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acnhplayertwo · 4 years

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Player Two's Diary.

Entry 1.

Dear diary,

Thanks Bobness I have this phone with me. Not gonna lie, I'd totally be going cuckoo without an outlet by now.

Why, you ask? Well, it's simple! Let me explain.

This utter mess began something short of one week ago, when my partner, let's call 'em S, presented me with an idea.

"Let's go away, buddy. Let's just toss this boring life behind and go somewhere new. New and fresh. Like... like the Outskirts, or-- or an island. A deserted one, maybe. Somewhere nobody knows us and none of our problems would ever be able and find us. Come on, buddy. Let's do it."

And, pal, I know not whether it was their enthusiasm, or the fact I was starting to resent my life as mayor of a lethargic town, or that we both had a glass too many of Wolfgang's homemade apple wine, but... I accepted.

I said yes.

Actually, I may have said something more than that. In my drunken haze, I remember yelling something like "OH MY BOB, THAT'S AN AWESOME IDEA AND I ALSO HAVE A FRIEND WHO TOLD ME HE'D TAKE ON A DEAERTED ISLAND BUSINESS AND CAN YOU BELIEVE THE COINCIDENCE HAHA, LET ME CALL THAT OL' RASCAL NOOK!"

And that was it, dear diary. In the span of an our we had traded our entire life's savings for a couple tickets to Nowhere.

But it wasn't that bad at first. I was actually psyched. "You go first, S!", I said. "You go and prepare a cozy spot for us. I'll reach you in three days tops."

And so we did. The next day, S kissed me goodbye, nothing but a backpack on their shoulders and hope in their eyes. "Plane's departing soon. I'll be waiting for you in our lives' next chapter, buddy."

So they went, while I stayed. I had too much stuff to do still, what with signing my temporary resignment as town mayor, packing up, saying goodbye to my citizens.

Then, 48 hours later, there I was, waiting to hop aboard on one of Dodo Airlines' rickety machines.

"Oh my, you won't believe how perfect it is here!" S' voice crackled assaulted my ears with a mix of squawking happiness and bad reception through my phone's speaker. "Weather is marvellous, and Sakura's are bloomin' and and and everything is just SO PERFECT!! There's so much stuff to do, and things to craft, and everyone is just SO DEAR!! They even threw a welcome party for the first residents, and there were confetti, and juice, and even a BONFIRE!!"

I found myself smiling as I left my old life behind and flew through the skies that would lead me to a brand new one. But my smile soon faltered as I stepped off the plane and onto Sleepwalk Island's wooden dock.

"Oh, you here. Finally. Fearless Leader's waiting for you."

"Allright," I thought as I followed Tim ad Tommy’s fuzzy shadows across the island and into a green tent, “they have never been the friendly type, but... is a hug really too much to ask?” I ignored my disappointment, telling myself that they must have been busy, like they always are, and let my face melt in a huge smile as I breathed in the familiar musk of wood and tanuki fur.

“PT!! Such a pleasure to see you here, yes yes!“ Tom rushed towards me, paws extended, his eyes nothing more than a couple happy slits. “I heard of your arrival and boy, I couldn’t wait! Here, drink something and make yourself at home...“ He slapped a can of soda in my open hand and began explaining me the hows and whys of his new business venture, nodding with his usual verve. “... and from this terminal here you can order anything you want and have it shipped right at your door-- ahem, tent step! Isnt’ it great??“

I smiled, knowing full well there was nothing I could say or do to stop his tirade. “And look! This is my new workbench! You can use it anytime, and-- let me show you how it’s done!“

Twenty minutes later, I stepped back out into the morning sun, arms heavy with Nook’s patented survival bundle, head buzzing with info.

“Awesome! I will repay this trifle of a loan by nighttime, and after that, this island will be mine! Oh boy, I can’t wait! It’s gonna be so rad!“

Or so I thought.

Reality, in fact, was soon to smack me in the face. Hard.

You see, S had told me all about how they had been able to trade bugs and fish for much-needed DiY recipes. “And you’ll be able to craft lotsa useful stuff, like axes, and you’ll need those to find wood and get stones and iron from rocks and build so much amazing objects-- I just can’t even!!“

So, understandably, I was all set to seize the occasion and do the same.

That afternoon, I stepped into Nook’s headquarters with a bucket of fish, looking forward to my bright future as Sleepwalk’s craftmaster, when...

