tbh I've clearly misread that, my apologies. However, while it's not the full "here's a way of completely avoiding interacting with a character!" I'm still not a fan of it, purely because once you've collected every fossil (and especially once the museum's fully completed) there'd be borderline no point to interacting with Blathers afterwards, let alone going into the museum. I want to have reasons to interact with characters! I like going into the museum, getting Blathers to assess my fossils, then popping into the Roost for a cheeky coffee, dammit. I don't want it to end up like Shrunk in NL, where because there's now a full two pages of slots for emotes there's a point in which I'm no longer interacting with this character.
It's fine. Just wanted to add some clarification, since criticism towards the latest installment in a series can seem messy and discrepant, especially in a community as big and active as the
Animal Crossing fandom.
As for Blathers, I still think there could be a workaround, here, that could satisfy both convenience and the life-sim aspect this series (not just
NH, specifically) could use a little more of. Grant players the ability to identify fossils, but bring back the Episodes Blathers had which delved into his entomophobia, his relationship with his sister, and his backstory of how he came to be a museum curator.
Wild World did this with most of the special NPCs in that game, exploring a little bit of themselves through brief exchanges throughout the year. It boggles the mind most of this was emitted the next game after — regulating it exclusively to the Able Sisters, then completely abandoning it altogether. The world will never understand Nintendo's bizarre, enigmatic thought process. I understand this is tangential, but I'm still miffed that Tom Nook's backstory wasn't expanded beyond
WW. It wasn't even
touched upon at all in
City Folk, which is especially infuriating since it would have been a good opportunity to port his Episodes into the game, because Nookington's no longer needed this dumb "visit from another town" requirement in order to be established. It would've been a good window to look into who Tom Nook's character really is, rather than a misleading meme of a corrupted landlord — which he
isn't.
Back to my point: it doesn't have to mirror
WW exactly, but we should at least get small intervals of casual communication between characters like Blathers. It's a bit of a shame how much of his character is defined by his fear of bugs, because one Episode in
WW made him look as if he was undergoing a character arc — shedding his fear to be a part of Celeste's activities. Status quo ultimately prevents him from receiving one, but it doesn't make any of this any less heartwarming:
"
You recall that I declared I'd work on conquering my fear of bugs, eh wot? Yes. Well, I've been doing my own special training! [...] The means to which I have resorted are quite extreme, really... Hoo. Yes. Indeed. Just thinking about it makes my belly burble, but... I lay my Giant Dictionary of Insects before me, fight my gag reflex, and... slowly run my talon over each of the foul images! Ugh... The thought alone of those furtive caresses makes my gorge rise! The other day, I opened the book to a close-up of a green caterpillar's face... I believe I may have pocket-retched a bit... Ugh. So very vile..." — Part 2 of Blathers' Episode in December
Here, he laments that he hasn't made much progress in conquering his fear:
"
I'd very much like to take Celeste camping in the summertime, you see... Youths her age still tend to enjoy such activities, do they not? Yes. Well. In any case... I believe a night of camping is just the thing! I should think she'd rather enjoy that, wouldn't you say so? [...] To be forthright, I owe her an enjoyable time. I've been a substandard brother... We go to the beach, I see a sea louse, and soon I'm covered in nerve-hives... We go hiking. I glimpse a common butterfly and need a week of therapy... When I think of the scenes I've made, I'm simply horrified for Celeste!" — Part 4 of Blathers' Episode in December
This fifth and final part of this Episode is when he gives up on this effort; he explains why:
"
Last night, I was gingerly perusing my bug dictionary... I imagine this will come as no surprise, but some vile image caused me to swoon... When I came to, there was Celeste caring for me. She said this to me: 'Big brother, I have had quite enough. This madness must end this minute! Why, everyone has certain fears, certain things that one cannot abide. You detest bugs, Brother! And that is what makes you you! Got it?' ...I daresay they were the nicest words I'd ever heard. Hoo! Indeed, hootie hoo!"
He bewails over the fact that he can't be a part of her life more often, yet is proud of how mature and caring his sister is:
"
It saddens me that I lack enough leisure time to dedicate to her, but... Even without brotherly guidance, Celeste has grown into a fine young lady... The pride I feel for my little sister... Well, it cannot be quantified, wot! You could scour the essays and dissertations of the world's academics,
and I'm quite certain you'd fail to find evidence of a superior sibling!"
This interchange, alone, is probably the best writing this series has ever had. If I say
WW has the best dialogue, it's because of these Episodes. These are way better and more important than villagers making crass jokes and sniping insults at you for no reason. I'm not sure why these aren't discussed often when it comes to
AC dialogue. It's still dialogue, regardless if it's from NPCs rather than villagers.
This is just one example of there being incentive to talk to Blathers beyond just giving him fossils to examine. Honestly, he'd be no more than a fossil-examiner, which wouldn't be much better than the alternative of there being no reason to speak to him after everything in the museum's completed. Had other ideas, but thought they lacked detail, and this post is already too long for anyone to care about, anyway.
A spot-on take on Shrunk. Wouldn't it have been great that, after you unlocked every emotion in
New Leaf, Shrunk would perform his comedian routine in your town, with your villagers showing various levels of reviled criticism towards his awful jokes? Frillard could've taken his place at Club LOL while he was out. It would've made quite a lot of sense, given you were the only person who came to him for his jokes in the first place. It could've been a motivator for him.