giving me electronic games, but that changed when he noticed how effective that was in 'just making me shut up for a long time', haha."

"Oh."

"Kinda my fault too, at the time I had nothing to do, at home or outside. I'd just keep asking to visit Xander day after day, because he had video games and I didn't. Before I got my own, it was really the only thing I could do, go play with the lone Beagle who's the replacement for all the friends I used to have."

"You're talking about him again." Peanut pointed out teasingly, smirking.

"Oh, sue me." Jon stepped to the side of the house's front door as they both arrived, waiting for Peanut to open it.

"Hey, Grape!" He greeted upon entering the house with Jon, seeing his housemate lying on the sofa alone. "Guess who I brought home with me!"

"Is this supposed to be a surprise?" She looked at their direction, still lying. "Welcome, Jon. I hope you're not expecting a mini amusement park here like your own bedroom."

"Don't worry about it." The tabby shook his head, walking towards Grape after taking off his bag and putting it on a small table. "I'm here for you two, not your stuff. Spending a day in an amusement park is tons of fun, but that doesn't mean *living* in one is necessarily better, you know what I mean?"

"Uh, I guess. I'd take that over just living in a house myself though."

"But anyways, thank you two for having me, you know what they say: If you don't come to the Game Night, the Game Night comes to you! Why did you stop coming recently?"

"Don't know, just didn't feel like it. Do I really need to justify myself?"

"No, you do what you want, just curious." Jon sat down next to her, making her adjust herself to sit down properly. "I'm not demanding a justification, was just worrying about you, the cats miss the new purple gal from the country, you know?" He put an arm around her and smirked at her, winking.

"Keep doing whatever you're doing right now and you'll only have to worry about yourself."

"Noted, haha, sorry." Jon scooted a little away, looking at Peanut standing next to the sofa idly while staring at the two. "Are you here, Nutter? Do you wanna join us in watching some telly? Any better ideas?"

"Oh!" The dog shook his head, getting out of his daydream. "Uh, yes, I have better ideas, we did go over all of them back in the park, remember?" He sat down with them.

"How long is Jon staying here for, Peanut?" Grape cut in before they started.

"Uh, until tomorrow?"

"He's sleeping here?! We don't even have an extra bed! Did you even ask Mom or Dad for permission?"

"Do I need to?"

"Peanut! Just because things ended up fine with Satau doesn't mean you can be so reckless with guests!"

"I thought you wanted to never talk about stuff like that ever again?"

"Let me just pretend Satau arrived home due to completely normal circumstances, OK?! Ugh, anyways, sorry for the confusion, Jon." Grape turned her attention to the guest, calming down. "I don't think there's a problem with you staying the night here, it's just that Peanut sometimes acts like we two own the house, and considering Mom and Dad's work schedule recently, I can't even blame him."

"Oh, uh, it's fine." Jon tried to assure. "Are they here? I can ask for permission myself, pretend it's not even Peanut's idea."

"Dad's in the garage, Mom's sleeping."

"I'll come with you!" Peanut jumped from the sofa before Jon even moved. "Let's go! Dad loves meeting my new friends!"

"Oh, OK." The cat started following him, slightly dazed. "Lead me to the garage, then."

"Maybe we can spend some of the night with Dad there, having him teach us about cars, engines and stuff! How does that sound?"

"Uh, no thanks... You don't know if I'm even allowed here yet, Peanut, slow down."

"Of course you are!" He reached the closed door to the garage. "This is where the garage is, be careful of where you step on, sometimes it can be a little cluttered."

"Will keep that in mind." Jon briefly stared awkwardly at Peanut next to the door. "Am I supposed to get in first? Is it locked?"

"Go in first, introduce yourself. I'll follow you."

"Oh, OK." The cat opened the door, immediately spotting the human working on an unknown machine on a workbench. The two made eye contact as Jon looked up shyly at the human, approaching him. "Uh, good evening, Sir. I'm Jon, I'm an acquaintance of your dog, Peanut, I... I'm here to ask for permission to spend the night at your domicile, if you don't mind... It was his idea." He added quickly before the man started answering.

"Oh, Jon!" He extended an arm towards the cat. "Very nice to meet you, you're Xander's brother, aren't you?"

Jon promptly shook the man's hand. "Yea- Yes. We're in the same family, legally speaking."

"That dog's a great friend, he's been making Peanut so happy by always letting him visit him, not to mention all the games he's letting Peanut borrow."

"Yeah, right. Those games that are totally not the games that I happen to enjoy more than him and he can't stand playing."

"Oh, should we give them back to you?"

"Oh! No, no, no! Keep them, I'm just thinking out loud, sorry, why did I say that?" He scratched his head exasperatedly before beginning again. "I'm just asking for your permission to sleep here, Sir. I don't need a bed, or to even sleep here, I'd gladly accept just being allowed to be here for a few hours, or a few minutes, but if you want me to go away right now I'm gonna respect your autho-"

"Treat this as an extension of your own house, please, of course you're allowed to stay the night here." The man interrupted. "And stop treating me so formally, think of me as a friend, I don't want to be treated like an official by you just for being a human."

"Oh! Sorry, sorry, sorry! Miste- Uh, sorry, uh, sorry for the politeness. It's not really because you're a human, I've just been told to treat strangers with the utmost respect, I don't really treat Walt like that, for example, haha." He tried to laugh casually.

"Hopefully we're not strangers anymore. Name's Earl, it's a pleasure to meet you. Your brother's always welcome here, same goes to you. Hope you three have fun."

"Thank you, Earl. Good luck with your work!" Jon started slowly walking away.

"Thanks so much, Dad!" Peanut got closer to Earl before Jon got out of the room, making him stop and watch the two. "I know you told me that all my friends are allowed here, but Grape insists I present them to you first."

"I appreciate getting to take a look at them first at least, haha." He chuckled while petting his dog's head. "Have fun tonight, and try to not wake Mom up. Want some quick belly rubs?" Earl asked while starting to pet faster.

"Please!" He lied down eagerly. "I've missed them!"

"Aaw! Sorry for the wait!" He squatted and started rubbing the dog. "Such a good boy! I'm gonna get all the thingamajigs that Xander has for you eventually, alright? Then maybe he'll even start visiting us as often as you visit him, hahaha! Uh, no offense, Jon." Earl stopped the petting, looking back at the cat.

"Oh, uh, none taken. I don't think there's any neighbor rivalry going on here, haha."

"You two go have fun then." The human said as Peanut got up and joined Jon in leaving. "I'm gonna make some burgers for dinner tonight, are you OK with that, Jon?"

"Yeah, as long as they're not too big to bite it's fine. Uh, if you're gonna have to make extra food just because of me being here, I can compensate you with some money, is that OK with you?"

"What?! You're a guest, Jon! You don't have to pay me anything, enjoy your stay, please!" Earl assured incredulously, hiding some annoyance.

"Alright, if you don't want me to." Jon shrugged, leaving. "See you later!"

"Uh, why were you treating Dad like that?" Peanut asked as they closed the door to the garage, heading back to the living room. "Were you afraid of him?"

"No, I already told him, I was raised to treat complete strangers as respectfully as possible."

"Huh, I don't remember you treating me like that when we first met."

"Was I alone?"

"Uh, no, you were with Xander."

"Well, then that explains it, I'm more comfortable when I'm around friends."

"But you weren't alone right now too, are you not my friend?"

"Of course I am, uh... Alright, fine, you got me, I was just playing it safe with a human. Sorry for not exposing my belly to him and drooling all over the floor, what a show of dignity that was, let me tell you."

"I love it, Jon! I don't know why Bino and Rob think it's embarrassing, it feels so good!"

"Ugh, just exposing my belly like that, I don't know if it's different for you dogs, but it feels like a really bad idea, even doing it to somebody you trust."

"What's the deal? Are you ticklish?" Peanut hovered his paws over Jon's belly, smirking threateningly.

"Peanut!" The cat jumped to the side. "Don't you dare! Don't you even think about it!"

"Hahaha! You're just like Grape in this regard!" The two got back to the living room, stopping the banter.

"Hello again, Grape." Jon sat down with the other cat. "I've been granted permission to stay here, all cleared now."

"Where are you sleeping?" She asked.

"Oh, I dunno, I'm fine with anything. This sofa? The rooftop? With you?" Grape immediately silently glared at Jon.

"You known I'm joking, chill with the cat stare." He waved a paw, looking back to Peanut, who was standing next to the sofa again. "What do you wanna do, Nutter?"

"What *is* with that nickname?!" Grape interjected before the dog could answer. "'Nutter'! 'Nutty'! Is it really that hard for all of you to just pronounce 'Peanut'?"

"It's too long! Like, two syllables?! Get outta here! Doesn't Rob call him 'Nutter' already?"

"'Nutter' also has two syllables! And does Rob still call you that?" Grape looked at Peanut.

"Uh, very rarely. I like that name though! I have no problem with it."

"You have no problem with anything, well, whatever. I'm tempted to be against that nickname just because it's coming from that nightmare dog, but I won't object."

"'Nightmare dog'?" Jon raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, Rob's buddies with a dog who hates me and now he hates me by extension too. I'm sure you know Rob better than me and will complain about me calling him 'nightmare dog' or whatever, so just nevermind what I said, I just want nothing to do with him."

"Oh, uh, he's super buddies with Xan, but we two don't talk much. He doesn't live nearby, and whenever he visits my brother I'm at work."

"Yeah, yeah, he lives in 'The City' and will absolutely make sure you know that. He doesn't want to be confused with uncultured hillbillies like us, you know?"

"Haha, yeah, that's him alright. Didn't know you two had bad blood though, that sucks."

"Well, it's all been dealt with already, don't worry about it."

"Oh, you're in good terms then? 'Nightmare dog' is just some good ol' bants between you two?"

"Ugh, just move on from this, please! What do you wanna do, Peanut?" She looked at her pet-brother.

"Give us your best pitch, Nutter!" Jon quickly added.

"Oh! Uh..." Peanut tried to respond. "We could start with a quick Imaginate, couldn't we?"

"The media role-playing thing you did at the club?" The visiting cat asked.

"Yeah! Do you like the idea? I mentioned it already back in the park."

"No babies this time?"

"Of course not! Unless you mean the dolls we have in the box. Any movie you have in mind, Jon? Or Grape?"

"Oh, I dunno, I haven't watched a lot of stuff recently."

"Jurassic Park perhaps?" Grape suggested. "We haven't done that one in a long time."

"I've never watched Jurassic Park." Jon shook his head.

"Really? It's a classic!"

"I know the jist of it, they try to make a zoo with dinosaurs and it goes wrong, in the sequels I guess they keep trying again and still failing? What else can you do with that premise?"

"Uh, not exactly accurate. Well, whatever, how about Star Wars? Episode Four?"

"Oh, haha, I've never watched that either, any of them."

"You've never watched Star Wars?!"

"I mean, I know all about it because you can't really avoid it, but I never bothered watching the whole thing."

"Jeez, Jon! You're living under a rock! Can you suggest anything? What's the last thing you watched?"

"Oh, uh... Xander showed me an interesting movie a week or so ago, it's called 'Koyaanisqatsi', it's kinda like a-"

"No! That name sounds super pretentious already! Everything Xander watches is always 'experimental' and 'avant-garde'! It makes for terrible Imaginates! And I've never heard of that movie anyways."

"Oh, you've never watched Koyaanisqatsi?! But it's such a classic!"

"*Nobody* has ever heard of that! And didn't you just say you only watched it a week ago?"

"Haha, I'm just teasing ya. We wouldn't be able to re-enact it anyways, it has no plot, it's just footage."

"Ugh, sounds like the kind of stuff Xander would enjoy. He finds the most boring stuff ever, then forces himself to like it because it's 'experimental', right? Trying to watch something enjoyable is too mainstream, after all."

"He actually enjoys some stuff that's pretty mainstream, he's not all contrarian. He likes Star Trek, for example."

"Really? He's talked to me about it once, but he just complained about everything."

"See? What's more fanlike than overanalyzing and complaining about everything in a show?"

"Good point. Can we do something related to Star Trek then? We two have never tried, you are familiar with it, right?"

"Oh, more than with Star Wars. I did play a game of their RPG some months ago, remember? At some Game Night? I think you decided to hang out with Wolf instead back then."

"Yeah, I remember. Are you listening, Peanut?" Grape turned to her brother.

"Yes!" He answered, sharply turning away from looking at the TV. "But you know, I think I have a better idea. How about we show Jon all the movies he's been missing out on?"

"*All* of them?"

"The most we can! Sounds good, Jon?"

"Uh, that sound really exciting, actually!" The guest brightened up. "That sounds super cool! Let's grab a blanket, turn the lights off, and then watch a marathon of classics for the first time ever! For me at least."

"Oh, I can't wait! It's just like old times! And I can tell Dad to make popcorn instead of the burgers he's planning!"

"I'm fine with either, don't worry!"

"Nothing beats popcorn in a Movie Night, Jon! I'm gonna get all the DVDs and VHS's in my collection, then you will choose, alright?"

"Alright. VHS's? We're even going oldschool today?"

"It's a very old collection, what can I say? Be right back!" Peanut trotted out of the room.

"Good luck!" Jon looked back to Grape. "Have you watched his whole collection?"

"At this point, probably. Can't say I remember most of them though, he insists in only watching movies at night, under a blanket while snuggling with me, how would you do that without falling asleep immediately?"

"Hah! True. Do you think he's gonna do that today? Snuggle with us both?"

Grape shrugged. "If you don't mind."

"Oh, not at all. No witnesses, right? I don't mind Peanut going all 'teddy bear' on me."

"Never tell any of your friends about this, by the way, you know, the Discord people. They act kinda annoyingly arrogant just for being cats, they'd probably mock you for this, it reminds me of how the dogs were back in my old home."

"Dogs being something other than ultra-tolerant balls of love? That's funny."

"You've come across unpleasant dogs before, surely?"

"Yeah, sure, it's just not really common. I know Rob has some really strong dislike of humans, for example, he tries to hide it but, especially recently, I don't think he's even trying anymore."

"Not trying to hide his dislike of cats too, it seems."

"Really? He's always treated me well, doesn't seem to mind my role in his club either."

"Ugh, forget it. You know him better than I, don't mind me. I'm not gonna badmouth him to everyone I know, not gonna stoop to his level."

"Things will work out eventually, I'm sure. I can't see Rob having any enemies, the dude's a 'ball of love' too, especially when talking about the travel stuff he likes. Have you tried talking to him about your trip to Egypt, perchance?"

"How do you even know about that?"

Jon shrugged. "Peanut just told me about it at the park today, and Xander mentioned that to me way before too."

"Ugh, wish some parts of my past weren't such an open book."

"What would you even have to hide? It was just a quick leisure trip, right? How was flying? I've never flown in my life."

Grape widened her eyes. "Uh, how do you know we- Oh! You mean, like, flying in a plane? It's alright." She disguised.

"Some say it's scary, some say it's boring, two aspects that you don't expect to go together, I really wanna cross flying out of my bucket list already, even if it's just to Niagara or something."

"How feasible is that? Is your owner rich enough?"

"You don't have to be rich to afford a flight, come on now. This isn't the twenties."

"It is."

"Agh! I can't get used to that! You know, even without Walt, I could just pay for it myself, I'm not even close to using up all the money I'm getting after all, I feel like a less extreme version of Brian, haha."

"You're planning on traveling alone?"

"No, no! Of course not. I'll start thinking about that once Xander comes back, we'll see. I know it's possible, but I really don't see myself going out of the city all by myself and stuff, like some certain dogs, I just lack the training, and the courage."

"How does having your own money work anyways? I thought animals couldn't have bank accounts?"

"It's technically part of Walt's account, Walt's money. I have access to only my money, Walt can use his own money but also mine, or Xander's, he promises he won't though. Do you seriously not know how pet bank accounts work? Do you have no money?"

Grape shrugged and waved a paw. "I have all my money in cash, never felt the necessity for a credit card or whatever."

"So you never buy stuff online, for example?"

"No, I ask my parents for that."

"That sounds like 'feeling the necessity' for it."

"Not enough, not enough to try to get a credit card... I'm mentioning this because I've heard that pets back where I lived can actually get their own full bank accounts, since some months ago, a single county in Illinois has ruled that domestication is equivalent to full citizenship, did you hear about that?"

He shook his head. "No, I haven't. Imagine being able to have a human's rights but having to move to Illinois for that, hahaha. Hard pass on that, ew."

"Cod, you're almost worse than Rob when it comes to thinking this region is the epitome of the universe." Complained Grape, grimacing.

"I don't *think* that, though. It's just... It's like... Illinois, really? At least if it were like, Oregon or... California, Florida, Washington, I dunno... Why are you defending it anyways? Don't you live here now? If that county's such a free pet wonderland why did you move here?"

"Wasn't my decision, and I'd move back in a heartbeat if it were possible."

"Uh, fair. That's a bad point I just made, to be honest... I wasn't given a choice for moving here either, maybe if I moved after growing up I'd want to go back to Texas. I was lucky and moved when I was pretty much zero years old, no attachment to my old home. Meanwhile, you, uh, how old are you?"

"You don't ask a lady her age, Jon, have some manners."

"Hahaha! Old enough to be shy about it, I see. That's all I needed, thank you."

"Agh, you! Just ask Peanut if you're actually curious, that dog has no censor, he'll tell you anything about me."

"I don't know his age too, to be honest."

"He's twenty."

"Oh, really? I'd have guessed around eight."

"And that's a compliment, if anything. I love that big puppy, may he never change." The two cats quieted down, staring at the television, barely paying attention to whatever program it was in for the past minutes. "And he is surely taking his time, isn't he?" Grape broke the silence eventually.

"For sure, at least he's giving us all the time we need to just talk idly between ourselves, heh."

