✧ life on Mars...

[river]

wanderers welcome!

​

Hey, you!

(Doesn’t this seem... Familiar?)

My name is River, and I’ve decided to try out this journal thing... Again. Yeah! New island, new journal.

I ended my first journal a while back when I was going through a bit of a rough patch (weren’t we all in March of 2021?) and I was desperately looking for anything resembling a fresh start.

So... Welcome to my fresh start!

Here you will find the long, overly-sentimental ramblings of a nostalgic Animal Crossing player who really wants you to appreciate the wonderful earnestness of this forum. It's a gem!
Island Journals genuinely has to be one of my favorite little corners of the internet so, yeah, I could never stay away for too long.

There’s something so charming to me about a spot like this where we can all drop by to appreciate these virtual worlds we all have so much fun creating and exploring. It's very... Uplifting.
So my goal with this new Journal is to be part of this community again with fresh eyes and a lighter heart. I miss the little things... Sharing my silly discoveries, my multiple screenshots of the same four locations I'm actually proud of, my embarrassing attachment to my villagers... It's neat! I'm excited to be back

Most of all, the real Island Journals is the friends we make along the way (lol), so to you, reading this right now: feel free to drop a comment, an anecdote, tell me anything!

Love, River.

11.09.2021

​

So... Here we go!

1st Post: An Introduction...

2nd Post: About Mars...

3rd Post: Meet the Residents...

​

 

[river]

About Mars...

​

Coming soon...

 

[river]

Meet the residents...

​

​

Home is where the people you pass out in the couch with after finally choosing something to watch on the TV are, right?

We all know that the true character of a town lies with the colourful cast of neighbours that inhabit it, and Mars is no exception. I've been playing Animal Crossing for so many years, so my attachment to each villager comes from different places, from Wild World to New Horizons, childhood obsessions and adult wishes.

The biggest thing is that I love the sense of community that comes with becoming so used to these guys and gals walking around, creating little yards and areas for them to explore, all the weird stuff they say every now and then. Genuine Stars Hollow vibes is essentially what I'm looking for.

I won't bore you with the specificity of my head-canons for each of them, but I do enjoy making these little "yearbook-style" montages and hopefully the quotes that they totally-definitely-without-a-doubt picked for themselves will give you a little insight into their minds, their crazy worlds... Also the fictional movie characters I associate each of them with.

Say hello to the class of 2022!

​

Present villagers...

Chief

Eunice

Erik

Hazel

Kiki

Marshal

Wart Jr.

Winnie

Purrl

Teddy

​

Past villagers...

Reneigh

Axel

Daisy

Felicity

Sherb

Chops

Raymond

Vesta

Kid Cat

Mathilda

Shino

Tybalt

Pancetti

Elvis

Leonard

Annalise

Tad

Future villagers...?

Antonio...? Rowan...? Coco...?

 

[river]

Entry #1

Let’s start from the beginning.

(I hear that’s a very good place to start...)

I started my new island in late June, so it was me, the Nooks, Reneigh, Axel and the fireflies for the first few lazy days of island dwelling.

I decided to name it Mars for the simple reason that Bowie is everything to me and that Life on Mars is the one song which will outlive us all, stand the test of time, travel through space and all that... Basically the one reference I’ll never, ever, outgrow or get sick of lol
Bowie is forever!

(Spoiler alert! Most of this is now Flat City™ except for that little pond♡ !)​

Didn’t stray too far out of my comfort zone with the river mouths or Resident Service placement, but I was excited to see what I could come up with in relation to the peninsula, the beach shape and the rocks. I think I picked a map I could really see myself having fun designing and filling up, an aspect of the game that I am absolutely obsessed with.

Inspiration is the main thing to me, and it can be hard to predict what kind of things will inspire you, so I guess I’m lucky to be so comfortable with the limitations and possibilities I found on Mars...

​

Now, here’s a funny thing: I actually had the exact same starter villagers as my first island. Yeah, Reneigh, Axel and I go waaaaay back. A little over a year back to be precise!

This little coincidence made the "first day" of arriving at the island and the same old dialogue so endearing! Like, yes, Reneigh, we have been best buds for ages!!!

Reuniting with them just felt like the perfect sign to stop resetting island maps and stick with this one. I’m really happy I did!
... Me and the OG’s back again, who would’ve guessed?

