The Wahu Island Chronicle: Stories & Happenings

TN4U · Jul 31, 2023

From the mind of Trevor, comes the place I've always wanted to share to the world...

WAHU
The escape from reality ~ Come visit us today!

New Horizons Dream Address
DA-7696-5916-9750
Last updated July 9th, 2024 at 2:33 PM EST

This thread is also a "dumping ground" for my original stories. Hope you enjoy them!

Click on the titles below to be taken directly to the story post.

BRUCEWOOD MAC (The Story Up to Now)	Part 1 Who Are They? 7-31-2023	Part 2 We Found the Antelope 8-5-2023	Part 3 From Kidd to Lopez 9-30-2023
KyLopezVentures	Part 1 At-Home Rehearsal 11-24-2023	Part 2 The Meeting 12-11-2023	Part 3 No Hard Feelings 3-28-2024
Kyle, Island Slacker	Wandering Around 10-5-2023	-	-
Poncho, University Student	From the Mind of Poncho (His College Diary) 12-25-2023	-	-
Snake, Agent SN-002	Case #01: The Gold Thieves TBA	-	-
Tom, Former Bantamweight Champion	Tom's Wahu Arrival 9-3-2023	-	-

All stories and lore posted here are fictional and are based off official Nintendo lore, widely-accepted unofficial lore, as well as my own experiences and ideas. Unless it's something that actually happened to me while playing New Horizons, I will not attempt to create lore that may seem controversial to some, and if such a need arises to mention it, it will be worded in a way to keep it as PG as possible.

Occasionally, stories may receive minor edits at any time to correct grammar or spelling mistakes, but the story itself won't change.

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TN4U · Jul 31, 2023

THE VILLAGERS

In order of longest-tenured

Patty

"How-now brown cow. Hey, I'm a brown cow!"

Look! It's Patty! Don't get her too excited, or she may literally blow some steam!

It was, indeed, a big problem for Patty to try and suppress her seemingly random bursts of energy back in the countryside where she grew up. She could get worked up over the smallest things around her family's farm - doing chores, crops becoming spoiled, fending off bugs - you name it, she would most likely throw a fit about it. Even when things went her way and thus became overly excited, there was still a chance that something bad would happen to others simply because of the nature of who she was as a villager.

Patty knew that her occasional erratic behavior was unacceptable, and wanted to start fresh elsewhere - preferably in an area where she could make many new friends, as well as try to do things her own way. On a random visit to the local travel agency, she came across a pamphlet for Wahu, advertised as "the place to make lifelong memories". Immediately intrigued, she packed her bags and booked the next flight to the quaint island.

Even though it took some time to adjust to her new island life, she eventually grew to like the change of scenery, as well as everyone that's since come and gone. Patty even started her own local crop-growing business, and is now known as the "produce cow" by several villagers, as well as the Nooklings, Timmy and Tommy. Her current neighbors sort of look up to her as a role model, though sometimes they still get intimidated by her presence in a few tense situations that arise because of her past history. For Patty, however, her behavior today is miles better than it was back when she lived in "Nowhereland".

Bob

"If it weren't for my nine lives, I woulda fell off the plane and into the flying cotton candy!"

Bob never quite grew out of his childhood phase. Ever since the "crayon" incident long ago, his thinking functionality hasn't really improved a whole lot. He became hyper-focused on video games, but only those that are considered "edutainment" to many. He has yet to learn how to speak at a slower pace, as his quick speech patterns tend to cause him to start talking gibberish and make less sense to others.

One day, while living in his Grandma's house, Bob wanted to ride in a plane, just to see what it was like to reach the clouds and "taste" them as they reminded him of cotton candy. Grandma was a bit hesitant, but agreed that she wanted to go on a vacation to somewhere. On the flight, Bob started licking the window, but realized he couldn't make his tongue go past the glass. It got to the point where Bob nearly opened the emergency escape door and caused a scene on the plane. DAL officials (and Grandma) realized that he was being a danger to everyone riding the plane, and agreed to dump him off at Wahu. Bob couldn't understand what was going on, and why Grandma didn't get off with him. Before the plane took off, Grandma simply told Bob, "Welcome to the real world, grandson."

As the plane took off, Bob sat there and cried. Why would his family abandon him like that? Was this planned all along? It all seemed too real. Meanwhile, the island representative, Trevor, was doing road work when he saw the purple cat shedding many tears. Trevor approached next to Bob, sat down, and took in the moment with him. He needed to make Bob feel better.

After telling him funny jokes to get him motivated again, Trevor started to understand Bob and his emotions on a larger scale. The two would later spend time playing games and participating in island activities, and the friendship bond only grew. Trevor and Bob were glad to have had that chance encounter, and with some financial help from Trevor, Bob's life blossomed from that afternoon on. The cat now considers Trevor the brother he never had, and even Trevor felt the same.

Mallary

"Everyone craves attention. Me? I'd rather not talk about it."

Oh, where to start with Mallary. Let's just say that she's more of the "city-dweller" kind, and wanted to remain like that when she previously worked as the secretary for a famous TV lawyer. However, there were various allegations that said TV lawyer was bribing city officials, which Mallary eventually heard about through social media, and wanted nothing to do with it. After every TV network in the area wanted to interview her about her boss' shady deals, she finally had enough and wanted to get away from this swarming media storm.

Mallary went to the International Airport and told the attendant behind the counter that she wanted to get as far away from the city as she could, no questions asked. Since Mallary kept a neutral profile throughout her career and prevented her boss' rather questionable habits from spreading to her, she was able to easily get away from the city she once called home without anyone being bothered by her absence. The attendant booked Mallary a flight for Wahu, since it was advertised as a tiny remote island with some friendly folk that got along with each other well. Before her flight, she packed her bags, called her boss, told him "good luck" with his situation, and was on her way to a better, stress-free life.

Once in Wahu, Mallary immediately felt like she was home all along after finding a place that resembled hers back in the city. Her next-door neighbor, Dotty, sometimes gets on her nerves due to the rabbit's rather bubbly personality, but at least Dotty doesn't spread rumors like certain villagers back in the city that Mallary would like to keep unnamed. It took a while, but the two eventually learned to set aside their differences and work together to focus on the positive things.

Mallary grew accustomed to island life rather well - making many new lifelong friends - and doesn't look back.

Cherry

"My crazy life story. Coming soon to a theater near you!"

Cherry was one of the "cool kids" back in her rather big hometown. Having had lots of friends and connections to some rather famous rock musicians back in school - including THE K.K. Slider - Cherry was the one the other kids wanted to be.

However, as her popularity kept growing, Cherry realized that all the fame she has would go to her head rather quickly if she continued to live the life she had bragged about for so long, and could eventually lead to dire consequences. She had to come up with a plan to somehow escape the spotlight, and an idea struck her after hearing a suggestion from one of her old rock buddies: "If you want to get away from the big crowds, you've got to lay low. Find a place you can dig, and start living the life you want to live."

Cherry called up that old buddy of hers, and they suggested that she seek a permanent vacation on Wahu. Being an island that's distant from her so-called "fans", the idea alone intrigued her enough that she decided to give island living a shot. Needless to say, it was one of the best life decisions she ever made. She would later invite fellow trusted friend, Lopez, to live on Wahu as well. Lopez frequently gives her moral support, and ever since the move, Cherry has been quite the fortunate dog.

Today, Cherry has been extremely grateful to the residents she's met and stuck with her throughout the seasons. Although some continue to push her buttons every now and then, Cherry doesn't mind it too much, as she was already used to being the center of attention in her hometown - though here, she can tolerate it.

Tom

"It's about time I started giving back to the community."

Sometimes, the lust for success can spoil someone a bit too much. For Tom, it was simply a matter of losing touch with the times, and attempting to turn a new leaf from a forgettable mistake.

Tom had been retired from the Junior Bantamweight League for a long time, having won several championships, and at one point being named the Junior Bantamweight king by several magazines. After his retirement, Tom started to become bored with everyday life, and missed the glory days of when he was a sports superstar.

One day, Tom decided that he wanted to go back into the ring one last time and prove to everyone that he can still take on anyone he faces. His first opponent, Lucha, was just coming off a massive victory against reigning champion Stinky, and wanted to prove to everyone that he is the new king of the ring. In the first round, Tom couldn't even land a punch, and faceplanted onto the floor after losing his balance. In the second round, he regained his composure, and started to take on Lucha for real. Unfortunately for Tom, due to his age, he got tired rather quick, and Lucha won the match after knocking Tom stone cold.

Incredibly embarrassed by his defeat, Tom retired again and moved to Wahu to remind him less of the incident. The existing Wahu residents were, at first, sort of intimidated by Tom's presence. It wasn't until after witnessing the former champ's soft side coming out at full force that everyone started to appreciate Tom more as a villager, rather than the tough wrestler he once was.

Tom later became the most respected Wahu villager of them all, due to his wise and mature way of handling stressful situations. In terms of his career, he prefers to keep it as a distant memory in his rear view mirror, which is probably for the best.

Dotty

"W! A! H! U! What does that spell? WAHOOOOO YEAH!!!"

Everyone on the island loves Dotty, but she's a talker. There are times when the rest of the villagers wish that she would just keep quiet for a few minutes. But why exactly is she such a talkative rabbit?

It all goes back to her days as a superstar cheerleader. Being popular in school and attracting the likes of several star athletes, Dotty saw the opportunity to make herself known to the school (as well as her entire hometown) by being the loudest and most fab cheerleader there was. It all worked out - the school football team she cheered for went on to have an undefeated season, and won several trophies at their awards ceremony. Everyone, of course, had to thank Dotty for her efforts, and her popularity only grew from there. So why leave her supportive hometown behind? Well, there comes a time when someone's got to move on with their life and explore what's out there, and that's precisely what Dotty did after graduating school. Everyone in her hometown loved her presence and positive spirits, and were deeply saddened to see her go.

Dotty wanted to move to a place where she would continue to be loved by everyone, and Wahu seemed to be the best choice. After moving there and meeting its rather quiet residents, she chatted up a storm about her cheerleading capabilities back home, and the residents quickly got annoyed by her spontaneous cheer practices (as in, being LOUD). However, they soon realized that she's always had good intentions to support her new friends, and even convinced her neighbor, Mallary, that she's definitely better than the folks Mallary knew back in her old city. Now, all of Wahu's villagers can't imagine life on the island without her.

Lopez

"Good things come to those who wait."

If there's one antelope out there that can really rock out, it's Lopez. Being the lead guitarist and one of the vocalists for Brucewood Mac, he can play a mean guitar, but it actually wasn't the first instrument he picked up.

Lopez started out playing drums, and continued playing them until the one time he played with K.K. Slider. After meeting the famous dog and playing as a supporting musician on his chart-topper, K.K. Fusion, Lopez wanted to find out if he had any hidden talents inside himself that Mr. Slider could find and release.

"Why not pick up my strat and find out for yourself?", said K.K., and Lopez started strumming the guitar, eventually finding his groove, and rocked out hard in the studio. Lopez wanted to keep the rock guitar for himself, but K.K. mentioned that it was the only electric one he had, so Lopez had to give it back and save up bells for his own rock guitar.

While applying for an auto mechanic job at the local OK Motors, he met Kyle, an aspiring musician just like him, and the two quickly became best friends. After working for several months in the city and subsequently earning enough bells to afford a rock guitar and drum kit, the duo created the underground metal band Hunter and Prey, and released a few singles to a B-label that never really took them off. After becoming frustrated with their commercial results, he and Kyle decided to call it quits and both went back to the auto shop.

Bruce, co-founder and leader of Brucewood Mac, was secretly trying to find a replacement guitarist for Kidd, who was starting to cause some tension within the band. After hearing Lopez's guitar playing on a music video for an underground radio station, Bruce called him up, and initially introduced him as the new rhythm guitarist, so as to not upset Kidd and maintain him as the lead. Eventually, however, Lopez shared some ideas that the other band members loved, except Kidd, who wanted all the fame focused on himself only - and quit the band.

Lopez moved to Wahu after being invited by fellow friend and K.K. Fusion session musician, Cherry. He continues to play for Brucewood Mac as its lead guitarist, and even got his best friend, Kyle, to become neighbors with him. It seems that nothing but good things are in store ahead for this rockin' antelope.

Poncho

"I'm not a child! I'm educated!"

When Poncho came to the island, everyone thought he was the cutest little cub ever. Tom even mistakenly thought that he was a child still in grade school, but that's not true. Poncho is way smarter than what some may think.

Poncho graduated from Nookway University with a bachelor's in physical therapy, and continues to study online in his house in order to obtain his master's degree. Poncho gets stressed from school work fairly frequently, so in order to release excess stress, he, uhm, well, acts like a child on Wahu.

On many days, he tends to run around the island alongside next-door neighbor Bob, and brags to the town about how he's super strong (when he really isn't). He even got called names by some. Tom nicknamed him "Bob's little cousin", Cherry called him "excitable boy", and Patty "accidentally" pushed him into the ocean when the town was having a swim near the dock.

However, there was one resident that absolutely adored him. One day, Dotty saw Poncho build a snow boy that looked just like himself. After becoming acquainted with each other, they had an impromptu night out by throwing snowballs and making snow angels for hours. They eventually fell for each other, and the two now frequently spend long nights together taking strolls through the plaza. The other residents seem to question as to why these two would even hang out together as much as they do, but after learning of Poncho's secret smarts, they accepted that Dotty ultimately made the right decision.

In reality, though, if Poncho wanted a master's degree so bad, shouldn't he really try to change his out-of-school habits?

Kyle

"I'm just here for the ride. Oh, and my homies. They're cool, too."

Kyle came to the island for one major reason: to hang out with his best bud and bandmate Lopez. Although he has not yet reached the same level of stardom as his antelope friend, he's always looking to improve his style of play.

Kyle's never been a clean freak. His room was always messy growing up, and Mom would frequently ground him for being a major slob and never picking up after himself. It didn't help that he would also listen to hard rock and metal fairly loudly, even while his Mom was trying to sleep. He would eventually get over his frustrations for her after first moving out, and he's gotten somewhat better.

After working at the nearby auto shop in the city for a couple of years, he met the new hire, Lopez. While showing him the ropes, Kyle noticed that Lopez was humming K.K. Metal, his favorite song. The two became fast friends after hearing of what Lopez had done recently with Mr. Slider, and shared many common interests. Like mentioned before, they eventually quit their jobs to pursue music careers.

After the failure of Hunter and Prey, Kyle and Lopez went back to the auto shop and continued to work there for some time. Fortunately, he and Lopez kept their friendship solid, and when the latter became an official member of Brucewood Mac, Lopez even invited Kyle to be a backing musician for their latest album with Bruce's approval. It was then that Lopez asked if Kyle would like to move to Wahu, in which Kyle agreed without any hesitation.

Needless to say, the residents of Wahu love the free concert entertainment that the duo put on, and Kyle might even become an official member of Brucewood Mac someday. In the meantime, he currently works for the band as their stage manager. Now if he could only keep his house clean for guests...

Caroline

"Time to hula! Wait, what's that sound?"

