✧ life on Mars...

[river]

Entry #6

House tour! House tour!

​

Reader, you can probably tell that I have no issue showing off my landscaping, gardening and overall town-planning abilities. That being said, when it comes to interior design... Well, that is not my passion..

Right now is actually one of the few moments in my Animal Crossing career in which I could be said to be the proud owner of a fully furnished home, believe it or not.

Even back in New Leaf, though I had a few rooms with painstakingly collected and carefully curated items from all my years of active playing, even so, it remained in a perpetual state of incompleteness. I never quite figured the whole thing out.

While there are still so many of my all-time favorites missing from New Horizons -- the Violet screen, lovely phone, all the Gracie Grace sets... -- when my beloved Ranch series started showing up at Nook’s after the 2.0 Update, that’s when I decided to get my stuff together and start decorating.

So, the way I went about it was centering each room around a few of my favorite items and working from there, making sure everything else matched their look and feel. Each of the four main rooms has their own variation of the Stained-glass light, for example, and those gave me color schemes to experiment with.

Sure, you can have some Thumbprint jam cookies, it's not like I
made them months ago and left them there...

​

Expectedly and boringly, let's start with the first-floor main room. The living room, the hanging-out room, the one-where-it-all-began room. That's where my favorite variation of the lamp is: the one with the roses.

Placing that with the Yellow Kilim-style carpet and, in a stroke of genius, the Mermaid sofa I had somewhere in my storage -- with no intention of keeping it, mind you. It was casual, you know? I just liked... Looking at it... It's so, so pretty... -- that was such an A-HA! moment I started planning everything else around making sure those worked together.

The wardrobes and rain gear near the door, the fireplace with an Antique radio on top, those are all things that carried over from my New Leaf house, where I had a mannequin in the corner dressed in a raincoat, hat and boots so that I could quickly change whenever there was bad weather.

​

In the back is the kitchen (why is it that whenever I see and Animal Crossing player’s place the kitchen is always in the back and the bathroom always on the left? What's up with that?).

Sure, it’s a little crowded here, but I hear in the ~cottagecore community~ they call it “cozy”.

I wish it could be a little bigger but it’s still walkable enough so I’m fine with it. I like to think I came up with a pretty functional layout even if the combo of Stonework kitchen, Turkey Day Hearth and wood... Well, everything else is a definite fire hazard.

Mornings are for coffee and contemplating
having another slice of carrot cake.

​

Oof, long post, huh? Do you mind waiting here for a sec? I'll just run into the bathroom real quick.

...

Hey! Heeey... What are you doing here?
I told you I'll be jus a sec! Geez. ​

Anyways...

I guess -- since you're here -- "welcome" to my bathroom. I keep it simple because this has definitely been the hardest room to layout. It has the opposite problem to the kitchen though, what wouldn't I do to have a bathroom this big! This is a wish-fulfillment room to me because it’s a dream of mine to one day own a fancy Claw-foot tub, you know, for fancy baths and stuff.

Moving on to the room on the right... Welcome to my crafting room! This is where the Pipe goes, you know what I mean? (I mean the Pipe we all use to teleport to our houses to craft more shovels when in the middle of a terraforming session)

Taking ~the tube~... lol (sorry) ​

Might be my favorite room in the house. It's the one that feels the coziest to me, that feels the most like me. It's a secret hiding spot away from everything. I can see myself reading a good book over there in the corner, keeping myself warm during the cold months sitting by the Wood-burning stove.

It's where I go to craft my mind-bending, very-important, high-risk-high-reward crafting projects.

And it's also a place you can go to to enjoy the sweet sounds of my earthy gyroid friends improvising over K.K.'s best hits...

​

Lastly -- and boringly, once again -- we have the bedroom. The last room in the house that isn't done.

Not that I'm in any hurry to finish it, no. I kinda love it the way it is.

It has that childhood whimsy that I'm kind of always searching for in things in life. It's neat and tidy and, to me, the warmth of the yellows, pinks and blues feel like one of those good, purposeful hugs. Also the music, something I've kept close to heart from my New Leaf -- hell, even back in City Folk I loved this song -- days. And the empty space on the other side? In my experience that just means more room for practicing dance moves.

​

The truth is that, lately, when I have my daydreams about owning a house, painting the walls, choosing furniture and placing my trinkets wherever I want them, I've been picturing something like this.

Deciding to put in the time to decorate all these rooms with complete freedom has been a great exercise in finding out what I like things to be, what I want them to be. I feel like they exist somewhere in my brain now, spaces of quiet comfort and dreams.

This has been a long one. I hope you enjoyed this tour of my humble home and -- since I don't seem to be forgetting anything -- I'll see you next time!

​

Spoiler: Open for a Basement surprise...

Welcome to Glowing-Mossland! We're all moss here...

​

 

[river]

Entry #7

Reader, I’ve got my head in the clouds...

Literally -- Where did all this fog come from?

Nothing like some unique weather to get a person in their feelings about things. Not that I don't do enough of that here already, it's essentially all I ever do. But still... This was morning felt kind of special.

I woke up eager to explore the fog, and while I was walking around the pathways of Mars I caught myself doing something I hadn't done in so, so long. (I'll say it, and I hope I don't sound ridiculous but) I was... playing...

