Aino's (and Bryan's) Adventures in Animachi, Weeks 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22

When we last checked in with the residents of Animachi, Aino and Bryan had just finished remodeling their homes, Robin and Winnie had just moved out of theirs and Chadder had moved into one of his own.

What has happened since then? For starters, Halloween happened.



Mayor Aino's favorite part of this spook-tacular holiday? Scaring the crap out of her neighbors--especially the ones who didn't vote for her during the last election.



Halloween wasn't the only cause for celebration in the last four or five weeks. Another: Snake's birthday on Nov. 3. Aino got him a treadmill as a joke, but Snake actually seemed to like it so she did her best to stifle her giggles after he opened it.



Aino and her fellow Animachians also celebrated the grand opening of Katrina's fortune teller shop earlier this month.



Sure, it could be a bit more visually appealing, but it still looks better than the defiled trash can that used to fill this empty alley.

Speaking of grand openings, Animachi recently welcomed the T&T Emporium to its main street, too.



The highlight of this gigantic, multi-floored store for Bryan: Gracie Grace's shop--despite the fact that its proprietress is a bit on the (strange and) snobbish side.



Although the fair citizens of Animachi said a good number of "hellos" in the last month or so, they also said a few "goodbyes." Case in point: Poppy decided to move to greener pastures shortly after Halloween. (Hopefully it wasn't because of that prank Bryan pulled on her?)

Aino's (and Bryan's) Adventures in Animachi, Weeks Nine and Ten

Were Aino's and Bryan's ninth and tenth weeks in Animachi as adventure-filled as the ones that came before them? That depends on what you thought of those previous weeks, I guess, but I think both of the aforementioned citizens would say they were filled with at least a bit of adventure.

They certainly were filled with a smidge of intrigue, as it was revealed that Barold, Rodney and Snake all are gay.

OK, so maybe that's a stretch, but the conversations above at least suggest they could be gay.

Hamlet isn't gay--or at least I don't think he is--but he is a bit fidgety, as evidenced by his recent urge to leave the, er, hamlet of Animachi for greener pastures.

Being the meanies they are, Aino and Bryan didn't try to stop him, even though they like him quite a bit. Unfortunately, he's one of two hamsters in Animachi, and one of two jock villagers, and Aino and Bryan prefer Rodney and Snake when it comes to hamsters and jocks, respectively, so ... Hamlet had to go.

Only he didn't. Move out, I mean. The day before he was about to do so, Aino checked in on him and when she did she was informed that he would be sticking around for a while longer. (Yeah, right; she's heard that before.)

Which would've been all well and good, but around that same time Filbert wandered into town to make use of its campground. With Hamlet staying put, the adorable blue squirrel wasn't able to fill his spot as Animachi's tenth villager.

Aino got over her disappointment rather quickly thanks to the professionally shot photo Ankha gave her after she completed some gargantuan task (like catching and handing over a coelacanth).

Aino's (and Bryan's) Adventures in Animachi, Weeks Seven and Eight

As all two of you who enjoy reading these posts (I kid ... I think) surely figured out long ago, I failed to publish an update on Aino's and Bryan's "Adventures in Animachi" last week.

There were a few reasons for that, with the main one being that I didn't (and don't) want to turn this blog into little more than a dumping ground for my obsession-fueled Animal Crossing: New Leaf musings.

As such, don't expect to see another such update next week--or possibly even the week after. Although I have no plans to end this series anytime soon (I'm still far too obsessed with New Leaf to do that), I definitely want to spread out these posts a bit from here on out.

With that out of the way, let's get to what actually happened in Animachi over the last two weeks, shall we?

The screengrab below does a more than acceptable job of summing up a good portion of the last two weeks in Animachi, actually, as both Aino and Bryan spent a lot of that time working on their homes and their wardrobes.

In the shot above, by the way, Aino is showing off her current "Hip Geisha" look as well as her cozy-as-all-hell study.

Moving along, here (above) is a glimpse of Aino's nearly finished kitchen. (All that's left to do is find and install the flooring that matches the wallpaper.)

It's a good thing she's been keeping up on her interior design hobby, as Barold popped in for a surprise visit the other day. Oddly, and unsurprisingly, he fell asleep--while standing--halfway through his so-called inspection.