"You mean you wouldn't talk about all that stuff if Peanut were here?"

"No, I would. It's just that once he's back we'll begin the movie-watching, and you shouldn't be talking during that. Unless you want us all to riff on the movies as they play, Xander loves doing that."

"Oh, yeah, I've had to endure that." Grape rolled her eyes.

"Haha, he does that because he's inspired by M.S.T.3.K., another one of the rare things he kinda likes."

"Never heard of that."

"You've never watched Mystery Science Theater Three Thousand?! It's such a classic!"

"Keep repeating that and it'll eventually be funny, Jon." She scoffed.

"Shee-esh, tough crowd." Jon disguised being hurt.

"I..." Grape began after another small silence. "I think Peanut needs my help, I'll be right back." She left the living room sofa.

"Seriously, how big is this movie collection?"

"Ugh, do you think he's trying to bring over the whole thing? You might need to come help us two, let's go."

Jon also got up. "Alright. Want me to go get the popcorn ready too? Wolf taught me how to prepare that."

"No! Stay away from the kitchen! Just come help me, I hope you're good at balancing."

Jon snorted. "'Balancing'? Is he stacking them? Do we have enough time for so many movies? I'm only staying here for one day, right?"

"He thinks everyone can watch movies at double speed like he does, just come already."

Chūō Ward, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Saturday 10:07 AM

Xander stirred on a bed, waking up to a dark hotel room, some light coming from behind the blinds of the room's only window and also from the door leading to the bathroom.

He sat up and tried to blindly grab some of his belongings from the nightstand next to the bed. "Haha, waking up alone, to a completely strange room, in a different country, take away my memories of yesterday and this would be a classic, but pretty cliché plot premise." The dog commented quietly while grabbing his laptop computer and putting it on his lap. "'This is not my beautiful house!'... Or, should I say, 'Kore wa boku no utsukushī ie janai yo!'... Ugh, does that sound natural? When I think that sentence it sounds perfect, but when I try saying it, it's a mess. Let's try again: Kore wa boku no utsu-"

"Are you saying something, Xan?!" Rob's voice came from behind the bathroom door.

"Oh!" Xander jumped a little in embarrassment. "Just mumbling a little after waking up, don't mind me!" He flipped the laptop's screen and turned it on. "Good ear, jeez... Well, I guess I'm not used to sharing a room with a non-human in the morning, even with Jon, he's always leaving before I even wake up." The Beagle started thinking to himself, looking at the monitor. "Uuh, speaking of him... ten ten A.M., back home it's... Uh... Invert the A.M. and add two hours, midnight! Jon should be up still, right?" He rapidly dragged his fingers across the touchpad. "'Offline', really? Oh well. Thought he was gonna be up for a long time today, enjoying not having to share things with me, haha."

The bathroom door opened, brightening the room and revealing his Golden Retriever friend, who quickly turned the lights on before closing the door. "Good morning, Xan. Already checking the 'Interwebz'?" Rob smiled while leaning on Xander's bed.

He furrowed his brows. "'Interwebz'? Get outta here. Just wanted to check up on Jon really quick, but he's not online."

"Too late for him, isn't it?"

"It's just midnight, not really..." Xander drifted off while staring at Rob, who was wearing a blank ID tag in place of his usual globe tag. "Did you seriously get rid of your little globe thing on your collar? That thing's ancient, almost a part of you, are you trying to look more like your parents?"

"What? No, no, I always wear ID tags while traveling abroad, in some countries it's even required, my tag is safe inside my luggage." Rob sat on the bed, scooting to near Xander's position. "In fact, I need your help right now." He removed his ID and held it in front of Xander's face. "Could you fill this up with my details in Japanese? I don't even know what each field is for."

The Beagle grabbed the card, examining it idly. "Where did you even get an ID tag in Japanese?"

"Here, duh. In a small pet shop a little into the suburbs."

"You've been out already?!"

"Of course! You think I just woke up like you? I just got back, and I hope you're ready, because I'm about to go grab Brian in his separate room and then we're off! Gonna look for some good restaurants around here, no roulettes!"

"Ten more minutes, Rob, please." Xander dropped the card next to him and returned his attention to the computer. "I'm not hungry right now, did you eat something while out?"

"Nope, just walked around, soaking in the scenery. I've never done that alone, Xander! It was so cool! Being in a completely foreign environment, only me! It was so immersive!"

"Hah, not exactly missing Shane, are you?"

"I just enjoyed doing it for the first time, I'm sure traveling with company is still better, I'm back here for a reason after all."

"I thought you were back here so you can finally start dragging me around, using me as your Babel Fish."

"Your what?"

"Do you seriously not get that reference? They even named a translation program after it, whatever. How did you even buy this tag? I wouldn't expect a suburban pet shop to understand any English around here."

"I know all I need for that. 'Ore wa kore o kaimasu', boom! No ten years of study needed for that."

Xander facepalmed. "Oh, dear dog."

"That's not wrong, is it? I still managed to buy it in the end, so whatever."

"Haha, it's fine, it's fine, with that accent especially, it's fine."

"Sorry for being a baka gaijin, Nihongo Expert, could you please stop ignoring my request to filling in my tag, by the way?"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot." Xander grabbed the ID again, also holding a basic pen he found on his nightstand. "I can barely write Japanese, calligraphy is almost obsolete nowadays, especially for Asian languages." He sighed.

"Ugh, I don't wanna fill that in English, it will make me stand out. Locals will look at me and immediately figure out I'm a tourist, they're gonna be all like 'Whoa! Look at that complete psycho, who has the audacity of traveling abroad during the global worldwide intercontinental pandemic! Bringing all of his American germs with him! He's such a 'superspreader', he's gonna kill us all!'"

"You're a dog, Rob, chill. There are no recorded cases of someone catching COVID from a dog."

"As if that's ***ing stopping people! They keep wanting stuff closed to everyone now, even to non-humans! Despite the fact that everywhere where they banned things for pets too, the numbers aren't better at all! It's all so ***ing stupid! They don't care about data, they just wanna make it look like they're trying to do something! Because 'you can never be too careful'! Unless you mean being careful to not needlessly torpedo the economy of the ***ing city for the next decades! Then you can just go all-out! Complete ***ing morons!"

"Stop yelling, Rob! Whew... You know, I thought for a second that your change in stance about all that lockdown stuff was because of the arguments with Brian, but it turns out it's just because it's threatening to affect you negatively now, aah, you're hopeless."

"Closing things for pets doesn't help things in the slightest, that's all. If it did, then I'd support it."

Xander shrugged. "But you only questioned it because it could affect you, when they banned humans at the start of everything you just took their word for it, probably enjoyed it even."

"Not true at all, I spent a lot of time looking up if dogs could transmit it so I wouldn't endanger people by going outside."

"Oh, ***ing spare me from your excuses, Rob! Are you serious?! You looked *** up only to make you feel less afraid of the government having a justification for shutting you indoors too! You don't give a *** about the humans' safety! You've never ever stopped going outside! Even when everything was inconclusive! Don't lie to me! Don't lie to yourself!"

"Could we please just stop arguing?! Dog! It's really not the time for this!"

"We're not 'arguing'! We're just- Ugh, it's just... This distaste you have for humans, it's concerning. I feel like if everyone just decided to exterminate all humans one random day, and if, well, Shane didn't exist, you wouldn't care in the slightest. I know you've had bad experiences, but most humans are fine people, Rob."

"Come on, Xander, that's a ridiculous scenario."

"I know! But imagine, imagine that scenario. Imagine humans are at the bottom of the society, just one step over stuff, like, fish and cows and mice, and also imagine that somehow, despite that, they still act just like they do in our world, they think that they're literally not animals, that they're the smartest species to ever grace the planet, they ban other animals from visiting some places they own, they follow cults that tell them animals were created to serve them or that animals don't have souls and whatever else, whatever annoys you about humans. In that really weird universe, where you live with your parents and you've never even seen Shane, would you care if they started killing humans for no reason? Or, to make things more realistic, for a reason that turns out to be not worth it a few months down the line?"

"Don't compare what's happening to a genocide, Xander! Come on!"

"I'm not! Just answer the question."

Rob sighed, rubbing his head pensively. "Well, if they acted all arrogant despite being nothing to society, as you've described. I won't sugar-coat it, I'd probably just think 'good riddance' and go on with my life."

"I appreciate the honesty. That's probably what you thought once it was announced they weren't allowing humans inside museums and restaurants and stuff, right?"

"Look, I also won't sugar-coat it, I loved it. After years of seeing 'no pets' signs in the entrances of places I wanted to check out, it felt super karmic, to finally have that happen to humans instead. And, you know, it was all for their own good or whatever, to feel like you're actually helping humans by putting them in their place for a while, it was best of both worlds stuff."

"Right... I dunno, I think you disliked the restrictions, but only because that meant they'd try to manage the disease instead of just letting it kill off all humans or whatever they believed living with no restrictions would do at the time."

"Xander! That's not true at all!"

"Haha, I kid, I kid."

"I've seen pets using COVID as an excuse to kick humans out of playgrounds, even way after they were allowed to use them again, I'd never do that myself, you shouldn't act like I'm the most callous pet ever in all of this."

"You're not, you're just up there, maybe in the top ten percent or so. Would you do that if they were using a playground while they were still not allowed?"

"No, I'm not messing with a human. I'd just quietly think 'Well, it's their funeral'."

"Right, right..." Xander sighed and paused in thought, still not writing on the ID tag. "The thing is: Humans are a big pillar of society, you take them out, everything else comes crumbling down too. I have no idea what Shane works with, but Walt's an air traffic controller, for you it's like, 'Hooray! Humans aren't allowed to travel anymore! The planes will be so quiet!', but downsizing air travel puts my family in risk of financial problems. All of this affects pets, in one way or another."

"Well, at least in your case you're not in serious danger. Brian could just bail you out, I'm sure he would."

"Cod, Rob! It's incredible how selfish you can be! Of course I know that, but not everyone has 'a Brian'! Financial ruin kills pets! Kills dogs! Does that make you care at least?!"

"'Cod'?! Are you seriously using feline interjections now?!"

Xander widened his eyes, chuckling right after. "Haha, I didn't even notice that, it's obvious I'm getting that from Jon. Look, it doesn't have to be necessarily 'feline', I've eaten cod myself, it's delicious."

"Alright, uh, glad we just suddenly changed topics, please write my details now."

"Right, right." The Beagle finally touched the tag with the pen. "Want me to teach you a little? This field here is 'Namae', means 'name'."

"Huh, that's simple."

"Just a coincidence, there's a lot of words that come from English, but you can tell this one isn't a loanword because it's in Kanji."

"Uh-huh."

"This second character here is super common, 'mae', it means 'in front'. Or 'before', if relating to time."

"You don't actually plan on gradually teaching me Japanese, do you?"

"No, not really. I just think it's fun." He scribbled Rob's name on the field.

Rob eyed it curiously. "Haha, my name is a square? A square and, like, that door symbol you see in blueprints?"

"Yeah. You can't really mock that, your name in Latin characters is like, a normal circle surrounded by other circles that have legs coming out of them, if you look at it that way."

"Not mocking it, don't worry. No need to defend your favorite language's honor, its honoru."

"I'm not defending anything, and I've said a million times that my favorite language is French, it's just that nobody cares about me knowing that because France doesn't make most of the world's nerd trash."

"You say that as if you don't enjoy 'nerd trash', that's self deprecation if anything."

"Look, I like a lot of Japanese stuff, but almost none of it are the things that make weird nerds want to start learning Japanese. I'm not the kind of person who would start asking people to translate visual novels for them, now *that's* embarrassing."

"Of course not, you don't need the translation, you just play them for yourself."

"I don't! I don't play visual novels! You can tease me about anything, anything except that!"

"Ooh, alright." Rob backed away a little, sarcastically pretending to be afraid. "You're the one who brought that up, who asked you to translate stuff?"

"It was Wolf... Aah, I shouldn't even be mentioning this, he was so embarrassed for asking me, and now I just go on and tell that to a friend, it's a secret, alright?"

"Good friend you are. It's fine, I don't even know who that is, some club member who joined after I moved out?"

"No, he's a long-time friend of mine, one of the cats."

"Really? One of the cats? And why is he called 'Wolf'?"

"I dunno, who cares? My name means 'defender of the people' and I've never fought in a war, it's just names." Xander returned his attention to the tag. "'Tane', uh... go-ru-den, re-to-ri-ba." He mumbled character-by-character.

"Haha, that's so sick, looks just like a storefront."

"Next field here is your residence, so it's just nyu-yo-ku."

"No, no! I just told you I don't wanna look like a tourist! Put 'Tokyo' there."

"Uh, wouldn't that still make you look like a tourist? I should put 'Sapporo' here then, good luck pretending to have always lived here."

"I can just say that I was born there, but live here."

"You just don't wanna be mistaken for someone who isn't from the largest city in a country, don't you? And please tell me how you'd explain that in Japanese, perfect Tokyo-accented Japanese."

"I wouldn't, but I want people glancing at my ID to think I'm from there at least."

"Oh well." Xander paused briefly before scribbling the city name. "Here you go, 'Tōkyō-to', even put the 'to' there." He handed back the card to his friend. "Am I supposed to get one of those too?"

Rob shrugged. "If you want to."

"No thanks."

The two dogs continued sitting on the bed, in silence. Rob stared at the room absentmindedly, making an effort to not peek at Xander's monitor. He eventually got out of the bed and walked up to the hotel room's window, sliding the curtains open and revealing the view, consisting of nothing more than featureless office buildings from across the hotel's street blocking the view. "So let's get going, shall we?" Rob encouraged from next to the window, trying to gain the attention of the laptop-using dog again. "It's a beautiful day outside, birds are singing, flowers are blooming, on days like this, kids like you sh-"

"Rob!" Xander interrupted. "Seriously?!"

"Hey, no best way to get your attention than 'memeing it up', right?" The Retriever smirked.

"Well, 'meme it up' better. Actually, were you gonna reference Undertale or Earthbound there?"

"Uh, the former. I've never played Earthbound."

"Gross, fix that as soon as possible. Actually, let's do that tonight, alright? I'm gonna boot up MOTHER 2 on this PC and teach you Japanese with it."

"No! You're addicted, Xan! We're abroad! You already have all the time for this at home! Get out of this computer right now and let's go get Brian already!"

Xander glared, looking at Rob incredulously. "Who are you, my owner? Don't boss me around." He warned.

"Ugh, sorry, I don't mean any offense. But please let's go, we're wasting time."

The Beagle still kept sitting, not moving from his position. "You still have to get Brian, why do I need to come with you? Do I need to waste my time standing behind you while you wake him up? Doing nothing?"

"He's probably up already, and we three have to discuss what we're gonna do today together."

"Oh, leave me out of that discussion, I have no ideas, I'm fine with anything."

"'Fine with anything'?! Hahaha! That's the biggest lie you've ever told me, Xan, come on."

"Well, allow me to surprise you then. Go plan today's itinerary with Brian and be shocked when I actually enjoy it."

"Ugh, fine, I'll go alone, enjoy your extra five minutes using this thing, I guess. See you later." Rob walked away from the window, reaching and opening the room's main door.

"Itterasshai." Xander replied, eyes still on the monitor.

Rob closed the door and gave away a small annoyed grunt while alone in the hallway. "Ugh, that mutt better not keep glued to that thing for the whole trip, addict." He walked to where he remembered Brian's room being, knocking on the door surreptitiously.

He noticed Brian talking alone while waiting for any signs of his knocks being noticed, trying to understand his words but only catching up a few. Just before he knocked again he heard a hurried 'I'm coming, Rob!' being exclaimed by his friend.

Brian soon opened the door, holding a phone up to his ear with his other paw. "You remember where you're putting the screws, right?" Brian resumed speaking while Rob entered the room, closing the door again. "Make sure the cables are all connected to the PSU, then turn the PC on to test it, the new drivers should install automatically, I don't know why they even give you those CDs anymore, just make sure to update then online later. If everything is all fine, close the case just like you opened it, OK?" Brian instructed through the phone call. "Alright, I gotta go now... Good night, call me back if anything goes wrong, alright? Bye." He turned to properly face Rob. "Hey Rob, good morning! What are you up to?"

"Hey." Rob greeted quickly, not even making contact. "Are you seriously walking your employees through tech issues? I thought CEOs were too far up the ladder for that."

"What? That was my son, Rob!" Brian laughed.

"Oh! My bad, that makes a lot more sense in retrospect."

"He's messing with the PC I gave him already, already bought one of the new video cards and was having trouble putting it in, so much for 'future-proofing'. Apparently the thing uses up three PCI slots! Why?! I had to teach him how to remove a PCI cover through the phone because of that, I've never heard of GPUs that big! I hope the PSU can handle it, but I believe sixteen hundred watts is overkill for anything."

Rob grimaced, annoyed. "OK, Brian, OK. Can we stop talking about computers for at least a second today? Let's enjoy life today, *real* life, not behind-a-monitor life."

"Sorry if it doesn't interest you, just explaining what I was doing. Is Xander annoying you with his computer? Would that explain this sudden luddism coming from you?"

"Deductive, aren't you? He's glued to the thing right now and wants to only stop at the *exact* second we start leaving, didn't even agree to come with me here."

Brian shrugged. "It's what he wants, right? What's the alternative? Waiting here for me to finish my call?"

"The alternative, is staying here with us so we can properly discuss what we're gonna do today before we head off, but now it's gonna be only us two, he better be prepared for whatever we come up with without his input."

"What did *you* come up with? I actually haven't researched this region at all, I have no idea what to do here."