“Oh. I see. well, buddy, I’m afraid I can’t help you at this time,“ Tom said, avoiding my gaze and preferring to stare at one of my flapping mackerels instead.

“What d’you mean?,“ I asked, wiping the sweat from my surprised face.

“Well, it’s kinda embarrassing, but...“ Tom scratched his head before continuing. “You see, every other person no this island came in here, trading their critters for recipes, and... there were more people than I expected and I didn’t take into account this possibility and...“ He sighed. “...I’m all out. I have no more recipes to give you, buddy. Sorry ‘bout that.“

I blinked more times than needed.

“But... what am I supposed to do now?“

Tom shrugged.

“You can still sell your catch to scrounge up a few bells, I suppose. Or you could keep some fish as pet, I dunno.“

“Yes, no, what I mean is...“ I looked around and gestured to the outside world.

“What am I supposed to do?!“

Tom cocked his head and bit his lip. Then, unexpectedly, he flashed me the biggest smile in the universe.

“It’s simple! ENJOY LIFE!“

He slid an arm around my shoulders and began dragging me towards the exit.

“You can fish some more, gather branches and craft a bug net, or-- or or, ehm, take pictures! Yes yes, pictures are nice, you can post them on Twitter and make all your friends jealous, and then Ireallyhavenoideaso GOODBYE FOR NOW!“

And just like that, he shoved me and my broken heart out of his tent and back into Sleepwalk Island’s untamed wilderness.

Needless to say, I was dumbfounded.

Still, I couldn’t stop now. I still had a debt to repay.

So, I took a deep breath and lunged into my activities.

I spent the entire day fishing, and fishing, and catching bugs, and picking fruit, until the sun set, and the fresh night breeze began freezing the sweat on my skin.

I was beyond exhausted, dirty and disheartened. But I was ready, and, most importantly, furious.

The moon was high in the sky when I stepped into Tom’s tent, and found him alone, beer in hand, a stack of paperwork under his muzzle.

“Nook,“ I announced, voice low and gravelly with rage, “check your phone.“

“Oh, PT! I didn’t see you the--“

“Check. Your. Phone.“

I stared at him as he obeyed.

“Ah. Your debt is settled, I see! Now we can think about building you a home proper, yes yes!“ He was trying to hide his embarrassment behind a thin layer of businesslike enthusiasm, but I wasn’t having it.

“Yes, I want my roof blue, thank you. But that is not why I am here.“

I sat on a stool beside him and spread my fingers on his desk.

“Now listen closely, Nook. I did everything you told me. I spent the entire day chasing bugs and I caught so much fish I will stink like one for a month. Then, I took pictures. I took so many my thumbs are sore, and people are wondering wether I am planning to become a professional photographer. And now, here I am, same as when I started, doing ZERO progress cause guess what?!“ I could hear my voice raising in volume, but could do nothing to stop it. “There is nothing to do on this island. Nothing. I can’t craft anything, cause there’s no recipes. And even if I did, I couldn’t craft, or build anything, cause there are no materials for me to gather. But tell me the truth, Tom. This isn’t the same for everybody, is it? No... these things are happening to me and me only. Cause there is nothing for me to do on this island. Ain’t it the truth, Tom?“

When the raccoon looked at me, he did it with his saddest eyes.

“Alright, PT, yes. You want the truth, you shall have it.“

He drew a long, shaky breath and tossed me a beer.

“You see, bud, Sleepwalk is an island. And until not long ago, a deserted one at that.“ He cleared his voice before resuming.

“So, yeah. There isn’t much here. Literally. Resources are awfully scarce. And in order to thrive, you need as much as you can get your paws on, and at times, even that isn’t enough. Sure, people here might seem kind and friendly. But truth is, we’re all locked in a constant fight for survival. Every single one of us. Never forget that.“

“But... But I...“

But I am the mayor, I wanted to yell.

“You are the second human relocator, my friend. It’s a first come first served world, buddy... and you, I’m afraid, arrived a bit late.“

I do not remember walking out of that tent and into the darkness.

I don’t even remember how I ended up on the beach.

All I know, is that I did not sleep last night, busy as I was hugging my tear-soaked knees, wrestling with that crushing realization.

The realization that, on this island, I will never be anything more than... Player Two.

#acnh #animal crossing new horizons #player two

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