After Coco's strange disappearance one humid and misty night, everyone wondered where she had wondered off to. After not hearing from her for several weeks and subsequently not receiving bells for her HHA fees, Tom Nook made the executive decision to simply foreclose her property and hope she doesn't randomly come back on Halloween.

Caroline - after continually looking for a new island paradise to move to - saw the property for sale, and was instantly sold on the scenery and the kind folk at a cheap price. She loves the beach, and was excited to see that Wahu had plenty of sand to traverse. After touring the house and signing the necessary contracts with Nook, Caroline felt truly happy.

It wasn't long, however, that rumors started going across the island as to whether or not her house might be haunted. Caroline herself even felt strange things happening to her surroundings whilst wandering around Wahu's waterfalls at night. Afraid it may have been a ghost (Wisp), Caroline ran to her house and started writing down what she observed under locked doors.

Caroline eventually started to cope with her fears by drawing them out in mini comic strips, and subsequently publishing them in the island's weekly chronicle for everyone to read. She's become quite the comic artist, and everyone loves how she's able to take real life experiences and express them in art form. Although she may act a bit unusual at times, everyone can rest easy knowing that, in the end, she'll be a-okay. Let's just hope Coco doesn't make an unexpected return anytime soon...

OTHER VILLAGERS

Due to length, these are contained in the spoilers below:

Coco

"I can't seem to blend in with my surroundings."

So, this is Coco. She's quite an interesting... rabbit. What's truly surprising is how well the other residents accepted her throughout her three-year stay, despite her unusual appearance and mysterious actions whenever she was alone. Rumors always went around, but everyone did a solid job not to leak them out to her.

But really, nobody really knows where she came from, and how she functions with the unusual DNA she has. Like, how could she see with her lack of eyes? How could she speak if her mouth never moves? Are her ears real or simply made of something else? The questions kept being asked by other villagers, and Coco has always shielded away from answering them, for fear that she would be labelled as a supernatural being.

One week, Coco contemplated on going back to the place she originated from, wherever that was. Thus, on one misty and humid night in May, she vanished without a trace. Nobody knew where she went, or why she never came back. Isabelle started to panic, for fear that someone sailed to Wahu for the sole purpose of snatching her. There was no evidence, and a search party yielded no results. Tom Nook, after not receiving any bells from her HHA fees, ultimately decided to auction off her belongings and put her house up for sale. This was a pretty dirty move by the businessman, but he knew deep inside that there was something off about Coco since day one, and wanted to increase tourism by eliminating almost all traces of her. Indeed, tourism increased, but at what cost? Unfortunately, Caroline - the tropical squirrel who immediately bought Coco's house - always seemed to encounter strange things around the island at random times. Would this be acts from Coco's so-called "spirits", or is Caroline just paranoid about being alone in the wooded parts of Wahu? Only time will tell if Coco will ever show up again...

Gaston

"I'm getting too old to track rodents."

All Gaston wanted to do was enjoy retirement. The former Chief of Police in Beachport City settled on island living to finally enjoy all the great things that life still had to offer, but an urgent call from the city mayor canceled Gaston's plans entirely. It was revealed that the "successor" was caught accepting bribes and randomly bailing notorious criminals out of jail, so Gaston had no choice but to fly back to Beachport and re-fill the role he had previously served for over 30 years.

Gaston is a tough-minded police chief with an IQ well above average; his fellow officers below the ranks have grown to respect his decisions and problem-solving as a result. He expects to see full cooperation and effort from his officers, and to never let any case go cold. His return to the force brought a sense of relief and certainty, as everyone knew that they could count on Gaston to get the department back to tip-top shape and to hopefully remain that way. It may have been easy to accomplish in the past, but the new challenge seemed daunting in today's era.

Due to the previous chief's actions, Beachport was starting to run amok with criminals, and some became very skilled at their thievery as a result. Gaston knew that he couldn't stop the criminals alone. After observing several of the officers still on staff, he determined that one special cop, Snake, was fit enough to become the new investigative agent to work directly under Gaston's watchful eye. With little hesitation (and much persuading from Snake to keep wearing his own silly ninja costumes), Gaston quickly promoted the "ninja" rabbit to go out and bust the criminals. Will this new team give Beachport the justice it deserves?

Bruce

"I'm pretty good. That's what my fans say, at least..."

The bassist, co-founder and current leader of his own rock band, Brucewood Mac, Bruce never thought that his potential career of becoming a geologist would instead turn into something radically different. Why did he name his band like so, anyway?

Bruce had a childhood friend, Mac, growing up. As that dog had somewhat of a major obsession with trees, Bruce would frequently joke about Mac's interest in collecting all sorts of sticks and tree branches he would find laying around whilst the two played in the local park as kids. Mac would even try to find some rather big branches, and pretend to have swordfights with Bruce - who would attempt to find an even bigger branch to fight with. Although this was just friendly horseplay, it would bother the innocent villagers in the immediate vicinity, and the duo would frequently get yelled at by old couples who were just trying to find some peace and quiet.

Unfortunately, Mac's family had to move out of town not long after, and Bruce has not been able to reach his former friend since. In honor of his childhood memories playing with Mac, Bruce decided to create a pun of spruce wood - slotting his name in place of "spruce" - and putting "Mac" at the end just because. It just sort of clicked. Even though Mac has yet to notice that Bruce's band is named after him, he'll probably get a kick out of it, and maybe the two can reconcile again in this day and age.

Cyd

"I'm super pumped about our championship team!"

Cyd, who lives in the city, is a famous tattoo artist as well as a major fan of the Beachport Barons, the city's major-league baseball team. He's also Cherry's love interest, though the two are always far apart; only seeing each other every so often.

Cyd wants to live closer to his girlfriend, but due to his poor eating habits, is currently too heavy to fly on a DAL plane. How exactly did he put himself into this scenario? It sounds very silly, but he's also a championship hot dog eater. You heard that right. Every season, the Barons hold a hot dog eating competition during one of their home games, with Cyd entering as a contestant frequently. He's already won twice, both times by blowouts. He also practices during the year, which isn't necessarily a good idea in terms of his health.

When he's not eating or watching baseball, he's performing his tattoo work on customers. Cyd and Cherry met when the dog walked into his shop one day asking for a tattoo of her family members. It wouldn't be long until Cyd became heavily attracted to Cherry's calm and cool attitude, and would always be interested in hearing the family stories she would share with him whilst he did his work. As Cherry viewed Cyd as a "gentle giant", she developed feelings with him as well, and the two hung out frequently until Cherry's personal problems forced her to move away from the city. Cyd tried to tag along, but DAL refused to approve his visa due to his weight.

Cyd and Cherry were also part of a small friend group in that short span, which included Cherry's childhood friend Lopez. Though both Cherry and Lopez continue to see each other frequently as neighbors, Cyd has yet to get his visa cleared to visit his girlfriend at her house again. In the meantime, his trust lies with Lopez to make sure Cherry feels comfortable until he can finally come along.

Katt

"Well, I guess I can do anything now!"

Being one of Brucewood Mac's lead vocalists and the main keyboard player - she also considers herself to be kind of nerdy. She can be compared to a Swiss Army knife - she can sing, dance, play piano, paint, organize a music studio, and produce entire albums - all at a high level. It's no wonder why her reputation has grew so much as of late. She originally had no intentions of ever getting herself into the music business, but a chance encounter with a certain band who was looking for a new vocalist would change her career path for the better.

After getting laid off at an electronics factory, Katt needed to find a new job. Looking in the classifieds in her local newspaper, she had tried to search for a employer who dealt with the same kind of work she previously did. Nothing of interest came about, so Katt decided to instead try her hand at becoming an equipment assistant at Gaia Records, since one of her side interests had always been music.

As Katt walked into the rather big building, she quickly got lost. The receptionist had pointed her in the direction of where the hiring manager was, but Katt couldn't find their office. Walking down a corridor, one of the signs she read on a door said "iring St dio", not realizing that several letters were missing and it was intending to read "Admiring Studio" (a nickname given by Gaia, the room was intended for use by musicians as a recording studio with an amazing windowed city view so that ideas can be generated for hit songs). Katt entered the room, and let fate take its course.

After joining Brucewood Mac, Katt has since applied her knowledge of electronics to help record and produce some of the band's albums, as well as singing and playing keyboards on several of their hit songs. Bruce loves the amount of effort Katt puts in on each recording, and hopes that she will stay in his band for a long time.

Kidd

"I need no introduction."

Kidd was the former lead guitarist of Brucewood Mac before disagreements with Bruce caused him to leave and have Lopez take over full-time. It may be easy to say that he's pretty self-egotistical, but he's actually a good goat on the inside with a big heart. So why all the fuss with the blue gruff?

Kidd had always been a well-mannered goat. Although he was successful both in college and during his tenure with Brucewood Mac, there was something not quite right with how he viewed himself as a player of the band. Was it his hair? The pointy horns? The bedroom eyes? No, no, and no. He would feel pressured by Bruce to play correctly, despite the fact that Kidd had been practicing guitar since his teen years, and knew already what he was doing. Stress was mounting, but Kidd knew better than to blow a fuse directly at band members in front of a supportive crowd.

Although O'Hare was meant to be the band's main attraction at live gigs, this went mostly unseen, with most of the crowd attention instead directed to Kidd because of his good looks. This further put pressure on him to perform well, but was able to overcome this by performing impromptu solos with his guitar, sometimes for almost 20 minutes straight to keep himself in-character. His mind would be in his happy place. However, with the introduction of Lopez, Kidd's mindset of "being replaced" came like a freight train, and he ultimately decided to leave the band and pursue a solo career due to Bruce's tough requests.

Before his departure, Kidd passed down some of his techniques to the replacement, Lopez, in hopes that the antelope can further improve his skills. Needless to say, this has worked well, and Lopez was able to keep the band going with even greater success. Kidd feels bad that he had to leave, but the solo career he has now is taking a more promising turn. He decided to take up photography as a way to further expand his creative talents, alongside perfecting his existing acoustic guitar skills. Kidd has since become a hit at weddings - being able to capture exquisite moments on film and share powerful serenades with strings. Good luck trying to get him at your upcoming wedding; he's booked for two whole years.

It may be a departure from what he's used to, but he's turning a new leaf and making it work well as a result.

O'Hare

"Does this beanie make my hair look good?"

O'Hare is an interesting fella who can barely keep himself competent. Why Bruce and Kidd even thought about having him in their band is a question within itself. However, the band needed to get itself known, and having this "performer" would be a way to do it.

The only instrument O'Hare knew how to use was a flute. Several songs off the band's Dumbfound Deer debut album feature his flute playing, though Bruce thought long and hard after its release that this wasn't the direction he wanted this band to go in. Despite this, Bruce kept O'Hare for live performances, but his tendency to go off the setlist frequently caused stress for the other members. Besides, Kidd was the real eye candy of the band due to his impromptu guitar solos and slick looks attracting many female fans. After several miscues during songs and at one point leaving an entire live performance without a word, things weren't looking well for O'Hare, who was then kicked out of the band by a furious Kidd the same day Lopez was formally introduced.

Who knows if O'Hare is finding success after his ejection. Some say he's attempting to put out a solo record with a different label, but as of late, has since partnered with Doctor Shrunk in the city and hosts a comedy show every week at Club LOL. Maybe going into the music business was never his real intention after all...

Roscoe D.K.

"They say I'm mean. In reality, they're the mean ones."

The unsung drummer of Brucewood Mac, but not really. All his bandmates, both present and past, have always supported the other co-founder's efforts and kindness, despite his rather intimidating appearance. It's not his fault; it's just the way he was born.

Roscoe tried his best to fit in with the common crowd and become friendly with others. However, they made comparisons that he was a menacing figure just because of how he looked - a large, dark horse with a rather angry resting expression. As a result, he became sort of a timid figure, and it unfortunately carried along with him to the present day. Roscoe did not have a lot of friends growing up, and it wouldn't be until he roomed with a then-unknown Bruce in college that he would really connect with someone.

Of course, one of the first things he told Bruce when they met was, simply put, "I'm not as mean as I look; I just don't talk a lot. I hope we can be good friends...". Bruce himself had a bad habit of looking unintentionally angry, so the two already had something in common. When Bruce started sharing his ideas of forming a band with him, Roscoe lit up like a lightbulb, and learned how to play drums professionally in order to impress his new friend. He even obtained a stage name for himself - D.K., which stands for "Dark Knight".

Brucewood Mac had a few roster changes since its inception, but the one member that has always stuck with Bruce throughout the years was Roscoe. He finally had others to depend on, who would appreciate the dark horse for his talents, not appearance.

Snake

"Have they invented invisible potions yet? They better taste good."

Agent Snake - codename SN-002 - tries to be a stellar private investigator for the Beachport Police Department, but tends to act a bit too much like an international spy. This has the side effect of receiving multiple infractions on his quota due to fighting criminals with unconventional and dangerous methods. Fortunately for him, Snake's boss, Gaston, frequently bats a blind eye towards the agent's so-called excessive force and smug demeanor.

Snake got into spy and ninja movies at a young age, and has learned all sorts of moves from watching endless hours of bad guy action on the television. Not long after, Snake started wearing his trademark blue ninja costume regularly, and found himself to be a real action hero when wearing it. This outfit somehow carried into adulthood, as he still frequently wears a wide array of ninja costumes under his normal street clothes. According to him, taking off the costumes for extended periods of time impairs his ability to remain flexible, speedy and muscular, which others make fun of for how silly they are. Luckily, the verbal criticism never prevented him from achieving his ultimate dream of wanting to fight crime.

So, when he was old enough, he applied to the Beachport Police Department as a rookie trainee. The other officers were impressed with Snake's incredible physical abilities. He's chased many speedy criminals down in seconds, fought tougher ones with his sick ninja-like skills, and eventually became feared in the criminal underworld. The other officers got along with him surprisingly well, and saw Snake as a true hero in the force. After getting promoted to private investigator, Snake felt like he was on top of the world.

After the promotion, Snake was told to start looking more professional and to ditch the ninja costumes under his normal clothes. Of course, he didn't want to do so, and after much pleading to Gaston, was told he could continue wearing them as they were low-key. Snake found that his costumes were also of great help with hiding his own bright pink fur that stood out like a sore thumb. However, he couldn't hide his big ears as easily, and has tried everything to conceal them without losing hearing. The ears alone have caused several of the toughest criminals to easily spot and scare him off, upsetting the chief. As a result, Snake threw all "by the book" stealth tactics out the window and instead makes himself known by immediately bursting into hideouts, using his speedy fight abilities to take the criminals down. That's essentially taking the term "private" in his job title very loosely.

Somehow, someway, Snake always finds a way to get the bad guys booked behind bars. Gaston may not like Snake's in-your-face mentality, but deep down inside, the chief knows his top investigator is working for the greater good of the city in the end.

TN4U · Jul 31, 2023

BRUCEWOOD MAC
The Story Up to Now

Part One: Who Are They?