I ran into Kiki, actually talked to her, and noticed she was somewhat inappropriately dressed for the weather so I went over to my storage to grab a fuzzy jacket for her.

Then I walked around some more and decided to go to The Roost and grab some coffee -- not to go too!

It was after that that I realized something was different, and it felt kinda nice and warm inside. Felt like old times, somehow.

Then I talked to Marshal and Erik, I checked the bulletin board and Nook's Cranny, all the good stuff. I even built my Snowperson a little neighbor by the main plaza and they gave me a large snowflake when I talked to them. I forgot they did that.

I rarely if ever play in the Winter, mostly because I find that the snow truly debilitates me creatively.

I also find it impossible to decorate and terraform in it and, those being my favorite parts of New Horizons, I never have much fun here from December through early February. Anything I come up with just looks… Off. Actually, time for a confession: last time I attempted to do just that I screwed up my island so badly I decided to reset the whole thing!

This year I decided the way to survive Winter was to fully embrace the pale blues and baren whiteness of it all, so days before the first snowfall I got rid of 90% of my flowers. I feel like my sudden ~chillness~ (pun always intended) has to be a sign that it's working, right?

Spring will bring a lot of gardening work to be done but I'm still quietly waiting for it to be here.

I'll see you soon, reader! Don't forget to grab your coat on the way out!

 

[river]

Entry #8

My dear reader,

so today I was wondering about what to write about, as I often do...

Truth is, I’ve been spending most of my time on The Bell Tree reading all the other journals here, and I’m forever impressed with the care and creativity of the members of this forum. From the lovely, comedic and cute to the character-driven, plot heavy, twist-filled adventures.

It’s honestly been such a pleasure to be able to tune in to an intriguing detective story, or check out how other players have been remodeling their neighbor’s home or turning their terraforming and decorating efforts into neat little diary-like entries while I’m bored at work. Getting to know all of you, in a way.

So I figured that today, reader, I want to talk about you. Well, about us: us readers, I mean!

Kiki gets it, a good book can send you out
through your entire range of emotions.

​

Besides the many great Journals in here, I also wanted to tell you about the book I’ve been reading. And perhaps, reader, make a recommendation?

It's my first book of the year and I'm almost finishing it. I’m a very slow reader but I've been reading every day now and I'm shyly proud of that.

It’s a book of short stories by Truman Capote, maybe not one of my mother’s favorite authors but definitely one of her most beloved, in the sense that she talks about him as if she knew him, you know what I mean?

What she loves so much about him is in the essence of who he is: at the same time the big-shot superstar of a pretentious circle of New York City excentrics and artists and the quirky little queer kid growing up in Mobile and other towns in the US South. He gives such tenderness and truth to both those sides of his story, and it can be incredibly beautiful at times.

​

One story in particular made me think of our little space here. It’s called “A Christmas Memory”.

It’s some sort of requiem for a friend -- an aunt or cousin of Capote’s -- an old, delicate woman with the playful and sincere mind of a child, with whom he spent most of his days with. He describes going out with her into the woods on an early December morning to grab berries and nuts and whatnot to bake fruitcakes to send over to all their favorite people; which included distant family members, neighbors, the guy selling them the illegal liquor for the recipe and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, naturally.

It's hard to explain what I read in this story that made me think of Mars and Island Journals... But I think it's something about how quaint and warm it felt. I would've cried had I not been reading it on a crowded train. Capote's memory is so sweet and dream-like you keep the understanding that it can't be entirely accurate or "real" but you store it someplace else because you know that -- to the mind of the child he was and of the man doing the remembering -- it is entirely and overwhelmingly true.

​

I suppose that when I read about all the different islands here, I get that sense of the heartfelt truth of imagination too. And, hell, do I get lost in the literature...

Wow, this probably has to be the most off topic I’ve even been here. But, hey, a woman wants her Lost Book collectible and the mind wanders. I hope you don’t mind though, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this. Thank you for stopping by.

I’ll see you later, friend

​

 

[river]

Entry #9

Reader,

do you want to know what’s the thing about Animal Crossing that tickles the nostalgia part of my brain the most? It’s the music…

I’m sure a lot of people here know exactly what I’m talking about. The music in these games is so, completely... I don’t even know what word to use. It wraps you up, it gets all around you.

If I conjure up from memory the first few notes of the main theme from City Folk I might get chills -- that being the version of the game I played the most when I was growing up. Just immediately transported to a time of very bare-bones english comprehension and lack of curiosity of finding out how the game actually worked. I mostly spent afternoons planting flower seeds, shaking trees and fishing.

So, on a random Saturday night, little old me wandered into the Museum basement to find a naked dog chilling on stage with a guitar. Needless to say that it took me a while to understand that when he asked for song requests you couldn’t just write up any song. (Puzzled me how this K.K. guy hadn't heard of Ticket to Ride...)

All of this to say that the first time I actually tried to learn anything about Animal Crossing was in an effort of finding out what songs I could ask K.K. Slider to play. The first one I chose -- simply because the name stood out to me on the list -- ended up becoming an eternal favorite, my song: Two Days Ago.

I've had the music box version of that playing in my bedroom ever since I found out those were a thing.

​

First thing you’re likely to hear upon entering Mars is Stale Cupcakes. An expected choice, maybe, but I think the hype is real with this one. I love the simplicity and sweetness of it. I think it perfectly captures the main impression I’m going for with Mars. It has whimsy and magic, and I like that idea of a lingering lullaby playing around the plaza, welcoming visitors, strangers, wanderers.