"Oh, for shame. How about this: We go outside, have brunch somewhere, come back to the hotel, get the car, and then we drive west, through the hills, we're gonna reach the villages surrounding Mount Yotei, which promises to be a gorgeous region! Then: We drive north, reaching Yoichi and Otaru, small coastal cities, and finally get back to Sapporo, hopefully it'll be evening by then and then we'll do some evening big city stuff, arcades, bowling, I dunno, you two will probably like that more, how about that?"

"Seems reasonable." Brian nodded. "Do you plan on just driving around?"

"Of course not! We're gonna stop at anything that catches my attention! Be prepared!"

The other Retriever chuckled. "Oh dear, and you think we have enough time for that?"

"Of course! It's an entire day! Ooh, I can't wait!" Rob started pacing excitedly. "I'm gonna have Xander translate every single thing I see! This is no airport, the test begins now! Remember, if we have to do anything involving another person, we send Xander to do it, then we just stand back and pretend to understand both of them, not one word of English! Or German for that matter! We can't have people here thinking we're foreign, xenophobia is probably quite high nowadays. You know, they banned foreign humans, why do foreign dogs get a free pass? That's not how the universe is meant to work!"

"Uh, I don't think anyone would care."

"I'm probably worrying too much, but still, we can never be too careful. The second we step outside, we're just a group of Japanese dogs, alright? We're all practicing our English together, and we're *really* good at it."

Brian chuckled, nodding. "Alright, alright. Is this ID you're using part of that façade?" He eyed Rob's new tag.

"Yup!" Rob grasped it proudly. "One hundred percent local ID tag! Want one? Xander just helped me fill it."

"No, thanks." He took a closer look at the card. "This is his handwriting then? 'Robu', uh... 'Goruden'... I'm just gonna assume the rest is 'Retriever', and I can't read that Kanji."

"Oh, for crying out loud, did you seriously learn that much just from those minigames at the plane?"

"Heh, what can I say? Boredom and learning go hand in hand. Or 'paw in paw', as my son's cat friend would say, haha."

"Alright, so... Shall we go?" Rob grabbed the door handle.

"Ikimashouka? Mochiron."

"No! No gratuitous Japanese! One Xander is already enough, please."

"Hah, sorry. Once you know, like, fifty words, it's hard to resist throwing them around when you find a situation where you can actually use one of them. You should try learning some."

"Maybe tonight, who knows." Rob opened the door, ushering Brian out, who was still walking around, grabbing some of his belongings and his room's keycard. "I'm not here as part of a language-learning exchange program, it's just sightseeing, if I had to learn the language of every single country I visited I wouldn't have a head left."

"Studying for a total of a few hours isn't 'learning a language', it's just really basic courtesy to the locals, but I understand your perspective." He finished getting prepared, nonchalantly adjusting the fur on top of his head. "Well, I'm ready! Let's go get Xander then. And I hope you were joking about using Xander for everything, remember he's a little socially anxious, you shouldn't abuse him so much." Brian left the room while Rob closed the door, both dogs starting to slowly walk the hallway.

"Don't worry, I'll use him with discretion. Me and Shane have used guides before, in those countries where you really shouldn't be out alone as an obvious foreign traveler and all the writing is weird spirals and ***, it's just really cool to have a kind of guide this trip, a guide who's actually your best friend."

"Well, a 'guide' who's never actually been here, not really much of one. Speaking of Shane, how is he?"

"Oh, I dunno. Fine?" Rob shrugged.

"You haven't called him?"

"No, last contact with him was me leaving my apartment, I even took the train to the airport by myself. Do you think he's not fine? I'm sure he'd call me if something went wrong."

"No, no, I'm sure he's OK. Just thought you'd miss him a little at least, are you two not very close? Xander's already talked to Jon back in the flight, and I was talking to my son just now."

"Well, you're just attached to the novelty of suddenly remembering you have a son, Xander likes the novelty of suddenly having a pet-brother, I've always had Shane, I've had enough of him."

"Uh, you also suddenly have a pet-brother too, did you forget Bart?"

"Oh, wow! I did! Hahaha! And a *real* brother, as a matter of fact! Yeah, I'm gonna contact Hobart once we begin driving, alright? I do miss him."

"Oh, so Hobart you actually miss? Are you sure your hatred for humans just isn't spilling over to Shane too?"

"No! Of course not! Why is everyone pulling my tail over this today?! Shane has never done to me anything that makes me dislike humans! Well, other than, uh, restricting my freedoms once, out of fear. You know, the Uber stuff."

"You two have been getting more distant this past year, I know that, I think that's why you're getting less and less shy about proclaiming how much you dislike humans."

"Ugh, yeah, yeah, I'm trying to fix that. Doesn't help that, you know, it's the fault of *other* humans that we keep getting less close. In a way, I'm subconsciously hating humans more because they're pulling me away from a human."

"Heh, rather paradoxical."

"You and your big words, did you read a whole dictionary for fun back when you were a pup?"

"No? 'Paradoxical' isn't even a 'big word', come on... Don't be so brittle to unwonted parlance."

"Jeez, that's... Kinda impressive, actually, maybe I should just start learning English instead."
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

So glad that you have managed to get back to it! I really did like reading what you wrote!
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Obbl
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Obbl »

Thanks for the update! Loving watching the Sandwiches integrate slowly into the social circles. Rob's grating on me still, but he's grating on his friends too so at least I'm in good company there :lol: Still not really sure of Rob's plan here considering Xander is conversant only up to a point, surely it doesn't matter how silent Rob and Brian remain, the locals are gonna peg Xander's Japanese as non-native :P But, eh, we'll see ^^
Not super important in the grand scheme of things, but the time difference is the other way when coming from Japan time. Swap the twelve and subtract 2 (or 1 during daylight savings), so it'd only have been 8 in the evening on the east coast. Very convenient in the mornings in Japan, not at all convenient in the evenings :D
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cogalinha
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by cogalinha »

continuation
Wortge
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

continuation, yes. Ended up breaking the character limit again with this one, I'll try to at least expedite the rest of the "vacation arc" just so the story doesn't end up in this limbo, "everyone is away" state for so long again.

Sapporo Streets, Saturday 8:55 PM

A white compact car with three dogs in it crossed an intersection after the lights turned green, making a loud sound after an improper gear change.

Brian grunted in annoyance after grabbing the gear stick again, shifting it properly this time. "Ugh, piece of sh-... Darn." He complained.

"Thanks for sparing our virgin ears from that sinful word, Brian." Rob deadpanned from the seat across him.

"Just trying to avoid bad habits, Rob. Start casually swearing with friends a lot, and just like that you're suddenly doing it at work and with your children without even noticing."

"Eh, it's just words. I'm sure all the adults at your work and your grown-up pups don't need any shielding anymore."

"It can always come across as rude. I don't want to look like a bad boss, and I don't want to worsen my daughters' demeanor even more by normalizing crude languaging."

"'Normalizing crude languaging.'" Rob repeated mockingly. "But talking like you're giving a presentation right now is fine?"

"Well, it's better, isn't it?" The dog driver chuckled, shrugging. "Did I tell you about the last time I went out with all the three? About a week ago to a restaurant? It was terrible! Lisa kept making a big deal out of the meat not being 'properly marinated', it was like she was just looking for an excuse to be unpleasant!"

"Oh, that seems bad. Not marinating the food well can be a big deal though, especially if you're meant to be at a very high-end place."

"Hah, you're almost defending that? You know, you remind me of the two sometimes."

"Heh, are you gonna try to brainwash Shane into moving to some Midwestern hole if I annoy you?"

"Augh, Rob! Really?! Stop holding that over my head! I'd never do that again!"

"It's literally the only thing I know about your daughters, sorry."

"Sucks how I'll have to keep our friendship a secret to the two as long as you're still living in their old place, eats me up."

"You're not planning on kicking me out, are you?"

"Of course not. I mean, I could easily find a different place for you, Manhattan doesn't really have a shortage of places like your own, but I think it'd be really incovenient for you two."

"Yeah, I know I barely lived in Harlem before having to move again, but I'd like to at least break the one year mark this time."

"Haha, I'll let you, don't worry."

"Not like I have any wish of meeting your children, you can just keep me separated from them, we're in very different circles."

"No, you're not! You're friends with their father, that's really close! They might, like, start showing up at the club unannounced, for example, and if you're there with me, how would I keep that a secret?"

"I dunno, you'd hide me in the storage labyrinth upstairs while they're there? Heh."

"Stop calling it a 'labyrinth'! It's perfectly organized!"

"You actually take offense to that?! Hahaha! I'm sorry."

"Well, uh, we play dumb, right? It'll be like: 'Oh, you're the dog who Mom sold the apartment to.', 'Hahaha, I guess I am, what a coincidence, huh?', you think you can pull that off? It's not, like, it's not *completely* impossible that the dog who bought their apartment just happens to be friends with me."

"Yeah, we can downplay things. It was their owner's fault in the end anyways, you didn't force her to sell it or anything."

"Eh, I think I kinda did, I think she was almost giving up on moving before I visited... Ugh, let's think about this some other time, now's really not the time."

"You bet it isn't! Let's leave the problems back home for when we're actually home! You enjoying the trip?"

"Yeah, today was good."

"Are you enjoying driving? I didn't know you could drive stick."

"Of course I can, I learned to drive with a manual."

"Oh, really? That's cool. I remember the first time Shane was forced to rent a manual abroad, he stalled so many times! It was really embarrassing. Now he can drive them like a pro though."

"This car is complete garbage though, sucks how they only had two cars adapted for me there, and the other choice looked more like a box than a car. This is the worst thing I've ever driven."

"I mean, when the only competition is a Ferrari, that's not necessarily a bad thing."

"I don't have a Ferrari! It's a Mase-!"

"I know! Hahaha! I just like how bothered you get by that."

"Oh, excuse me then, at this point I can't tell who's genuine. But this thing, it just handles horribly." Brian shook the steering wheel for emphasis. "No wonder the speed limits in this country almost never break the double digits, if everyone has to drive trash cars like this, it's understandable. The thing starts shaking once it hits ninety kilometers, isn't that like, only fifty miles?"

"Fifty-five."

"That, yeah, pretty slow."

"Your German upbringings are showing, heh. You don't want these pesky speed limits telling you what to do."

"This trip is inspiring me to want to go to Germany by myself sometime in the future, actually. How much would you like that? Just me, you, Shane can come if you want, nothing to do with my human family, just me taking advantage of my German. I wanna properly visit Germany, every time I went there with my family they'd just spend time stuck in their hometown, Mönchengladbach, place's extremely bland, nothing to see, we can rent a car and enjoy freedom there for once."

"Humph, 'freedom', right. Hard pass on that. Germany's one of the countries doing the 'total lockdown' bull*** now, it's at the bottom of the list right now."

"Oh, I don't mean going there next month or something, stop being so hasty. I'm thinking like, late next year, at the earliest."

"I don't think I'm ever coming back, I'm avoiding any place that's willing to take away my rights of leaving my own house because of anything that whips up the apes in a frenzy."

"OK, but that's like, almost half of Europe, and a lot of Asia."

"Then so be it, I've had enough of Europe and Asia anyways, good thing I enjoyed them before they all became insane, let's try something else. Africa's underrated, you know?"

"Oh, don't be dramatic. You can't seriously mean that you're gonna boycott several countries for the rest of your life?"

"I can definitely do that, Brian! You don't believe me? I'll gladly avoid all these fascist ***holes forever."

"Uh, that's kinda extreme. No country is doing that just because it hates pets, it's just misguided, not malicious, and it has nothing to do with fascism."

"What's 'extreme' is being forbidden from stepping outside of my house! Nothing justifies that, Brian! Nothing! I'll rightfully treat any place that ever does that as another North Korea! I thought we all agreed on this by now!"

"I do, I just... I think the way you're choosing to deal with that is petty, ineffective, and will ultimately hurt only you."

"Of course it'll hurt me, but that's where I have to put my integrity over my own selfish desires. I'm not gonna give these economies a single dime anymore, hopefully I can convince Shane too, I'm not sure what he thinks about all that."

"Your boycott will do nothing other than just make yourself feel like you're doing something by making a sacrifice, what would it take for you to end that 'boycott'? A promise to never temporarily limit pet rights ever again?"

"Yeah, that'd be great, it'd also be worthless, a lot of those countries already have promises of always guaranteeing certain rights, but you can just say 'Aah! It's an emergency!' and chuck that outta the window."

"So you're just avoiding these countries forever, no matter what? What if America does that too?"

"Then we become refugees here, you up for it? You can pay Xan to give us Japanese classes, he'd probably enjoy it."

"Pfft, you serious?"

"No, not really. Ugh, I don't know what I'd do if that reaches home, I don't know what to do, period."

"Yeah, I understand. You're mad and want to take action, but you can't really do it effectively. That happened to me too, remember when I almost enacted a policy to ban club members enforcing business closures?"

"Wait, you didn't go through with that?"

"Nah, it's kinda tyrannical, honestly, coercing members like that, with their own jobs on the line to boot. I was just, mad, and, wanted to do something. Especially in face of my own business just, taking blatant advantage of something that should be a crisis, executives trying to lobby for increased human restrictions not due to a concern for safety, but just to maximize pet employment at all costs... I don't think there are gonna be closures as extreme as the start of the year again anyways, so I just stopped mentioning that and assumed you two and Jon would forget it."

"Right, uh, don't jinx it, haha."

Brian quickly looked around his surroundings while stopped at another stoplight. "Uh, do you remember what the bowling alley you chose looks like? We should be really close."

"Xander does. Are we close?" Rob directed to the back of the car.

"I showed you a picture of the front of the place, Rob." Xander replied. "You should remember it, I think it's about two blocks from here."

"Two blocks! Start looking for parking spots!"

"There's an underground garage attached to the building, I've also shown you that."

"Oh, then start looking for the entrance, I guess."

"Are you comfortable talking with the valet, Xander?" Brian asked. "I... Kinda wanna avoid that, if possible, 'Nihongo hanashinai', right?"

"'Semasen'." He corrected. "Or like, 'hanasu koto ga dekimasen', if you wanna be all businessman."

"It's probably unmanned." Rob cut into their conversation. "Me and Shane have plenty of experience with them already, just grab a ticket from a machine and validate it later by inserting money into it."

"Oh, I've used those before. If you're so sure they don't have a person managing the parking, then it's all fine."

"I'm not *sure*, I just think it's most likely. But, you know, Xander's here, he does the talking."

"Indeed. Speaking of which: You sure hyped up how much you were gonna use Xander as a translator for everything, but you barely did it, not that I'm complaining."

"Well, there wasn't really a lot to use him for today, we were just sightseeing."

"I mean." Xander interfered. "You did make me read a *lot* of signs. And also translate that entire restaurant menu for you, even though they had an English version."

"Would you trust their English translations though?"

"No way... Not as if I'd trust my own translations anyways."

"Oh, shush. I'm sure your Japanese is perfect and this is all your usual 'hahaha I'm actually terrible, how can you be even worse than me, you idiot' attitude."

"Do I really come across like that? Cod..."

"Stop saying 'cod'!"

"Oh! Oops, cat-brother problems, I've been needing to spend more time with you two, to be honest."

"I wanna stop the cat-teasing, but it's almost like you're trying to make it harder." Rob finished speaking as the car stopped in the underground garage, all dogs getting out of the car. Brian walked up to an elevator door while the other two followed quietly.

"So, you two looking forward to it?" Rob tried to break the silence. "Honestly, I don't even know why I just randomly thought up of going bowling after we were done today, but now we're here, hope you're prepared."

"I've never bowled, Rob." Brian shooks his head. "Uh, unless you count Wii bowling."

"Ew." Xander scoffed. "I've never bowled either, I guess it can't hurt to try."

"Oh, you two!" Rob admonished. "You're seriously wasting your life! Like, I'm not saying that bowling is one of the biggest joys in life, but it's a really common thing to go out for! Makes me worry about what other simple activities you two have never tried out."

The Beagle shrugged. "We all miss out on things other people do all the time, sometimes it's just not your cup of tea. Just thinking of the concept of bowling, I'm not really itching to try it. How often do you go bowling, anyways?"

"Oh, haha, uh, I've actually only gone bowling once, ever."

"Wow, only once?! How do you even live?!" Xander promptly mocked. "Did you not like it?"

"I did, it was alright, the idea of doing it again just never crossed my mind, until today."

"Well, at least you've got a head start."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll decimate us two despite having no experience, as usual."

"Haha, I'm trying to be humble, but all you gotta do is to always try to give it your best, it's not a superpower."

"Heh, speaking of superpowers, do you know how to rent a bowling lane in Japanese? It's finally time to put your language skills to some actual social use."

"Oh, dear co- dog. I don't even know how to do that in English."

"The visual novels you play never had any bowling scenes?"

"I don't play visual novels! Why are you teasing me about that now?! At least the cat stuff has a basis in reality!"

"Hahaha! Just for your reaction, Xan, I know how self-conscious you are about the stuff you enjoy."

"May I call the elevator?" Brian entered their conversation, a paw touching but not pressing the elevator's button.

"Why were you waiting?!" Rob replied, bewildered. "Go ahead!"

He pressed it. "Just wanna avoid talking inside the elevator, you two were pretty loud."

"Oh, we'd shut up, don't worry."

The dogs waited for the elevator, Xander using the time to mentally rehearse a conversation with a bowling alley clerk, drawing some looks from the other two. They rode the elevator and soon arrived at a fairly spacious bowling alley, turning their attentions to the front desk.

"Go ahead, Xan." Rob rubbed the Beagle's head encouragingly, prompting him to take the lead. "We two stay behind, you handle the talking. There's no reason to be nervous, we did this exact same thing at the hotel yesterday, didn't we?" He almost whispered to his ears.

"Yeah, and it was a complete disaster. The fact we even have a place to sleep is a miracle."

"Oh, shut up, there was nothing wrong with it, you seemed super smooth. Also, speak more quietly, remember we're pretending to look Japanese as much as possible."