Speaking of odd encounters, Aino recently had the following exchange with Ankha:

Lest you should think that exchange isn't so odd, here's a shot of the streetlight she'd like to see somewhere in Animachi:

Thankfully, Rodney quickly came to the rescue and suggested the magnitudes-more-interesting "cube sculpture."

Amazingly, Rodney's recommendation didn't win the "Best Public Works Request of the Last Two Weeks" award. No, that went to Bluebear, who, during a rather impromptu discussion one evening, basically begged for a police station to be built.

Here's the sight that greeted Aino and her fellow villagers the next morning:

Famicom and NES designs for your Animal Crossing: New Leaf flat

Don't worry, those of you who aren't as obsessed with New Leaf as I currently am, this blog isn't transitioning into an Animal Crossing QR code blog, despite these last three posts.

In fact, this will be the last QR code-focused post for a number of days--although I can't promise that another won't be published on, say, Friday or Saturday.

As for this particular QR code-filled post: as I'm sure you surmised from the header above, the focus today is on Famicom and NES designs.

In the screencap below, Aino, the Fabulously Coifed Mayor of Animachi, shows off a couple of cushions that have been affixed with my most recent designs:

I know the NES cushion is a bit wonky, but the actual design is pretty nice (if I do say so myself):



Oh, and here's the Famicom design (and corresponding QR code, for those of you who want to plop a cushy Famicom in front of one of the many TVs that are surely sitting in your New Leaf pad):



You don't have to have these designs etched onto a cushion (by Re-Tail's Cyrus), of course. Another option is to hang them on your walls, like art--and like Bryan demonstrates in the following screenshot.



Or you could sit them out on easels, for an even more artsy interior design element.

Next up: a handful of handheld designs--assuming they look decent enough after being plastered onto cushions.

See also: 'PC Engine and Dreamcast designs for your Animal Crossing: New Leaf pad' and 'Sega Saturn and Mega Drive 2 designs for your Animal Crossing: New Leaf suite'

Aino's (and Bryan's) Adventures in Animachi, Week Six

Week six was a pretty low key one for Aino, the Magnificent Mayoress (that's what she's requiring her underlings to call her at the moment) of Animachi, and her cohort, Regular Ol' Citizen™ Bryan, as you're sure to see while taking in the following photo diary.

That's not to say it was without its thrills, though. Case in point: a rather fabulous lighthouse was built (overnight, of course) near the town's most precipitous cliff.



Also, Animachians were treated to a stunning meteor shower for the majority of one evening.



And then there was the morning when both Bryan and Aino were handed golden watering cans in recognition of all the hard work they did (not much, to be honest) to maintain Animachi's "Perfect Town" status.



All of those events paled in comparison to the one documented in the photo below, though.



Why was the unearthing of yet another boring fossil considered such a momentous occasion? Because it had laid, maddeningly undiscovered, for about three or four weeks--during which time Aino and Bryan nearly tore out their hair in search of it. (Because, you know, it meant they only were able to dig up three, rather than four, fossils each day.)

For anyone who cares, a small sample of my favorite Animal Crossing: New Leaf QR codes

After spending just about a month and a half with Animal Crossing: New Leaf, I'm finally at a place where I'm pretty darn happy with the look of my town. As such, I thought I'd take a moment today to share some of the QR codes I've put to use while developing Animachi.

For instance, here's the path design that twists and turns its way around my humble borough:





(I found it while perusing the wonderful merongcrossing.tumblr.com, by the way.)

I considered using the following design instead, but in the end I preferred the more natural look of the one above.



That said, if I ever buy another copy of this game (a distinct possibility given the number of 3DSes in my possession at the moment), I may finally put it to use.



I also like the path design shown above, but I've been unable to find a QR code of it anywhere. (FYI: QR codes for the "little boats on water" pattern can be found here.)

Those of you who have visited Animachi in person or via its Dream Address (5600-2252-0337) likely have encountered the adorable Isabelle "photo face board" that sits just a hop, skip and a jump away from the town's Re-Tail shop.



It was nabbed from soeurs-doigts-de-fee.skyrock.com, in case any of you would like to know where I first came across it.

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the fabulously fungal pattern that covers the walls of my main character's (Mayor Aino) cozy study.



It was produced by Pixiv illustrator Meyu, by the way, and I was turned onto it by my pal Anne (of chic-pixel.com).

If any of you have favorite New Leaf QR codes you'd like to introduce me to, please feel free to do so in the comments section below.