​

So yeah, I thought it would be cute to start off this journal by remembering those early summer days.

I just love how New Horizons creates these little special moments, how it creates the atmosphere of something you're gonna wanna remember. And that's what keeping a journal here is all about.

Thank you so much for reading, and I'll be back soon to catch you up on how Mars has been doing more recently.

Don't forget to get your little souvenir!

​

​

 

[river]

Entry #2

Reader, let me tell you about last summer...

After working hard to get Mr. Slider's attention, I knew exactly what I wanted to do as soon as I unlocked terraforming: I wanted to flatten the whole island.

I definitely don’t regret it. It made imagining different layouts a lot easier, and even though it took me a while to figure out the direction I was going to take, building and rebuilding actually helps me refine and discover what I like and don’t like.

Plus, running around the empty grass field into the never ending horizon is a pretty unique experience!

Now with the update we’ll have to see how much of what I’ve made will change. I still haven’t had a good look at all the new stuff since I want to stretch out for as long as possible that sweet, sweet feeling of surprise I get every time I get a piece of furniture with a name I’ve never read before...

Just trying to not get over excited and not get bit by the reset bug again lol

It’s been good especially now that I’ve got enough stuff set out that I can just hang out in those places and not spend the whole time I’m on the game with my hard hat on, shovel in hand lol

Plus, after around 5 months of a little decorating here and there I finally got five stars, baby!

Why don't you take a break and smell the Lily of the Valley?

So, yes, the early days of underdeveloped, natural bliss are long gone...

Gone are also most of my starter villagers, which I’ve been pretty lucky with, to be honest. I managed to take a little portrait of each of them at Harvey’s except for Chops, since I had to quickly switch him out for Raymond who I was holding for a friend while they reset their own island.

(If destiny ever reunites me and Chops I might take that chance to get him the portrait he deserves! )

But anyway, these are my true OG gang, who kept me company from summer through fall... We ～graduated～ to five stars together!

We still have some catching up to do on behalf of this whole Mars journey... Maybe only a couple more pics I’d like to drop here as keepsakes.

I’m excited to get to do some more slice-of-life journaling in the future, we’ll see!

Thank you so much for dropping by, have a great Friday!

(Don't you miss having these two wandering about?)

​

​

 

[river]

Entry #3

Is October the best month in Animal Crossing? I think it might be.

The yellow mornings, the purple afternoons. It might be my favorite time of the year, so I thought I’d drop some of my best memories from it here.

🌥 Rain boots are essential with these dirt paths!

Of course, October also comes with the most important national holiday on Mars...

Kiki’s birthday!

Truly, if Jack is the czar of Halloween, then Kiki might as well be the czarina. Our witchy, bug eyed, spooky icon.

I wanted to give her the gloomy, natural and autumn-y pumpkin patch that she deserves, so after a couple of failed attempts I think I might’ve finally nailed it since I found her exploring it with her looking glass first thing in the morning. I’m pretty proud of this one!

Still, Halloween is probably my favorite holiday, even if where I’m from it is absolutely not a thing... (It is to me!!!)

So the other thing I'm pretty proud of is taking event decorating very, very seriously. I've been challenging myself to make a little plaza centerpiece for each holiday, event, all that. It's been fun, I'm pretty proud of that too! Man, autumn is just the best isn't it?

Just dawned on me that I should’ve probably dressed up as an astronaut for Halloween since, you know... Mars... Well, there’s always next year, right? ​

And that's all for today!

I think we're all caught up now, maybe we'll see each other soon for Turkey Day. With cooking officially in the game I have high expectations for this event!

​

 

[river]

Entry #5

Hello, you! Hope you had an excellent Turkey Day yesterday

I love the New Horizons version of this event since I love anything that will gather all my villagers around the plaza. Makes the island feel like a real community and all that.

Also, my favorite types of holidays are the ones which revolve around eating a bunch of food, and Thanksgiving food looks pretty delicious... Even though my frame of reference for that is Friends episodes lol
That canned cranberry jello looks weird though... And don’t get me started on meatloaf!!

But alas, Turkey Day in Animal Crossing isn't about how delicious food is, but about how delicious food looks. And I have to admit that by the end of the day looking at those virtual meals did make me real life hungry!