"You're definitely looking the part, hah!" Xander chuckled, raising his voice on purpose, nearing the reception's clerk sooner than he expected. "Oh, uh, hm, konbanwa gozaimasu." Xander bowed quickly, trying to regain composure. "Ah, hitotsu no bourin...gu..." He drifted off, avoiding eye contact before shaking his head and starting again. "Sumimasen, hitotsu no bouringu... Shasen? O karitai no desu ga."

"Hitotsu bouringushasen, hai." The clerk replied promptly, using the computer at the desk for a few seconds. "'Bouringurēn' to iu no ga yori futsūdesu, wakarimasen baai."

"Hai." The dog began talking with less apprehension, trying to casually smile. "Gairaigo ga amari suki janai yo ne? Eitango wa eigo dake ni zokushimasu."

"Naruhodo, shikashi, gairaigo wa mada nihongo desu. Subete no gengo wa hoka no gengo kara kariteimasu, eigo sae."

"Soudesu! Demo, boku wa eigo o ryūchō ni hanasemasu, 'furaidopoteto' nado to iu to chotto oroka ni kanjimasu, warui eigo mitai desu."

"Okyaku-sama wa eigo o hanasu inu desu ka? Omoshiroi."

"Tashikani!" Xander almost puffed his chest. "Hontō ni kantan'na gengo desu!"

"Hai... Jā, dochira no 'shasen' o gokibō desu ka?"

Xander turned his attention to the bowling lanes. "Hmmm, yonban, onegaishimasu."

"Dore dake no jikan?" The human asked again.

Xander looked back to his friends, thinking about asking for their input before giving up and looking back. "Ni jikan." He answered confidently.

"Hoka no futari no inu wa kyaku-sama to issho desu ka?"

"Hai! Karera to bouringu o shimasu."

"Kutsu mo karimasu ne?"

"Kutsu?! Nani?!"

The two still waited behind Xander, Rob taking a few steps back before subtly calling for Brian's attention. "That human sure is laying down the dictionary on him, isn't it? Jeez." He quietly commented to him.

"Heh. Xan seems to be holding his own though."

"Oh, for sure. If you didn't know him, you'd assume he's a local, right?"

"Well, I would, but I'm not the best judge for that."

"Just look at him go! He's totally passing off as Japanese!"

"You're not really taking this whole 'pretending to be Japanese' thing seriously, are you?"

"Oh, no, not really. I mean, look at us now, just two loud New Yorkers blabbering on in English, haha!" Rob wagged, looking around. "I just wanna avoid it if it's like, Xander talking to someone and we two are right next to him."

"Oh, OK. So you just want us two to keep some distance when he's talking, as we're doing now."

"Exactly. Uh... I hope he's not screwing things up, I know he can handle the language, but he has no experience going to bowling alleys."

"How would he screw it up? Give us a lane to play on and the balls, that's all."

"There's also the bowling shoes, I don't think he knows our shoe sizes."

"Oh, really? I wasn't aware of that. I guess it's so you don't slip or fall or something?"

"Yeah, also for you to not damage the floor, a lot of reasons. Xander might get the sizes wrong and then we'll have to tell him to go back to the clerk to rent more fitting ones, what's your shoe size?"

"Uh... I have no idea, frankly. I haven't worn clothing in forever."

"Your nudism might be a problem here then."

"I'm not a 'nudist'! And even if you know your shoe size they're all different depending on the country anyways, do you know your Japanese shoe size?"

"Oh, you're right, I also have no idea. I'm just joking anyways, it just reminded me of when you tried going to work with a suit on and gave up after one day."

"I gave up after *three* days! And there's a big range between *nothing* and a full suit, just some shoes is fine."

"Right... Uh, here he comes." Rob looked at Xander leaving the desk, approaching them. "Did everything go well?"

"I guess." Xander shrugged. "All paid for, lane four, we can use it for two hours, is that enough?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"How much was it?" Brian asked the Beagle.

"Not much, not a big deal."

"Just tell me the amount."

"You're planning on covering the cost for me, aren't you? Stop that, I don't mind paying for this, you're already paying for the whole trip, I'm not poor."

"I'm not saying you're poor, just that it's unnecessary for you to pay for it when I can cover it, you need the money more than I do."

"That *is* calling me poor! A few hundred yen won't hurt me, just like it won't hurt you, stop it with the 'let me pay for everything' syndrome, you're reminding me of Jon."

"Alright, alright." Brian raised his paws, surrendering. "Didn't mean to offend, if you wanna pay out of your own pocket, go ahead."

"With pleasure." Xander looked around, seeing a line of shoe vending machines against a wall. "We have to also rent bowling shoes, by the way, I didn't even know that." He started walking up to the dispensers.

"Haha! Neither did Brian!" Rob followed. "I thought you'd have to get them from the front desk, I thought these things were lockers."

"Nope. This isn't how the bowling alleys work back in New York?"

"I wouldn't know. The one bowling place I went to before was in Greece, actually."

"Oh, of course." The Beagle approached the machines with the smallest sizes printed on them, stopping in front. "You have to put these coin thingies in the slit, I have three for all of us." He opened his palms for his friends, them grabbing one token each.

"Uh-huh." Rob worriedly stared at the various vending machines. "I... I don't know my foot size in centimeters."

"Hah! The metric fanboy here doesn't know his foot size in metric?"

"I'm not a 'metric fanboy'! And I don't know it in imperial either! Just in... Whatever the number they have on shoes is."

"Eh, I don't really know mine either, to be honest, just kinda estimating. Go with the bigger size if you're worried, would rather have something loose than something tight."

"That's good advice." Brian jumped into the conversation. "That suit I had to wear for work almost gave me nightmares."

"How did you get tight clothing as a dog? I thought everything being too big and loose would be the biggest problem."

"I didn't get human clothing, if that's what you're implying. I'm a fairly large dog, but not big enough to just wear human clothing, I ended up getting something way too tight, probably for smaller pets."

"Haha, poor Retriever accidentally got a suit for Beagles, I guess." Xander inserted the token, making the machine spit out a pair of shoes from its bottom. "Huh, that seems good enough. Hope wearing those with no socks isn't too bad." He quickly stepped into the shoes, looking at Brian. "Do you know your shoe size, Brian? Rob seems very undecided."

"I'll just trust his judgment, we're pretty much the same size."

"Oh, Brian." Rob rubbed his forehead apprehensively. "If I choose wrong I don't wanna be responsible for your discomfort."

"I won't blame you, come on. I'm the idiot here for not remembering what type of shoes I was using at work, do you wanna compare our feet really quick? If they're the same size I'll just wait for you to try your shoes out and then I'll choose the same size if it fits, or another if it doesn't."

"Uh, go ahead." Rob stood straight, Brian coming over to next to him and looking down.

"Such emphasis on feet right now." Xander commented, leaning next to them. "You know, this reminds me of like, those live-action shows from Nickelodeon, where teenage actresses would just start doing stuff with their feet for no reason, like, putting it in their mouths randomly or using them to shoot arrows, open doors and stuff, or just shoving them right in front of the cameras. Turns out there was this screenwriter, that had a really blatant foot fetish, and it really showed in his writing, it's kinda funny, honestly, there's this compilation on YouTu-"

"Xander!" Rob yelled. "Just because you know something doesn't mean you have to share it to everyone, you know?"

"Oh, come on! It's not even *that* messed up! Have you been keeping up with that 'Pokémon Fan Art Horrors' thread I linked to you some weeks ago? I've been contributing to it a lot, there's this one piece of art that's like, a Lucario, because of course it has to be a Lucario, it just randomly turns into a chair and then, um, some My Little Pony character comes in and sits on it, and then it turns into a cushion, then some character I don't even know arrives, it's like, really fat and grotesque, some kind of bipedal pig, it starts-"

"Xander! Please! Why are you talking about this?!"

"Uh, just some small-talk, while you're undecided with your shoes."

"I'll pick this one and be done with it, no need to try to traumatize me." Rob finally inserted the coin. "And no, I'm not keeping up with that thread. I don't like mocking what people are posting on the Internet behind their backs, it's kinda cyberbullying."

"Oh, don't act like you don't laugh hysterically when I show you that kinda stuff in person."

"I know I do! But I'd rather laugh at other stuff, mocking people's art is pretty toxic."

"Oooh, so 'toxic', so 'problematic'." Xander began mocking. "Yikes y'all, that ain't it, chief, that's a big oof, bad take."

"Who are you even mocking? That doesn't sound like me."

"Probably the kind of people who draw that ***. Anyways, I'm off to our bowling lane, did the shoe fit well?"

Rob moved his feet a little, checking if it was comfortable. "It's alright, go ahead and pick another pair for you, Brian." He stepped to the side.

"Good to know." Xander nodded. "I'm gonna input our names at the lane and set up the game for you guys, it's probably all in Japanese."

"Alright. We're right behind you." The two followed Xander to the lane.

"Aaw, I was planning on getting a headstart while you two were busy with the shoes, ended up wasting time."

"Not like you'd need it, you're just gonna demolish us no matter what."

"Stop hyping up my performance! I've never bowled! There's no indication I'll do any better than you!"

"That's just how it always goes with you, you try something for the first time and master it in minutes, you're just a savant."

"Just temper your expectations." Xander started inputting on a touchscreen next to their lane, Rob and Brian sitting down in a nearby seat. "The higher you are, the harder you fall... Alright, kore de shiai o hajimeyō!"

"Does that mean 'we're ready' or something close?"

"Not yet... Do you want your names in Latin letters?"

"Oh! Put them in Japanese, I can just look at my own tag to make sure it's my name, right? It's the square and the door symbol."

"There you go, Rob! Learning slowly but steadily! Now you can write some Japanese, some stuff like 'Buro', 'Rorobu', 'Roburoro'! So useful!"

"Har har."

"And, you know, if you remove the dakuten, you'll also learn how to write 'fu'! Fuburo! Bufuro! Anyways, I'm done. You go first, then Brian, then me."

"Oh, alright." Rob got up, walking to the bowling balls. "Saving the best for last, huh?"

"Come on, don't flatter me. I did put myself last because I wanted to analyze how you two throw the ball first, to be honest, you go first because you're the one who's bowled before."
Last edited by Wortge on Fri Oct 22, 2021 10:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Wortge
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:06 am

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

"See? You're already strategizing, this is why you always whoops us." He grabbed a ball, checking its weight. "Here goes nothing." Rob launched the ball, which took out the right half of the bowling pins.

"Great start!" Brian complimented. "You think you can pull out a spare?"

"Wanna bet on it? Asking rhetorically, of course." He launched another ball, taking out the rest of the pins. "Nice!" He celebrated, walking back to the seat.

"Tough act to follow." Brian got up. "Looks like your practice in Greece is paying off."

"Haha! It's been so long though."

"OK..." Brian grabbed a ball and concentrated, breathing heavily. He released the ball, which took out all the pins in the lane.

"Hahaha! Seriously?!" He laughed in disbelief. "Beginner's luck? Or is it really this easy?"

"A prodigy in the making? Let's see if you can pull that off again in your next turn."

"Alright, my turn, I guess." Xander walked up. "Apparently you're both pros, you two were nowhere this good at Wii Sports bowling, for dog's sake."

"Just goes to show how hard you're gonna beat us today." Rob commented. "You were super good at that game."

"I'm 'super good' at anything involving the Wii because they have to simplify everything because of the motion controls, same thing for VR. It's a dark era for gaming, tell you what." He grabbed a ball, taking aim. "No skill, just flail your body around and pretend you're doing the real thing." He released, the ball quickly drifting to the right and falling into the gutter. "Oh, speaking of 'no skill'." Xander joked.

"Don't talk as you're doing it, concentrate." Brian advised.

"Yeah, yeah." He grabbed another ball. "Uh, I think this is the pose." Another ball was launched, this one hitting only three of the leftmost pins. "Well, better than nothing." He shrugged, returning to a seat.

"You going for a comeback, Xan?" Rob asked as he got up. "Wanna lower our guards and then just unleash your inner beast?"

"What 'inner beast'?! I'm not hiding anything! I've never bowled in my entire life! I told you that, like, ten times! Not my fault you two are actually professional players in secret!"

"Hey, don't get salty. We two are probably just fluking, and you're reverse-fluking."

"'Reverse-fluking', really roundabout way of saying 'doing terrible'."

"Look, let me make you feel better." Rob prepared and launched a ball, which managed to knock out all but one of the pins.

"Oh, you're so bad, Rob." Xander deadpanned. "S-Omegalul-Bad."

"What? Stop meme-spouting, bet you'd mock anyone else for saying stuff like that in public."

"And what makes you think I take myself seriously?"

"The fact you're having a meltdown over not being good at bowling?"

"I'm not having a meltdown!"

"OK, yelling definitely makes me believe that." Rob grabbed another ball. "Let me see how my precise aim is." Rob released and failed to hit the remaining pin. "See? We all make mistakes."

"What do you mean?! You only missed one! You can't compare that to what *I* just did!"

"Haha, chill, Xander." Brian got up to start his turn, switching places with Rob. "You'll get the hang of it, currently you're only working with a sample size of one." He prepared and took his shot, which again struck all pins.

"Brian!" Rob exclaimed. "You're insane! Is this seriously your first time?!"

"Hahaha! I'm as impressed as you are, honestly." He went back to his seat, a little giddy.

"Let me see if I can join you two." Xander started his turn.

"Yeah, be optimistic" Rob added. "Maybe it's your pessimism that's making you play that badly."

"I wasn't being 'pessimistic', I was just offsetting your high expectations." Xander shot a ball after some brief preparation, which slowly drifted to the right, almost hitting some pins and then entering the right gutter almost at the end of the lane.

"Are you serious now? Whatever I did is harder than just getting a strike, I swear." Xander laughed, feigning some amusement.

"You're messing up your approach, Xan." Brian tried to help. "Change the angle so that your paw is right behind the ball instead of on top of it during the release. Shoot a little faster too, you seem to be throwing bad hook balls by accident."

"What?! What's up with all this bowling glossary suddenly?! I thought you were a complete beginner?"

"I am! It's just... You pick up on a lot of things without trying to... For example, I don't follow soccer, but I know what, say, a Cruyff Turn is."

"A what?! Oh, you two like sports too much, of course I can't keep up." Xander shrugged and grabbed another ball, preparing to throw.

"You've beaten us at a lot of sports before though."

"Shut up! I'm not unusually bad at bowling! I swear!" The Beagle threw the ball, which drifted into the right gutter again. "Oh, for ***'s sake! Why am I ***arded?!"

"Xander!" Rob called. "Don't say that word! Come on!"

"Oh, Mister 'it's just words' is getting all offended now?!"

"Swear words are different from slurs! Those are meant to put down whole groups of marginalized people!"

"Tsk, whatever makes you feel all righteous with little effort, Rob, I'm sorry." Xander shook his head dismissively, walking back to the seats. "Don't you call humans 'apes' all the time?"

"But humans *are* apes! Not my fault they're offended by the fact they can be considered just an animal species like any other!"

"There's the nuance though, nobody calls a human an 'ape' to their face neutrally, it's always derogatory. And if you wanna be literal like that, ***arded people *are* literally slower too."

"Xander! Seriously?! It's not about its meaning, it's the fact you're using a word supposed to refer to certain disadvantaged people as just a generic insult! It's despicable!"

"Oh, stop acting like I'm gonna set some special needs pups on fire. 'Why am I so disadvantaged?!' Is that better for you?" Xander got up again. "And anyways, I'm starving right now, maybe that's why I'm playing like I just drank a gallon of orange juice. I'm gonna find something to eat, if you try to imply that this is me ragequitting I'll smack you."

"Well, if you're actually hungry, I won't say a word, Xan." Rob assured. "I'm not hungry, are you, Brian?"

"No, not yet." The other Retriever answered. "I'm sorry, Xander, but I really wanna finish this match, can you find something around?"

"Haha, I can't blame you for not wanting to stop, you're on fire right now, and they have a cafeteria over there." Xander started walking away. "Want me to remove my name?" He turned to Brian.

"No, I'll play your turns, don't worry."

"Alright! If you manage to make my name win I'll... I'll be really impressed, not like I'm not impressed already anyways."

"Hahaha! My streak has to end at some point, have a nice meal!"

"You too! Oh wait, no! I mean, uh, bye!" Xander walked away, going towards the eating area but then deviating to a few vending machines next to the main entrance. "Ugh, let's just get something quick." He started thinking to himself. "The two will probably go dine out somewhere else later, don't wanna fill myself up and then miss out on that." He stopped in front of the machines, trying to decide. "Why is it all drinks? Oh well, I am kinda thirsty right now too, to be honest. I'll get something and the-" His phone started ringing, interrupting him. "Oh, uh." Xander grabbed the phone to check the ID. "'Jon', wow, actually making me an international call, that rich kitty." He thought before answering. "Hey." Xander walked to the side of the vending machines and leaned on the wall, talking on the phone discretely.

"Hey, Bro!" Jon's voice came out. "Good morning! How has the day been? Missing me?"

"It's been great, I guess. Went out a bunch, saw a volcano, some towns..."

"Wow, that sounds awesome!"

"Uh... Yeah, it was interesting, hm, it's nine PM right now, for you I suppose it's, uh, ten AM? Is the club doing well?"

"You're way off, Bro, it's seven in the morning here, I'm not even working yet."

"Oh, I've been doing that wrong this whole time? Cool. I've been doing a lot of things wrong today, to be honest."

"Huh, what's really going on then? Doesn't sound like it's been so 'great' now."

"Oh! It's nothing, nothing. Nothing serious, just... Pain."

"Uh... OK... Well, uh, I'm about to start my shift at the club, you know, it's seven AM as I've mentioned, I trie-"

"Seriously! Seven AM!" Xander interrupted. "Why do you get up at such unholy hours?"