Look out, K.K., there's a new group of cool cats out to take the music charts. They are Brucewood Mac, and their melodic rock sound is good enough to make you want to consistently sell out their gigs. With hits such as Don't Stop (Thinking About Stayin'), The Animal Chain, Little Fleas, You Make Fishing Fun, and a whole lot others, they are sure to keep you entertained for hours on end.

Bruce, the band's leader and namesake, has said that the lineup he has now has some of the best musicians he could ask for, whether that be on stage, in the studio, or even when just hanging around. From his fellow college roommate Roscoe, who has been with him since the beginning - to Katt, who has reached a status large enough that she could easily have a solo career if she so chooses - to Lopez, the newest member who is never short of good ideas. Bruce explains how, in the beginning, he actually did not plan on having a music career at all - he wanted to study the Earth's terrain instead:

"I just sort of came up with some ideas while studying geography back in my college days. Originally, I did not want to be involved in the music scene. The way some guitarists and singers and such would spend their daily lives was just a whole bunch of bologna. There was one guy, however, that really made me pay attention to how important music could be to one's ideas and visions. I only need to say a single letter twice: K and K. You can probably guess who that is without me saying anything else. I was heavily inspired not only by his songwriting style, but also the way he seems to have a presence almost anywhere he goes, even to places he's never been. He's such a dynamic dog. With me studying geography, I, too, wanted to explore the world, and after listening to K.K.'s tunes on repeat, I really wanted to follow in his footsteps somehow."

The start of a new, lifelong friendship.

After becoming acquainted with fellow roommate Roscoe - a rather quiet horse who is much friendlier than his appearance suggests - the two decided to start a band. The start was a bit rocky: Bruce could never figure out how to make a rock guitar sound good, so he picked up a bass guitar with fewer strings instead and learned how to play it fairly quick. Roscoe had a bit of experience already on drums, being that as a kid, he would frequently bring sand pails to the beach with his dad, who would bring the portable FM radio. As he heard the songs being played on the radio, he would attempt to copy the rhythm by banging on the pails, and became pretty good at it. After being introduced to a full drum kit in school, it took him quite a while to hit everything at the right moment to a tempo. With much practice, he eventually got the hang of it.

It's time to work together. Let's rock!

Of course, Bruce needed more than just a bass guitar and drums to make songs. One day, while walking on campus, he spotted a lone goat sitting under a tree, strumming an acoustic guitar. His name was Kidd, and he was looking to make it big somehow. Bruce offered him to become the guitarist of the band, as well as part leadership, since guitarists are some of the most important members of pretty much any rock band. Kidd was excited to get this opportunity, and couldn't wait for the newly-formed band to make a name for themselves across town.

So, the three members had their plans set, and were about to get going on writing and performing new songs. After penning and recording their first single, Hit with a Net, they realized that it did not have enough "oomph" to it. Bruce and Kidd needed to find another member; someone who could be so outrageous to play almost any instrument needed. The result? O'Hare, the clumsy rabbit.

The troublemaker is on the scene.

O'Hare was the partying type - one who would not be afraid to cause a scene or two. He was desperate for attention, which is also what Brucewood Mac needed, but never in a controversial way. When the band started to play live sets in local clubs, he was essentially the eye candy of the band, and could play almost any woodwind instrument with ease, such as the flute. His history with the group was never perfect, however. There were times that he would forget notes while in the studio, forcing the band to start over after a good take, and would frequently not pay attention to what's going on, even after the band's producer kept signaling him to go and perform.

A chance encounter leads to something big!

While recording material for the band's debut album, Dumbfound Deer, a cat accidentally came into the studio expecting to find the record company's manager, as she was looking to get a job in equipment setup. This would turn out to be the band's future keyboardist and part-time vocalist, Katt. For whatever reason, Bruce took note of how she spoke to the producers and other members, and wondered what she would sound like if she sang a song or two. Spontaneously, Bruce quickly asked Katt to sing Marine Song 2001. She knew all the lyrics right away, and to the other band members' amazement, had a voice of pure gold. Immediately afterward, the members all asked if she wanted to join the band, which greatly surprised Katt. After being told that she would be paid a lot more bells working as a member of the band rather than a behind-the-scenes technician, she signed the contract and became the official fifth member of the band. Originally, she did not play keyboards on Dumbfound Deer - only using her beautiful voice to complete some of their songs, sharing singing duties alternately with main guitarist Kidd. She would later learn to play piano and keyboards after the release of the debut album.

After Dumbfound Deer's release, critics praised the uniqueness of the group's sound, with one major critic calling Katt's vocals "the exquisite heart and soul of Brucewood Mac". The gigs they planned for their first island-hopping tour started to sell out, and many wanted to know just what this band was all about. After their first big tour, however, things started to escalate within the band a little bit, and certain members were beginning to put a strain on the band's future, eventually culminating with some roster changes and the addition of Lopez.

Part Two: We Found the Antelope
Next post below...

TN4U · Aug 5, 2023

BRUCEWOOD MAC
The Story Up to Now

Part Two: We Found the Antelope

Bruce could not believe the massive success his new band had received. There were many times that he mistakenly thought that he was in the middle of a DJ K.K. show, but he knew that he wasn’t any ordinary DJ. He was now a rock musician in a band that had blown roofs off places simply because of the entertained fans, and it was all thanks to him and his bandmates. Kidd, the co-leader, also admired the amount of fans that wanted to come on stage and just be with him. He knew he wanted to become the real center of attention and no one else, not even O’Hare. But how exactly did the tension first begin?

One night, after the band had just finished playing their song, Brand New Day, Bruce noticed that O’Hare was suddenly missing from the stage. He had looked through the large crowd, hoping to find the clumsy rabbit’s large ears sticking up someplace. After no luck trying to find him, Bruce decided to signal to Kidd, Roscoe, and Katt to play Hit with a Net until O’Hare decided to show up again. After the song was over, Kidd decided to let out an impromptu solo on his rock guitar, attracting the likes of many female fans who were screaming his name. The chants grew louder, and Kidd kept going. Bruce, worried sick as to where O’Hare might be, quickly left the stage and went to go find him, while Kidd continued to keep the fans distracted.

You can't just abandon us like that, you clumsy rabbit!

Bruce glanced at the line of outdoor restrooms and spotted a familiar pair of ears just leaving one of the stalls.
“O’Hare! Where the heck have you been? The set list is ruined now because of your so-so mysterious disappearance!” Screamed Bruce. “You’re darn lucky that Kidd is keeping the show going. Without him, everyone would be pouring out of this place!”
O’Hare glanced at Bruce with a sick expression on his face. “I’m sorry, man, I’m just not feeling my best with the amount of cats that showed up.” It was later brought to Bruce’s attention that O’Hare had caught fleas from several fans that had tried to reach for him on stage.
“Well, jeez, mister, I had no idea.” Said Bruce, who had now started to show some remorse. “You really need to let me know if we gotta cancel the gig, okay? This can’t happen again.”
“I’m sorry, my blue friend.” replied O’Hare, and proceeded to go backstage to recover.

We gotta find better talent now.

After getting back from that gig late at night, Bruce sat at his desk in his apartment alongside Roscoe to discuss potentially finding a replacement for O’Hare, who was starting to let his newfound fame get to his head, and had started to become the now-unwanted center of attention in the band.
“‘Scoe, we need to find someone that can play a guitar, and fast.” Exclaimed Bruce, as he proceeded to open his laptop.
Roscoe sat down next to him and proceeded to take some sips from the apple smoothie he had just prepared. “But Bruce, Kidd saved our butts last night. Why would you want to try and replace him?”
“It’s not really about Kidd; I have my own separate thoughts about him. It’s that downer rabbit O’Hare. He has caused nothing but trouble ever since we decided to let him join our group. Besides, I don’t really want to move the band in an avant-garde direction and get all crazy. It’s just not how I roll.”
“You mean, you don’t want a flute player anymore?” Asked a puzzled Roscoe.
“Heck no I don’t,” Bruce shouted, “we’re not doing that for our next album.” A grin started to grow on his face. “If we’re going to rock it out with all electric instruments, we need to streamline the process now, don’t we? Katt told me that she bought a synthesizer and decided to take keyboard lessons, so I’m going all-in on her plans.”
“Bruce, I play real drums.” Roscoe pointed out. “We don’t have an electric drum kit, and I don’t have a desire to get one.”
“Oh, you silly, your drum kit isn’t going away. I meant for the rest of us. My electric bass, Kidd’s guitar, Katt’s keyboards, and for the new guy we’re going to try and find.”
Bruce started to watch some music videos, hoping to find new talent.
“Can’t you just try and get K.K. to come join us?” Questioned Roscoe.
“Roscoe, that dog is my inspiration, and he mostly rolls solo. You know this.”
“But he plays a great guitar, man!”
“But he mostly plays acoustic guitar. Let him stick to what he likes.”
Roscoe shrugged, simply saying, “Oh, alrighty then.”
At that moment, Bruce saw a yellow antelope with some rather striking pink eyeliner on the screen, killing it on the rock guitar. He was hitting every note perfectly in a music video for a Hunter and Prey song alongside a tricked-out lycaon dog who seemed to be destroying his drum kit.
“‘Scoe, I think we’ve found our guy.” Said Bruce with a perky expression.

Hidden talents need to be seen by every eye (and ear)!

The next day, Bruce called up the record company who put out that Hunter and Prey music video, and asked for the antelope’s whereabouts. Frustrated to find out that neither him nor the dog were continuing their music careers, he was about to call it quits until, at the last second, he was suddenly tipped on their current whereabouts seemingly by accident. Bruce immediately hung up the phone and started to head over to the OK Motors garage near downtown.
As he went inside, he could see a lone mechanic standing at the desk, looking quite dirty from moving parts all around the place from earlier. Bruce approached the mechanic, who bore a strong resemblance to the brown dog he saw in that one music video. A nametag on the mechanic’s shirt read “Kyle”.
“So you must be that one guy who obliterated a drum kit.” Bruce said calmly.
Kyle glanced at Bruce with an uncertain expression. “Uh, yeah, that might have been me. Can I help you?”
“Where’s your antelope buddy?”
“You mean Lop-; heeeeey, wait a minute, Alpha,” replied Kyle, now looking quite shocked, “You’re not trying to beg for us to come back, are you?”
“What are you talking about? I don’t work for your label. I’m Bruce, leader of the band called Bruce. Well, more like Brucewood Mac. A band you may or may not have heard of. I wanted to see if your buddy, Lope, could have a word with me about something.”
“Oh, you’re that guy in that famous band? Well, my buddy’s name is Lopez, but yeah, I’ll go get him real quick, hang tight.”
Kyle quickly went into the shop and returned with Lopez, the guy Bruce was after all along. Like Kyle, Lopez also had a seemingly dirty appearance, and had several grease stains from a vehicle on his work shirt.
“Yeah, what up, badoom?” Lopez said exhaustingly, as he had just finished lifting several tires before becoming rudely interrupted by Kyle.
“Hi, I’m Bruce, and I play the guitar in a little band called Brucewood Mac. But it’s not a standard rock guitar; it’s a bass guitar. This is where you come in.”
“Are you trying to sell me out again?” questioned Lopez, “This isn’t some magic trick put on me by the crummy band manager, is it?”
“Again?” stated Bruce, “I have no idea who your loser label mates are, and Kyle believed me. I want to put you in a spot in my band, and make you famous. You got talent, kid. I see it in you.”
Lopez then realized that this guy talking to him was the real deal, and Bruce proved it by showing Lopez a video of the band performing live. “Oh my, I never woulda thought…” Lopez said in defeat.
“So, you want to give your career another go? I’ll give you all the details at my place.”
“Bruce, I’m gonna quit this place right now. Let’s do this.” Lopez stated in excitement.

After signing several contracts and getting Bruce’s label to add Lopez to his band, everything turned out to be a success. Bruce and Lopez headed up to the record company’s top floor to celebrate with the other band members, who were anxiously waiting to see what “surprise” Bruce had in store for them.
“Guys, this is Lopez, the new rhythm guitarist.” Bruce triumphantly said.
Everyone clapped, except Kidd, who’d thought he was about to be replaced.
“Lopez will be joining us immediately for the recording of our second album, so please make sure he feels comfortable, alright?” Bruce said with a smile.
All sorts of thoughts started to race around Kidd’s mind, and he started to become mentally upset about Lopez’s presence. When the band got together for a photoshoot, O’Hare, of course, wasn’t cooperating, and looked out the window onto the street below. It was pouring rain, and not long after looking down, his hat fell off his head, and he nearly fell out of the window as well. This simple set of events set off Kidd, who grabbed the clumsy rabbit and simply said in a cold tone of voice:
“You’re fired. Get out.”
O’Hare simply said nothing, gave the other members confused glances, and he could tell from their expressions that they were all in agreement with Kidd’s decision, especially Bruce. O’Hare knew right there that he had messed up big time. He slowly made his way toward the exit door, and slammed it shut in disgust without adding anything extra. He was now officially out of the band.
“Kidd, are you alright?” wondered Katt.
“I feel fine. Let me be.”

It was all a simple misunderstanding..?

Part 3

TN4U · Aug 30, 2023

WAHU ISLAND UPDATE
August 30th, 2023

Hello everyone! Hopefully everyone is doing well today. I'm not feeling my best, however, as I found out that one of my grandfathers passed away today. It was sort of expected since he hadn't been in good health for several years, and unfortunately, today was the day he had to leave us. May he rest in peace.

Moving on past the personal stuff, starting with this post, I'll be making a new update log every time I update my dream address. Wahu is pretty much in an almost-finished state, so don't expect anything major unless it's interior related. However, I may refresh some areas later down the road, and will be mentioned if I do so. Anyhow, I've updated the Dream Address today, and here's a short list of stuff I've changed since last updating it:

Finally added some island photos to the first post of the journal. Now you can actually get an idea of what my island looks like before you visit!
Quite a few areas had foliage changed out, as I was not highly satisfied with how I did it previously. I'm still figuring it out, but I'm a little happier with how I've done it now. Some notable areas that I changed:
- The West-side houses (Caroline, Tom & Kyle) had trees in their front yards that I've since removed and replaced with mini-flower gardens. I've also replaced some of the fencing and added some bushes to make their yards more visually pleasing.
- Changed out the flowers near the looping river behind the shops and Resident Services. I removed the blue and purple flowers and put red, orange and white flowers there instead. It's not the final design, but it's getting there.
- Removed most of the red tulips on the South side of the island. I've filled in some spots with sidewalk, while other areas now have roses. Again, this may change in the future. I also moved some blue roses to the beach entrance on the South side to better match with the market's blue and white theme.
- Changed out the purple tulips in front of Mallary's house with purple roses. I've since moved some of those tulips to the purple mum garden near the Airport entrance, and also changed out some of those mums with other purple flowers.
- Slightly changed the placement of the pear trees on both sides of the Baker's Market.
- Added another coconut tree next to the beachside volleyball court.
There are now log stairs located next to Lopez's house leading up to the top of the waterfall, so that villagers can start going up there if they so choose. I also added bushes around the stairs as well.
Caroline has a new house. Not sure if it was like this the last time I updated the address, but I'm mentioning it anyways in case her house is enterable if one decides to visit the DA. All that's left to change is Patty's interior, which is still the default one from my first five villagers ever over three years ago!
Re-organized the beach items located near Kapp'n's dock, and added a few new items as well.
Updated the bathroom in my house slightly. There's now less black and more white.
Some villagers (mainly Caroline & Dotty) have new shirts, dresses and accessories that they may randomly wear when visiting via DA.
Updated some of my villager lore to correct some empty details, as well as fixing several grammar mistakes. I also added some new portrait photos that I took myself in Photopia.
Other small details I've probably missed.

