Eligible [ lo-fi hip-hop beats to terraform/catch fish to 🎣 💌 ]

[zissou]

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lo-fi hip-hop beats to terraform / catch fish to
zissou

Oh, hello there. If you were one of Pawtucket's villagers, you'd clap your paws to your mouth and pretend you don't know who I am anymore because I've been gone for seventeen months and I have a terrible new haircut. Thankfully, you aren't a bicep-burdened duck or a dog with a penchant for gardening (... I think?) so don't need to give you coconuts every day for a week to get back into your good graces.

Let's try that again, shall we? Hello! I'm Zissou. Exhausted student, part-time stalk market aficionado, local tree-shaking maniac, and landscaper with an eye for the... shall we say, avant garde.

I love The Bell Tree and the cozy space it represents amidst the swirling tumbleweeds of the world wide web. I especially love the Island Journals forum, where whose with a fondness for diary-keeping and taking an obscene number of photographs at villager birthday parties give us a peek into their slice of paradise.

As a full-time stress case who spends 95% of her day studying and the other 5% frantically guzzling coffee to stay afloat, I seek solace wherever I can find it. An escape from studying while studying. And there's nothing better for the soul than listening to lo-fi hip-hop beats for every mood, season, and time of day.

Here, I'll be posting updates from Pawtucket, along with the lo-fi I've been listening to. Join me on my quest to get good grades, imbibe a non-toxic amount of caffeine, terraform the wasteland of Pawtucket, and, as always, vibe to some relaxing jams.

P.S. If you see me edit this post a million times, shhhhh no you didn't

Spoiler: current villagers

current villagers: paula, roald, tammi, marina, frett, hans, wendy, bill, louie
past villagers: oh dear, there are a lot. to be updated~

Spoiler: goings on about town

03.04.23. this journal tied for second place in the "best slice-of-life" category in TBT's community vote! woohoo!
02.13.23. this journal was chosen as a staff pick in TBT's 2023 "new year, new horizons" journaling event! thanks mick!

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[zissou]

today's bop: soft nintendo game music for the winter 🕹
february 02, 2023

Oh, man. Reader, the week has been tough. This year has been tough (I'm allowed to say that now because it's February). I'm running on fumes, no sleep, and a healthy dose of fear. Top it off with some espresso and you have my brain in a nutshell. ️

Returning to Pawtucket after a long absence is never a good feeling. For some, I imagine that returning to one's island feels like going home. For me, it feels more like entering an alternate universe where I try to understand what I was thinking regarding the random objects scattered around town. At least, this time, it was clear that I had been trying to make the fountain festive for Toy Day.

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Trying is the operative word here. I remember being so very excited to finally celebrate Toy Day in any Animal Crossing game. I've been playing for almost two decades and I rarely ever make it to any events, because, y'know, I'm celebrating the event in real life. Also, the holidays are a busy time for a student who's trying to cram as much information into her brain as possible for finals and then absolutely vegging out in her childhood bedroom for the next six weeks. Whiplash!

Unfortunately, I did not make it to Toy Day. I won't say the decorations were in vain, because now I have a goal upon returning to Pawtucket: clean up the mess I made! Yay! (I'm trying to look on the bright side, shh...)

I would like to actually "finish" the island (or at least get it into a somewhat presentable state), so once I catch up on my schoolwork this weekend I'll try to tidy up and explore the half-baked terraforming projects up north. Stay tuned!

 

[zissou]

today's bop: japanese jazz when driving on a warm night
february 03, 2023

Happy birthday, Bill! (We're pretending I wasn't two hours late to his party and two days late for this post. Shhh.)

I'm notorious for being bad about remembering birthdays. Which is no excuse! I go about remedying this by (1) apologizing profusely, claiming that wishing someone at 11:53pm still technically counts, and spending way too much money on an extremely late present; and (2) setting a reminder in my calendar so it never happens again.

Thankfully, I have Isabelle as my alarm on Pawtucket. Of course, just because I knew it was Bill's birthday didn't mean that I had planned a thoughtful present for him. I rummaged frantically in my storage for something he'd like. A houseplant? Not enough protein. Pink pacifier? Too on-the-nose. (Beak?) Roald's old stuff that I "reclaimed" in the name of making Pawtucket more aesthetically pleasing? Perfect.