"It's not so 'unholy' if you don't always go to sleep at three like you do. Why are you only giving me that now?"

"Because I'm finally awake at the same time to point that out! But anyways, uh, good luck at work, Jon."

"Thanks! Uh, but you know, I'm not calling you just to ask how things are going, I actually tried calling Brian before you, he didn't answer me though, so I called you instead."

"Oh, I see. Yeah, this is the first time you actually call me here, you've been doing Discord voice calls before."

"Yeah, but you're not online now. Are you in the woods or something?"

"No, not anymore at least. I'm not gonna get Internet outside of the hotel, can't be bothered with finding out how to use data abroad, and I've been called an Internet addict today already anyways."

"Right, uh, anyways, I tried calling Brian just now and he didn't answer, is he working?"

"No, we decided on hanging out at a bowling alley after being done for the day and, uh, apparently Brian and Rob are absolute *monsters* at bowling, it's ridiculous, I got beaten *so* hard!"

"Oh, ouch. I hope you took that well at least. Is he busy playing then?"

"Yup, busy getting five thousand strikes in a row while pretending to be a beginner."

"And you're not playing with them?"

"I got beaten! I just told you!"

"So what? I know how bowling works, you only get 'beaten' once the game ends, you don't get knocked out, did you just ragequit?"

"Yes! Like, I'm sorry for being a bad sport, but it's just humiliating! They just keep getting like, strikes and stuff, and my balls just keep rolling into the side ditches! I'm just not having fun! And I was hungry anyways!"

"Aaw, Bro! You can do better! Maybe you're messing up your approach? Did you try changing the angle of your paw so tha-"

"Shut the f-! Uh, I mean... Nevermind! But still, I *really* don't care! I don't like bowling, and therefore I don't care about getting good at bowling, save your advice for someone else."

"Hahaha! You actually are super salty right now, aren't you? 'Down here, salt is a way of life!'"

"Argh! Are you calling just to taunt me?!"

"Oh, yes! Of course! You see, I've been hanging out with Peanut, I'm even in his house right now, and you know he's into psychic stuff and whatever, right? He like, telepathically told me you were having trouble with bowling and I just wanted to rub salt in your wounds! Sorry not sorry!"

"I... I don't even know if you're joking right now."

"I am. Uh, anywa-"

"Why are you hanging out with Peanut?"

"Oh, I dunno. He wanted to talk to, uh, Cresselia, and from that request things just, progressed. I spent yesterday watching movies with him, we tried to marathon Star Wars."

"Oh, that sounds fun. Better than watching volcanoes, I bet."

"No, come on, don't undersell your trip. You can watch Star Wars at any time, being in Japan not so much."

"Were the sequels as bad as they say?"

"Uh, they were average dumb fun, I don't really care about the plot. The old movies are still there, if you hate them you can just pretend they're bad fanfiction."

"Haha! I mean, they pretty much are, they weren't written by George Lucas at all."

"Right! But anyways, I keep trying to tell you this but you always interrupt me and makes us go into small tangents, I origina-"

"Oh, I'm sorry! Go on."

"Stop interrupting! Uh, I called you because Brian didn't answer, it's about club stuff. In fact, calling you about it is even better than calling Brian, it's very related to your side of the operations."

"Oh dear, what do you wanna talk about?"

"Well, uh, the new consoles, you know? PS5, Xbox Series X, they're just coming out, that Australian Shepherd who's always by the arcades made sure I remembered that, haha. You know, the guy who doesn't shut up about Smash."

"You mean Umber? I thought you were good with people's names."

"Yes! That one! I'm getting rusty. So, I know putting some game consoles in the arcade area of the club has been in the plans for a while."

"Yeah, me and Brian have gone over that already, there isn't enough space."

"Yes, there is! Especially if we move out some of the cabinets, like, those tapping games that nobody but you uses, that aren't even in English."

"Ugh, I knew those would come under attack like this eventually."

"Of course! I swear it's only you who plays them! The arcade area is for everyone, not just you!"

"I've tried getting more dogs into them! But they get so demotivated by anything with a slight hint of a proper learning curve! Not my fault!"

"Look, I'm not even suggesting getting rid of them, we could just move them to our house, or even Brian's house."

"Oh, can't wait to have to deal with Brian's dog-hating human-siblings every time I wanna play Beatmania. We'll move them home, then, there's some space left in the laundry room."

"Huh, you're gonna game in the laundry room?"

"I don't mind, the DDR cabinet used to be in the garage after all, before the club was even a thing."

"Oh yeah, but that one is staying, people love it."

"I know, I know! I know *exactly* what you mean by 'the arcades not even in English', which isn't even true, by the way! The menus are all in English!"

"No, I know, I know how they are. They say like: 'Press Enter to start' and then you press Enter and the English front falls apart, the actual menus show up and they're all like: uh, 'konichiwa'."

"Have you actually ever played any of them? They're still all in English, the stuff in Japanese are only like, some song names and tooltips for options."

"Look, people don't use them regardless, there's no point in defending them."

"I know, it's whatever, I'm just correcting things that are just not true. You can move them all home, easier said than done, of course."

"Oh, we'll manage. So we have your go-ahead, to sum everything up, we're gonna convert a part of the arcade area into a part with TVs, game consoles, and, uh, those seats that are like, big blobs, you know what I mean?"

"You mean bean bags?"

"Yes! Sorry, I don't know English. I'll get all of that, and maybe it'll all be set up before you three even arrive! And I'm thinking of not even using the club funds for that, I might just pay for most of it myself."

"Well, it's your money." Xander shrugged. "The new consoles aren't exactly super expensive. From what I've heard, the biggest problem is finding them in stock, not just having enough money."

"Oh, I know that, of course, they're not available anywhere official, but I've been finding a lot of second-hand sellers already, so it's no biggie."

"Hm, are they at like, retail prices?"

"Nope! The prices are like, in the thousands, but still, no biggie, I can afford it. As long as they're not scams."

"These are from scalpers, Jon! Don't support them!"

"Why not? They're not making enough consoles to sell to everyone, of course the price is gonna shoot up where they're guaranteed to be available, supply and demand, my dear brother."

"It's all artificial scarcity compounded on top of *actual* scarcity! It's all leeches buying consoles in bulk just to inflate their prices for their own benefit! Making everything even worse!"

"What's you suggestion? Waiting for the consoles to be available in stores? That's not gonna happen, Umber won't wait for that, you know?"

"I'm sure Umber is passionate enough to have the exact same opinion as me."

"Why are you even this passionate? I thought you kinda hated consoles, why do you care about making buying one for cheap harder?"

"I just... I don't wanna support scummy practices, that's all. But, to be honest, the only reason to get consoles is for exclusives, and there's been less and less these past years, especially in the Xbox side of things, makes me wonder who even is buying the new consoles, how is it even running out of stock? You know, there's seriously no excuse for actually preferring consoles over PCs that doesn't boil down to either 'I'm poor' or 'I'm stupid', it's pretty funny, like, it's always people complaining about how har-"

"OK, Xan, OK! Chill with that, I'm not much of a console gamer myself anymore either, no need to try to convince me. Actually, are you suggesting we put PCs in the club? Make it some kind of LAN party area?"

"Uh, it could be that, honestly. I mean, ninety percent of the cabinets are actually just PCs running emulators, we almost have that already."

"Haha, true! At least it makes maintenance easier. Anyways, that wasn't a serious suggestion, I'm going for the consoles, no matter what, half Playstations, half Xboxes, there's Nintendo too but those aren't brand new, so I'm not even worrying about that yet, I'll think about the games later, and I'll just get them from scalpers for the moment, sorry."

"Ugh, may God have mercy on our souls."

"Do you want an extra one for us, by the way?"

"No! No thanks."

"You'll want your Gran Turismo, won't you? That's always a Sony exclusive."

"I think it's still a few years away, I don't even know, and I'm not into it as much as I used to be."

"Alright, uh, that's really all I wanted to go over, can you relay this to Brian later?"

"Sure! I'll tell him once he's done setting the world record for highest bowling score or something, he just got another strike! This is ridiculous!"

"Oh, I think I'm gonna invite him to some bowling with the cats at some point, is he professional?"

"No! He says he's never tried it!"

"Well, people are allowed to lie, uh, just one little thing I wanna go over before I end the call, about the K-9 stuff in the club."

"Uh, what do we have with the K-9s?"

"Did you forget about it? Brian's plan of interfering with their human-hunting or whatever, do we really plan on going on with that? It's just crazy! A lot of risk for no benefit!"

"Oh! Uh, he actually just talked about that some minutes ago, he gave up on it."

"Really? He didn't mention anything!"

"Yeah, he said that he'd just disregard the plans and assume we'd all forget."

"That's really unprofessional! Of course I wouldn't forget about that! It was really worrying me! I didn't wanna be some kind of police police!"

"Unlike Brian, isn't it? Stuff's driving him crazy recently, he feels super guilty taking advantage of lockdown stuff, he was really vocal about it at some point, and now it's Rob that's being vocal because they're starting to restrict pets in a lot of places, he's just... Scared and angry. Are things getting worse over there? Any chance of restrictions coming back, is that why you were worrying?"

"I don't really know, but I needed some advice about that. I just left it up to Brian, but now that he isn't here I was worried about not doing things as he'd do if push came to shove, but now I'm relieved, thanks for telling me! Uh, I'll still call him later today, before he, uh, 'goes to work'. How's he dealing with that anyways?"

"His work? I dunno. He's staying in a separate room, he probably does all his work late at night."

"And is he getting sleep?"

"No idea, I hope? I mean, we're not his owners, I just trust he's taking care of himself."

"Alright, uh, let me sign off then. This call is probably costing like, seventy dollars at this point, and it's all gonna be debited from Walt, and I'm sure he'll never accept me paying for it, nobody ever does."

"Talk to you later then, Jon! I'll be online in a few hours hopefully, let's see if we can do something."

"Aw, Bro! I'll be *offline* in a few, don't think that's possible. I'm still bringing your Switch to the club though, did Rob bring his? We could play some Mario Kart, I have Rob's Friend Code."

"Ugh, Mario Kart? That game's items are way too overpowered, they just exist as a way of rubber banding, giving bad players an unfair advantage."

"Item spam is the whole point of that game, sorry you can't just start a race in the first position and then stay there forever with nothing happening like in all your 'serious' racing games."

"Plenty of stuff hap- Oh, whatever. We'll see, Jon, goodbye."

"Goodbye! Get better at bowling!" Jon disconnected from the call.

"Humph, pass." Xander grumbled to himself, storing his phone before facing the vending machine again. "Alright, where was I again?"

"Sono eigo wa rippa datta! Jouzu desu ne!" An excited voice came from behind the Beagle, startling him. "Dore kurai renshū shiteru no?"

Xander quickly turned away from the machine again to talk, facing a white Japanese Spitz dog slightly shorter than him. 「Uh, my English?」 He almost stuttered. 「Aaah... A little over twenty years, haha.」

「Amazing! You speak it so fast and effortlessly! I really want to speak English well, so I can play some games that were never released in Japan, but it's so hard!」

"Hehe." Xander chuckled, a little shyly. 「It's interesting to hear that from this perspective, at least.」

「What do you mean?」

「Uh, usually I hear English-speakers complaining about things that are only in Japanese, 『I wish this thing was translated so I could play it!』, they always say, ignoring the fact they can just learn Japanese and then play it instead of waiting for other people to do the work for them, laziness.」

「Oh, but learning a whole language just to play a few games is a little unreasonable, isn't it? Japanese is less essential than English, you shouldn't expect all foreigners to learn it.」

「It's essential if you're some otaku weirdo! But... Uh... Actually, I keep making fun of people who only want to learn Japanese because of Japanese cartoons and such, so you just can't satisfy me. I want people to stop complaining about stuff that's exclusive to Japan, but also want them to learn Japanese for reasons other than wanting to understand Japan-exclusive media, it's... Complicated. I should just shut up.」

「But then why did you learn English? Was it for Western works? To talk to more people? Just to bash foreigners, like you're doing right now? Were you talking to your teacher previously?」

「Uh... I was talking to my younger brother, actually... Uh, because it's a very important language of the world, I've been immersively studying English, for many yea- Do you seriously believe Japanese is my main language?」 Xander decided to bluntly ask.

「Uh.」 She furrowed her brows, taken aback. 「There's a very strong Tokyo accent, you don't sound like a foreigner, just an outsider. Are you a tourist? Where are you from?」

"Oh, wow, Rob would love this opportunity." Xander quickly thought to himself. 「I'm... I'm Americ- From America... I am.」

「That's cool! I've never met an American! What's your name?」

「Uh, Xander. As in, the ending of the name 『Alexander』.」

「Pleased to meet you, Xander! I'm called Nana.」

Xander chuckled quietly. 「As in, the number seven?」

「Haha, indeed. You're not the first to note that.」

「Heheh, sorry if that happens to you often. Uh, I can relate to that, actually, you see, a lot of close friends shorten my name to 『Xan』, and, uh, in English, it's a slang, for medicine, a type of... Nevermind.」

「Is it something taboo?」

「Not quite. Uuh... I already spent the last minutes talking about really weird stuff, don't want to start talking about drugs now to finish it off, alright?」

「Eh? Oh, you were talking about that with your younger brother?」

「No, I have friends with me right now, they're busy bowling.」 Beagle looked back at the bowling lanes, quickly finding his friends before pointing at them. 「I was with those two dogs over there, hanging out with them.」

「Wow! They're big!」

「Pfft! Big?!」 Xander snorted. 「Retrievers, yeah, I guess they're in the, uh, bigger side of the dog size spectrum.」

「Wow! 『Dog size spectrum』! Your Japanese is really very good for an American, I barely know what that means!」

「Oh, come on, that doesn't even count! 『Spectrum』 is a loanword! I was actually just talking about this earlier, I don't like using them. Why call an 『otearai』 a 『toire』? Makes no sense.」

「Do the two also know Japanese?」

「Humph, not at all. The one on the right only knows the names of the days of the week, the left one is ignorant and proud of it.」

「Only the days of the week, really? Why?」

「I don't know, you have to start from something at least. There are a lot of foreigners whose only thing in Japanese they can say is 『you're already dead』, you know?」

「Oh, that's... spooky... Wait, isn't that a quote from Jojo?」

「I don't know, I don't watch cartoons.」 The Beagle shook his head dismissively. 「Uh, the two might not know Japanese, but their bowling skill is crazy, to compensate for that, I couldn't keep up at all, haha.」 Xander briefly looked at Nana's feet, noticing she was barefoot. 「Are you bowling here? You don't have shoes on.」

「Nah, I come here only for the arcade area. I was playing DanRevo a little today, do I look tired? Haha.」

「You look fine.」 Xander replied neutrally before perking up in realization. 「Wait! DanRevo?! DDR?! I play that *a lot* back in America! I must be so, uh, untrained, right now!」

「Are you good at it normally?」

「No! I'm complete crap! But I can at least enjoy it, unlike bowling. Which way is the arcade area?」

「By that corner.」 The Spitz pointed at a small collection of three arcade machines, none of them in use.

「Oh, that's a little small, isn't it? My own collection at the club is bigger than that.」

「You have a collection? And a club?」

「Ah! Forget it, forget it please.」 Xander shook his head. 「I didn't mean to boast accidentally.」

「I don't think you're boasting, it just sounds interesting.」

「It's all fourteen hours from here, it's irrelevant... Uh, Nana, it was a pleasure talking to you.」 He bowed quickly before turning to face the vending machine again, starting to count a few coins.

「Likewise. Are you planning on playing the arcades?」

「Yes, bowling isn't for me. I'm just grabbing a quick drink first, my stomach is a little empty.」

「Then there's no need to say goodbye! I'm going to continue playing there! Do you want to play two-player mode?」

「Oh, sure.」 Xander replied while leaning to grab his drink. 「Do you know which version of DDR is there? I hope it's not one of the latest ones, Konami has been really ruining the franchise, even more than usual, putting a lot of garbage licensed pop songs in it, with really bad, uh, 『mapping』, is that the word for it? Back home I don't play on an official machine, I play a DDR emulator with all the official songs ever released already in it, a lot of custom ones too, but they'd never put something like that in a business like this, I understand.」

「Uh, I see.」 She stared at Xander obliviously.

「You didn't understand? Told you my Japanese sucks.」 He began walking to the area, not looking at her.

「You never told me that! And I understood what you were saying, I just don't know enough about the game to answer, or even comment. Are you actually bad at the game? You seem to know a lot.」

「To some people I'm good, to some people I'm bad.」 Xander shrugged, taking a quick sip from his drink while still making his way. 「Don't have high expectations, please. When someone expects a lot from you and you fail, it just hurts, even if it's unfounded expectations.」

「Uh, do you have strict owners? Always expecting a lot from you?」

「Uh, eh, uuhm... Sure, you can believe that.」 Xander arrived just to start leaning on one of the bars of the machine, continuing his drink. 「Start a session alone please, I'm busy drinking now. It's three songs per coin, isn't it? Or did they change that at some point? Want me to pay?」

「I'll pay, it's fine.」 She inserted a coin into the game, starting to play.

Xander moved over to the unoccupied side of the cabinet, watching nonchalantly while sipping his drink. 「Good luck.」 He said as the first stage started.