Also, I was going to finish part three of my Brucewood Mac story this week, but it will probably get delayed due to my Grandpa's passing. Don't worry, it'll get done soon. I'm also taking in some ideas of some miscellaneous short stories I may do that don't involve any villager on my island or from Brucewood Mac, so stay tuned for that.

Next week will be a chaotic one for my real-life job, as I work for a school district and the first week of school is that week. Hopefully I'll hop on and do some stuff, but don't expect too much from me that week. As always, feel free to visit Wahu any time you like. The Dream Address is on the first post. I'll see you guys later!

- TK

TN4U · Sep 3, 2023

I decided to write a short story tonight, as I sort of wanted to explain more in depth about why Tom wasn't accepted by the other residents right away, according to my villager lore. I also wanted to experiment a bit trying to explain visual scenarios using just words. Anyways, enjoy it! It's not very long.
Photos added 1-17-2024

TOM'S WAHU ARRIVAL
From Dull Sea to Shining Sea

Tom’s return to the ring was a total failure. The tough cat thought he could make a major bantamweight comeback, but he just didn’t have the strength or courage to be successful anymore. When the match against Lucha was broadcast to pay TV that night, all of the wrestling fans who tuned in were wanting to see Tom’s amazing moves shown live once again. After Tom’s embarrassing defeat, those who were expecting him to make the comeback of the year were incredibly upset. At the same time, Lucha’s fan base had grown to heights never before seen, and he was now the one that the spotlight was shining on.

Tom knew after coming home that night that his fans would be disappointed with him, and he didn’t know what to do about it. Turning on the sports channel, he could tell that the sportscasters were already talking about him, and he also saw the little headline on the bottom that read:

“Move Over Tom, Lucha Is the New King”

Tom simply stared at the screen with a depressed look on his face. His tail drooped down to the floor, and he let out a big sigh. Glancing to his left, he saw all of his winner’s plaques hanging on a lighted section of the wall, alongside a trophy case, which contained all of his prized memories. He walked over to the case, and took a long look at his most prized possession - the junior bantamweight king award. Given to him at his initial retirement ceremony, it marked the moment he overtook the previous holder as having the most world championship victories by a lightweight player. The trophy itself had been plated with gold and platinum studs all throughout, and had a scripture of his face in the middle made of sapphire. That object would be the defining moment of his life - the moment he would be allowed to tell others that he’s the best there ever was, without question.
Tom’s eyes started to tear up a bit. He had made a big mistake by allowing himself to be embarrassing on live TV. Even though he had always been a tough cat throughout his entire career, something changed in him that night. It was a spark of hope - one that lighted the fuse to his softer side. It was something he had never exposed to the world before.
“I’m going to become a cool cat,” he told himself, “It’s about time I started giving back to my community.”

Tom decided to take a vacation. The world was already heavy on his shoulders, and not in a good way. He needed to replace his current image, and forget about the fateful night. Whilst browsing several resort sites, he came across Wahu - a small island with plenty of basic necessities to sustain one’s self. The population of the area wasn’t very big either. Could this be a brand new opportunity for Tom to change his life? It sure seemed like it.
Tom later discovered that there were actually some properties for sale, which basically told him that someone could actually live there if they wanted to. Several thoughts came to his mind: Would this be the place to try something new? Who would already know me? What will happen to my legacy if I leave the city?
In a short amount of time, Tom ultimately made the decision to abandon his bantamweight career entirely. He knew he couldn’t win again, even if it seemed realistic. There are much younger - and much stronger - fighters these days than back when he was in his prime. Several days later, Tom moved in, and was officially a resident of Wahu.

Tom’s first day on the island was a bit strange. While unpacking some boxes outside of his new house, Mallary came by on her daily stroll - and saw Tom apparently struggling to open a big box, grunting loudly.
“Do you need some assistance, sir?” said Mallary. Right after saying this, Tom finally opened the box, and a large medal came flying out - hitting Mallary on her beak. This upset her greatly.
“Oh, jeez, I’m so sor-”
“Well, excuse me, mister, you really need to be more careful with your belongings,” rudely exclaimed Mallary, “You nearly caused me to pass out!”
Tom’s mind, at this point, was starting to race. “Uh, well, you see, I had a ton of these, and didn’t know how else to pack them…”
Mallary walked over, taking a peek inside the box. “You’re a wrestler?” she asked.
“Was. I was a wrestler. I’m just an ordinary cool cat now.” Tom proceeded to close the box.
“Did you fight a lot of bad guys?” wondered Mallary.
“Only those that had tread on my territory.”
“Oh, I must leave then,” stated Mallary, and proceeded to leave Tom’s property.
Tom simply stood there, looking very puzzled. “Well then,” he told himself, “this island is sure going to be interesting.”

Mallary had apparently told the other residents, including Bob, Patty, and Dotty, that the new resident was not to be messed with. While wandering around Wahu’s park, he saw other villagers walking by, and none of them batted an eye toward him. This sort of bothered Tom. Did anyone know who he was? Was there even satellite TV service in this island? It made him upset for a bit, but then realized, again, that he was actually trying to hide his former image. Frustrated, Tom walked over to a tree and gazed at several small insects climbing up and down its trunk. He became very intrigued by the wonder of it all. Ants were carrying somewhat large bits of food, walking sticks were attempting to hide in plain sight, and a spider had begun to crawl down from the branches. Tom took out his NookPhone, and looked up some of these insects. He was amused by some of the facts he read, and spent quite some time studying the behavior of these insects. He was surprised to find out that a few of these insects could be as strong as him despite their size, such as the ants.
It was suddenly getting late, so Tom headed home. At his desk, he looked up some tips and tricks on how to grow a personal-sized flower garden. He had a bit of room to make it work, even if the size of the greenery he was given wasn’t very large to begin with. That night, he ordered some flower seeds on the online NookStop.

Weeks went by, and Tom had grown his own flower garden. The other residents were somewhat observing Tom’s actions, even though they were sort of ignoring him at first. One day, Tom was watering his flowers when Cherry came by and saw what he was doing.
“Windflowers, huh?” she asked.
“Oh, yes, these are my windflowers. I grew them myself.”
Cherry came over and smelled them. Judging from her expression, they had a very pleasing scent. “What what, you did a good job, these flowers smell great!”
“Well, thanks,” a nervous Tom said, “but you’re a dog. Isn’t your sense of smell super strong anyways?”
“Oh, yeah, but I’m pretty sure everyone else would agree with me. By the way, aren’t you the guy that Mallary was saying things about?” wondered Cherry.
“Mallary? You mean the duck that I accidentally hit and scared off?”
“Well, yeah, but I was going to say that she’s noticed your garden as well, and I wanted to come by and see if it was as good as she said it was.”
Tom was suddenly shocked. “Mallary likes my garden?”
“Yeah dude! In fact, the other villagers agreed with her. You’ve got quite the green thumb!”
Tom peeked over at his rather small flower garden. He couldn’t understand why such a little side hobby would cause everyone to suddenly start liking him, but it pleased him greatly. He was finally starting to become an accepted Wahu resident, and it was all thanks to his curiosity for nature. He shook Cherry’s paw and simply said, “thank you for the kind words, my friend.”

Over time, Tom’s friendships finally started to grow, even though it was clearly rough at first. Bob annoyed him sometimes, but he was at least smart enough not to ruin Tom's garden. Patty started to take notes on how to improve her own produce fields, and Dotty came by frequently to ask for flower samples. Everyone began to appreciate Tom more for his contributions to the environment, and were celebrating the things he has since done for the island, rather than for his own legacy.
On his birthday, Tom opened the front door of his house to find a big purple rose bouquet on his outdoor steps. A note was attached:

Dear Tom,

Thank you for making Wahu the beautiful paradise we want it to be. You have been nothing but a great influence on not just us, but to Mother Nature as well. The road was rough at first, but it has since been patched with lots of love. We hope you continue to make the place shine as bright as the sun!