​

Next stop is behind my house, where I have this small, secluded stretch of beach by the west river mouth. Here I have a shell speaker I usually play something laid back on, and lately I’ve been listening to K.K. Chorinho. Not only does it have a cute, cheerful melody, but it also gets close to my heart because this is the kind of music I enjoy the most from where I’m from. Reminds me of late afternoon bars and improvised samba circles and dancing. It’s the one spot on this snow-covered piece of land where it feels like a true brazilian summer.

​

On the east side of the island is the shopping district, and the first piece of music I want to present to you I've only discovered a while ago: K.K. Lovers. This one feels like a walk on the beach in song form. I placed this one on the boardwalk because it gives me the light-hearted fun of carnival games and the shy romance of trying to win a stuffed bear for someone you like.

​

Last but not least... My beloved Animal City. As you're probably able to tell by now, City Folk is my favorite Animal Crossing game, and the City is my favorite thing about it. Taking the bus there felt so exciting. Meeting villagers I've never seen before, hopefully getting a balloon from Phineas, catching a show at The Marquee. It was all one big un-parent-supervised adventure.

So when I heard this song playing on the radio on my very first day of New Horizons... Oh, my little heart. The nostalgia!

I have this entire shopping area here to honor it, and it's one of my favorite things about Mars.

​

So, this is the soundtrack to Mars and to, well, me I suppose.

I hope that -- if you happen to take the time to listen to any one of these... -- I hope it tickles your brain a little with the feelings and places I've tried to describe here.

And I'll see ya on the next one!

​

 

[river]

Entry #10

Hey, you!

So, we’ve reached the end of this new year’s journey-- I mean, journal...

Isabelle announced we were going to have shooting stars at night, so the whole day felt very fitting for a closing entry.

​

This isn't goodbye, of course. I can never fully back out of Island Journals... It feels too intrinsically me at this point. Hopefully Spring will shine a new light on Mars and I'll get back on a routine there. As expected, only the future will tell.

So, for now, I have one last Winter-y, celebratory-type-thing I’d like to present to you. As it was antecipated by ramblings of entries past... I have done it. I made Festivale work for me.

Reader, welcome to the MarsSpecialViva-FestivaleSuper-Fun-and-SafeVery-Exciting-and-Totally-OriginalAmusement Park!

Woo-hoo!!

​

So many fun things to do!!!

There are (night) clowns, elephants, head-bopping bears... And beautiful dancers in pink tights swinging right above our heads! (Attractions subject to exageration.)

And for such a small fee too!!!!!!

What a steal! ​

You might be able to tell that this was sort of hastly pulled together... Or you might be letting yourself be fooled by the beautiful purple sunset we had yesterday...

This was definitely the most brain-stretching I've done for decorating in a while, and even if it isn't fully fleshed out and cohesive and all, I think it turned out pretty cute. I like the idea of making up a large part of the island in this theme-park concept, but I simply don't have it in me to execute something like that. The snow!! It's debilitating...

I'll also admit that the lack of Nook Miles and my ever decreasing bell savings didn't help either... And I fear that a theme park builder going into debt would be too much of a cliche at this point.

​

I watched the K.K. Slider concert last night too. It had been a while since I actually took the time to do that. Naturally I requested K.K. Samba and Marshal, Wart Jr. and Teddy very casually pulled out glow-sticks they apparently carry around with them in their pockets. That's commitment to vibin' out you can't help but admire.

​

A cute day to wrap up a pretty cute season of journaling.

Writing here over the past couple of weeks has been a great excuse to get back into my main internet hobby: pouring my little heart out anonymously at The Bell Tree. Going strong since May 2020

Thank you so much for stopping by today, and for being a part of this wonderful event here on the forums. To see my favorite corner of TBT so alive, all the creativity, talent and imagination... It has been an honor to be here with you.

And I'll see ya on the next one

​

 

[river]

Entry #24

So... I’m, uhm... Just gonna... Sneak back in here real quick...

I hear winter is almost over, and I’ve had a post to make here in my back pocket for a bit.
Just pretend I’m writing this a few days ago, is that okay?

Scenes from a clogged mailbox...

​

Valentine’s Day was pretty cute this year, I actually took the time to write little cards to all my neighbors and a few friends too. Flowers, chocolate and I even sent over some slices of peach pie because if this is a world in which it is possible to surprise someone by sending them delicious food directly into their mailbox... That’s something we should simply always be doing.

Neighbors wrote back the day after, and as for the friends... I’m just gonna have to wait for the day they serendipitously decide to open their Switch and find whatever silly message I wrote over there that I have already forgotten about. Might take a while though... We'll see.

​

The best part of Valentine's though was something that slipped my mind... Entering the folks' houses the following week and realizing that -- perhaps obviously -- all my surprise gifts were on display.

It sent my little heart on a loop, it was cute! I forgot they did that.

​

Lastly, a presage of spring...

​

I went exploring with Kapp'n the other day and he took me to an island covered with cherry-blossom trees. Full, complete bloom.

​

Hell, even the weeds looked beautiful to me. I've missed the green grass so much, even if I have to say that this has probably been the most memorable winter I've spent with Animal Crossing, all thanks to our ~journaling journey~ over here.