The Beagle watched the other dog playing, clearing a particularly easy stage satisfactorily. 「You don't change the speed of the arrows? That seemed hard to read.」

「Hard to read? There was no text to read.」

「Not text, uh... The arrows, they seemed hard to process, at such a low speed they get on top of each other.」

「Oh, I like it when the arrows are on top of each other, it makes the game look really difficult.」

「It also makes the game actually more difficult, no? That's encumbering your progress, I think.」

「『Encumbering your progress』? There's no way Japanese isn't your first language, is it? You talk really fast too.」

「It's not my first language! Didn't you just see me speaking English earlier? Japanese is my fourth language, after English, French, Spanish. I learned some German after Japanese too.」

「That's amazing! You're a genius! Can you show me?」

"Nani o misete hoshī? Boku ga shіtteru gengo? Hmm, aquí hay una frase en español. Honestamente, no he practicado español en años, solo aprendí porque en los Estados Unidos es mucho más útil, espero que no entiendas esto, mi acento debe ser terrible, heh. Le Français est plus facile pour moi, avoir un ami français aide aussi beaucoup, Apropos Freunde, Ich habe Deutsch nur wegen einer engen Freundin gelernt, der deutsche Besitzer hat, ihn überhaupt nicht beeindruckt, and lastly, of course I never really studied English, it's just the language I learned growing up, didn't really have a choice there, did I? If I weren't from an English-speaking country I'd probably still know it though, or not, I'd probably be a completely different person in that case, can't really speculate. Nihongo de nanka iu hitsuyō wanai ne?"

「Wow! Impressive! I'm jealous! You really are a genius, there's no need to be humble!」

「I'm not a genius! Anyone can know these things! There are people who know everything about the lore of hundreds of fictional works, for exemple, does that make them 『geniuses』? It doesn't. Even though they probably devoted the same time to learning that as I did learning languages, it's seem as less impressive just because it's less useful, it's seem as less 『cultured』 than learning languages.」

「But people learn about fictional works because they're enjoying the work, not because they just want to know everything about it.」

「And I learn languages because it's fun, not because I have an objective of learning everything.」

「Hm, I tried learning English and it wasn't fun at all, you're just lucky to be able to enjoy that, I think.」

「Haha, that's right! Which is why I shouldn't be harsh with people who want to be spoiled with translations to everything, people who can't even handle subtitles, they want their TV show set in the middle of Poland to have everyone speaking English for no reason, Polish sounds so beautiful too! It's just... vandalism, really, linguistic vandalism. But some people just hate reading and I have to deal with that, they want media from other cultures, but also to not have to deal with the taste of that culture that comes with that. For shows for children, even some of the animation is replaced, there's a Japanese show where rice balls were replaced with sandwiches, and they kept getting called 『donuts』, that became really infamous overseas. Now, every time rice balls are mentioned some idiots who think they're comedians try to reference that, saying: 『Rice balls, don't you mean donuts? Haha!』 and they think they're being really funny, it's really stupid, I hate Americans.」

「Uh, have you finished your drink?」 Nana looked back to Xander as his ramblings continued.

「No, have you finished your matches?」

「Matches?」

「Matches, stages, levels, songs, I don't know. Told you I don't know Japanese.」

「Stop saying that! I hope you're not lying about your skill at this game like you're lying about your Japanese.」

「I just told you to not expect a lot. You're taking a bit long, was the timer for selecting songs in this machine removed? That's bad for me, actually, I'm an indecisive dog.」

「Then I'll select for you when we're playing together.」 She started another level, beginning to play again.

Xander returned his attention to his drink, beginning to think to himself. "Huh, how did I get myself into this situation now? I don't wanna be friends with someone who I probably will never see again after today! Really sociable person too, but that's the only type of person I can ever be friends with, isn't it? Because I never approach strangers, only strangers who approach me can be my friends... Maybe once I'm back home, I can look for someone who's really shy and try to hang out a little?... No! What am I thinking? I already have enough friends." The Beagle looked at the rest of the room, trying to find the bowling lanes with his best friends. "Oh, there they are... Would have never known them, if it were not for Brian 'recruiting' every single dog he found outside on that fateful day, haha... Jeez, what is going on with Brian?! I can't really see it well, but that's a lot of X's in that monitor! Even for Rob too! And of course all the scores in my line after I stopped playing are way better, good thing I bailed, ugh, that'd be humiliating... 'Oh, huhuhu, I don't know why I'm so good lol I guess I was just born with The Touch™', get the *** outta here, tryhards... Actually, could they be cheating somehow?"

「Are you fine, Xander?」 Nana asked from the side, having finished her second game. 「Uh... You seem a little angry.」

「Agh! Am I making some type of funny face? Sorry!」 He jumped, embarrassed, trying to make a more neutral expression.

「Just wondering. You scared me a little with that face, haha!」

"Oops." Xander continued his monologue, looking at his friends again. "Tsk, looks like another strike... Cool."
User avatar
Amazee Dayzee
Posts: 25882
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:24 pm

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Glad that you are continuing to write this! It really is wonderful!
cogalinha
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2021 12:39 pm

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by cogalinha »

it's amazing, when will the arc of magical things come out
Wortge
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:06 am

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

'Cats of Queens' Discord Server, Sunday, November 22 2020, 10:44 AM

_Ksk_ Today at 10:44 AM
uh-huh
Reminds me of how it took me years to learn that Reznors from SMB are actually named after Trent Reznor
Not even as a joke
Like, this is a Japanese game, why are they aware of NIN?
To the point of naming a mini-boss after him

NateA7 Today at 10:44 AM
what's NIN?

_Ksk_ Today at 10:45 AM
Really showing your age, aren't you Nate?

ZentrixSM Today at 10:46 AM
Or maybe he's just showing the fact he has musical standards

_Ksk_ Today at 10:46 AM
Oh, shut up

ZentrixSM Today at 10:46 AM
also they're called buibui (ブイブイ) in japanese
so you're right about it having nothing to do with the actual developers, just localization bull***
There are so many examples of localizers trying to americanize stuff for no reason
because, you know, the average consumer obviously would be extremely confused by cultural differences
gotta shield them from that
did you know that when they localized phoenix wright they pretended the whole thing took place in LA for no ***ing reason
and in the first game it wasn't that big of an issue
but then in the next ones they start going to like ancient shrines in snow-capped mountains, traditional festivals, etc
one of the main characters is super shintoist or something
and the localizers were probably all like
oops
"uh, it's fine, it's fine, this is still in california you know, that's just, uh, japanese immigration influence????"

_Ksk_ Today at 10:47 AM
All I'm getting from this rant is that you think the dinos should've been called 'Buibui' in English too

ZentrixSM Today at 10:47 AM
I don't see why not?
it's stuff you only find in manuals anyways

ZentrixSM Today at 10:47 AM
Ah, Xander
I've missed your pedantry and contrarianism
Do you seriously believe liking Nine Inch Nails is having no musical standards, by the way?
What kind of music do you even like?

ZentrixSM Today at 10:48 AM
The kind of music you pray the rest of the house isn't overhearing from your headphones
but you're right, I am being a contrarian
just wanted to take a cheap shot at you
haven't really seriously checked out NIN
maybe I'll like it, I like Industrial, I really like MBM for example
but the little I've heard from them is meh

_Ksk_ Today at 10:48 AM
What's MBM?

ZentrixSM Today at 10:49 AM
meat beat manifesto
Really showing your age, aren't you Monarch?

_Ksk_ Today at 10:49 AM
I'm older than you!

N3rveX Today at 10:49 AM
wait wait wait
Xander!
welcome back!
what makes you think you can just start talking here again like it's no big deal?
hope you had fun times in japan
Jon and Monarch were planning a surprise welcome at the airport for when you came back
guess that didn't work out, shame
I was planning on joining

ZentrixSM Today at 10:49 AM
dude
stop typing so fast
I'm still in Japan

N3rveX Today at 10:50 AM
huh
oh no
is it too late for me to delete all of that?

_Ksk_ Today at 10:50 AM
hmmm
You've got some explaining to do, Wolf

N3rveX Today at 10:50 AM
Xander baited me!
why would you say stuff like "rest of the house"??
you're not in a house right now!

ZentrixSM Today at 10:50 AM
it's fine nerve, it's fine
The two dogs would have a field day with a crowd of cats welcoming me home anyways
at least Rob would

N3rveX Today at 10:51 AM
It's the whole point
welcoming you back? sure, I guess
but embarrassing you? now we're talking
Of course you don't mind having that spoiled, I'm worried about Ksk here

_Ksk_ Today at 10:51 AM
You may live, dude
It's alright
We all know each other IRL, not like I can punish you here in any way
Xander, can you just forget about all this? MIB-style?

ZentrixSM Today at 10:51 AM
Haha, with the little flash stick things?
See? I've watched /some/ popular movies, I get that reference
anyways, don't worry, I'll probably forget it anyways
I'll assume you all cancelled and then be surprised when you don't actually cancel

_Ksk_ Today at 10:52 AM
Ooh, that's a good plan
Start believing we're going to cancel it then

ZentrixSM Today at 10:52 AM
uh
that makes it obvious you're not planning on cancelling though
oh, whatever, even you're sabotaging the surprise now
also, is @OldArch online?
I messaged him about invite stuff, since he's here more than you
maybe I should copy-paste the request to you too now?

OldArch Today at 10:52 AM
no need, Mr. Happy Feet
i'm lurking
greetings from America
Hope you're having a good vacation, but the fact you're spending time here instead tells me you're not

ZentrixSM Today at 10:52 AM
kek
I'm enjoying it
it's morning here, I'm only going out later
I'm just logging in here now because I assume this is going to be dead in the afternoon

OldArch Today at 10:53 AM
Alright, if you say so
need me to send an invite, huh?
done
You should just be a mod, honestly
save me from this busywork

ZentrixSM Today at 10:53 AM
Don't act like I ask things from you all the time

NateA7 Today at 10:53 AM
spline are you seriously thinking of making a dog a mod here

OldArch Today at 10:53 AM
yeah, because it's funny
and it'd make you mad

ZentrixSM Today at 10:54 AM
Nate's smart, he knows that if I ever get control I'd ban all cats
and then I'd invite you all back anyways
as well as every single cat I find on Discord
since I'm such a cat lover and all

MEE6 [BOT] Today at 10:54 AM
@七ちゃん#8810 Has joined the server! Welcome!

NateA7 Today at 10:54 AM
wat

ZentrixSM Today at 10:55 AM
oh
didn't expect her to be online now
@七ちゃん 入らっしゃい!
僕のニューヨークからの友達がここにいる
英語の知識を開発する事のためのとても大切な環境です

NateA7 Today at 10:55 AM
cool moonrunes xan
i love when you do that

_Ksk_ Today at 10:55 AM
Xander, although it's not a rule, it should be obvious this server is English-only, right?
I don't want to learn all your languages just to moderate your messages

OldArch Today at 10:56 AM
remember when we had to make a rule in our RPG group to forbid creating non-english speaking characters
because he kept making frenchies just to show off

ZentrixSM Today at 10:56 AM
子猫たちは怒っているww
英語を話していないから
心配しないで、俺はここで大物な一員なので禁止されない

OldArch Today at 10:57 AM
also I can get the gist of what you're saying by just using google translate

ZentrixSM Today at 10:57 AM
カタカナで書けばよかった
ホンヤクシャワフツウトニカクヒドイ
僕でさえそれを読めないww草

七ちゃん Today at 10:57 AM
ザンダーさん、なんで友達はみんなネコなの?

ZentrixSM Today at 10:58 AM
ミンナ友達じゃないよ
少しだけ
今からDMで話してください
私たちは彼らを悩ませているかも

七ちゃん Today at 10:58 AM
Can speak a little english

ZentrixSM Today at 10:58 AM
代名詞を忘れた

N3rveX Today at 10:59 AM
who even is that
I don't want to be rude with the potential new member
but they don't seem to be a cat of queens

OldArch Today at 10:59 AM
Xander legit made a buddy in Japan and invited him in lol
just a matter of time until he does that to all his friends from the neighborhood club

N3rveX Today at 10:59 AM
I mean, at least it's a cat
I hope

NateA7 Today at 11:00 AM
this thing will turn into a general discord server very soon if we keep this up
no need to be a cat, no need to be from queens
this all started when pybear moved out to atlanta and yall didn't even bother to kick him out

_Ksk_ Today at 11:00 AM
We're not banning people who move out of Queens, Nate, that's absurd
We all knew him personally, our friendship continues regardless of distance
That's what the Internet's for, after all

NateA7 Today at 11:01 AM
he stopped posting as soon as he moved
that friendship didnt continue at all
i just ctrl+fd his name here, his last post was in november
november LAST YEAR
if you banned him he wouldnt even notice

_Ksk_ Today at 11:01 AM
I've talked with him recently
He's really active in the Apex Discord
Is Pybear still being in the member list to the right really such a big deal for you?

NateA7 Today at 11:01 AM
not what im talking aobut
just the fact this is devolving into something you can get in just by being buddies with any member

_Ksk_ Today at 11:01 AM
And is the fact there are members who aren't cats, or aren't living in Queens, a big deal?

NateA7 Today at 11:01 AM
YES
OF COURSE
this is for pets who are cats and who live near me
if i want anyone from nyc there are other places for it
if i want cats from anywhere there are also other places for it
but you guys want to put anyone here
because talking to them in other servers isnt enough i guess
i dont want to get close with someone here and then when i want to meet them personally theyre like:
actually a fox from iceland
and they're only here because they're xander's friend's friend

_Ksk_ Today at 11:02 AM
We could just make a new role for these types of people
Little solutions for little problems
You're overreacting
I'm the creator of this server after all
I should know its purpose better than you

NateA7 Today at 11:02 AM
and now your just being arrogant
that's a logical fallacy btw, just disregarding someone because you're an authority
ad authoritatium
or something like that

_Ksk_ Today at 11:03 AM
You mean appeal to authority?
And I'm not "disregarding you"

ZentrixSM Today at 11:03 AM
Am I missing a fight here?

_Ksk_ Today at 11:03 AM
Not a fight
We're all in good spirits here, I hope

ZentrixSM Today at 11:04 AM
haha
you know, Nate, I might be a dog
but I'm only here because I was already IRL buddies with like 4 guys from here
two of them I knew before you were even born
We're not going to get complete randoms here

NateA7 Today at 11:04 AM
so whoever you just added isnt some random cat you found in japan and barely know?
good to know

ZentrixSM Today at 11:04 AM
uh
it's not someone who's meant to hang out with us in person and play games etc
Just someone who wants to learn English
although I wouldn't want anyone learning English from you
ecks dee

NateA7 Today at 11:05 AM
oh I'm sorry for not treating writing here like its a freaking essay
i bet you and monarch do all this useless capitalization and punctuation just to feel smarter

N3rveX Today at 11:05 AM
Pressing Shift is hard work, guys

ZentrixSM Today at 11:05 AM
It's Exhausting
Why Do Languages Have To Be Imbued With Complicated Mechanisms Of Needless Complexity

NateA7 Today at 11:06 AM
rofl
ur spending time with brian now, aren't you zen
i know he likes talking like that as a joke sometimes

ZentrixSM Today at 11:06 AM
I always assumed he was serious
surprised his reputation reaches you
oh wait you're friends with his son nvm
Imagine being friends with a dog (Laughing Out Loud)

_Ksk_ Today at 11:07 AM
@NateA7 Check the sidebar now
"Dog" and "Not in NYC" are now roles
I thought of making "Not in Queens" instead but I can't remember who are the people here who live in Brooklyn instead and etc

NateA7 Today at 11:07 AM
oh, that's a start
thanks
i dont like how they're all at the top though, makes them look more important

_Ksk_ Today at 11:07 AM
Well
I'll just have to accept not pleasing you 100%
@ZentrixSM Do any of these roles apply to the latest member?

ZentrixSM Today at 11:08 AM
Yes
both

_Ksk_ Today at 11:08 AM
They're a dog, and not from the area?
Xander, you're kinda pushing things too far
Why would you invite somebody so distant to here?

OldArch Today at 11:08 AM
Hah, what do you think
don't think I didn't notice that "her" earlier, Happy Feet
xan just scored a japanese gf
the ship is sailing

ZentrixSM Today at 11:09 AM
don't be weird about it spline
jeez
and why are you calling me happy feet
you haven't used that nickname in like 5 years
She's here to help her English, that's all

N3rveX Today at 11:09 AM
isn't japanese like the hardest language ever
how would someone who speaks it have trouble with english? ***'s easy

ZentrixSM Today at 11:09 AM
You have to learn a language /from/ another language
learning japanese from english is hard, learning english from japanese just as much
knowing a language natively doesn't make you a genius just because people in the other side of the world have trouble learning it lol
learning anything is easy as long as you have genuine interest and engagement on it
except bowling, bowling sucks

OldArch Today at 11:10 AM
You've never bowled tho
have you?
you've never bowled with any of us afaik

ZentrixSM Today at 11:10 AM
I've never gone bowling
I'd probably really suck at it though, even more than the expected from a beginner

N3rveX Today at 11:11 AM
nah, you'd ace it
you always say that just to save face in case you can't learn it
like how you complain about FPS games all the time but is probably the best FPS player here

ZentrixSM Today at 11:11 AM
But I have played first person shooters, why would I complain about a genre I have no experience on?
I just think it's oversaturated and the gameplay gets boring quickly
I'd complain too if 70% of all people only played RPGs or forklift simulators or whatever

N3rveX Today at 11:12 AM
if you don't complain about things you've never tried why did you just complain about bowling
and it's not oversaturated at all
CS:GO, CoD, Battlefield, Doom, Destiny, that's all
anything else isn't taken seriously

ZentrixSM Today at 11:12 AM
for super big games that millions play, 5 is a lot
and there's still plenty more, come on
like, Valorant, Apex, Overwatch, PUBG and whatever
TF2
fortnite
and all of these are super big compared to anything else

N3rveX Today at 11:13 AM
I thought you were talking about traditional FPS
those are hero shooters
some are BRs
also fortnite is third person lol

ZentrixSM Today at 11:13 AM
oh "hero shooters"?
is it like, games where each person picks a class?
I just call them tf2 ripoffs

N3rveX Today at 11:13 AM
Just because they popularized the genre doesn't mean nobody else has the right to do it

ZentrixSM Today at 11:14 AM
Oh, you're definitely right
I'm just being salty now
it's like GTA, where just being an open-world game set in current times is being a "GTA clone"
I liked that genre, dude
but now it's pretty much dead because nobody can try it without "LOOOOOOL THEY'RE TRYING TO BE GTA"
don't want that to happen to any other genre, even if it's FPS
and now if you want to roam around a modern city with decent graphics you're forced to play GTA V which is like 5000 years old and they're never gonna make a new ***ing game because the stupid online mode is a god*** money printer
I hate online games so much
all these FPSes are popular only because of online too
I play video games to avoid people, don't bring them into them too you maniacs

_Ksk_ Today at 11:15 AM
uh
So how is Japan going, Xander?
It's your second visit, isn't it?

