Aino's (and Bryan's) Adventures in Animachi, Weeks 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17

You'd think more would've happened in the five weeks since I last published one of these posts, wouldn't you?

Actually, more did happen, but I decided to edit things down a bit for a few reasons--one of which has to do with my hard drive dying on me with little warning a week and a half ago.

Thankfully, all of that's behind me and my laptop now, so I can get back to the business of recounting the soap opera-esque lives of Aino and Bryan and their fellow Animachians.

Before we get to the drama, though, how about we traipse through a few of the previously unseen rooms in Aino's sprawling home?

For instance, here's the speakeasy-ish cafe-slash-coffee house that's located in Aino's basement.



Only those who know the secret handshake--and slip Aino a fiver at the door--are allowed entrance.

And here's a look at Aino's new--and rather garish--guest bedroom:



A pretty daring use of the Lovely and Polka-Dot furniture series, don't you think? Or did the design work here bring to mind another d-word--like "dreadful"?

Finally, here's an updated look at Aino's study:



Actually, this room has received a bit of an overhaul in the last week or so--a bit of which can be seen in the following photo (which focuses on the golden house model the mayor received for reaching 150,000 Happy Home Academy points).



Another new piece of decor that can be found in Aino's home:



Yep, that's Barold's picture. Which means all Aino needs is Snake's photo to complete her collection. (OK, so she needs to nab Rodney's and Rizzo's pics, too--but Barold's and Snake's are her Holy Grails.)

Aino's (and Bryan's) Adventures in Animachi, Weeks 11 and 12

Let's get something monumental out of the way right of the bat in this installment of "Aino's (and Bryan's) Adventures in Animachi": Animachi finally has a proper town flag.

Here's a shot of Mayor Aino as she stands proudly beneath it:



Here's another look at it, in case you can't make out all of the details in the shot above.



The "A" is Animachi, of course--although a few of the town's snarkier citizens have suggested (in hushed tones, naturally) Aino may think it's supposed to represent and honor her on-going mayorship.

The figures that can be seen standing around the "A," by the way, are (from left to right) Ankha, Snake and Barold.



Hamlet, above, didn't make the cut, sadly. Is that what prompted him to pack up and leave town last week? No one knows, but at least a few Animachians suspect it may have been a factor.

Although both Aino and Bryan were sad to see the little jock go, the former was happy that the removal of his home meant an illuminated tower could be erected in its place.



The tower in question looks snazzy enough by day (above), but it looks nothing less than stunning at night (below).



Another reason Aino, especially, wasn't entirely gutted by Hamlet's departure: he sent her a framed photo of himself as a parting gift.



Speaking of villager photos: Aino also got Winnie's "pic" last week after completing an entirely mundane task for the long-faced lass.

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:

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

Life in Animachi was a bit less frantic this week than it was in weeks one through four. That's not to say it was boring, though. For instance, Mayor Aino continued her quest to pimp out her ever-expanding, not-quite-humble abode--including the trippy "balloon room" that can be seen below.

As effervescent as that room is, Aino doesn't spend much time in it. Instead, she spends most of her time in her brand new (and still-in-the-works, admittedly) study.

Aino also erected a few more public works projects in the past week, including this "illuminated heart":

And this "stone tablet":

As exciting as those events were for the citizens of Animachi, both pales in comparison to the opening of the town's first cafe.

That's not to say Aino ran around like a headless chicken the entire week. She also relaxed a bit. Case in point: one day, she spent a few minutes (with Ankha and Winnie) taking in the sight of a double rainbow.

She also had a nice--if exercise-centric--chat with her main "brozinsky," Hamlet.

She hoped to have a similarly enchanting tête-à-tête with Barold, but, well, those of you who've met him know how can be...

Welcome to Animachi

For the last two days, I've been doing what every self-respecting 3DS owner has been doing for at least that long, if not longer--playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf as much as possible.

Granted, much of that time has been spent fishing and "hunting" various insects with my trusty butterfly net--as opposed to, you know, gardening or landscaping or planning the layout of the gyroid-filled mansion I'm sure to own in the future--but considering that's how I've spent 90 percent of my time while playing previous Animal Crossing games, I guess it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.

That's not what you came here to read about, though, is it? No, I'm guessing you came here to read about--and see screenshots of--my New Leaf town and characters. Thankfully, I've got all of that in spades.

Below, for instance, is a snapshot of my female character, Aino--named after a figure from Finnish mythology--stepping foot into Animachi, my town, for the first time.



I came up with the name Animachi, by the way, by combining the first three letters of "animal" with one of the Japanese words for town or village. Fitting, don't you think?



Oh, and here's a shot of Animachi's first citizens (aka my welcoming committee): Rizzo, Barold, Snake, Winnie and Chevre. (My favorite at the moment is Barold, by the way--don't tell Snake!)



One of the first things I--er, I mean, Aino--did after getting settled in Animachi: buy a fortune cookie from the nearby Nookling Junction shop. (And, no, I don't know why Aino decided to wait until she was inside the museum to crack it open.)



Aino sports the above-mentioned "green hat" (aka the "hero's cap") in the screenshot below. Pretty nifty, eh?



Not so nifty: the fact that the river that runs through Animachi is infested with piranha. Not that Aino seems to mind.