After the snow melts off on Mars I'm excited to get these virtual hands dirty and crowd my own piece of land with all sorts of pretty plants. Maybe Hazel will help me out?

​

 

[river]

Entry #25

Dear reader, we have survived winter.

I didn’t grow up with the concept of “spring cleaning” in my life since winter where I’m from is more of a formality than an anything. We've got rain, mud and ruined shoes all year 'round here.

I do like the idea of it, though, and it makes me think of a Mac Miller song...

Spent the whole day in my head...
Doin’ a little spring cleaning...
I’m always too busy dreaming...

​

I suppose I am a bit of a dreamer too. But whenever life comes knocking I realize maybe I live in my head too much. And I've definitely been needing to clean out some stuff from the attic, you know what I mean?

So, I went back to Mars for the usual lightness it brings to me, and it was time to get the town ready to welcome the warm weather. First step was stopping by Leif's to stack up on flower seeds...

​

After most of the virtual dirt was messed around with, flower beds filled and vegetables watered, in the weeks that followed I just sat back and watched as the greenery returned to Mars...

​

My life has been so caotic lately, warm and cold, getting tighter around me than loosening me up, breathing in, breathing out.

This new-born green and morning chores all made me feel like things will be okay. It's the meaning of spring, to remind you that life is as much about returning as it is about saying farewell, forever changing and always the same. Just gotta care for the sprouts you plant and gather your rosebuds while you may.

Reader, I'll see you on the next one.

​

​

 

[river]

Entry #26

Good morning, you!

Today I'm on a sun cosmos state of mind...

Remember when they were called that?

​

March has been a pretty excellent month, I'd say. Yes, there was exhaustion, frustation and even heartbreak, but March where I'm from is known to bring enough rain to wash over sticks, stones and the ends of roads... For now, April and it's soft morning light and gentle winds got me focusing on the good times.

The green has made me fall in love with Mars all over again.

​

I might or might've not gotten myself stuck on a little terraforming project over the last few weeks... But, other than that, I am so happy with the cheerful simplicity of dirt paths and red tulips, filling up the island with orange hyacinths, yellow mums once again.

I don't feel that obsessive urge to play at this point, but that's usually the case during these first months of the year. Still, I've been hanging out on Mars to unwind either before or after work, and that means that I've caught myself doing so many little activities I haven't done in a long time over there.

That's the thing about us big sisters, Mabel...
We never will...

​

Checking out visitors at the campsite, putting on a show for Label at the plaza, actually accepting invitations to hang out at Chief's place... The little things, you know?

Plus, sometimes it's enough to just tune in, set the clock fowards or backwards a bit and watch the spectacle put on by the afternoon skies as they get covered in orange, then purple, then deep beautiful blue.

​

Fortune me, fortune me...

Reader, I hope that the waters of March have washed over you and that April brings that full, complete, cherry-blossom-pink-colored bloom out of you!

See ya

​

 

[river]

Entry #27

Hey, you!

Here I am, late as always, finally in the proper mood to tell you a little story about last month. This is a real life story, a story about Zipper T. Bunny being -- literally, IRL, etc. -- outside of my house.

​

So, the other day (read: over a month ago) I was leaving my apartment to go to work when I was greeted by an eerily familiar vision...

First, some context. Last year, the beautiful old brick house across the street got torn apart. In it’s place it seems like some pig corporation's gonna build another one of the loud, ~modernistic~, overly designed and over-priced apartment buildings that have been taking over the city.

For now, though, there’s only a little office and a big sign of a very unrealistic digitally-rendered "vision" of what the building will look like when it's done.

The worst thing about it is that they often have two or three women standing on the sidewalk in from of it with signs, silver balloons, it's insanity. They wave at cars, hand over flyers to unsuspecting pedestrians, probably invite them to go inside and be pressured into buying a ludicrosly capacious apartment that doesn't exist for an embarassing amount of money.

​

But on that peaceful Sunday morning, something else awaited me across the street. It seems like, in my life, just as it happens in Animal Crossing, the first of April brought onto me a bunny-suited presence...

Can something be familiar and uncanny at the same time?

The oversized head leaning forward, the depressed shoulders, big stuffed hands hanging on either side of the body like dead leaves on a palm tree... The artificial smile and inexplicably long eyelashes... Everything about the posture and body-language screaming "They don't pay me enough for this."

It just felt like one of those “life imitates art” moments. A whole person wearing a full-body Easter bunny costume right on my street. All of that to sell apartments to rich people! I think people in marketing need to start rethinking some stuff. "Busy thinking about if they can rather than if they should" kinda thing, you know?

As I made my way to the bus stop I couldn’t help but look behind me at the fellow in the fuzzy suit, only half expecting them to be a figment of my Animal-Crossing-overdosed imagination.

​

Alas, here’s the thought that crossed my mind: when you work Saturdays, Sundays and holidays like me, your own annoyance, indignation, tiredness can very easily turn into empathy when you encounter someone else in the same situation.

As I looked up at the sun and smiled at the beautiful day it was, I thought about the person in the suit, and how hot it must’ve been in there.