ZentrixSM Today at 11:15 AM
Yes, second
I went with Walt to Tokyo some years ago
fun stuff
I'm not being bullied for playing a game sub-optimally or being randomly blown up by children riding oppressor mk2s, so by default this is a great experience

_Ksk_ Today at 11:16 AM
Oh cod Xander
Move on from that, please

ZentrixSM Today at 11:16 AM
haha, I know y'all don't care

_Ksk_ Today at 11:16 AM
I do care
It's just that complaining won't do anything
People like online shooters, you don't
No matter what, majority rules

ZentrixSM Today at 11:17 AM
Yeah, I do hate democracy
Complaining doesn't do anything, but it makes me feel GOOD

_Ksk_ Today at 11:17 AM
Are you up to play something?
Oh, you said you're going to go out later, didn't you?
Nevermind

ZentrixSM Today at 11:17 AM
I can't
but not due to lack of time
I'm borrowing Jon's ancient toaster of a computer for the trip
Fair since he already """borrowed""" my Switch
This thing is struggling to run even RCT2

_Ksk_ Today at 11:18 AM
Didn't he get a new one?

ZentrixSM Today at 11:18 AM
yeah he got a desktop now
my room is now a cluttered mess with two desks
You haven't seen it yet, have you?

_Ksk_ Today at 11:18 AM
I haven't visited Jon in a while, no

ZentrixSM Today at 11:18 AM
he's too busy with grape's pet brother lol
and his "job" too I guess
doing his "bare minimum" to "not be a leech to us" or whatever
ditching his old owners ***ed him up in such a weird way
I still don't get it

_Ksk_ Today at 11:19 AM
Did they end up really moving by the way?

ZentrixSM Today at 11:19 AM
Probably
the house was for sale very briefly, I saw it
got sold fast, high demand
you know, all the manhattan folk abandoning their apartments to set up home offices in the suburbs
making rob really mad
anyways, I'm off, let me go get breakfast

_Ksk_ Today at 11:20 AM
See you, have fun with the rest of your travels
Don't expect me when you're back at the airport, alright?

ZentrixSM Today at 11:20 AM
hah, right
;)
agh that was supposed to be an ironic smiley I hate when it does that
look, your plans might be shot but it's not like I can even act surprised when I am
I'm a boring robot, you guys aren't missing anything

_Ksk_ Today at 11:21 AM
Good to know, Xan, good to know

OldArch Today at 11:21 AM
Are you actually up to play something, Arch?
I'm up for it, super bored rn
Xander is temporary, we are eternal

_Ksk_ Today at 11:21 AM
Huh, "Arch", that's a new one
Too close to your username though

OldArch Today at 11:22 AM
I'll either call you Arch or King
yes, they're both ambiguous
that's the joke

_Ksk_ Today at 11:22 AM
Uh-huh
Can you play Warzone right now?
I'll join one of the voice channels to stop spamming here

OldArch Today at 11:22 AM
k
Can't we do that privately instead?
I don't want Magellan to jumpscare me with micspam again

_Ksk_ Today at 11:23 AM
He does that, you kick him out
It shouldn't be a problem for you

OldArch Today at 11:23 AM
I'm not gonna abuse my power like that
come on

_Ksk_ Today at 11:23 AM
But it's justified!
What are you even a mod for?

OldArch Today at 11:24 AM
I don't know, because you're a friend?
I don't remember going to mod school to get this position

_Ksk_ Today at 11:24 AM
Whatever, we're going offtopic
I'll ping you when I'm ready

NateA7 Today at 11:25 AM
i wanna listen to you two
use the voice channels please

OldArch Today at 11:25 AM
Nate, isn't it past your bedtime?

NateA7 Today at 11:25 AM
i sleep when i want
i bet you post that just because it makes you feel old

OldArch Today at 11:26 AM
haha, I'm old enough to have stopped bragging about it
just makes me feel bad now

_Ksk_ Today at 11:26 AM
Yes, the ancient age of 16 years old
Or is it 15?

OldArch Today at 11:26 AM
shut up arch
Sorry I can't be 800 years old like King
how old are you again? 25 or something?

_Ksk_ Today at 11:27 AM
Cod, just come play already
It's gonna be MY bedtime at this rate
Wortge
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:06 am

Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Wortge »

(A Week Later)

JFK International Airport Terminal 1, Saturday, November 28 2020, 15:09 PM


Three dogs stood side-by-side next to a large conveyor belt, watching differing baggages slowly pass them by.

"So close to home now." Xander decided to break a brief silence. "Just a bag away from walking away from here, getting into a car and going home. First thing I'm gonna do is jump into my bed and stare at the ceiling for five hours, haha."

"Hm." Rob raised a brow. "Is that like, depression from the trip being over? Or is that your way of saying you're tired?"

"Tired! Of course! How long was that Rob, three weeks? Felt like two years! I couldn't wait for it to be over near the end, sorry to say."

"Well, at least it's almost over. Very soon you'll be free to do your ceiling-staring, which I guess is how you were spending your time before I dragged your butt out of your home."

"Nah, I was staring at a screen, get it right. Uh, but don't take me for being ungrateful, I enjoyed it all in all, it's just... Moderation, OK? Let me have a timeout, alright? Two years before you do this to me again, if you plan to."

He shook his head. "I think we just had special circumstances this time, hopefully next trip will be the usual, just me and Shane. How did I do, by the way? I've never planned a whole itinerary all by myself before!" Rob wagged in anticipation.

"I liked it, Rob, you've asked me that already." Xander disguised some annoyance. "Just doing something different for once, once in a while, it was interesting. When would I ever get that opportunity again?"

"If you want another international trip, you're free to come with me again!"

"Oh, I know you'd love that. But I really don't wanna adopt your lifestyle. Moderation, as I've said."

"What was your favorite day?"

"Oh, that's a new question for once... Probably the day we drove to Hakodate to take the bullet train to Aomori, I've never been in a train like that before, really cool."

"Another world compared to the ***ty Acelas we have over here, isn't it?" Rob laughed. "That line is actually quite slow compared to others, you should check out the high speed lines in France, or Spain. I mean, you know the languages of both countries already. You're wasted potential, dog, I swear."

"I thought you were 'boycotting' Europe? Weird for you to advertise it like that."

He immediately frowned. "Ah... You're right... It just sucks that... Such a big part of the world is vulnerable to such histrionics, that my rights-"

"Stop!" Xander interrupted. "I get it! You're not gonna visit Europe again because you think they'll shoot you on sight, spare me from that ranting again."

"Heh, you of all people complaining about ranting. The precedent to deny me access to places for sanitary reasons again has been set, that's all. Dogs fought very hard for that, and all it took was a co-"

"I said stop!" The Beagle barked, before quickly glancing at the silent Brian, seeing him already wearing a large backpack. "Have you missed your baggage, by the way? You seem distracted." He asked towards Rob.

"Not as distracted as you." Rob shrugged. "Your bag passed by you, I'm pretty sure, the brown backpack with the blue tape on it, isn't it?"

"Oh for f- Where?! Why didn't you tell me anything?!"

"Sorry, I was busy talking about trains."

"Well, I'm stuck here until you find your bag anyways... I don't remember you carrying luggage on our way to Japan, where did that come from?"

"Yeah, I was traveling with just the stuff you carry in your collar. House keys, phone, documents and cards. No need for like, five giant bags full of clothing, such a headache. Humans, dog! Who needs them?"

"Who needs what? Humans or clothing?"

"Both! Nah, just kidding. I get the need for clothing since humans are like, giant mole rats. Let's be honest, they're so ugly, aren't they? Like, no hate, just... Aesthetically speaking."

"Jeez, Rob. Just saying it bluntly now, are you?"

"Not my fault I find them ugly. You can't control your preferences, you know. You're a friend, I can just cut the crap with you and tell you directly what I feel, right?" Rob stopped to casually grabbed a bag from the belt. "There we go."

"Now I just gotta wait another cycle or whatever... What happens if someone just leaves their baggage here? Forever?"

"Unclaimed baggage gets their contents sold or donated, and the rest gets recycled."

"Oh, really? Thought it'd all go to an incinerator or something... By the way, you dodged a question, where did this new bag of yours come from? And what's inside it?"

"I had to carry everything I bought over there in something. I put everything in Brian's bag and then bought a new bag at Chitose, so I could carry it home without having Brian drive me there or something."

"Thank you for that, by the way." Brian broke his silence. "I feel like staring at the ceiling like Xander's planning to too, haha, would hate having to deal with Manhattan traffic today."

"Wait." Xander looked at Rob. "You're going back home alone?"

"Yup! Even told Shane to not dare come here to welcome me back! I like the independence of just taking the train back home by myself, being free to deviate from the plans if I want to, and also enjoying having easy access to public transport, unlike the suburban dystopias you two live in."

"Alright, uuh... Have fun surprising him and your brother then." Xander continued to wait for his luggage in silence. "Speaking of surprises, uh... Nevermind, actually."

"'Surprise' what? You can't just say that and then give up, now I'm curious!"

"Ugh, it's nothing... Some of the cats wanted to welcome me back here, little airport surprise celebration or whatever, they might embarrass me once we're out of baggage claim, I dunno. Maybe they cancelled it, since it was supposed to be a secret and, well, the one person supposed to be in the dark is talking to you about it right now, tells you how well that all went."

"Oh. They probably cancelled it then, they could be here right now, we're already past security."

"We are? Huh, maybe they chose the wrong terminal, that'd be an issue."

"Do you wanna call them?"

"Of course not. It's a supposed to be a secret, remember? And they should get the terminal right if Jon's involved, since he said goodbye to me here."

"Aw, that's cute."

"Oh, don't 'cute' me. Sorry I don't push my family away to try to look 'independent'."

"That... Wasn't meant to be offensive... I'm close to my family, much closer than you, who I don't think has talked to them ever since Walt's family yanked them from you."

"I didn't mean *that* family! And is that what you actually think? You actually think that puppy adoption is comparable to a dognapping?"

"Pretty much." Rob shrugged. "It's just normalized petnapping, just with pampering instead of exchanging for money. Sometimes it has parental consent, but not always. And even if it does, they're probably just consenting because societal norms don't expect them to not want humans adopting their offspring."

"Ah, what a terrible world it is for dogs, Rob! You say after a several-thousand-dollar-worth plane trip with no humans in sight. What a miserable life it is to be a dog that had to be given to humans at a young age!"

"Not everyone is as lucky as me, I don't see why that'd discredit what I say. Also, your bag is coming." The Retriever pointed.

"Probably missed it a second time and didn't even notice." Xander grumbled while grabbing his backpack, wearing it. "Let's finally go, then. Sorry for that." He quickly looked around the area while leaving. "I think we're the last people here, haha."

"Haha, it's fine, I'm in no rush. They were probably thinking: 'Look! Those stupid dogs trying to fly somewhere with no humans to help, of course they're screwing it up! Hahaha!'"

"Uh-huh... Not everyone shares your racism, Rob."

"What?! 'Racism'?!"

"Yeah! Racism! What else could it be, pray tell? 'He is a human, therefore, he is arrogant', you've repeated that hundreds of times!"

"Well, first of all that'd be speciesism, not racism, which, I'll admit, is no better, but... Ugh, you know? You're right. It's not serious, I'm just saying that humans might be thinking we're stupid for not being humans, but I should stop. Bad assumption, even as a joke."

"Not a fine look, sweety." Xander mocked in a high-pitched voice. "Hashtag 'Rob is Over Party'."

"Ugh, stop mocking that stuff, come on. I don't support it, but the people who complain about it the most tend to be... Unpleasant."

"Not really 'complaining'... You know I'm joking because they'd never 'cancel' you over that stuff, since Twitter users think speciesism against humans can't exist."

"Well, uh... It's not compara-"

"Rob, let's not actually have a political discussion here, right? I'll stop."

"You know, 'Political Brian' could impart you with some wisdom if needed." Brian commented humorously from the side.

"Wow, Brian, you're still here?" Xander asked sarcastically. "Speaking of leaving, actually, I guess we part ways here? I look for Walt and Jon, Rob takes the subway and you go look for your car? For your Ferrari?"

"That 'joke' got old already, Xan, come on." Brian chuckled. "I guess so, me and Rob have to go to the same direction, I suppose you should stay here looking for your owner? And maybe for all your cat friends too?"

"Hah! I... I hope not. Yeah, I'll stay near the check-in area, see you two soon, bye!"

"See ya, Xan!" Rob waved. "Come visit me soon!"

"You know, traveling to Manhattan for me counts as a 'big trip', two year timeout on that, remember?"

"Oh, come on! Don't even joke about that!" The two started walking away, bidding farewell together, "Bye!"

Xander waved silently for a small time. "Now, Brian..." He could still make out Rob saying while getting farther. "You remember your cancelled trip to L.A? What if we tr-" The rest of the conversation got lost in the background noise of the airport.

Xander sat down on a nearby seat and stretched. "Aah! Crazy times, huh? But it's finally all over." He thought to himself. "Let me try to not fall asleep here, otherwise I won't hear the end of it from Jon." He looked around for any familiar faces. "Uh... Wait, is that Peanut?" He caught sight of the familiar dog, who was walking slowly near another group of benches. "I mean... He's cat-group-adjacent, but nah. I remember him telling me he was gonna travel to see his old friends for Christmas, so it's that. Small world."

He turned his attention away, just looking at the front doors of the terminal now. "Do they even have flights to Chicago from this terminal? And Grape isn't with him too, or anyone... Is he lost? Should I help?"

Xander shook his head. "Nah. Maybe this will be a story he'll tell me about someday, and I'll just be there pretending I wasn't there to see it all, haha. Let's not interfe-"

"Xander!" He was startled by the familiar voice coming from right next to him, flinching while turning to face the speaker. "Really nice to meet you here! How was Japan?" Peanut waited eagerly for an answer, smiling.

"Uh... Hi, Peanut." The Beagle replied, slowly standing up while a little dazed. "You... Are you here to go visit family? Didn't know they fly to Chicago from here."

"No, I'm here to see you! I've missed you! Did Rob and Brian leave already?"

"Uh, yeah, they're... They're too 'independent' to just wait for their owners here like me, I guess, haha. Uh... You know, well played on your part, I don't know if you know, but the cats were planning on surprising me when I got back by welcoming me here at the airport, the plans leaked directly to me though. But now, you show up here, completely unexpected on my part, well played! I guess I'm surprised now! Uh, are you here to drive me home, somehow?"

"No, we came here by the subway, I can guide you home if you wanna though."

"'We'?"

"Oh, sorry!" Peanut smiled nervously. "*I* came here... Using the subway. Alone."

"OK, OK." The Beagle shot an unconvinced look. "Hm, I could really 'surprise' them back by peacing out with you right now, just going home without them. That'd probably only be funny to me though, and if the authorities get involved it'll be funny to nobody."

"Here's another surprise for you, by the way!" Peanut sidestepped, revealing a German Shepherd who was struggling to hide behind him.

Xander gaped. "Ah-! Gaspar?! Wha-! This *is* a surprise! You're right!" He turned to face his old friend. "Uh, hello! Long time no see, right? Really didn't expect you out of all people here!"

Gaspar leaned to give his friend a quick hug. "Hey. Glad to see you back!" He gave the Beagle a few pats to the back.

"Haha, uh... Glad to be back, yeah." He slowly got out of the hug, feeling awkward. "Uh... T'étais accroupi derrière Peanut, vraiment? Pour une seconde, j'ai cru qu'il y aurait une file de chats derrière lui, haha."

Gaspar chuckled. "Le pire c'est que ça a marché, non?"

«True! Haha! Seriously, I... Didn't even see you earlier. Uh, so... What are the plans here? Are you two going to lead me to Walt? I was just supposed to wait here for him and Jon, and maybe a bunch of his friends, I thought for sure they'd be with Peanut when he approached me, uuh, you know, part of the ‹surprise›.»

«Just us three here, sorry to disappoint. I guess we just wait here for them.» Gaspar shrugged, sitting on the nearest chair. «Fine by me, we can catch up on a lot of things, after all this time.»

«For sure, sorry for never being in contact recently it's just... You know I'm a bit of a shut-in. And you're never at the club when I go there anyways! I can blame you a little too!»

«We're all guilty here, sure... I've been meaning to maybe, uh, call you, tell you I'm planning on stopping by your house, but then I remember there's Jon now, maybe I'd get on the way of your plans or something, I'd leave it for later, and I just... Kept delaying it and delaying it and you never were at the club at the same time as me and then suddenly you're going to Japan on a whim, then today Peanut suddenly approaches me at the club and asks me if he wants to come with me to the airport to meet you and at that point I figured I couldn't not take that opportunity.»

Xander sat down while his friend rambled, nodding at the end of his sentence. «Agh! Please tell me you understood me!» Gaspar facepalmed. «I got carried away there, I'm treating you like a native speaker, sorry.»