The other thing that I really enjoy about Turkey Day is how much hard work it entails?! Like, seriously, it is a GRIND getting all those ingredients. I even caught a Dungeness crab and an Oyster in advance because it took me so long to find those last year.

It made me realize just how long it has been since I genuinely went fishing on this game, and let me tell you: I got around 5 new catches and a couple Nook Miles stamps just from trying to get Marshal a yellow perch.

I spent the afternoon running up and down the river, memorizing recipes, having a hard time finding a sea bass for the first time and, yes, googling some of the secret ingredients so I could get all the DIYs. Except for the meunière! That one was all from Kiki’s expertise

Chef Kiki, master of my entire life ​

So much to do on a single day... Also biding adieu to maple leaf season You will be missed!

I'll leave you today with some of my favorite scenes from the season. I'm loving the fall vibes so much here on Mars... But I'm also really excited for the surprises the next seasons will bring.

Shrooms and zooms!

Anyone here watch Wet Hot American Summer? Because Hazel gives me camp counselor Janeane Garofolo vibes sorry I cannot explain further

Doesn't that UFO remind you of home... No? Oh... ​

That's it for today, have a great weekend, you!

​

 

[river]

Entry #6

Hello, hello, hello!

Reader, the most wonderful thing happened when I woke up this morning... It was snowing!

❄ Can we all agree that snowy music is the best music? ❄​

I should have known that snow was coming because yesterday I was feeling so sunny and decided to wear some shorts and sunglasses to go to my daily Kapp'n' boat ride... That little scoundrel took me right into the middle of a snowstorm!

❄ My knees might be shaking but I still look... Cool... Right? ❄

Later that night I got to go swimming and try to make some bells to pay off my last mortgage. Sea creatures have been one of my main sources of income these days. Still, I was pretty surprised to find out the other day that I was only missing one mysterious creature on my Critterpedia!

Didn’t even bother searching for what it was. Completing the museum has never been of my biggest goals on any Animal Crossing game, and now that I know that it’s not a prerequisite to get improved tools... I don’t even really bother, to be honest.

Still, well... I got it!

I love fist-bumping the air while holding a literal animal lol ​

Of course I went straight to Blathers to get my pat on the back, and he even threw in a hoot, a huzzah and - oh my - a hooray!

I wasn't aware but it seems like Blathers did have a celebratory reward to give me... A poster. Well, it's still better than nothing, I guess!

I'm out for today, sea you guys later (sorry)

I dove my way through 40 different kinds of sea creatures (including deep-sea traumatizing gigantic pre-historical monsters!!) and all I got this stupid nice poster! ​

 

[river]

Entry #7

Good morning, you!

If you should know anything about me by now, it’s that I can’t resist a sunset.

And the Animal Crossing team really raised the bar with how wonderful the lighting is in this game, so if I happen to be playing in the late afternoon, I will stay around to watch those gorgeous colors fill the sky.

Here’s an ode to the purple haze that covered Mars yesterday...

A little twilight poem, courtesy of the greatest Brazilian writer of all time, Guimarães Rosa:

outrarte
o ouro esboço
do crepúsculo

To me, a big lake is not just a want, it is a need. I could never have an island without it, it just creates such a tranquil atmosphere around it, and I'm a big fan of Wide Open Spaces (by The Chicks).

Also, look how beautifully it reflects the colors of the sky!

"Damselfly" is such a dreamy name, isn't it?

Thank you so much for reading today's entry. I feel like I'm really getting the hang of it now, it's been fun!

See ya around, friend

I'm off to fall down The Chicks 90s music video rabbit hole...

 

[river]

Entry #8

Folks, I’m dropping by today to let you in on an amazing discovery.

I’ve been avoiding spoilers for most of the 2.0 and DLC stuff for the last couple of months. If I see anything on a post here or something small like that it’s no trouble, but I haven’t been obsessing over DIY lists and catalog parties like I would’ve in the past.

The reason I tried doing this is just to stretch out that feeling of excitement seeing all the new stuff in the Direct.

I remember when I was a kid playing City Folk, I’d get such a boost of serotonin whenever I would get a piece of furniture from a villager... I’d rush over to my house and place it so I could see what it looked like. I want to feel that again!