So, yeah, we all like to poke fun at Zipper T. Bunny and his black-hole, vortex of chaos, dead-eyed, thousand-mile stare, but now I’m thinking that maybe he's just another working-class fella making his way through our hellish gig-economy, working holidays for some extra cash, embarassing job, nothing to show for it, dealing with annoying customers hitting him with nets... I work on the service industry so I can definitely relate.

​

Curiously enough this has been the first chery-blossom season I've really enjoyed on Animal Crossing.

I always knew it was beautiful, of course, but I don't think I've ever managed to find my own island beautiful in it. Color-scheme always felt a little off... Maybe it's because after last Winter I kept a more neutral approach to decorating, but I've been loving the pink, pastels and lush green so much that I've decided to keep time travelling backwards and stretching the season out for myself.

Also, I finally have the proper set-up to properly appreciate what has been my favorite item in the game literally since the first trailer came out: the blossom viewing lantern...

​

'Till next time, you!

And as for the moral of the story: treat service workers with kindness!

​

 

[river]

Entry #28

Yaaaaawn...!

Yes, reader, I have awoken from my slumber...

Going to try to not make a fuss about updating this journal after so long as I’m not even sure if me being here means anything at all for future entries... Who knows...

Woke up, fell out of bed, remembered that I used to have this thread...

​

I’ll keep the long story short and just say that I’ve been needing to get my mind off of some things, and then there are other things that I should probably get my mind severely onto but I just... don’t... want to... must... procrastinate... agh! Y’know?

But anyways, sometimes a girl just can’t resist escaping to quaint quiet little Mars where the weather's nice, the neighbours are sweet and there are no deadlines or ******** to get you down. So that's what I've been doing every now and then for the last few weeks.

​

I’ve mostly been hanging out, but when I have the time I take on terraforming projects since I’m yet to finish designing this plot of land. Hopefully sometime in the next months I’ll be able to share a more in depth look at how the layout’s going. That's the goal at least, I guess. Isn't it always?

So far I’ve been keeping things simple and I love it that way. The dirt paths and cobblestone remind me of the old days of Wild World and the streetlights and park benches make me think of City Folk.

For nostalgia’s sake, here’s something new for ya: the one and only Electric Gyroid Orchestra!

https://www.reddit.com/r/AnimalCrossing/comments/1dz1qji/feeling_nostalgic_today_with_my_gyroid_orchestra

​

This is it for today! I just have to keep swimming, smelling the tulips, taking it sleazy and hopefully I'll turn up on the other side in one piece.

See ya when I see ya, friend.

​

​

 

[river]

Entry #29

Hey, you.

Had a drenched month of June, let me tell you.

I love the rain, it's dramatic and it shines and makes you stop and look at the world. But there comes a moment in which a girl's feet can no longer exist with perpetualy wet socks, so I had to face the truth and go back inside. Of course... I would not be alone there...

​

It was time to face them. The new tenants.

​

I mean, "Mars-wise" I've been asleep for about a year. You can imagine the house was properly taken over. There were generations of roaches. Grandmothers, nephews, friends-of-the-family. Homes built brick by brick. Memories. Weddings. Graduations. Crazy to think that straight up murder, out of all things, exist in this game.

I took out my little duster and begun the domination. Goodbye, bugs.

Bless the mess and bless their immortal souls...

​

My efforts paid off when later in the afternoon Chief came over and wasn't shocked/repulsed/disgusted which was nice. Something about what he said made me think about cleaning up my own room... You know, the real one, with the book piles and all the clothes on top of the chair.

Yeah, totally! Maybe next time : )

​

Anyways, I guess this is the welcome I'm getting from Summertime on Mars... It's gonna test me, I already know it.

Thanks for stopping by, and to all the bugs out there: the HHA made me do it.

​

​

 

[river]

Entry #30

Some last scenes from June...

There’s something about the way the cobblestone path looks when it’s just rained...

​

No, it did not stop raining. But, hey, the glow on the pavement and all. Fearless is still my favorite Taylor Swift song, feels like being a teenager again in the best way.

I wanted to make another June post because, since I first got on Mars, I wanted to put on a little brazilian celebration we have, we call it Festa Junina. It is the best time of the year. The air is a little cold, the sky is clear, the moon is bright. There are little colorful flags everywhere, bonfires, clothing with ribbons and bows. And, like all the best holidays out there, it is also mostly about food.

Imagine: corn everything -- sweet, on the cob, off the cob with some butter on it... corn cake, corn bread, pamonha -- and also candy apples, crazy meat sandwiches (that’s what the meat is called, Carne Louca). For us old boozers there's hot wine, quentão (literally translates to big hot lol it's like sangria that burns your tongue a little bit).

I love it. Every other month of the year I'm wishing I was here.

And the music... It's magical.

​

Before I had to hide my Switch to focus on work (you must know by now that if I'm writing here there's a 90% chance that I'm currently avoiding a deadline...), a letter from mom reminded me of one last wonder of the month of June...

​

Fireflies. There was one night last October that I got to see this dance they do in real life, I was on a trip far from the city. It was raining somewhere distant and you could see the lightning light up the clouds far away. Then, near the trees that sorrounded the house, their lights went left and right, up and down like waves. You should've seen it.

​

This is it for today, wish me luck with finishing my project for my Masters degree lol!!

Hope I get it done soon enough to be able to take part in any of the 20th Anniversary events... Also, celebrating my own birthday! Always gets me when I'm reminded that both me and The Bell Tree are leos.