«Oh, of course I understood you, relax. You know, some Japanese people were treating me like a native speaker these past days, maybe I was better at it than I thought I was, hard work pays off, you know?» He smirked exaggeratedly. «If Japanese is ‹the hardest language for English speakers›, I can't even imagine what the easiest one is like. Oh wait, I can! I'm speaking it right now!»

«Hahaha! Come on, you're making me feel bad! I can still impress some people with my French, you know? Uh, speaking of it, are we really gonna have this entire conversation in French?»

Xander shrugged. «Why not? Not like we ever talk among only us two in English. Has it been so long since we last hung out that you forgot that?»

«No, I know, of course! It's just that Peanut is here, it's rude to exclude him like this, not sure, he hasn't said anything.»

«He knows French, doesn't he?» The Beagle turned to his other friend, who was now also sitting next to them. «Do you understand me, Cacahuète?»

«Uh, yes!» Peanut answered.

«See? He can even say ‹yes›.» He turned back to Gaspar. «Uh, he told me that you taught him French, I think? I thought you'd know more about his skills than I would.»

«He told you that? I helped him, two times or so, if he told you I'm his French teacher he was lying.»

«Oh. Well, helping is still teaching, in a way, he just said it in a way that implied you taught him to fluency or something.»

«Does he *really* know French? I still feel like I'm excluding him right now, talking about him in the third person as if he's not here.»

«I've heard his French, dog, it's really adequate! Peanut! Break your silence and show Gaspar here what you've learned! Looks like we have a skeptic over here!»

Peanut struggled a little on the spot. «Uuhm... I know some French, yes! I can understand what you're talking about.»

«Do you understand our sentences or are you only able to guess the topic of our conversation? Big difference there.»

«Yes! I can understand... The things you're talking about.» Peanut stuttered with a moderate accent.

«Yes, yes, yes!» Xander subtly mocked, leaning closer to Gaspar to almost whisper at him. «I swear his French was way better, maybe he's out of practice?»

The German Shepherd shrugged, talking very fast instead of whispering in secret. «Maybe he's nervous now? Maybe he only knew enough to impress you at first? Can we switch to English now?»

«Haha, I find it funny that the first thing I do arriving in the United States is speaking French with someone. In an airport too out of all places, anybody listening must think we're not from here.»

«Uh-huh. ‹Mister Human! Mister Human! From which gate is the flight to Paris leaving?› It's your choice though, I think of my English as good enough.»

«You're the only person I know who speaks a language I know that isn't English, let me have my fun when I can.»

«I never complain about speaking French with you, just when you do it while there's other people in the conversation. Also, there's like eight dogs at the club who I think know Spanish.»

«Ugh, Spanish doesn't count.» Xander rolled his eyes. «Who *doesn't* know that?»

«Hm, yes, I definitely know Spanish, Xander.» Gaspar deadpanned awkwardly. «Uh... Did you use much of your Japanese back in Japan anyways?»

«Heh, I better have had, right? Yeah, uh, Rob asked me a lot of stuff, forgetting all of it seconds after, of course, I think I had to tell him what ‹kono› meant more than five times.»

«What about like, talking in Japanese? Instead of just explaining things?»

«Oh, I did, but it was just... Brief, formal stuff.»

«Hm, I see. ‹I want to have this Sushi›, ‹I'd like to buy a ticket›, stuff like that?»

The Beagle shrugged. «Yeah, like that.» The three waited for some moments before Xander started again. «I talked to a local once actually, just to pass time. I was bowling and doing terrible, another dog made small talk with me while I was taking a break.»

«Doing bad at bowling, huh? I remember you being decent at Wii Bowling.»

«Ugh, how- How would that skill even transfer? You're not even the first person to say that, of course waggling a stupid TV remote thing doesn't mean I'm good at bowling.»

«Haha, just funny because I remembered how dominant you were at that game. You know, I used to be really bad at bowling, but then I found out I was releasing the ball all wrong, what you gotta do is that you should tr-»

«Agh! Don't bother! Don't even bother, Gaspar, I don't care. I hate when people do that to things, they say ‹oh, I used to be bad too but then I found this one simple trick!› and it never works! It just gives you false hope and then makes you feel like a fool, it's like whistling.»

Gaspar furrowed his brows, chuckling. «You don't know how to whistle?»

«No! And don't even try to imply that's uncommon! Whistling was made for human lips, a dog not being able to whistle isn't a big deal.»

«Hah! But I can whistle just fine!» The German Shepherd whistled a random melody. «Can you show me how you attempt to whistle? Maybe I can fix it.»

«Absolutely not, you're gonna be all like: ‹Do this one trick and there's no way you won't learn!› And I won't learn anyways. I just went over this, it's infuriating.»

«Try doing this with your snout, Xander.» Peanut voiced, getting the attention of the two other dogs, who began to stare at his unusual snarl-like expression.

«Pffh, uh...» Xander turned his face away from Peanut. «What a way to show us two you're still kinda following our talk, Peanut.»

«I'm being serious! Follow my movements!»

«Look, Peanut, I actually take pride on not being able to whistle. If I start blowing air through my mouth while making this face that makes it seem like you just swallowed a lemon, and I start whistling, I'll be actually disappointed.»

«This face is just to make it easier, once you get the basics you can start whistling more naturally.»

«Oh, your French is actually pretty good, Peanut.» Gaspar cut in. «Sorry for forcing you into speaking it, you know, Xander here takes any opportunity to show off his polyglotism, even if it's rude.»

«No problems!» Peanut shook his head. «Being forced to use a language in a real situation like this is really good for learning! I really should thank you two!»

«Haha, I told you he knew French well.» Xander leaned close to Gaspar. «Learned a lot in record time too, this kid is a prodigy, you should see how fast he reads things.»

Peanut's attitude suddenly shifted. «Xander, don't try to distract me with compliments, remember we're still trying to teach you to whistle here.»

«No! Forget this! I hate whistling! It's not even a pleasant sound! I don't want to learn it!»

Gaspar nudged Xander, directing his view to one of the terminal entrances. "Oh, take a look at that scene, Xan."

"Why are you speaking Engli-" He stopped as he noticed his owner, closing the distance to him while surrounded by several cats. "Oh my dog, what even is that?" The Beagle exclaimed flatly. "Walt's looking like some kind of crazy cat lady."

"Are those the 'Discord Cats'?"

"Yeah, of course. You recognize Monarch at least, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah. He's there."

"Quiet down for a second, I have a hilarious joke in mind."

"Alright... Is that really how you're gonna choose to greet your family back?"

"Yes! Shh!" He waited for Walt, shifting between looking at him and his surroundings, trying to come off as nonchalant. The human soon got close enough, the cats slowly adjusting their positions to be only to his side or behind him.

"Hey, Walt!" Xander called once there was nobody between them. "Nice to see you again, it seems my absence has really taken a toll on you, haha."

"Uh, what do you mean?" Walt furrowed his brows.

"Oh, just the fact that you decided to adopt a few hundred cats to replace me, desperate stuff, really. I always knew you were kind of a 'cat person', but wow, uh... That sounded funnier in my head, I swear."

"Oh. Well, it's a little funny." He replied before briefly petting Xander. "Welcome back, Xander. Hope you had lots of fun. Your friends are all here to welcome you back too, as well as your brother, they wanted to keep it a surprise, but I don't know how I'd hide them while getting to you, this place is really open."

"Yeah, this was all just doomed from the start, bugged stealth mechanics." Xander switched his attention to the small crowd of cats. "Alright, uh, thanks for coming! Jon, of course, and..." He began greeting. "Monarch, Mag, Nate, Wolf... King? Really?" He focused on the Persian.

"Why are you singling me out?" King replied. "I came, of course, less for you and more for, uh... Later plans?"

"King!" Jon reprimanded. "We've already ruined a surprise! Don't go ahead now and ru- Uh, I mean... Leave the talking to me!"

Xander moved closer to his pet-brother. "Hello to you too, my brother. Missed me much?"

Jon shifted his attention. "Oh, hi! Sorry for the improper welcome." He quickly moved to give his brother a small hug. "Of course I missed you, I'm really glad to have you back."

"Now, now, don't you cry on me." He rubbed the cat's head in mocking comfort. "Uh, I don't know if you were joking about bringing you souvenirs, but I actually did." Xander started removing his backpack. "Not really 'souvenirs' but more like, things that you can only really fi-"

"Let's leave that for when we're home, alright? Somewhere less public and... Busy." Jon cut off.

"Yeah, yeah, makes sense." The dog put the backpack back on, quietly chuckling in embarrassment. "We'll have to be done with this 'reunion' first, though." He gave the rest of the cats another glance.

"Right, these guys. I know you already knew that not only me and Walt would be coming to see you here, but hey."

"I mean, you were going for like, some kind of surprise party and, honestly, I was a little surprised by how you guys went ahead with it. Like, just seeing Walt entering the terminal, surrounded by cats, I don't know how I imagined you would plan this, but I didn't have that in mind."

"Neither did we! We were planning on welcoming you at the exit of the secure area but we ended up late, we entered and immediately saw you sitting here."

"Oh, good eyes! It's the cat eyes, right? Uh, did you notice who's with me, by the way? That was actually a surprise for me." Xander tried to direct Jon's attention to the two other dogs.

"Yeah! Peanut and Gaspar, I did notice you two!" Jon turned to them. "And good to see you again, Gaspar, I remember being around you and Xander sometimes, listening to gibberish for hours."

"'Gibberish'?!" Gaspar replied. "Have some tact, Jon, come on... I *told* you doing that annoys people, Xan!" He directed towards the Beagle.

"Not annoyed, just... Intrigued." Jon waved a paw. "Don't mean to insult anyone, we're speaking what would be gibberish to billions of people right now, no big deal with that, right?" He shrugged. "And Peanut! Funny meeting with you even unintentionally now, I know I wasn't even trying to mask the fact I've been using you just as a replacement for Xander lately, but let's keep making some new plans, alright? You're a good friend."

"Of course, Jon." Peanut replied. "And I already expected you here, it was even part of the reason I decided to come, bringing Gaspar here with me too, shame Grape wasn't interested though."

"Our 'secret plans' leaked all the way to you, even? Cod, talk about a blunder." Jon grimaced. "Anyways, I gotta say this before I mess this up too." He quickly turned to his pet-brother. "We have surprise plans for today! We're all gonna stop by a new arcade after we leave the airport! You're gonna love it, it looks amazing! We're all carpooling in Walt's car, you think it can reasonably hold the two extra dogs here? How did you two get here anyways?"

"The train." Peanut answered promptly.

"Heh, Peanut here can read subway maps really fluently." Gaspar commented. "I've been living here for almost decades and still struggle with that, but it's not like I use the subway often anyways... But, uh, I don't really feel like tagging along with you guys, I didn't plan on spending the whole day out, I was just visiting the club briefly and then Peanut invited me here and now it's spiraling out of control and I gotta put a stop to it at this point, so I hope you guys have fun. Peanut, are you coming with them or with me?" He turned to him.

"Wait, wait!" Xander interrupted, focusing on Jon. "Jon, uh... I hate to, like, sound, uh... Ungrateful, but, I just came out of an over ten hour long flight, immediately going out after arriving is something I definitely wasn't planning on doing."

"Of course! That means it was a surprise, right? Finally, a plan that wasn't ruined!"

"Jon! You're missing the point. There's such a thing as a bad surprise, you know? Where's this arcade place we're going to?"

"Oh, uh, it's like... One block away from the Empire State, don't know what neighborhood is that, it's already bookmarked on the GPS so no point in memorizing the address."

"Really, Jon?" Xander sighed, facepalming. "Not only it's far from the airport but it's also in like, noisy, crowded, super central Manhattan? What a nightmare."

"Come on, are you gonna complain that big cities scare you now or something?"

"No, I just wanted to chill at home for a while, you know? Not get stuck in a traffic jam. But whatever, can't cancel things now since all the cats are here, probably care more about the arcade than me returning." He shot a glance at the other cats, now a few feet away and engaged in a parallel conversation between them.

"Haha! King almost spoiled everything just to tell you that, didn't he? Don't worry, deep down, he does like you."

"Eh, I think I can live without King's love." Xander rolled his eyes.

"There's really no reason for you to be getting all grumpy, by the way. You complain about 'just being in a ten hour long flight', but what do you do in a flight? You rest. You're telling me that after resting for ten hours, you wanted to arrive here, come home, and then rest for another ten hours?"

"I really just wanted to get on my computer and like, check the Internet for a while. I'm only gonna sleep once it's night so the time zone difference doesn't wreck my sleep schedule. That also means that no, I didn't sleep at the flight."

"At all? You just stared into space for ten straight hours? Xander, you deserve to feel tired if that's the case, come on!"

"I just told you my reasoning!"

"So what if you didn't sleep anyways though, right? I heard that Brian got all first class seats for you guys, I bet just sitting on those rejuvenates you."

"You don't even know what the inside of a plane feels like, Jon." Xander sneered.

"Well, sorry I don't have the time to be going on spontaneous trips around the world, but I definitely have the means to book a flight somewhere now, you have no right to get all snotty."

"Uh-huh, whatever, let's go play games already." Xander got up, grabbing his backpack. "Actually..." He started opening it, digging through it. "Since now it's gonna take two thousand years for us to get back home, I'm gonna show you just one of the souvenirs right now, before I forget, just really want your reaction."

"What is it?" Jon moved closer, trying to peek in.

"Contain yourself, kitty." He tried to hide the insides a little. "You told me to bring souvenirs, I'm gonna show you my favorite one." Xander briefly rummaged, grabbing something. "Here it is." He revealed a small replica of the Statue of Liberty, handing it to Jon.

"Uh." The cat reacted neutrally, grabbing the statue. "This is just the Statue of Liberty... And it says 'New York' instead of 'July Four MDLX' or whatever. Is this just a joke? I asked you for souvenirs and you brought me one from here instead?"

"No, of course not." The dog shook his head exaggeratedly. "That joke is too easy, sounds like something Rob would do. The joke is that I actually bought this in Japan, it's from a gift shop in Aomori."

"Well, uh, I believe you, but there's nothing here that tells me it's Japanese, not even a 'Made in Japan'."

Xander shrugged. "Well, this very likely wasn't even made in Japan. Probably built in some sweatshop in like, Laos, or something."

"Uh-huh, is that all?" Jon handed the souvenir back.

"For 'comedy souvenirs'? Yeah, maybe. There's some wacky stuff too, but let's leave that for later." Xander shifted his attention to the two other dogs after packing the souvenir again. "Did you find that funny, you two? I bring one thing from Japan and it's something that has nothing to do with it! Positively hilarious! Gut-busting! Entrail-obliterating comedy!"

Peanut suddenly burst with laughter. "Hilarious, Xander! I totally didn't expect that!"

"Peanut, please." Xander chuckled. "I don't even know if you're serious or if this is like, three layers of irony."

"Xander, I am *incapable* of irony!" He declared bluntly.

The Beagle blinked. "Uh, wow, you're good... Are you coming with us or with Gaspar, by the way? Let's just get going already." He finished by grumbling.

"I'm going home, I have plans with Max tonight."

"Alright, have fun! And be careful on the way back."

"See you around, Xan! Let's go, then." The two took their leave, separating from the group.

"Would you mind if I joined them?" Xander turned back to his brother.

"Oh, shut up. You're gonna love it once you get there, promise."

"Not like you're gonna be bothered if I don't anyways."

"Of course I will! You think I'm such a bad brother? If you really can't handle things I'll... I dunno, I'll call you a cab or something."

"Hah, I'll keep that offer in mind." Xander shifted his attention to Walt. "Walt! Are we gonna leave or what?! You've been daydreaming this whole time, are you contemplating transferring your job to here?"

"No, no! Just waiting for you guys!" The human answered, ending his daze. "Let's head off then, are you all ready? Do you want anything from here? I don't think they have much here in the check-in area."

"No, let's just go." Jon answered, starting to walk towards the exit. "Xan's super grumpy, don't test his patience."

The rest followed. "I told you he'd probably be too tired for your 'surprise plans'." Walt commented.

"Well, not tired enough to attempt to flee from us right now, steal some car and speed home, GTA-style."

"Heh, don't tempt me." Xander chuckled in response.

"You know, I've been meaning to keep this a surprise, but I'm gonna reveal it right now. The place we're going to also has some bowling lanes in it, you can show off your amazing skills to u-"

"The new arcade has a bowling area?" Monarch interrupted. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't, Jon."

"Monarch!" The tabby chided. "I was just trying to rile him up, you know? Xander's had some bad experience with bowling recently, haha."

"Hah, the dog seems pretty riled up already." Magellan chuckled.

"If I'm forced to do any bowling today, I'll be making you guys the bowling pins, that's all I'm gonna say." Xander responded.

"Knowing your skills, that's not much of a threat." Jon retorted.

"You've never even seen me play!"

"Oh, does that mean that you *do* want to show us your bowling?"

"No! It's just... Agh! I've ran out of words for today, don't talk to me."

"Haha, look at what you've done." Monarch nudged Jon, getting closer. "You've broken your brother."

"Ugh." He facepalmed playfully. "I'm still not used to owning a brother, I'll try to treat it with more care from now on."


Yeah, uh, my plans of decreasing the wait times between posts didn't really work out. Doesn't help that I've actually completed this about 3 months ago but have been "I'll do it tomorrow"-ing proofreading it this whole time. This project is still in my mind, but actually stopping to sit down and write things down is getting rarer.
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

The work that you have done on this is impeccable! Make sure you keep on doing as much as you can!
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Obbl
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

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Always glad to see a new update on this. Just a simple slice of a life story about regular people who are animals :D
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Amazee Dayzee
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Re: Chronicles of the CPDC

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I can't believe that I almost forgot about this! I hope we get some more updates soon!
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