Much love, Mallary

Tom stood there, smelled the purple roses, and grew a big smile on his face. The sun, peeking up above the ocean, had also shown itself at that exact moment. He had finally accomplished his goal of giving back to the community he loves most.

~~~ The End ~~~

TN4U · Sep 27, 2023

WAHU ISLAND UPDATE
September 27th, 2023

A preview of Part 3 of the Brucewood Mac story.

Hi guys. I haven't abandoned this journal! I've been mentally exhausted from work (I wake up at 5AM every weekday and go home at 5PM), and have been keeping myself as busy as possible with my job. They really love me being there (I'm not sounding sarcastic here). Part 3 of the Brucewood Mac story is coming real soon; I've just been too tired to properly write anything good. As they say, it's best to write with a fresh mind than a tired one.

I previously mentioned that I would be making update posts whenever I update my Dream Address, but that won't be the case today, as I want to wait until it's full daytime on my island. I won't be able to do it until this Saturday at the earliest - there's no time travelling allowed on Wahu. All I really did was replace my plumeria shrubs with tea olives, and expect that to be a semi-occurring thing as the seasons change.

I wanted to give a quick status update on Part 3 of Brucewood Mac - Photopia photos have already been taken, and the general idea of what it'll be about has been created. All I have to do now is piece it together when my brain decides to wake up during the weekend. If I write it with a weak mind on a work night, I'll wake up the next morning feeling miserable. I need my precious beauty sleep! Even as I'm writing this post at 8PM, I currently feel like I could pass out on my bed from tiredness.

Some things I'm currently planning:

I may create an image gallery containing most of the snapshots I have made throughout my 3+ years of playing New Horizons, plus other nitbits! It wouldn't be possible to host everything here; I'd have to host the images somewhere else and share the link. I'll make another post once I get that up and going.
I've made some new villager lore for the other three current Brucewood Mac members under a new "Non-Wahu Villager" section, as well as a WIP section for my former Wahu villagers. Right now, only Coco's description has been made, and I'll make the others as soon as I get the time. Both of these sections are contained in spoilers on the bottom of the second post. In the main post, I've also made a section where you can easily access posts here that contain short stories.
Other short stories are currently in the planning stages. Right now, the one that I'll most likely create next is part one of a series of island misadventures between best friends Lopez and Kyle. This series will mostly be Wahu related, which is good as I know most of the history of it already.

As always, I appreciate those that take a look at and like the things I make. I love writing about the game, and who knows? Maybe this will be my main side hobby until the next game gets announced, whenever that may be. I'm just looking forward to the next time I get extended time off, but unfortunately, that won't be for a while. I'll get myself through! Until next time...

- TK

TN4U · Sep 30, 2023

BRUCEWOOD MAC
The Story Up to Now

Part 3: From Kidd to Lopez

The photo session the band originally had planned went on, but with some tension between Kidd and the rest of the members. It eventually calmed down, however, as Kidd discovered via conversation that Lopez was willing to learn off of him in order to improve the antelope’s own style of play. O’Hare had long been gone at this point, as he was told that he was no longer associated with the band. Bruce ultimately revealed to the public later on that once O’Hare first started to perform with the band, the rest of the members already had enough of his shenanigans, and wanted him gone soon. Around when Lopez was introduced, Kidd’s emotions up to that point were already boiling, and took it all out when O’Hare acted up during the photo shoot. As Kidd was part-leader of the band at the time, Bruce agreed that Kidd stepped up, even though it may have seemed a bit excessive. It definitely left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths.

Moving on from the incident, Kidd continued to be involved with Brucewood Mac, albeit more limited than usual. For instance, if there was a song on the band’s next album, Brucewood Two, where he had no writing involvement, he let Lopez do all guitar duties for the song. He would only play guitar on songs he mostly wrote himself. This practice would begin Kidd’s seclusion from the rest of the band when it came to studio material. Of course, performing live, Kidd would be on stage all day, as he didn’t want the fans to speculate that he was becoming disinterested in performing with the band. Behind the scenes, however, this was unfortunately starting to become the case.

During the Brucewood Two recording sessions - the first to feature Lopez as a member, and Katt playing keyboards alongside her usual singing duties - Kidd was getting ready to start recording the lead guitar track on their first song, Villager of Mine, when he heard in the next booth over Lopez struggling to tune a new guitar he just bought. Kidd couldn’t focus on what he needed to do, so he went on over and had a friendly chat with Lopez.
“No, no, no,” Kidd blurted out, “this song is not in F-minor. You’re doing it wrong. It needs to be in F-major.”
“Ah, I’m sorry,” uttered Lopez, “I just bought this awesome new guitar, but I can’t seem to get it to sound the way I want.”
Kidd pointed to one of the tuning knobs on Lopez’s guitar. “If you turn this knob just slightly, you’ll get the correct key.” Lopez proceeded to turn the knob accordingly, and his guitar now sounded the way he wanted it.
“Wow, you’re awesome, thanks!” Lopez exclaimed.
Kidd shrugged. “Oh, it’s nothing. I once had a Tanukicaster myself, and the knobs are difficult to get right. You gotta play with it a few times before you get the sound you want.”
“Hmm, I didn’t know that. I’ve played with a base model Stringmaster, and I wore that thing out quick when I played for Hunter and Prey. I heard that Tanukicasters were built to last, and bought one off the NookStop during a sale. Say, whatever happened to your Tanukicaster?”
Kidd looked down as if he felt guilty of something. “Someone stole it during one of our gigs.” he told, “I left the stage real quick during an intermission to take a water break, and the next thing you know, 'twas gone. Good thing I kept a backup Stringmaster 3000 with me, otherwise, the fans wouldn’t be happy without their music.”
After finishing his sentence, Kidd got up and proceeded back to his own booth. He stopped at the doorway to say one more thing.
“A missing guitar is the least of my worries. To be honest, I don’t know how long I got left in this band. Me and Bruce are starting to have some serious problems.”
Puzzled, Lopez simply watched Kidd leave the booth, and went back to playing his guitar.

During the sessions, K.K. would come into the studio to produce the Brucewood Two album after hearing about one of his former session musicians joining a successful band. This wasn’t something K.K. would normally do. However, after doing the math, it would benefit record sales of both his own albums as well as Brucewood Mac’s, so he agreed to become involved with the band in the studio. Gaia Records was starting to become the hit place to be with musicians for this reason. When Brucewood Two was released, the album went triple-gold in its first week alone, and topped the album charts for a month afterward. Sales were so successful, that the gold records were hung right in Gaia’s visitor lobby for all to see for a short while.

“We’ve gone far, kid.”

The band members went to the studio one afternoon to admire their success. Bruce’s dream of having something gold-related was finally achieved. It wasn’t straight-up gold bars, but it was something regardless. The members were about to go to the lounge to brainstorm ideas of what to write next for their next album, when someone suddenly came forward with a loud, shocking confession:

“I’m done.”

Everyone turned around to see Kidd by himself, standing alone in the hallway. He did not look happy. “Lopez is your guy now. I’ve taught him everything he needs to know.”
Bruce slowly walked over and glared at Kidd’s eyes. “You’re done? You’re calling it quits?”
“I am. I’m leaving this band and going on my own. I’ve already signed my own solo deal with Gaia.”
Most of the other members stood there in shock. Katt became worried, Bruce started to act serious, Roscoe didn’t know what to say, and Lopez was still distracted by the gold records on the wall.

Katt and Roscoe never saw this coming.

“But Kidd,” Katt began to say, “You’re everything to us. Please don’t go!”
Kidd was hesitant to say anything at first. It was pretty clear that he had some feelings for the cat. “I won’t leave the studio,” winking at Katt, “but I’m leaving this band.” This proceeded to dry up some tears that Katt was beginning to form in her eyes.
The other members, especially Bruce, did not feel as much remorse. Lopez kept quiet the entire time for fear that it’ll lead to something bad. Roscoe wanted to say a few things, but was too shocked to properly form a sentence in his mind. Both came off as unintentionally disrespectful as a result. It was all up to Bruce to prevent Kidd from leaving the band, even though the chances were very slim.
“Okay, Kidd,” exclaimed Bruce, “You can leave, but I want to confirm something.”
Kidd looked on, and watched as Bruce proceeded to pull out some form of document from his inner jacket pocket, as well as a pen. It had a legal seal on it, which meant serious business.
“I will offer you part royalties from the sales of our latest album, if you agree to stay with us. Otherwise, you can walk on outta here with nothing. All ya gotta do is sign.”
Kidd simply looked at the document with an unamused look on his face, then turned away, saying nothing.
“Alright, your choice. See you whenever.”

A generous offer turned down.

As Kidd walked out of the building and into his car, Lopez came running after him. All of a sudden, Lopez wanted to convince Kidd to stay with the band as well.

“It’s too late to change my mind now.”

“Kidd!” yelled Lopez, “You’ve taught me so much! I want to know more from you! Give me another chance, please!”
Kidd turned around monotonously. “I’m afraid that can’t be arranged. Me and Bruce can’t agree on anything, and you’re the middle deer here. If you’re involved with him, I’m not involved.”
“But Kidd,” Lopez pointed out, “He wanted you to earn a pretty share of bells from the sales of our album! How could you possibly turn this opportunity down?”
“Lopez, all I can simply say is that my time with you guys is up. I have lots of good ideas, but if Bruce wants to steal my spotlight, so be it. I’ve already signed my solo Gaia contract, so it’s too late now.”
“But Kidd, just wait a second!”
At this point, Kidd closed the car door and sped out of the parking lot. Lopez watched as Kidd drove off onto the street and out of view. Katt came out of the building to find out what had happened. She didn’t look very happy.

“Forget about him!”

“Lopez, don’t worry about it,” stated Katt, who stood next to Lopez and watched the vehicle disappear into the night, “Kidd only cared about himself. Forget about him!”
“I don’t understand,” muttered Lopez, “He’s been so helpful to me. Why would he act like this?”
“Well, Kidd’s been wanting his own fame for a long time. Bruce was sensing it ever since O’Hare’s dumb actions.”
Lopez turned to face Katt, shrugging. “Well, he taught me well. I suppose I’m your main guy now.”
“Darn straight,” Katt said with a smile, “Listen, I may have liked Kidd before this whole thing, but not anymore. If you ever need anything, I’ve got your back, or my name’s not Katt!”

“I’ve got your back!”

Both of them shared a smile, and headed back inside to meet up with Bruce and Roscoe, who were likely chatting about what to do next. Bruce glanced over at Lopez, and suddenly got excited.
“Hey, my dude!” shouted Bruce, “You’re my lead guitar man now. Hopefully you’re ready to make it big!”
Lopez didn’t want to grin due to Kidd’s sudden departure, but couldn’t help himself. He came over to Bruce, put his arm around him, and told the others, “I am, Bruce, I am. I won’t let you guys down.” Katt and Roscoe clapped in unison. “From now on, we’ll be the power duo!”
“But what about us?” Roscoe said jokingly, pointing to himself and Katt.
Lopez laughed, “You two are the star-studded supporting cast.”

What a fantastic artist.

Everything turned out well for the Kidd-less Brucewood Mac. Even though they were now short a guitarist, the lack of Kidd had little effect on the band’s success.
Since Kidd’s departure, the band released two more top-rated albums, Antelopes Are Hard to Find and Pretending, and are currently in the works of setting up their first world tour. Lopez only got better with time, and also took over several vocal duties whenever a song felt fit for his voice over Katt’s. Even Bruce - who originally decided not to sing at all on his band’s albums - was convinced to try his hand out on singing lead on a song, Hard Decisions. He would later admit that he didn’t sound too bad, but mentioned that he would rather focus on playing consistent bass lines when performing live and leave most of the vocal work to Katt and Lopez.
During the recording sessions for Antelopes Are Hard to Find, Lopez called up his best friend, Kyle, to come over and witness what he had been doing lately. When Kyle showed up, Bruce instantly recognized him, and wanted to know if Kyle wanted to contribute in any way.
Although Kyle was mainly a drummer, he saw that Roscoe actually took care of his drum kits. Rather than splitting drumming duties, Kyle let Roscoe do his thing, and instead played other instruments as a guest musician on the album. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make the songs on the album pop out more. Due to legal reasons, Kyle couldn’t officially join the band right away, but Bruce still wanted him to become more involved in some way. Kyle was ultimately hired to become the band’s stage manager, after seeing what he could do for Hunter and Prey’s music videos. When the original contract featuring Kidd and O’Hare expires, Kyle would then be given the decision to join Brucewood Mac if he wanted to.

Another job well done.

It’s been somewhat of a strange path leading to who the band is today, even though the public never really caught a glimpse at the band’s more personal history. After earning enough bells from record sales, Lopez decided to live the good life and move to Wahu, subsequently catching up with an old music friend of his. He would also invite Kyle, bringing the best friends even closer. Bruce moved into a brand-new upscale condo in the city, with a dedicated space for music production for his own works, which may see a release someday as a tie-in solo album. Katt’s popularity skyrocketed, but has never let it go to her head. She is still willing to try her hand at new things, and right now, is currently learning how to play acoustic guitar via Lopez. Roscoe made a lot more friends, and nobody judges him for his unfriendly appearance anymore. In fact, a lot of Brucewood Mac fans find the horse so cool, that t-shirts with just Roscoe’s face tend to sell out at concerts. There was even a gig where everyone in the audience wore said shirt. The band officially called it “Roscoe Appreciation Night”, and the horse was incredibly happy to be a part of the experience.
As for Kidd and O’Hare, they’ve been doing their own separate things. Kidd released his first solo album, and has actually gained some new fans - both from Mac and elsewhere - who wanted to know what he’s all about. His material strayed a bit away from his former band's style, but was enough to be unique in its own right. O’Hare went to a B-label, released some unsuccessful singles, and fell into obscurity, just like Lopez's former band. His whereabouts are currently unknown, but it’s safe to assume that he’s no longer in the music business.
As the band frequently says in their concerts, “Thanks for your patronage, and I hope we didn’t disappoint. See you next time.”

~ THE END ~

TN4U · Oct 5, 2023

Here's another shorty I whipped up. Just a heads up, it's more of a downer than the other stories I've made, which is something I've sort of wanted to make actually. This was inspired off some of the instrumental ambient music I've been listening to throughout the years. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it.

WANDERING AROUND

Kyle's Night in the Cemetery

Have you ever wondered what a lone wolf does when they are, well, alone? They follow their own path. The path that may lead to destiny, or the path that ultimately leads to defeat. Right now, Kyle is unsure where he stands on the matter.
On a cold night near the end of winter on Wahu, Kyle decided to go out on a walk to the wooded Northern cliffs. Normally, he would visit his best friend across the island, but instead left the antelope alone tonight. There was something troubling Kyle, and he was seeking to find out what it was.
Strolling past the island cemetery, Kyle paused for a moment, and glanced over at the old stones sticking above the frozen ground. They were all lined up uniformly; none looking out-of-place. Each gravestone would be engraved with a different name, a different date, a different message. A final mark of remembrance for those who passed on. What exactly was Kyle thinking about at this moment?
He came over to the large gravestone that rose above the rest. It was a symbol that this specific being was important to someone. That someone being everyone. Kyle himself had met lots of important beings in his life, some more notable than others. There was one, however, that was most important to him of all. It was the being closest to his heart, yet the one that was also the furthest at the same time. It was his late father.

When Kyle was a small pup, his father decided to go on vacation to the African badlands. Being a renowned animal historian, Kyle’s father wanted to learn more about his own family tree. He would also plan on bringing back a treasure trove of relics for Kyle and his mother to look at. When Kyle’s father left, he gave both family members hugs, and boarded the plane to his destination.
He had planned to be gone for only a week. When his scheduled flight came back, Kyle’s father was nowhere to be seen. Kyle’s mother began to panic, wondering where he had gone. Asking the flight attendant to see if they noticed him on the plane, they revealed that he had never boarded the plane back. This made Kyle’s mother worried sick.
Another day later, and still no sign of Kyle’s father. After requesting the police department to put out a search party at the African embassy closest to where he was last seen, the two family members waited to see what the father’s fate was. It didn’t take very long to find out that Kyle’s father had mistakenly been caught in the middle of a hunting field, and was subsequently killed by a group of greedy human hunters.
This left Kyle and his now-widowed mother extremely devastated. A loss this big in their small family would be something they’d never thought about previously. All of a sudden, it became a crushing new reality. The only other big man in the family Kyle had always looked up to was now no longer with him. It was now all up to the mother to raise Kyle to adulthood.