Until next time, you.

​

 

[river]

Entry #31

Hello, August, hello, you.

Reader, I am finally feeling the summer on Mars.

​

After spending most of July and the first week of August surviving, I'm ready to get busy living.

I haven't truly played through summer probably since launch back in 2020. I had convinced myself that the dark leaves on the trees looked too harsh, and that summer was just something I had to get through before beautiful fall setting in. But now that I've laid back, I'm looking at the digital clouds, listening to the breeze, feeling the confort of a metaphorical hammock, I'm finding summer to be pretty wonderful.

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I have no clue if this is at all a controversial opinion, but I love the cicadas. I love cicadas in real life too, I love the music they make, how it fills up huge opens spaces and how they echo through woods and fields, I love how absurdly loud they are.

When I was a kid we would go around the neighbourhood collecting their empty shells, we'd line them up a tree trunk, sometimes we'd find ten, fifteen of them, or we'd put them on our clothes and wear them like broches. I always thought their amber color was so beautiful. How odd that something can look so much like a bug and so much like a precious jewel at the same time.

On a very different note, have you ever seen a cicada pee? They're like hoses, man, I swear. If you're ever walking through a forest and you hear what sounds like a continuous stream of water falling, that's a cicada peeing. They can even pee on ya so watch out for that.

There was one time last year I was having my morning coffee on the front porch at the farm house and I heard that sound, looked to my left and saw a perfect little stream of water coming from the side of a tree. It was a cicada. It's wild. What do they even do to produce so much pee. Wonders of nature, I guess.

Eunice is catching up on some sleep before the fireworks keep her up all night...

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Anyways, with the summery breeze, the cicadas, me pursuing my Master's degree (I sent in the application just in time woohoo! ), the Bell Tree turning 20, me turning [redacted] and the fireworks shows, August feels so eventful and exciting. Feels like there is so much going on!

Terraforming and decorating is cute and all, but it is in the day-to-day "living" that an Animal Crossing game must really hold itself together. So, yeah, I've been playing!

... "like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars"
I think that's what Jack Kerouac would say...

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After having a great time with the fireworks on Sunday -- really, at some point I realised I was straight up smiling at my screen lol -- on Monday came my birthday, and a Monday birthday is actually really fitting for the year I've been having so I won't complain

But I'll have to leave the awkward cuteness of celebrating your grown-*** birthday on Animal Crossing for another post, because this has been quite long one, it's 11 a.m. and I do have a job despite what my online behaviour might indicate.

So, yeah, I'll probably be seeing you soon. Sit tight and don't let the cicadas pee on ya!

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[river]

Entry #32

Dear reader,

yes, I had a birthday the other week.

I wanted to post here, but didn't know what to share. I usually write about myself here, I bring up memories and stories from my life, but, if you'll allow me a moment of oversharing on an Animal Crossing forum of all places...

Spoiler: stuff from my chest

I haven't been very well over the past couple of months. Feeling very blue. Never thought that idea of having a stormy cloud on top of your head, following you around... I never thought that could feel so literal.

I come over here and try to think of things to celebrate, to be my ordinary sunny, glass-half-full self about, but sometimes it's very hard.

I'm trying, I've been getting help, and I have a lot of beautiful people who love me. It's scary to feel like I can't let that love in, like I can't hear it, can't recieve it, and can't give it back. But I'll be okay.

This is a place of love and comfort to me, as silly as it may seem, and -- to whoever reads this -- sometimes I just feel like shouting into the void for a moment, and it's nothing to worry about. I'll be okay.

Thank you for reading, stranger. You are loved.

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Consider this birthday post a shy attempt at some self-love, self-care kind of thing. We try, we get by with a little help from our friends, right? Mostly the flesh and blood ones -- who make you birthday apple crumble and don't mind getting their shirts wet when you cry while they hug you --, but the ones made of 1s and 0s are pretty sweet too.

Is this becoming my real life journal? ​

Erik hosted my surprise party. Lazy hosts are very cute, they seem kind of surprised they pulled the whole thing off. Kiki did mention that the whole thing was kinda her idea, which tracks. These two make a great team though!

Almost as a special guest appearence, Marshal was also in attendance. Can't say I expected it but I'm sure it made my party a whole lot more fashionable. Eat your heart out Cara Delevigne!

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It was cute. Been a long time since I've had an Animal Crossing birthday party.

After the carefully planed and timed activies, all there was left to do was try to get a good group photo of us. That I did not achieve, but I got this:

Feeling good, looking confused...

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In all honesty, this year I feel like I've been relating more and more to the crankies. I get back pains and I've been wearing a lot of sunscreen. I give good advice and I'm a good friend, sure, but I've also been daydreaming about "accidentaly" losing my phone for good, sailing away, moving into a hut somewhere with a wood-burning stove and tatami on the floor...

I mean, look at Wart Jr. here, he's cheerful:

Something to look foward to!

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Maybe it's time to give Perfect Days another watch. Life is long and you have to live through it all. But there is also so much beauty in the world, and it does go by so fast. We can't miss it.

Sorry for the scattered post, it's how I've been feeling lately.

As always, thank you for stopping by, and I'll see you on the next one.

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[river]

Entry #33

Dear reader,

my nostalgia has hit unprecedented levels. Now I'm missing New Leaf Bug-Offs... Podium cerimony was very cute.