And let me tell you... This strategy has been working extremely well! So well in fact that I made such a beautiful discovery at a glowing-moss island today I just had to register it here.

I’m placing it all under spoilers too, just in case you also wanna get surprised next time you open up a DIY bottle over there...

Spoiler: Glowing-moss DIY spoiler here!

So, here I am, minding my business, gathering materials to sell over at Nook's and pay off my final home loan...
I casually go over the beach looking for that sweet little DIY bottle...
No expectations what-so-ever (last time I got some boring vine flooring...)...
Casually open it up to find...​

Full-body what now?

Of course I ran home to craft it because I knew it had to be something good. I've been wearing this glowing-moss headband thing for days now and I absolutely love it!

(please don't mind the mess in the crafting room lol...)

Oh yes. Sometimes things truly are all that you've hoped for and more...

It might not be easy being green, but it sure is fabulous!

I have to give it to Nintendo... They really stepped it up with this update! The glowing-moss was such an unexpected addition but it definitely fits this New Horizons world, and it seems like it will soon become a staple of the game. I really appreciate how unique and fun the design of all the new DIYs are, especially the clothing items!

And yes, not only is this neat little jumpsuit cute as hell, but IT GLOWS.

Repeating: IT GLOWS.

Finally. I am one with the moss.

As you can see, my strategy worked wonders because I did feel like a kid with a new toy all over again. I can't wait to see how it's gonna look at night... Don't expect to see me wearing anything else for the next couple of weeks.

Also I am kinda curious to find out if there are shoes and maybe a hood or a hat to match, so I can truly become moss...
A girl can dream right? Dream about being moss...

Ahem...! For now though, enjoy my little photoshoot!

Do I take things too far? I think I might take things too far...

​

Anyhoo... Thank you so much Kapp'n' for your island adventures And thank you glowing-moss for being a thing!

That's all for today!

I'm heading into a couple of stressful weeks, papers to write and all that. So I might not be that online for all the end of the year festivities.
But who knows! AC has been my main procrastination tool so I might be more online than ever :')

For those who avoided the potential spoilers, here's a little treat from Wart Jr. and me! And I'll see you when I see you

​

 

[river]

Entry #9

Hello, you.

Are you ever at home, having a quiet moment after, perhaps, months and months of work or stress or gloom or life and, suddenly, you feel like visiting that place again? That island, that beach, that old house.

That’s what Animal Crossing is to me, a place to visit, to be in. Yes, it is a little strange to feel like you can truly inhabit a pixelated world, but I guess if you’re here, reading this, you at least get it a little bit. Island Journals is a judgment-free zone… Right?

Anyways, a few days ago, after almost a year of not touching my Switch, I felt like visiting Mars again. Might be because life has slowed down a little bit for the last couple of weeks, might be because Autumn is finally upon us… Doesn’t matter, I love this game and, wow, did I miss looking at it.

So here are some scenes from a quiet October morning in Mars... Some old things, some old-new things, all sleepy things. (Yes, I already started decorating for Spooky season, that's it for spoilers though!)

​

I think the sun's coming up! Better get home or at least put some shoes on.

Thank you so much for checking in. I hope you have a lovely friday! As always, see ya when I see ya

 

[river]

Entry #10

Hello, ghoul!

We are well into November now, so you know what that means: it’s time for another edition of Late Halloween Update!

​

I am so proud of the decorating I did this year and this is literally the only place I get to show it off, so I hope you will excuse my lack of modesty! Sorry but a girl must admit when she nailed it.

She must also admit that the lighting really help...​

The Able Sisters and the Nooklings appreciate the business opportunities...

And the boardwalk carnival has never looked more ominous...

​

As far as Halloween activities went IRL, there were many scares to be had: presenting a seminar for my Ancient History class, taking a crowded bus at midnight, voting for the future of my life and country, new Covid variant just dropped...

I escaped to Animal Crossing where things aren't as scary as they are spooky, the superior Halloween adjective, and had a pretty good time playing the event. It made me realize that I never actually completed it last year, so I at last got the wand from Jack

Winnie: Boo!
Me: omg u took the words
right off of my mouth!
Eunice: :O
Chief:

​

It's gonna be so sad to take all the spooky stuff out for the next events, I guess the good thing about the pumpkin crafts it that I could potentially just turn the faces around and it could fit the Harvest theme... We'll see. I'm excited to get started on my mushroom search though!