This loss would eventually lead to mental changes in Kyle’s interests and behavior, such as his love for metal music and his room becoming sloppy all the time. Kyle’s mother would frequently become upset over him making some questionable decisions, and punished her son frequently for misbehavior. Kyle never understood it at the time, but his mother was only wishing nothing but the best for her son, and was always trying to make sure he never went too far with his actions.

Kyle took a seat on a bench in the cemetery. He looked up at the clear night sky, with the moon showing its full glow. In the distance, the green fade of the northern lights danced wildly above. Kyle took a good, long look at the aurora, and could vaguely make out the shape of his late father’s head in the lights. The childhood memories of playing with his father suddenly came back to him, replacing the lights he could see in the night sky. After only a few minutes, the lights disappeared, turning the sky back into a dark abyss lit only by the moon and stars.
He sat there a bit longer in silence, taking in the moment that just happened. Facing the stars again smiling, he closed his eyes, and simply whispered, “you came back”. Kyle was no longer alone in the night. Up above the stratosphere, the power of his father’s soul shot down onto the Earth below, radiating a strong spirit that surrounded Kyle at the cemetery. His father's presence could be felt.
Although the big gravestone would provide remembrance for someone else, Kyle had felt its power, and gave the lone wolf sudden hope for the road ahead. He would plan to treasure his father's legacy for the long years ahead.

END

TN4U · Nov 20, 2023

WAHU ISLAND UPDATE
November 20th, 2023

Lopez the explorer is happy to finally get a break.

Oh, hi there. It's been a while, hasn't it?
Too long, actually.

I've been in a major creative slump as of late, as I haven't been playing New Horizons a whole lot these past two months. In fact, I went a whole month straight without playing on Wahu. That's a pretty long time for someone who's put more than 3,000 hours into a talking animal simulator. But hey, what else can you do if you've exhausted most of your fun out of a game that hasn't received a content update in over two years? At least I've been very active elsewhere on TBT, and I'm glad about that. I mean, over five months being here, and I've accumulated over 1,200 posts. That should pretty much tell you how much I love communicating with everyone here. You guys are awesome people, and I love being a part of such a place where I feel happy and welcome every day. To those that actually take time out of their days to even read and like the dumb stuff I make, you are true OG's and have my heart.

So, let me explain simply what's going on, and why I decided to make an island update. Thanksgiving is coming up, and I get to have work off from this Wednesday to next Sunday. Five days of mind refreshment! I've been looking forward to this for too long, and all I've got to do is survive Tuesday's mayhem at work. Due to my creative slump (and me going through the process of moving lots of furniture and items around my house), I haven't typed up any stories as of late, but that is probably going to change real soon. I've promised a lot of users that I would be doing a Lopez and Kyle buddy shenanigan series, so I'll get part one thought up and typed sometime this week. I'll even make Photopia shots, because I've been itching to make more stuff in it. In regards to photographing on the island itself, that will be a challenge, and I'll most likely not base my stories around what I can capture, as that would get boring fast without being able to get villagers to do what you want outdoors.

To sum a few things up:

I will get better opportunities this week to work on any story ideas that come to mind. I really like doing these, as it both entertains and educates me on what's possible for me to do. As I usually aim to write about more realistic Animal Crossing-related fiction compared to some of the other writers on this forum, I'll focus more on that and leave horror/fantasy/sci-fi/etc. genres to those who actually know how to write about them. Stick to what I'm good at, as they usually say.
Expect at least one new short story this week. The first part of Kyle and Lopez's Wahu Shenanigans (as I'll probably title the series) will most likely happen first, followed by whatever else comes to mind. I'm sort of mentally checked out as I type this post (it's past 9PM for me), so I apologize for leaving some of you guys on the fence. Are surprises actually better? Maybe...
At this point, I'll simply make a bold note if the dream address has been updated, as I'll most likely just post updates in regards to my in-island-universe stories and what's been going on with me in real life. I'm not a super interesting person - I get it - but it's either that or essentially post about how I changed my shrubs (again!).

I can't wait to be able to sleep in for five days and recharge my mind. It's going to be great. Thanks again to all who care so much about little ol' me, and I'll check back in here again sometime this week.

- T.K.

TN4U · Nov 24, 2023

I know I said I was going to name it Kyle and Lopez's Wahu Shenanigans, but I came up with an even better name...

KyLopezVentures
Part 1: At-Home Rehearsal

It was half past nine in the morning, and once again, Kyle is awoken by the annoying loud sound of his NookPhone ringing. Being a wolf, he tends to stay up way too late at night, and sleep way too often through the morning, which is why he depends on his best friend Lopez to call and get him going in the morning. Lopez got used to Kyle’s laziness of not setting an alarm for himself, and really doesn’t mind calling and checking in on him every morning anyways. However, as Kyle had just moved to Wahu only a week ago, he was still trying to get used to a new sleep schedule in a different time zone. The routine was dramatically different from what he was used to back in the city, and the jet lag was taking longer than usual to wear off.
Kyle slowly leaned over in his bed toward his NookPhone sitting on the counter, grunting in the process, and answered. Of course, the villager calling was Lopez.
“Yo yo, alpha beta,”
“YO YO, BADOOMIE!” Lopez shouted on the other side, “Do you know what day it is?”
Kyle suddenly sprang up from his bed. He knew right away that today was an important day not to forget.
“Oh, man, today’s the day we show the folks who we are!” he said excitedly.
“You know it, badoom!” replied Lopez, “I got the Wahu stage all booked for us two tonight, and we’re going to rock their antlers off! Hunter and Prey: the comeback kids!”
Kyle couldn’t contain his excitement. He was going to perform live outdoors for the first time ever, and his best friend would be there alongside him. Sure, it would probably only be to a crowd of about six or seven audience members, but it’s still a crowd regardless. The mere thought of playing for the first time in so long was enough for him to howl to the moon about. He had to get ready for the gig right away; his drum set was already sitting in the corner of his room, just waiting to see some use.
After going over the details with Lopez, the two agreed on a time to rehearse, and both hung up their phones. Today was going to be a good day.

Hunter and Prey: Announcing "The Comeback Tour"! One night only.

Lopez came over to Kyle’s house with his guitar, wearing the new K.K. shirt he recently got from his Brucewood Mac bandmate Roscoe. Kyle greeted the antelope with their brotherly-like handshake, and quickly got down to business. As Kyle was not yet finished completely moving things around, his house still had several boxes of items lying around, and it was essentially a big mess. He sat down on a stool in front of his drums, while Lopez sat on the nearby couch.
“Still haven’t learned, have ya?” commented Lopez, who pointed at several open boxes that had items spill out from falling.
“You’ve always been an observant one,” replied Kyle, “with you being, you know, a deer.”
“For the hundredth time badoom, I’m not a deer. I’m an antelope. We’re much smarter than deer.”
“Says the guy wearing a T-shirt of a dog who never wears clothes,” joked Kyle, and proceeded to perform a quick comedy-like bit with his drum set. Lopez chuckled.
“You’re clever. So, what are we doing?”
“I’m thinking we start off with something slow, as I’m preeeetty positive the villagers living here don’t want to think of me as an insane individual.”
“Well, definitely! If they were to ever discover our old music videos, they wouldn’t like the one which has you throwing your kick pedal into your bass drum like a sledgehammer. I learned from Roscoe that things like that aren’t cheap to fix; not to mention that’s really not how you use a kick pedal.” Kyle looked down at the pedal on his drum set and frowned.
“I like to be creative sometimes, but yeah, I agree that it’s not a good first impression for others.”
Before the duo could even start performing, a knock was heard on the door. Kyle moaned and got up from his stool.
“Ugh, It’s Nook again with another contract to sign, I can tell.”
Shaking his head, he went to the door and opened it. A red and black emo-looking dog with ear piercings was standing there, holding a small, black purse and wearing a black lacy shirt. Kyle’s expression perked up from annoyed to surprised in a matter of seconds.
“Is Lopez here?” the dog said with a soft, smooth voice. Kyle became heavily distracted by her good looks.
“I, um, uh…”
“Yeah! I’m here, Cherry!” yelled Lopez from across the room.
“Oh, cool!” she replied while attempting to enter, suddenly realizing this was someone else’s house. She quickly turned back to face Kyle. “Hey, I know we just met and all, but can I come in and talk to Lopez?”
All Kyle could do was nod quickly. His mouth was slightly ajar from his surprised expression.

Kyle had never felt like this before.

The three villagers sat together in the middle of the room; Lopez and Cherry on the comfy sofa, and Kyle on his wimpy little stool. Although it became pretty clear that Lopez and Cherry already knew each other from their houses being close by, the two were clearly not showing any affection for one another. Lopez would be the first to talk.
“Kyle, I know you look rather, uh, shocked, but I think we really need to introduce this amazing individual,” winking at Cherry, who blushed. “This, right here, is one of my childhood friends and bandmates, Cherry.”
“Hi, Kyle!” she said, waving with both hands excitedly. Again, Kyle had trouble formulating words in his mind.
“Yo- you look cool,” Kyle stuttered, and proceeded to quickly facepalm.
“Uhh, thank you!” Cherry replied awkwardly. “I think you look cool, too! I like your shirt!” Kyle quickly glanced down at his torn sweatshirt, and looked back up giving an awkward smile.
“Um, you’re too kind.”
Meanwhile, Lopez was trying very hard to hide laughter that was building up inside him due to Kyle acting absolutely ridiculous. Though Lopez only considered Cherry as a very good friend he’d known for many years and whom she relied on, he never had romantic feelings for her. Lopez knew that Kyle was starting to have a major crush on the antelope’s childhood friend, though he obviously did not want to reveal that out loud as she was sitting right there in the same room they were. It didn’t help that Cherry was also complimenting and acting incredibly sweet, which made Kyle like her even more. Lopez stood up, and proceeded to go into the kitchen.
“I’ll let you two get to know each other,” said Lopez, “I’m going to grab another soda.” All of a sudden, it was just Kyle and Cherry. Things got extra awkward.
“So,” wondered Cherry, “you’re a drummer, huh?”
“Uh, yeah,” replied Kyle nervously, “this here is my drum kit…” pointing to his drums with one of his sticks.
“That’s cool!” exclaimed Cherry, “do you know any good drum lines?”
“Well, yeah, I can keep a rhythm, and uhhhhh, impress others.” He facepalmed again.
“You like me, don’t you?” suddenly questioned Cherry, who gave a small smirk.
“No no no, don’t think of it like that. It’s just- uh, just that I haven’t seen anyone look so, uh, unique and amazing before.” he proceeded to clench his eyes shut and show his teeth for fear of saying the wrong things to someone he had just met.
Cherry gave out a chuckle and smiled wide.
“Aw, thanks. You’re one of the few dogs who’s actually complimented my style.” This statement made Kyle open his eyes and smile wide as well, and both started laughing.
Lopez returned with a bottle of lime soda, and was surprised to find the two laughing and smiling at one another.
“Bro,” he announced, “you two are already becoming good friends; I’m impressed!” Kyle gave Lopez an affirmative expression.
“You know, alpha, your choice of friends is spot-on!”
“Yeah, Lopez,” replied Cherry, “you should’ve told me about your best friend earlier! He’s awesome!”

"Treat her right. I'm counting on you."

After about an hour of finally rehearsing the concert in Kyle’s house - and Cherry undoubtedly joining along - the three villagers grew tired and needed to take a break.
“Hey, it was a fun time playing with you guys,” said Cherry, “but I’ve gotta check on the flowers in my yard. Catch y’all later tonight!” She got up, waved, and proceeded to leave the house.
“Hey, Lopez…” said Kyle quietly, who was fully calmed down at this point, “I think I like your friend.”
“You’re just now telling me that?”
“Well, I don’t wanna tell her straight-up, ‘cause she’s your childhood friend and all, and I don’t wanna make both of you upset…”
“Hey, look, it’s alright. Cherry and I don’t have a thing. We’ve never gone past the friend phase, ever. She knows that I’ve got her back, and I’ll do anything to make sure she’s safe and sound. The dog’s been through a lot in the city, and all the unwanted attention she got before was becoming unbearable for her. If you wanna try and go for her, great, but please make sure to treat her right if she likes you back. She deserves nothing but the best. If you ever upset her once, then our friendship is off. Got it?”
Kyle paused for a moment, looking unsure if he really wanted to go forward with this agreement. If he started to date Cherry, he would not only have a fantastic dog to spend time with, but would also grow a bigger bond with his best friend. If the two broke up, he would lose not only his love interest, but his best friend’s trust as well.
It was a tough decision, but the two decided to shake hands. Kyle was officially going to try and win over his best friend’s friend, and they had only just met.

To be continued…

TN4U · Dec 11, 2023

EDIT: I realize that Cherry's wearing two different shirts. I'll fix this at a later date.

So, this part is pretty dialogue-heavy, and I didn't take a whole lot of new pictures (not even in Photopia, but I may take a couple more later), but hey! A bit of drama! That's always fun...
...or is it?

KyLopezVentures
Part 2: The Meeting

Lopez returned to his house, suddenly worried. He began to nervously pace back and forth, wondering what may happen if something were to go totally wrong with both his best friends potentially becoming ever so closer together. The regret was now settling in. He needed to maintain childhood friend Cherry’s trust, but at the same time needed his best bud Kyle to be trustworthy at the same time. This new challenge he allowed to happen became an urgent and fragile thing to worry about - one wrong move on someone’s end could destroy the trio’s friendship, possibly forever. It didn’t help that he had already planned an outdoor concert tonight with Kyle, so the whole island audience could potentially find cracks in the friendship bond live on stage if the wolf cries between now and the end of the show.
Lopez suddenly pulled out his Nookphone, and decided to call Cherry, who answered right away.
“What what?”
“Hi Cherry, LZ here. You’re still coming to our show tonight, right? I’m just checking up and seeing if everything’s okay.”
“Of course I’m coming! And things are fine, Lo. Thanks for asking. I’m just baking a pie for you two and watching my favorite cooking show at the moment.”
“Hey, no problema amiga. Hopefully that pie turns out good as usual - you’re the best at making ‘em. Listen, if you need me to come on by at any point, just shout and let me know.”
“Actually, now that I think about it, could you come over real quick? I’ve got several things on my mind that I need to pass on to you.”
Lopez took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. He knew what this was going to be about.
“Yep. I’ll head over now.”
“Cool, thanks Lo! See you in a bit!”
Lopez hung up, took some deep breaths, and departed for Cherry’s.

The childhood friends meet again.

At Cherry’s house, Lopez could instantly smell the sweet scent of a warm, baked cherry pie sitting on her kitchen countertop. It reminded him of his days as a kid when Cherry’s mom would frequently bring home baked pies from her family’s bakery for him and Cherry’s other friends to eat. As Cherry got older, she learned how to bake on her own as a side hobby, and had developed the skill to an impressive level. Although Cherry never saw herself starting up her own bakery business like her parents did, she could always cater to a group if the need arose.
Lopez took a seat on a barstool at the kitchen’s countertop. He frowned at Cherry.
“Cherry, I’ve gotta be real with you. I don’t know if you should really let Kyle try to sweet talk you like he is. It doesn’t seem right to me.” Cherry glanced over from the kitchen and nodded.
“That is precisely what I wanted to talk to you about. You remember my boyfriend back in the city, right?” Lopez’s look went from concerned to slightly surprised after hearing Cherry mention it.
“Oh, yeah, you mean Cyd?”
“Yep. You already know that we’re still together, and I obviously can’t see him often because of the long distance.” Cherry walked over to the living space, sighed, and plopped onto her couch. “I’d love to have him live near me, but his DAL visa seems to never get approved, and thus can’t fly.”
“Huh. Cyd is a cool elephant, though. Why can’t he fly?”
“Too heavy,” Cherry proclaimed with an annoyed look, “I don’t get it either. I mean, yeah, he’s an elephant, but I think he’d easily pass if he lost a few pounds. He’d look so much cooler, too.”
“Agreed. He’ll get himself together soon. Who knows? Maybe he’ll be fit in time by the hotel’s grand opening!”
“Aw, that would be awesome!” Cherry exclaimed with a smile. “Anyway, to my point. Kyle is sweet, but my heart’s already with someone else. You’ll have to let him know that I simply can’t see him as more than just a friend, and I can’t just abandon Cyd simply because of our distance. It’s not fair.”
Lopez looked down at the fresh-baked cherry pie sitting in the kitchen with a blank expression. The warmth radiating from its center couldn’t help wipe the downer look away from his face. He knew he had already allowed Kyle to try and go after Cherry, but didn’t want to fully admit it.
“Cherry, I knew you could tell that the wolf liked you right away when we met earlier, and I’m sorry if he appears to be a bit… unusual,” Lopez said, not making eye contact with Cherry. “He lost his father in a cruel way at a young age, and hasn’t really recovered since.”
“Oh no. So that’s why he acts like he does. A wolf like him should be tough, but I can see why he’s not like that. So, no other male figure was with him after the fact at all?”