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I’ve been time-travel-free for about three weeks... I know... Doesn’t seem like a lot, but for me it’s a pretty big deal. Whenever I visit Mars I’ve been finding different ways to entertain myself other than getting on that neurotic terraforming, town-planning grind I’m always on. Continuing my mission to, at last, be able to just... Take it sleazy.

So I've been going after the more mundane things about island living, y'know? Digging up fossils, looking for bugs, catching fish, taking pictures of clouds, watching the animals crossin' and stuff...

In my many many years of playing this series I've never actually completed my Critterpedia, but I feel like in New Horizons I've been truly neglecting the -- ahem -- cultural development of Mars... And so, for the last couple of weeks, I've been hard at work to secure the final catches of Summer. Made me realize how much there was still to discover that I've never even seen before!

Got a new favorite bug, for one! Check out this little guy!!

He gloooows, man! And he's got little feet!

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Donating bugs to Blathers is an underrated joy of Animal Crossing. One of the few examples of pure, simple hatred that has survived the games many iterations.

Bugs cannot help what they are, Blathers!

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After a couple of weeks of sleazy living, turns out I was *this* close to completing the fossil exhibition! Now it's done! Baby!

Neat!

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To wrap up, one last thing I found that's pretty nice about living each day as it's own is that I haven't been missing any of the neighbour's birthdays! Another shocking discovery: Mars is kind of overrun with Leos...

On the 21st I went to Wart Jr.'s party, he looked cute as ever all dressed up, and yesterday on the 30th it was Hazel's day. She looked just perfect in her yellow flapper dress!

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Felt cozy with all the birthday vibes around The Bell Tree to stop by to celebrate these two.

August has been a crazy month though, can't say I'll miss it lol

Highs and lows, highs and lows...

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Life is the way life is, I guess.

The other day I saw a dandelion puff growing from the sidewalk on my way to work, I thought about picking it up and blowing on it, maybe making a wish, but I didn't. Then on my way back home I passed throught it again, and it was just a stem. Guess the wind blew the seeds away during the day, that's what it does, right? There's a lesson in here somewhere.

Until next time, you. Thanks for reading.

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[river]

Entry #34

Dear reader,

I’m here to offer you another slice of life. I hear it’s very nutritious.

Life on Mars, baby! That’s what this whole thing is called, after all.

​

Did another nostalgic thing this weekend: I went island hopping!

Purrl wanted to move on, and since I’ve been meaning to try out new snooties and smugs, I let her. Plus, last weekend was the first time in a while that I had two full days of nothing to do, so I figured it was the perfect opportunity to look for a new neighbor on Nook Miles islands.

Of course, that endeavor does come with a material requirement... Nook Miles tickets... Of which I could get around 20. Not a lot on the scale of trying to find the perfect replacement for Purrl, so that meant that while I hopped around I had to work on getting more miles to trade for tickets to go to more islands and so on, so on.

I love fake working while on break from real working

​

It was a good time. Originally I wanted to make a little list of everyone I came across like I used to do back in my other journal, but with all the bug-catching, DIY-making, rock-hitting, hot-item-selling, balloon-popping little tasks I had to do, I totally forgot.

There were lots of tigers, a gorilla, some cats, mouses, I remember seeing Chrissy, Ribbot, Phoebe, Zucker, Shino. New faces, but more excitingly, I saw some old ones too.

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Daisy was one of my first five villagers on Mars, and she's the sweetest. I really loved seeing her again, it's been a minute!

(Even if she had no recollection of me, of course.)

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It rained a lot on Saturday, but I took it as a sign that I should go looking for coelacanths. Let's say I’m mildly interested in that little model Flick makes. It was kinda difficult but also much easier than I expected. I remember when I was a kid that fish seemed like stuff of legends. Never in a million years did I think I'd get one on my Museum, let alone other THREE for a collectible.

Maybe there are more pre-historic dinossaur fish in the sea than I thought, or maybe I'm just a really pro fisher person now. Who knows...

Kappn’ and Wilbur are totally impressed by my pro skillz,
you just can’t tell ‘cos they’ve got dark glasses on, ok?

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Had a good time fishing anyhow. Shook trees, got a bunch of materials, got my face absolutely destroyed by wasps multiple times... All in a day's work.

Then Sunday brought clearer skies and someone unexpected.

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I decided not to resist, and Fauna is moving in.

Sure, the overpopulation of "normals" might get old very quick, and Eunice and Kiki are forever. But... just... look at her. She's so pretty

It's been a long couple of days. In a good way, this time.

Thank you for stopping by, you.

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[river]

Entry #35

Hello, hello, ‘been a while since I’ve been here... I know...

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It’s been hard to find the right headspace for writing these last few months. I started trying out this thing where I have to write two or three pages on my (real, non-cute) journal every day in the morning, about whatever comes to mind, a stream of consciousness kind of thing. The first days it went really well, I could tell it made my chest feel a little bit lighter. But, of course, mornings are a precious thing so I couldn’t keep it up.

Also -- since we’re, hmm... talking personal stuff -- I’ve been living on my own since August, and there’s just so much housework to do. Really facing the reality of the many privileges of the years I spent living with my mom. I get home and by the time I’m done I pass out and it’s only 9 p.m.