Join the Neighbourhood Feast! It's nothing like a "sugar-worshiping cult" I promise! ​

Oof this has been a long post! I should probably wrap this up cos I'm leaving for work in a few. To sum up: I. Love. October. It really does put the other months to shame, time to step up your game, pals!

I'll leave with the traditional Mars Souvenir™, and a farewell to spooky season!

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Boo! ​

​

​

 

[river]

Entry #11

Hi!

Thought I’d write a short post today since I just updated the “Meet the residents…” section on the Journal introduction posts.

Starting off though, I’d like to take this opportunity to appreciate my girl Eunice because she came over the other day and I really had a laugh with her.

Gingerly giving me her photo

Appreciating my favorite piece of furniture...

And being intimidated by my ranch lowboard?

Eunice was my first ever favorite villager waaay back in Wild World and I love the subtle awkwardness of her dialogue here. It was a really cute visit.

To wrap up today I thought I'd drop here the portraits I took for my "yearbook" collage. I had some time today and this is one bit of annoying, detailed work that I actually really enjoy doing lol

That's it for today! Thank you so much for checking in <3

 

[river]

Entry #12

Lazy, lazy afternoon…

Not really lazy in the sense that I have nothing to do, but lazy in the sense that I feel like doing nothing lol

So, I thought I’d drop by here and make a short post, biddin’ adieu to lovely, lovely Autumn.

Today I procrastinated working on my seminar on Chinese Reform in the 1980s (yes, really) by finally figuring out how to fill in an area I had behind Able’s. My idea was to make a naturalistic but functional farm so I’d have easy access to vegetables whenever I needed them, but I was having a hard time making everything match.

I think I finally figured it out! There’s still some decorating to be done but I’m pretty satisfied with the layout. A fitting end to harvest season, I would say.

So, I’m gonna take my satisfaction and focus on my seminar now!

I have big plans for surviving winter this year, so I’m gonna do my best to keep this journal updated on my… How do I put it? Strategy? Yeah, let’s put it like that lol

Thank you so much for checking in, see ya when I see ya <3

 

[river]

Entry #13

Dear whoever is reading this now,

I know we all hate the late autumn drabness with the dark leaves and, as an old friend would put it, the "vegetable soup" colored grass. But... I have to say, last night it looked kinda lovely.

​

I don't think Mars has even looked more like a real place than this. It looked so mysterious and lived in, like a moment taken out of a suspense movie, or maybe a melancholic Christmas film, which are my favorite. Also, if you should know anything about my taste is that the best thing that something look like to me is this: cinematic!

​

This here is Winnie's place. I usually dislike the huts and the darker houses, but I like her so much I actually got inspired to make her this little wooden varanda by the beach. It's simple but her's is one of my favorite home areas.

Below is Eunice's restaurant, I can't remember if I showed it at all before. The idea was to make it an italian restaurant or a pizza place, but ya girl has yet to get her hands on that pesky wooden table DIY and, you know, there's no such thing as a pizzaria without tables with that red gingham table cloth on them. Not gonna happen.

I also don't usually like how the windows in these barn wall items light up at night (especially since there are no windows on the other side like what's up with that?) but, again... There was something about last night...

I have to appreciate a good lighting moment in this game. It's my favorite thing, it's like rediscovering your own island all over again. Each day I feel closer to finishing the layout and figuring out the basic ideas to each area... Feels good, man!

​

So, I'll leave you with a quote from Night in The Woods, because -- over two years after playing it for the first and only time -- I still can't stop thinking about it.

Snowy season has arrived and I want to share everything. Where I am at in real life the days are getting warmer and warmer, the sun is bright yellow and beautiful. Life's been good, reader.

​

 

[river]

journalers, welcome!

​

Entry #1

You know that old story about the little working ant and the singing grasshopper? It’s supposed to be a cautionary tale about the benefits of being prepared and, well, maybe also about artists being lazy and deserving to starve through Winter too now that I think about it...

Anyways, where I’m from we have a different saying to that: “The ant only works because it doesn’t know how to sing.”