“Just me and the metal artists he looks up to,” Lopez stated, “his mother never married anyone else, so no step dad. No other siblings, so lone wolf. It was just him and his mom for most of his teen years. He didn’t do great in school, and his clumsiness is pretty apparent, too. At least he can fix cars and play instruments pretty darn well. Ever since we met as co-workers at OK, he’s always looked up to me as if I’m his brother, and I try to make him feel better anyway I can.”
“Yeah, you two seem pretty tight,” Cherry added, “I’m surprised you never told me about him before.”
“I know,” Lopez said, then proceeded to shut his eyes and look up. “The reason I haven’t told you is because I know how you are with random villagers wanting your attention, and I don’t want another Blanca incident happening again.”
“Lo, relax. It’s fine. That’s all behind me now. I love living here, and everyone respects my space, so there’s that. You’ve been my close friend since we were kids, and I wanted to show my appreciation by giving you that house listing a while back. Your best decision ever, am I right?”
All of a sudden, the front door swung open, and Kyle waltzed through seemingly at random. He made his presence heard, looking at Lopez.
“Oh, there you are, my dude! Been lookin’ all over for you!”
It was at this moment that Cherry and Lopez exchanged shocked expressions.

“Kyle,” Cherry questioned with a stern look on her face, “How did you get into my house?”
“Your front door was cracked open.” Kyle grinned, and Lopez was immediately embarrassed by the fact. Cherry turned to the antelope.
“Care to explain that, Lo-Pez?” Cherry asked sarcastically. Wide-eyed Lopez looked directly at Cherry.
“Okay, to be fair, your front door was never able to close correctly.”
“Okay, got me there,” Cherry exclaimed in defeat, then turned back to Kyle. “Uh, have you heard of knocking on a door before?”
“Well, yeah, but I’m assuming Lopez’s NookPhone was on silent ‘cause I couldn’t get ahold of him. I had to search the whole town. Nobody knew where he was, but in fact, the bro is right here hiding from me!”
“And care to explain that, Lo-Pez?” Cherry started to lighten up. Lopez could see through Cherry’s sarcasm, but was not in the same cheery mood.
“I don’t like to be bothered, really,” Lopez sternly said, getting up from the barstool, “Like with you (pointing to Kyle) barging in on our little one-on-one meeting!” Cherry’s perky mood was put to a halt, and Kyle was suddenly in the hot seat.
“What? All I did was enter through an open door, what’s wrong with that?”
“You never knocked. You heard what Cherry said.”
“But I thought we were step-brothers!”
“Oh, so good step-brothers invade each other’s rooms without knocking. Good step-brothers barge in on random conversations. Good step-brothers NEVER GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER! Look, Kyle, I told you that one time to not screw up. One of my main jobs on this island is to protect my childhood friend, and you’re off to a really bad start already by doing what you just did.”
Cherry sat there shocked, while Kyle was starting to piece together exactly what Lopez was trying to say.
“Well sor-ree, alpha,” Kyle shouted, “Sorry I tried to look out for my best friend. You need to chill out.”
“You need to LEARN FROM YOUR PAST MISTAKES, BUCKAROO. LEAVE.”
Suddenly, Kyle angrily stomped his foot to the floor once, grunted, turned around, and stormed out the door whilst uttering incomprehensible words under his breath. Cherry continued to sit and watch in utter shock of what just happened.
“Uh, Lopez?”
Lopez turned to look at Cherry, and instantly calmed down. He says nothing.
“Are you good?”
After a long pause, Lopez facepalmed, and leaned against the wall.
“I messed up, didn’t I?”
“Well, no, but you really shouldn’t have been so hard on Kyle like that.”
“I know, I know. I understand the guy well, but I may have accidentally guaranteed to him that you were going to date him. I totally forgot about Cyd when I said that. I’m sorry.”
Cherry took it in for a moment in silence, looking away from Lopez in the process. Her mind was racing just as fast as Lopez’s was.
“So, I should show myself out, shouldn’t I?” Lopez questioned in defeat.
“Yes," Cherry replied calmly, "and make sure to shut the door all the way when you leave, please.”
Lopez proceeded to do just that. Cherry checked on her pie, and it had grown cold, just like the trio's current friendship.

To be continued…

TN4U · Dec 17, 2023

WAHU ISLAND UPDATE
December 17th, 2023

Capturing is the most important part of any media creation process...

Hey y'all, it's me again with some more real talk. I just got done teaching Roscoe how to properly use a camera, and it looks like he's getting the hang of it quick. Katt volunteered to do it, but I told her to take a break and let someone else try their hand at it. Needless to say, I think he's doing great.

Hopefully, KyLopezVentures is looking good for you guys, because I think the parts could be longer than what's been released right now. Coming up with a lengthy story is never easy, and though the short story formula is great and all, I'd like to honestly create something that's a wee bit longer. Of course, doing so would require a ton of free time and patience, and that hasn't been a thing with me lately. Right now, I'm dealing with major pain from a tooth I chipped all the way back to this summer, and it's now affecting much more than the gum around it. While I've been able to get by at work without much issue, it's coming home and trying to use my computer does the nerve act up and cause me major headaches and eye pain alongside the gum problem. The good news is that I've started taking prescribed antibiotics last Thursday with Tylenol and it's helping greatly, and I've also got an appointment for an extraction and implant in early January with my oral surgeon. Before I started the antibiotics, I was forced to go to bed super early, as I wake up at roughly 5AM on workdays and the headaches would essentially prevent me from doing anything productive before bedtime. I also just got back from visiting family a few states over this weekend, so I couldn't do much on the forum anyway.

So, what's new and upcoming in the world of me? Well, my much-needed two weeks off work for the holidays is next week, and this week's pretty much the home stretch. Those two weeks will mean more free time for me, and more days of having a fresh mind to utilize. I'm not exactly sure how many parts of KyLopezVentures there will be, as I currently want to think about how I'll make the current situation play out between Lopez, Kyle and Cherry, as well as seeing if I can fit other Wahu residents into the story in some way. Two new parts are planned so far, and I might do more if I feel the story can reach a multi-day status. And maybe, just maybe, I can begin a brand new story that features an expanded personal take on Bob's history before and during his Wahu residency. I would like to explain in greater depth as to why he was dumped on the island and his befriending of my player character, according to the lore I've made so far. I still consider him my all-time favorite villager, though Dotty and Lopez have climbed the ranks rather quickly. Besides, why not write about a cute purple cat with such a dumb smirk?

It's a lot to consider and think about. Holiday break will arrive fast, and I know it'll also go by fast if I don't use the extra time wisely. I've been revisiting New Horizons every now and then, but I'm also now starting to fully get into Pocket Camp (if you want to add and donate me some friend dust, click here for my friend ID) and seeing what that's all about. Despite the New Leaf graphics and models, I may take a few photos from that game for upcoming stories once I gather enough furniture to stage sets. Right now, I'd reserve pictures taken in Pocket Camp for stories that aren't in the "Wahu Universe" or whatever I would call it. Gotta keep things consistent.

But what about Wahu itself? All I can say is not to expect much except maybe a dream address update within the next week or two for snow and updated shrubs. I don't know when my interest in the game (other than for Photopia) will gain traction again - it'll be the game's four-year anniversary next year, and it's getting old. Man do I feel old myself.

Anyway, that's a lot of stuff to explain. I now require some rest, so this is all I'll say for now. Until the next time we meet...

- T.K.

TN4U · Dec 25, 2023

Here's a quickie - A professional-looking diary that Poncho maintains and shares with classmates throughout his university career. Even though he's classy when it comes to things in his career path and doing the necessary schoolwork it requires, he often doesn't show it otherwise in the real world. This is his first entry after moving to Wahu...
Pinterest Photo Used for This Story

FROM THE MIND OF PONCHO
Living in my own place for the first time!

January 13th, 2023 - It’s Friday, which means the end of my first week living on Wahu. My counselors at Nookway recommended that I try island living for a while as an alternative to interning, in order to better prepare myself for unexpected injury scenarios I must attempt to solve when there’s no one else around to help. This challenge (or as they like to informally call it, a very lengthy project) is already proving to become a much harder thing to accomplish than I thought, though for reasons I’d never expect.

I tend to be seen as a child by some of the residents, though not by all. I may look cute according to the ladies back at the University, but I also try to display my intelligence with mixed results. There’s certain villagers that really need to look past my lack of height, especially older athletes that previously made it big, like this tomcat I met who is coincidentally named Tom. Isabelle, the secretary at the Wahu Resident Services, stated that he’s a former championship wrestler, and I could tell just by the way he approached me. It looked like he was going to lift me up into the air and chuck me into the ocean. Was he just being funny by thinking I’m cute, or does he really have a thing against bears in general? I’ll probably find that out later, though I don’t think he’s actually such a bad dude if the other villagers say he’s the most respected one on the island.

My neighbor also happens to be a cat, and a much friendlier one at that. His name is Bob, and he’s pretty funny. When I first moved into my house - which is right next to his - he greeted me with a chocolate cake he made himself, which was sloppily made with tons of chocolate frosting. He suddenly realized that he had to go back to his house to grab forks, as my silverware sets were still packed somewhere in a box. As he came back for the second time still holding his cake, he accidentally tripped on the sidewalk, and the cake went flying right into my front door. Right away, he opened the door and said, “Uh, looks like your door ate our chocolate cake!”. I instantly burst out laughing, and he laughed, too. It wasn’t a hard task cleaning up the mess, as all I had to do was power wash the door and front steps with the hose I had laying outside and it was clean again. I was genuinely surprised that I was able to connect it to the outdoor faucet and have it work in the middle of winter. Maybe the reason why was because it was warmer than usual that day.

As I power washed the remains of the chocolate frosting away, Bob decided to quickly dart in front of the hose in an attempt to be funny and avoid the water without getting hit. Of course, me being sneaky, I actually tried squirting him afterward, and we both had a mission of trying to get each other. Then, my other neighbor, named Cherry, came outside her house to see exactly what was going on. She looked very baffled to see us playing as if it was the middle of a hot summer day. She told us to be careful as there was ice still lingering on the sidewalks, but I told her not to worry as everything was just fine. She then shrugged as if she no longer cared, told us “You two are really excitable boys”, and went along with her day. I think because of the fact Bob was with me, Cherry already knew what kind of weird behavior she was going to expect after seeing him, and made the conclusion right away of not worrying about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bob has annoyed her many times before; they only live two houses down from each other with me now being the cub in the middle.

Anyway, Bob and I seem to be getting along very well. Not even my first full week went by, and already I feel like we’re becoming good friends. I moved here with the intention of helping others if they get hurt, with this being considered intern work for my Master’s degree, but this island is more fun than I thought. Bob in particular reminds me of the average partygoer who would attend the jubilees I’ve previously been to with some of my classmates, which takes me back to those good old days. I really hope we continue to be friends, even if I decide to move away when I get my Master’s.

I’ve got a lot of school work to focus my attention on for the new semester, and I know that trying to do every assignment and project solely from my house is going to put me under a ton of stress. Aside from my occasional weightlifting, playing with my new next door neighbor now seems to be a plausible option for stress relief, despite him most likely not being able to help me with my studies. Meanwhile, I’ve gotta wait for the best opportunity to apply my therapy skills to someone on this island. Maybe Tom will start having the painful parts of his past come back and have something in his body bother him again…

TN4U · Dec 28, 2023

WAHU ISLAND UPDATE
December 28th, 2023

I’ve really got to stretch my muscles more like my buddy Kyle.

Oh, hi. I’ve seemed to have posted an island update at one in the morning my time. This is possible thanks to me being able to sleep in the past few days. And what do you know, it feels good not having to wake up at 5AM for a bit. I’d better enjoy it while it lasts, because time’s already flying by and it won’t be long until I’ve got to go back to work.

In regards to my oral surgery, the extraction was a success. They told me the area where the tooth’s former spot is stitched would be a bit painful a few days afterward, but thankfully I’ve not had any major pain problems as I’m avoiding touching the area. I’m forced to limit what I eat, however, and man it is oh so tough to suddenly alter my diet. I can’t wait for this whole process to be done. Mid-January is the goal for the crown insertion at the moment, so let’s hope for the best.

Despite me not doing any work-related things for holiday break, I really feel like I’ve got to do more physical activities around the house. My computer is great and all, but my body needs to stretch every now and then. That doesn’t mean I’m taking a long break from TBT, no. I’m planning on moving more furniture in my house after New Year’s, so that’ll be the majority of my physical activity for the next week (unless I decide to clean or go somewhere). I can’t be turning into a sleepwalking Punchy.

Okay, enough talking about me for one day.

I’ve actually went back on Wahu earlier in the day and updated a few things. I know; I’m just as surprised as you are. Other than swapping the remaining tea olive shrubs out with hollies (which will probably be a pointless task as I’ll most likely have to swap them out again in January), I altered a few things in my house and changed the designs of a few outdoor furniture items to match the snow. Nothing major, just minor touchups, really. However, I may be coming up with ideas to overhaul Patty’s farm to have it look better, and hopefully it won’t involve altering the nearby basketball court. If it does, I can probably move it off the hotel property. This won’t be a quick process if I go forward with the plans, so don’t expect a wholly different property to appear in the next dream address update (which will come within a week).

I also gave this thread’s main post’s story index section a much cleaner appearance. Less thumbnails, and more straight up post links. I also added the dates of when these stories were first posted, if that pleases anyone.

Part three of KyLopezVentures will probably come in the next week or two as well, and maybe an additional new short story that isn’t a straight-up quickie done in a day out of boredom like the Poncho diary entry I spontaneously posted on Christmas. It might either be a multi-part story or a villager-focused one-off, but I’m not entirely sure yet. Maybe listening to more of my music library’s ambient tracks will generate some ideas. We’ll see.

Anyway, I don’t know why I’m still up. I should go sleep now. Until next time…

- T.K.

TN4U · Jan 7, 2024

WAHU ISLAND UPDATE
January 7th, 2024

Looks like it's time to get back into the swing of things...

Hello, I decided to post an update real quick. Some of you are probably expecting something new from me other than an update post, but I spent most of my time off moving more furniture in my house. Needless to say, my little bonus space is looking better by the day, and all that's left now is clean up, which is taking longer than expected. It's going into this week, but it'll definitely be done by then. I also have to return to work tomorrow, and (unusually for me) I'm not really looking forward to it. If you really want to know what's been bothering me with my job, look at this post.

Anyway, ignoring personal life for a moment, I'm trying to figure out how to piece together part 3 of KyLopezVentures. All I can think about at the moment is how Cherry will have a "real talk" with Kyle and try to get him motivated to put on his show with Lopez, despite Kyle's broken heart and her own trust with Lopez snapping. As much as I wanted to finish this part during my holiday break, I had other priorities explained above that I couldn't wait any longer on. Hopefully I'll get some spare time to come up with a few things and get it completed soon. I'll also probably post an updated Wahu dream address this Tuesday, as I won't be able to go home and do it on Monday. I specifically want it to be daytime on the island, and most of the opportunities I get to update the address only come at night.

I did make a few changes:

I replaced all the shrubs with Camellias. Originally, I had put down Hollies shortly before the year ended, and of course, had to swap them out right away as they only last until the end of December.
I added a few fences. It's not much, but it nicely touches up a few areas in my opinion.
The topiary bushes and sand castles had their colors changed to match the season.
Aaaand that's pretty much it. The rest is all minor stuff I can't think about.
EDIT: I actually remembered something I completely forgot to mention, though it involves this thread. There’s new villager bios for Kidd, O’Hare & Cyd in the “Other” spoiler. I made them a few weeks ago, but never brought it to anyone’s attention.

At the end of the month, I'll be going on vacation and flying out of town for a week. There will be a few days where I'm going to be in the hotel room relaxing, so maybe I'll get some ideas generated for new stories then. Until next time...

- T.K.

TN4U · Jan 17, 2024

WAHU ISLAND UPDATE
January 17th, 2024

How dare you forget to continue the story!

Hello again, this isn't part 3 of KyLopezVentures; I get it. BUT! I got some unexpected time off of work due to freezing cold temperatures closing schools, and it allowed me to spend my extra free time going into Photopia to take some screenshots for the upcoming part. The one you see above is actually from a conversation that Lopez and Kyle have after the wolf goes to the antelope's house to try and remediate the situation that Lopez pretty much started. How does he get the courage to do so right away? Well, you'll have to find out when part 3 is posted.

