Not pop culture, but we were bored one day years ago and came up with a story about our cats being the proprietors of a hash bar on a flying ship of adventurers where they dressed and talked like 1920's mobsters running a speakeasy.

That could come right out of a SNES-era JRPG. Like, Cid and his airship crew of mobster Cait Siths.

Your cat sounds really cool!

That's more like giving your car a role playing character in a TTRPG.

I made a back story for my dog. My newfie loved to inspect things. I'd come home with groceries. If I let her inspect (look & sniff) each bag, she'd be thrilled. When she'd find an interesting smell, she'd investigate it thoroughly. Would keep going long after the other dogs gave up.

She also loved keeping things in order. She didn't like it when the other cats and dogs would sometimes be chaotic. And she had some sort of code involving behavior: she was never selfish. If another cat or dog was already on her favorite pillow or eating her favorite snack, she'd let them have it. But if someone tried to cheat her or blatantly take something of hers, she'd react with growls and barks. She was clearly lawful good.

So we made up a long backstory. She was once a cop. Spent a lot of years street patrolling and getting to know everyone in her neighborhood. She was well liked, even by the street criminals. She was always fair to everyone she met. Even those who would not return fairness to her.

This all paid off. She eventually made detective. She was good investigating things. But something happened. She was backstabbed by corrupt people on the force. Got too close to breaking a case that would have taken down not only a major cartel, but also the cops who sold out. She was murdered.

Then reincarnated as a Newfoundland. She can't remember her past life clearly. But the desire to sniff everything out, and the desire to take care of everyone while keeping them in line, somehow persisted. She's driven to do something she doesn't completely understand, but she did it the best she could.

Her companion in life was an aussie who had a much simpler back story. She fit the manic pixie girl stereotype. Just pure chaos, pranks, and she liked stealing from and manipulating the poor newfie. They were a very odd couple: the by-the-rules ex-cop and the sarcastic girl who liked silly & mean jokes in equal proportion. But out on the trail, the aussie would put her silliness aside, and would work diligently with the newfie to solve whatever mystery they found. The typical odd couple of a modern police procedural.

I've now written multiple paragraphs about my dogs' stories. I guess that's my own way of reacting to the sheer loneliness of this year.