While I would never make the preposterous claim that I know how to sing, I much prefer doing that from Spring through Autumn than working for scraps all year long. I guess what I’m trying to say here is: in my book, not liking to work is not a character flaw. We'd rather be singing here.

So, this is me returning to my favorite place to procrastinate: Island Journals... And just in time -- I believe -- to secure a Lost Book collectible for myself!

I finally took some time to catch up here today and it was so wonderful to see this little corner of TBT filled with new threads to read, I’ve been in and out of here for ages and last time it felt this alive was way back in 2020.

Nowadays I have a lot less time to hang out on Mars -- planet Earth (read: work) has been holding me back -- but I want to honor my grasshopper roots and leave my little contribution to our New Year, New Horizons. Call it FOMO, call it a feeling of belonging or whatever you want, but I wanna be here for this.

Now, for a re-introduction: my name is River and I'm giving this journal thing another spin. Safe travels to all of us and, as always, feel free to drop a comment, a joke, tell me anything!

See you tommorow?

27.01.2023

​

​

 

[river]

Entry #2

Good morning, reader!

Today I thought I’d go back a little bit and tell you about the last time I spent any quality time with this game.

So, I have this friend...

No, not the ones in the tank -- the one with the hat.

​

We’re close friends who live extremely far apart (a whole ocean apart, to be precise), and I’m sure that there are a lot of people on this forum who can relate to that... At times, me and her seem like we’re closer than a lot of people who I get see every other day. She's the kind of friend who answers sweetly to your slightly drunk, middle-of-the-night voice messages, the kind of friend you're always sort of missing, and whose proximity always results in you two coming up with short-hand ways to say things to each other.

(With us, our coded language is essentially the martini emoji , sudoku puzzles and, most recently, the "behold" reaction.)

On a very cute turn of events, she got New Horizons last year and we finally got to visit each other's islands a couple weeks ago. As is to be expected, we had the cutest time together.

​

The highlight, though, definitely has to be our date at The Roost. I had never tried to grab a cup of coffee with another player before so it was the first time in a while that Animal Crossing actually managed to surprise this old, worn-out player... The whole scene was very sweet.

Now that I'm thinking about it, this is truly my favorite thing: sharing your obsessions -- your somewhat embarassing earnestness -- free of judgement. She is that to me and so is this journal.

So, thank you to my friend, and thank you for reading this today. I'll see you soon!

​

 

[river]

Entry #3

Dear reader,

here is something you should know about me: I am an insufferable morning person.

I mean it, and I don’t think I’ll ever change.

Waking up and catching those first rays of sunlight peeking out behind clouds and buildings give me fuzzy feeling unlike anything else. The last couple of years, the early morning became a holy hour to me, the only moments I had where I felt truly by myself. I like the quiet, I like the softness of the light and the sense of new beginnings.

​

The insufferable part comes mostly from how easy it is for me to get out of bed most times -- I had a friend who joked that little birds came through the window to help me get dressed Or how even if I’m at a good party or out with friends and I end up getting home by sunrise, the fuzzy feelings still come. I just love mornings!

I created this entire ritual around it during the pandemic. I'd get up, go to the kitchen and put on Etta James’ “At Last!” record on my phone reeeeal quiet (so it wouldn’t bother my dogs) and by the time my favorite song came along (that's Stormy Weather, if you're curious) I had made coffee for me and my mom and had my breakfast ready.

Then I'd read a chapter from my book while I waited for the rest of the household to slowly come into the kitchen yawning and dragging their feet. Dogs included.

I know... Insufferable.

​

The good thing about working afternoons through nights is that I get to keep my mornings slow and mine. I haven't been waking up as early as I used to since I get home pretty late at night, and of course there are new responsibilities like making sure my gaudy purple uniform T-shirt is clean, making and packing my dinner... But I still get to do all of that with relative calmness.

Dozing off while having coffee and ending up with a cold brew... Another “tradition” of mine…

​

The most that I have to rush through usually is washing my face, getting dressed, putting on a little makeup to distract from the ever-increasing bags under my eyes... Things like that that I’ve honestly become pretty proficient at speed-running through now.

We do what we can, right?

​

So, consider this an ode to that beautiful 6 a.m. sparkle of day, that well rested feeling, waking-up-without-an-alarm-clock, peace-and-quiet kinda life I'm not really living anymore.