That's mostly done (thank goodness), and I'll be wrapping it up soon. I didn't stop there, however - I also took four brand new screenshots for Tom's Wahu Arrival because the story looked bare with just a wall of text, and I also added some new pictures for part 2 of KyLopezVentures. I really love how I was able to catch Lopez looking at his NookPhone right outside his house, as that shot pretty much pairs well with the introductory paragraph. Sure, he has the phone conversation with Cherry inside his house, but you could say that he was double checking his messages before leaving, or suddenly got something from Kyle that he had to ignore, thus why he shows up out of nowhere later on. I'll leave that to your imagination.

I may experiment with the pictures I took for part 3; if you look at Poncho's diary entry, I ~~stole~~ borrowed a photo of Poncho reading something, and offset it next to the text so that it doesn't take up entire lines. This isn't very easy to do with the forum tools I'm given, but since I took quite a few pictures today, I may decide to give that formatting another go and see what happens.

Oh, and for the first time in several months, I quietly updated my dream address for the winter season. Finally. I had opportunities to do it earlier, but again, I had other priorities. Feel free to swing on by and check out what's changed (hint: it's not much).

And that's all I gotta talk about today. Once part 3 is posted, I'll talk about what's on my mind next. Until then...

- Stay awesome. T.K.

TN4U · Feb 19, 2024

WAHU ISLAND UPDATE
February 19th, 2024

Wait a minute, that’s not Wahu!

Hello everyone. I’m back again with (yet) another update. The first thing you’re probably wanting to know, is where the heck Part 3 of KyLopezVentures is at. Well, it’s still not yet done mainly due to personal reasons unrelated to the game.

The truth is, I’ve been going through a very rough mental period for the past month. I took a vacation to Vegas, and it wasn’t as good as I thought it’d be. It was honestly quite exhausting, and I actually spent half of it arguing with my dad. When I returned to work for two weeks, I let my negative thoughts build up yet again, ultimately culminating to the point where I seriously began to consider if anyone really cared about or sided with me on anything anymore. Once again, my serious requests and concerns are largely being ignored by the higher-in-command, and I was essentially told by someone to give up and “stop complaining”. I’m on another week-long break right now, but I’m fairly positive my thoughts reached a boiling point where I actually blew my top at some co-workers. I’d love to explain more, but I’ll save that for another time as I’m also currently on temporary hiatus from Brewster’s Café at the moment. I’ll spare the details, but let’s just say that I said too much in a specific thread and got warned for it. I need to step back and chill out, hence the self-imposed hiatus.

Anyway, enough of the bad stuff. Time to talk about good things, eh? Despite me slacking on KyLopezVentures, I mainly made this update to announce a new island I’ve been quietly building on my old Switch, Parkwood. This is an island I originally created for the sole purpose of decorating and showing off, and I’ve made enough substantial progress to finally make a public announcement about it. You can find the journal as a separate thread in the same place as this one. There’s not much at the moment, as there’s still plenty of areas that need to be laid out and decorated. Once the general layout is complete, I’ll start sharing some more screenshots and eventually post the dream address.

Of note, I’m also planning on making an entirely different “universe” for Parkwood when it comes to stories I’ll undoubtedly want to create. For instance, Bruce and Katt are currently residents there, but I’m going to pretend that Brucewood Mac never existed when I make stories in that thread. If a story is posted here instead, it’s in the “Wahu” universe, where the band exists. This is a pretty ambitious idea, but we’ll see where it goes.

That’s pretty much it. My mental state has been on a major slump, but at least I’m still getting by. I really do hope that I’m able to maintain my current job at least until June, as things with it haven’t been looking too bright in general. Maybe things will get better in March (I hope). Anyway, I’ve got to catch some Z’s. Until next time…

- T.K.

TN4U · Mar 28, 2024

After a long hiatus (and me dealing with a ton of lengthy abnormal stress), I now present, finally, part 3 of KyLopezVentures. Keep in mind that this only closes the single day that was described in the previous two parts, and there may be more parts covering different unrelated days in the future. However, I really want to start a different short story, which will most likely involve Bob and how he came to the island.

Unrelated, but this was also the first short story post composed entirely on an iPad, which was a pain in the butt to do. If stuff looks weird on your computer browsers and I don't immediately fix it, it's because I'm away from my computer. Anyway, without further ado, here is part 3!

KyLopezVentures
Part 3 - No Hard Feelings

Some time had passed after the trio of friends inexplicably cut ties, as the Hunter and Prey comeback concert was suddenly in severe jeopardy of being outright canceled. The sun was setting fast, and time was running out for someone to step up and repair the damage that was created. Kyle, incredibly upset by his best friend’s overprotectiveness, sat alone in the middle of the outdoor venue. Not only did Lopez drive him away from his crush, it also drove him away from the one true friend that had stuck by his side since before they were musicians. It now seemed likely that it would take a long while for the friends to reconcile, and who knows if they would ever decide to perform together again.
Sitting in one of the audience folding chairs he laid out earlier, Kyle simply stared at the empty stage in front of him. He could imagine himself playing his drums, having the time of his life with the rockin’ antelope by his side. Instead, it saw no activity.
All of a sudden, Kyle could hear footsteps on the other side of the wall next to him. These weren’t just ordinary footsteps; it was the sound of running. Looking behind at the venue’s entrance, Kyle saw a familiar face pop from the edge of the wall.
“Cherry?”
“Kyle! What what! There you are!”
Cherry quickly came over to Kyle, and immediately sat in the chair next to him.
“What are you doing here?” questioned Kyle, “You saw what happened! Lopez isn’t happy with me, and the concert is probably goin-”
“I know, I know. Hey, I’m very sorry about what happened to you. Lopez has been my friend since we were kids, and he tends to get a bit tense if he sees me talking to villagers that aren’t Cyd.”
Hearing that name perked Kyle up. “Cyd? Who’s that?”
Cherry gave a quiet gasp, as if she just indirectly revealed a big secret. “Oh, you don’t know him, do you?”
“Not really.”
“Well, you see, Cyd is someone I see back in Beachport City. Due to stupid Dodo Airlines regulations, he can’t visit me here in Wahu as he’s too big to fly on a seaplane, being an elephant with a diet problem. Cyd is one of the few villagers I’ve met in my life who shares most of my interests, but I sort of wish he would quit eating hot dogs all the time. This’ll sound silly, but he’s a competitive hot dog eater. That doesn’t stop me from adoring him, though.”
“So he’s your boyfriend?”
“Uh, well, yes. He is.”
Kyle glanced away and didn’t say anything for a moment. He really wanted his instant crush to like him back, but now realized why it wasn’t the case.
Cherry, meanwhile, began to look confused. “Is there something wrong, Kyle?”
Kyle wanted to blurt out in jealousy that he liked her, but smartly held the thought back. “I can see why Lopez is overprotective of you.”
Cherry laughed, “You really think Cyd would stomp on me accidentally? He’s only about your size, but way heavier! Lopez wouldn’t stand a chance against him. He would be like a deer in headlights!”
“Hey, Cherry, that gives me an idea. Why don’t we pay him a visit, and make him an antelope in headlights? Maybe we can somehow tie our little loose ends together as a team and pull off this concert after all!”
“If it involves stomping on Lopez, I’m out.” Cherry chuckled, which also made Kyle laugh. “But seriously, I think we should go talk to him. He’s probably at home making tomato soup for dinner again.”
Both villagers got up from their seats, and slowly started heading to the venue exit. Before leaving, Cherry paused and looked back at the empty stage.
“Wait, before I go with you, I think I need to decorate this place for you two dudes. It looks way too empty.”
“But Cherry, Lopez won’t wanna talk to me without you being there, alpha!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll catch up. Get the conversation started, then I’ll make myself known. Trust me on this,” she winked.
Before Kyle set off, the two quickly exchanged hugs, then was on his way to try and repair the torn friendship bond.

Time to shine some headlights on the antelope.

Yep, he's staring alright.

In a short amount of time, Kyle was at the doorstep of his best friend’s house. Would Lopez bother to have another true conversation with him again? He was about to find out. He took a deep breath, then knocked slowly. The door opened not long after, with a tired Lopez greeting him. The antelope was still wearing his K.K. shirt from earlier.
“Oh great. You came back. What now, badoom?”
“Hey, I know you don’t like me and all right now, but I kinda wanted to talk and apologize for the stuff I did earlier.”
Lopez sighed with an annoyed expression on his face, then signaled Kyle to come in without saying a word. Stepping inside his house, it was dramatically different in appearance than Kyle’s own. For starters, it gave off a warm and welcome feeling to visitors. Everything was neat, organized, and had the overall cozy vibe of a woodsy cabin. On the nearby stovetop was a pot of tomato soup, with a wooden spoon sitting inside as if Lopez was cooking before becoming interrupted. Across the wall next to the entry door was a framed picture of Lopez with his bandmate, Bruce, posing next to a gold record at Gaia Studios. Another framed picture was next to it; this one featured Lopez, Cherry, and an unknown female mouse villager together at a Woodstock-like outdoor concert. The kitchen table, where the two sat down at, was positioned neatly next to the window, giving a clear view of the nearby waterfall. It became evident that Lopez’s usual calm demeanor came from being influenced by the nearby beauty of nature. However, he wasn’t feeling as calm this time around. There was uneasy tension that needed to be relieved.
“So, Lopez, I know I sort of broke your promise earlier, and didn’t mean to make you angry. I’m sorry for what I did.”
“Well, Kyle, I’m sorry for yelling at you, but c’mon buckaroo. I’ve known you for a long time, and you seem to forget the important instructions I share with you to follow all the time. Today was a shining example of that.”
“Yeah, I know, but how was I supposed to know that you were at Cherry’s house? I was anxious to do something exciting today!”
“You mentioned that you were looking all over for me. I felt so bothered by that, that I’m not wanting to put this concert on at all, really. I don’t constantly annoy Bruce when I’m with the ‘Mac, right? I should expect the same with you, especially if it involves Cherry. I get it that you’re new here on the island, but you need to respect Cherry’s privacy and feelings. Bursting into her house like that was super uncalled for. I don’t care if her door was broken or not; that was something you should’ve never done in the first place. Cherry’s my childhood friend, and I’ve gotta make sure she feels safe. After what you did, I seriously don’t know if I can ever trust you again, really.”
Right on cue, Lopez’s door opened, and in came an excited Cherry.

Heeeeeere's Cherry!

“Hey hey, what what! It’s Cherry comin’ at you two live!” she exclaimed. Kyle became excited, while Lopez’s jaw dropped open in shock.
“...the heck, Cherry?!” Lopez sat dumbfounded.
“Oh, did I just break into your house? I’m sorry! The door must’ve been broken!”
Kyle broke out laughing, while Lopez still couldn’t figure out what was going on. Cherry walked over and patted Lopez on the back.
“Hey, L, chill out my guy. It’s okay. This best friend you’ve got here, Kyle, is cool enough for me.”
“But, Cyd-”
“He knows about him now. Relax. It’s not like that big guy is going to fly into the island on the next scheduled flight anytime soon! There’s more than one way to cross an ocean, anyway.”
Kyle perked up again, “So this means we can hang out all the time?”
Cherry chuckled for a while. “No, but feel free to invite me to any parties you’re going to!”
“So, Cherry, uhm, am I really taking this ‘protection’ thing a bit too far? I know I gave Kyle a very hard time, and he’s never been a bad dude to me or others…”
“Oh, totally. L, I like you and all, but I’m already comfortable enough being here on this island. The folks here are all awesome, especially him!” [points to Kyle]
Kyle blushed and smiled big.
“So, dudes, I’m wondering. There’s a concert you two were planning tonight, and it’d be awesome if you were to perform for us island folk! Lopez on his sweet guitar, and Kyle hitting the hi-hats! Whataya say? Can the show go on?”
In unison, both Lopez and Kyle exclaimed, “Oh yes!”
“Then the show shall go on!”
All three villagers then made a break to the venue. Lopez grabbed his guitar and amp before leaving the house, and Kyle quickly made a pit stop at his own house to grab drum supplies.

"I imagine two best friends putting aside their differences and really focusing on something they can both relate to."

Minutes before the show, the duo finished putting the final touches on the venue stage, and began testing instruments. Out in the crowd, all the villagers on the island had shown up, including Cherry, who was sitting next to a big, red elephant. Lopez knew right away who it was, and tugged on Kyle’s shirt to grab his attention.
“Hey, Kyle, real quick. I want you to meet someone before we rock.”
The two ran to the rather small audience, and met with Cherry and the elephant.
“Hey! Glad you made it! Kyle, this is Cherry’s good friend, Cyd.”
Cyd reached out and shook Kyle’s paw. “Nice to meet ya. Cherry says you’re a pretty cool wolf.”
“Oh, hey, thanks. I just moved here, and we’re all getting along well.”
Lopez looked at the clock, and noticed that it was about to hit showtime: 9 PM. Right before the duo were scheduled to perform, Lopez excitedly looked at Cyd to ask a quick question.
“So, how’d you get here? Did Dodo allow you to fly finally?
“Well, no. I still can’t fly on DAL planes. I got here in a small boat navigated by a musically-gifted sea captain. I had to pay a ton of bells, but at least he got me here safe and sound. Besides, I get to see what my Cherry likes so much about her little island paradise. You guys really have it made here!”
“Glad to hear it. Enjoy the show, you two.”
All four villagers exchanged waves, and the rockstars went back to the stage to begin the show.

The Hunter and Prey comeback show wasn’t insanely long, but it was enough to entertain the folks for a solid two hours. After the show was over and everyone went home, Cherry met up with Lopez and Kyle to exchange some final words for the night.
“You guys rocked it tonight! I’m happy that we were able to settle that little scuffle earlier. Anyone up to grab some ice cream?”
Both Lopez and Kyle nodded.
“My pal Kyle would like some shredded drum pieces on his sundae.”
“Oh please. I haven’t destroyed a drum kit in so long. I don’t think I’d ever do that again. Oh, remind us again what fantastic topping you usually put on yours?”
“Tomatoes. Anyone want some on theirs? I’ve got plenty!”
“NO!” shouted both Kyle and Cherry. Everyone laughed in unison. The friends were back in business.

It's now time to chill out.

END OF PART 3

TN4U · Apr 17, 2024

WAHU ISLAND UPDATE
April 17th, 2024

Secret Service Snake..?

Why, hello everyone! Doing good? I hope so.

Part 3 of KyLopezVentures took way longer than it should have. A combination of creative slumps and real-life personal problems have prevented me from properly finishing the sequel I've been promising. I finally delivered late in March, and to be honest, I could've taken the story in a better direction than I did. I ended part 2 a bit weirdly, and sort of rushed it. Same goes for part 3, though that time, I had less distractions surrounding me when I typed it up. These short stories have been a wee bit too short, so this time around, I'm hoping to do something different for the next thing I'm working on. This time, I'll be putting the spotlight on a villager who's never seen Wahu soil. You looked at that picture correctly: Snake is playing secret agent SN-002.

I've been growing to appreciate this ninja rabbit more, and have been dying to write something involving him. One of the earliest Photopia sessions I did all the way back in 2020 involved Snake acting as a security guard in a prison, as I thought his blue ninja outfit sort of matched the vibe of a police officer's. As a result, I did a new session this week where I put him in a scenario of spying on a criminal alley meet, alongside him talking to the Chief of Police in the latter's office. I'll save the details for when the story is finished, but my goal is to make it a bit longer than what I usually post. This means it'll take several days or weeks to complete, depending on mood and free time. I may or may not post another quick short story before Snake's; don't expect anything immediate, however.

I updated the character bios to include Snake and his boss, who happens to be Gaston. Snake is found in the "Other bios", while Gaston's is in "Former resident bios" as he actually was a resident on Wahu at one point long ago. As of right now, I don't plan on throwing in any of the current Wahu residents for this upcoming story, though that can change. I'm also planning on updating the dream address sometime this week, as it's no longer winter and I already went to swap out most of the bushes to in-season azaleas. No other major changes otherwise.

That's it, pretty much. Just wanted to tell some of you people what's up. I'll try to reduce the amount of times I post updates in between stories, as they can be irrelevant and sometimes a bit too personal when it comes to discussing about my personal life. Until then...

- Avoid the Zipper T. Bunny! T.K.

The Wahu Island Chronicle: Stories & Happenings

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THE VILLAGERS​

In order of longest-tenured​

Patty​

Bob​

Mallary​

Cherry​

Tom​

Dotty​

Lopez​

Poncho​

Kyle​

Caroline​

OTHER VILLAGERS​

Due to length, these are contained in the spoilers below:​

Coco​

Gaston​

Bruce​

Cyd​

Katt​

Kidd​

O'Hare​

Roscoe D.K.​

Snake​

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Part One: Who Are They?​

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Kyle's Night in the Cemetery​

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THE VILLAGERS

In order of longest-tenured

Patty

Bob

Mallary

Cherry

Tom

Dotty

Lopez

Poncho

Kyle

Caroline

OTHER VILLAGERS

Due to length, these are contained in the spoilers below:

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Gaston

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Katt

Kidd

O'Hare

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