See also: 'Aino's (and Bryan's) Adventures in Animachi'

Aino's (and Bryan's) Adventures in Animachi, Week Four

Last week was another noteworthy one for the residents of Animachi. Case in point: Mayor Aino found the village's first mushroom growing beside one of its many "special" tree stumps.

She also shot down its second golden slingshot. (Bryan nabbed the first a week earlier.)

As for Bryan, he was stoked to stumble upon the Able Sisters working away on the rainbow shirts that surely will be worn by Animachi's citizens during its upcoming gay pride festivities.

Speaking of gay stuff: Bryan paid a visit to Dunwich (of The Dunwich Hoarder fame) early in the week so he could spend some time ogling the muscle-boy signs that sit outside Mayor Terry's pad.

While there, he discovered that someone named Butch will soon move into town--and then made a mental note to return with "housewarming gifts" (let your imaginations run wild) as soon as that happens.

Bryan also make the trek to Mamemura, the village maintained by Anne of the Chic Pixel blog, last week.

Just in case you didn't know, Animal Crossing: New Leaf has taken over my gaming life

And worse, it's nearly taken over the rest of my life, too, but that's another story.

(That said, I should note that things have gotten quite a bit better in that regard in the last week or so due to the fact that I'm pretty darn happy with my New Leaf village at the moment--so most of the time I now spend in it revolves around me chatting with my buds, checking the shops, digging up fossils and gyroids and plucking errant flowers from the soil.)



Anyway, I'm sharing this here because: 1) I'm guessing at least a few of you are in the same boat and, as such, may be looking for a bit of supportive company, and 2) I'm hoping it'll help explain why my blogging output has been suckier than normal since Animal Crossing: New Leaf entered my life three or so weeks ago.

With that out of the way, are any of you also finding yourself a bit obsessed with this disturbingly addicting 3DS game?



If so, which aspects are most responsible for your New Leaf obsession? Is it arranging flowers, or planting and maintaining orchards? Or maybe it's decorating your house, or creating fabulous pieces of clothing?

For me, the main draw at the moment is the overall town-planning element--laying down paths, deciding where to place public works projects, that sort of thing. Soon, though, I'll likely transition from focusing on that to focusing on getting the interior (and exterior, really) of my home(s) in order.



By the way, if you'd like to check out my village, Animachi, but are too shy to visit it while I'm there (or you have a hard time attracting my attention while I'm playing the game), you can do so by sharing my "Dream Address"--5600-2252-0337--with the Dream Suite's Luna.

Feel free to share your New Leaf town's Dream Address in the comments section below, as I've love to check them out when I'm not busy watering my precious flower beds or stockpiling (and selling) beetles that have been scoured from Animachi Island.

Aino's (and Bryan's) Adventures in Animachi, Week Three

Considering this is Aino's and Bryan's third week in Animachi, you could be forgiven for thinking there wouldn't be as much as report on as there was during the first two weeks.

Of course, anyone who's also traipsing through Animal Crossing: New Leaf at the moment knows how wrong that line of thinking is--thanks to how slowly various areas and aspects of this adorable 3DS game are made available to players.

Cases in point: in the last week, both the Dream Suite and Kicks opened their doors to the citizens of Animachi, while Club LOL will follow suit this weekend. (The museum should get a second story, too.)

Other noteworthy events that came to pass in the last week: as showcased in the screencap below, Bryan paid a visit to the New Leaf home of Reggie Fils-Aime, president/COO of Nintendo of America.



Also, Aino helped celebrate Bluebear's birthday--or, rather, she watched while Bluebear and Snake celebrated in the former's darkened home.



Oh, and Animachi lost its first resident about halfway through the week, when Chevre moved to greener pastures. (Pun intended.)



Will Flo the penguin be the next to go? Both Bryan and Aino certainly hope so and have been doing all they can to prompt her to leave. Unfortunately, most of those efforts have blown up in their faces--as evidenced by the snapshot below that shows Aino falling victim to a pitfall seed she'd planted earlier in the day in front of Flo's home.



One Animachi citizen that won't be sent packing anytime soon is Rodney. Sure, he irked Aino and Bryan early on, but that changed when ol' Rodney showed his "true colors," so to speak.





Also helping matters has been Rodney's rad bachelor pad, which features two arcade cabinets, a pinball machine and a ping pong table, among other entertaining contraptions.

Other than that, Aino has been spending a lot of her free time racing around town--an endeavor that more often than not ends in disaster.