But! Challenging myself to participate in this event has given me a great idea: I set back my in-game clock a couple of hours to recreate this little routine here and I'm thinking I'm gonna keep it that way.

Mornings on Mars might be digital but they can have a kind of magic too. I won't say I got any fuzzy feelings from it, but I do love the music. There's some fuzz to it.

Well, now I gotta rush out.

Buck up, smile, charm and off we go, you know what I mean?

​

 

[river]

Entry #4

Reader, it’s time we talk about Mars.

I’ve been talking too much about myself here, so today I wanna go back to, you know, the whole point of this journal and all.

If I think about it... I suppose that whenever an Animal Crossing player talks about their island, they’re also talking a little bit about themselves. But I guess you could say that about any other thing really.

I’ve been thinking about how to explain what I’ve been going for with the feeling of the island. The truth is, I want to talk to you about it as if it was a real place because, to me, it does feel kind of real sometimes.

I want to explain my insistence on keeping the layout simple, on using the in-game paths, naturalistic terraforming and wide open spaces. I want to talk about how I find myself incapable of making big creative builds and impressive views. I want to talk about using the same design codes we’ve all seen a million times before, the same old patches of dirt and cobblestone.

​

I think I do want Mars to feel like something you’ve seen before. More than that, maybe: I want it to feel familiar.

I kinda want it to be like one of those dime-a-dozen towns that maybe we all keep stored somewhere in the corner of our memories -- it’s charm existing somewhere between the absolutely unremarkable and that odd sense of an endless possibility of making your own story.

Maybe, like me, you got that from watching Twin Peaks and reading Stephen King books. Maybe you got it from Gilmore Girls, Steel Magnolias, Dawson’s Creek, Gravity Falls, Stand By Me. There are so many great stories set in seemingly unremarkable towns.

​

A place for community, maybe? Home?

I feel like that is what we are all working on with our islands in some way or another, we’re crafting worlds that feel like ourselves.

The wonderful thing is, though, that a break from the snowy, clouded skies last night made little ordinary Mars look pretty magical.

​

The same old dirt and cobblestone under the gorgeous Aurora borealis looked like stuff out of dreams.

And that's what I like about the simplicity I think I managed to mantain here. Every now and then... Something will change, and I'll look at it under a new light, discover it once again.

That's the beauty of the ordinary, it surprises you, catches you off guard. I think about that a lot. Sometimes I get off the subway station and look at a tree blooming with flowers I hadn't noticed before, or sometimes I'll see two pidgeons sitting together and I'll find it kinda sweet. That's city life for ya.

Now I'm losing my track of thought. See you tomorrow?

​

 

[river]

Entry #5

Well, it’s February! So I guess this means that I’ve run out of excuses to keep up the Toy Day decorations... Right? I mean... Unless...

Nope, sorry about that. I know, Toy Day has to go.

Decorating for the changing seasons and up-and-coming events is something I've challanged myself to do a while back that -- to be perfectly honest with you -- I haven't really taken seriously since I'm constantly falling in and out of my obsession with this game.

It's fun to match the changing weathers and natural colors, but it's also a bit sad to say goodbye to the vibes that came before. So, consider this entry a little farewell to whatever existed and whatever remained of December, from the ghosts of Toy Day's past...

​

I wish the illuminated items were as versatile in New Horizons as they were in New Leaf, I would’ve kept them around all year long I love them so much. (I miss u illuminated arch... Gone but not forgotten )

Below is the little town square I've been using as a "seasonal feast" area. I had already taken it down but decided to rebuild it since I didn't take any pictures of it. This piece I call the “Cookies ‘n’ Milk pit-stop” for Santa.

​

The saddest bit of cleaning up was on the house since I love having the little Festive tree on the corner. I also love having the even little-er tree on the other corner. Too bad I couldn’t fit a big tree anywhere...

Thank you for your service my glittery friends... ​

This is about it for today. Call it a little "pre-Spring-cleaning". And now I'm off to brainstorm how I'm going to make decorating for Festivale with a snow-covered island work for me...

(Seems... So incredibly wrong...)

I'll leave you with a little old season's greetings card, and I'll see you later!

​

​