I do kinda like housework though. The apartment is small, it’s a bit rough around the edges, and it’s not really mine (can you imagine buying property in this economy? not me lol), but looking after it makes me feel a little bit like it is. Taking time to make it nice, make it tidy, make it neat. I’ve got a pink rug with splashes of light blue, purple and yellow (it’s prettier than it sounds I swear), the sofa’s blue and the table cloth is pale yellow. I've got a pot with basil growing on the counter that smells amazing. The sunlight comes in really strong through the window in front of the sink and this morning my friend did the dishes with her sunglasses on.

Anyways, that’s enough rambling from me.

Let’s get on with what really matters... Mars, Mars, Mars...

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Nowadays I’ve been playing every other weekend, and whenever I have some time in the morning before I go to work. Fixing up a few spots, moving around flowers, trees, random stuff I like looking at. Yeah, I can’t believe I’m about to say it... Mars is... Kinda done?

The layout at least! I haven’t even opened my Island Designer app in months. No urge to terraform whatsoever. Huge new feeling for me. After a few weeks of figuring out the last areas I couldn't quite get right -- camping grounds, Erik’s yard, the hills at the back of the island -- suddently it just seemed like everything... Fell into place somehow.

Funny enough this corner here is still my favorite...

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It’s so wonderful walking around Mars now. Seems so much like a real place to me. A real town with pathways and parks, neightbours and backyards, little hidden corners, plazas, places to sit and watch the wind streaming through the grass. How I always wished it would be. Pretty neat, I think.

But, well, it could also simply be the wonders of Autumn that are making me feel this way. The beautiful warm tones coming in, the red leaves flying around, the mushrooms popping up, it all makes this game look so wonderful.

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But when mushroom season came along and I noticed something... Strange. No truffles. Hmm. Oh no... I went to Resident Services to talk to Isabelle and discovered it was true, Mars got downgraded to 4 stars... Oh nooo...

Guess my over-use of undergrown trees and the minimalist approach I’ve been taking since last Winter sent my “natural enviromment” score crashing down.

It's fine! This is fine. ​

It's poetic, really. Now that I'm so completely happy with what I've created over the years -- happy with every single little tree, pansie and piece of weed I've got laying around, everything perfect just where it is... -- I'm suddently not good enough for the rating system. Well, I guess at least that makes Mars oficially underrated, and that's kinda cool, right?

I don't have it in me to figure out how to get that final star, and I don't care what anyone says, Mars is good to me. So I'm going back to just hanging out.

​

You can expect a map update from me soon, just don't be expecting any masterpieces! lol

After years and years of building and re-building, all I've ever wanted has always been a place to hang out. Just some place comfy. Pascal knows what's up.

See you on the next one, friend.

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Fortune me, fortune me...

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[river]

Entry #36

Reader, today’s a big day for this journal.

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On this day, officially and for the first time ever, I can say to you: welcome to Mars!

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Look at her!!!! This is it! This is what I’ve spent the last four years doing lol

I like this map a lot. It's simple but I think it gets across the general idea of the island very well. It's organized but not too organized, the cliffs and rivers look natural for the most part, and I think that things like the soccer field, the giant footstep and the maze create such pretty drawings.

I'll write down a proper "tour" of everything I've got going on once I update the map section on the introduction posts. For now I'll leave a little something for the imagination I suppose.

Of course it's not 100%, but I don't think any island should really be. I mean, it could get really boring, right? There are corners and spaces that I've left a little emptier so I have some room for new ideas, and I'm always shifting around flowers, trees and shrubs to make every spot feel neat, feel right. Decorating this way, little by little, has been the most fun to me.

​

But the best part has been playing around an island that feels so... Me? I don't know. Just feels like everything has it's place and it's time, to me it's like an old town somehow, I run around and I know so much about every nook, every patch of grass. I love how much room there is to walk around, all the places to sit down, under the shade of a tree, and watch the clouds, the wind. I like listening to my steps on the grass, on the dirt paths, the cobblestone and brick. Everything feels so conected, the paths, streets, yards, bridges. There are urban sections and rural areas, forests, places that are harder to get to, quiet and secluded, and places that are more vibrant, lined by streetlights and flower beds.

I love it, I don't care what the rating system says lol best looking four-star island this side of Mississipi if you ask me! (I don't know where Mississipi is)

And the morning fog brings in the mystery...

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Winter is coming and, baby, have I got plans. Last year I loved Winter. I switched my worn dirt paths for this beautiful shiny snowy path and took away most of my flowers and suddently Mars had this shimmering Winter-wonderland glow to it that I've never thought I could achieve.

Getting new paths means I'll have to purchase a Nintendo Online license again... But the good news is that I'll at last be able to share a Dream Code. So, this Winter break I'll be working hard to make Mars fun to explore and discover.

The maze? Totally more complex than it looks... Totally...
Don't get lost, my child... Shhh...

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Anyways, anyways. Big day today. Exciting things for next time too. How lovely is that?

I love the late Autumm, early December vibes on Mars. I love the dark red, the pale crunchy grass, the fog, the late night snow fall... To me it's absolutely cinematic.

Even got some early carolers the other night... ​

The year is coming to an end, it's a good thing.

I've been so gloomy these past few months, so completely blue. But you know what goes wonderfully with blue? Some twinkling Christmas lights.

Thank you for reading, friend. See you soon.

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