Needless to say, he loved it. There were tears all over the cake Portia had spent hours baking (or, more likely, picked up on the way to the party and pretended was her own handiwork). Who knew Bill and Portia were close? The villager friendships that crop up at birthday parties and impromptu hangouts never fail to surprise me.

Bill is an interesting villager to me because he isn't the most original or cute, and when he first moved in I immediately decided he could leave whenever he damn pleased, but now I'm fond of him. This happens to me with most villagers. I'm still planning on letting him leave whenever he damn pleases, but with more love and acceptance than apathy. (We'll have a going-away party with a football-shaped cake and everything. )

Daily obligatory "I'm so tired", times about sixteen because I'm more sleep-deprived than usual, but tomorrow I'm planning on getting ahead on my work. Which hopefully means more time to actually play ACNH and get around to that spring cleaning.

Enjoy the jazz! See you tomorrow!

 

[zissou]

today's bop: speedrunning an assignment but it is a world record
optional ambient noise: rain & thunderstorm sounds | crackling fireplace
february 04, 2023

I finally changed my outfit! I am so proud of myself! (It's the little things, okay.) I debated making my outfit in Animal Crossing the same as my weekend outfit (usually sweatpants while I scuttle around in the library like an over-caffeinated gremlin), but I decided at least one version of myself should look somewhat presentable. I kept the beanie and braids, though, because that's my current real-life strategy for matching cuteness with warmth.

Today we had a visitor at the campsite! We actually had one last week, too, so I'll share both. I love getting visitors, because there's no realistic way that I'll get to meet all of the villagers that roam the game's wild world (see what I did there?) but I want to see as many as I can. I like surprises. Every time I'm running through the woods to the tent, I wonder if I'll get a "famous" villager. ️ It's like meeting a celebrity!

As usual, I skittered off to the campsite...

Judy! A bona fide famous villager! She is genuinely adorable, though something about her seems... off. She's too cute. Like she was engineered in a lab to make me want to protect her with my life. Some sort of bio-weapon? The product of deep learning-driven evolution? At any rate, she wanted to swap places with Hans, and there was no way I was letting that happen.

This week's camper...

Oh my god, Louie stole my heart instantly. He's a jock, yes, and there are loads of creatine-obsessed frat bros on the island already, but he seems far more knowledgeable about sports than Bill and Roald. There's something in his spirit. I feel like he could explain American football to me in a way that actually makes sense (at this point it's feeling like the eighth wonder of the world). It took some cajoling, but eventually I won all of the clothes in his suitcase and he had no choice but to stay, least he freeze to death in the nude.

Unfortunately, that meant...

Portia had to leave. It's sad, because I am fond of Miss Portia, with her tidy little outfits and her winged eyeliner. Who's going to chastise me for not posting to my socials during the hours of peak engagement? Who's going to apply my highlighter in a way that doesn't make me look like I just climbed out of a swimming pool? (Please don't let it be Paula.) I will miss Portia, but I know she'll be a successful HBIC wherever she goes.

I'm slowly cleaning out the Toy Day decorations, which I went extremely overboard with despite the fact that I didn't even attend the Toy Day celebrations and didn't get any presents, grumble grumble. I don't think snow is the ideal backdrop for my village, but I do like how crisp and bright all of the colors look contrasted against it. If only I could remember what decorations I had out before I put the Toy Day stuff up... 🖼

Another day, another post about how I'll get around to cleaning... eventually. Maybe I'll throw on today's bop and get it done. It's one of my favorite playlists, even though it is decidedly not very chill. Depending on my stress level, I'll change the playback speed. Today was a 0.75x day... tell me what that means, will ya?

Enjoy the beats, and see you tomorrow!

 

[zissou]

today's bop: boba stop chill lofi vibes
optional ambient noise: cozy rainy library with fireplace
february 05, 2023

It's 10:30pm and I should be asleep, but instead I'm here, stuffing peanut butter-covered marshmallows into my mouth and reminiscing about today's travails in Pawtucket. Maybe because I'd like to live in Pawtucket, where my existence does not need to be justified by actually having to do anything. It's a place to just... be.

I felt ridiculously cute in my little outfit this morning. Does anyone else feel guilty for always wearing different color variations of the same items and then try to force themself to include items they normally don't use? Just me? Anyway, I was pleased because I'd incorporated a hat and shoes that I typically never wear. Then immediately discovered the holy grail at the Able Sisters and changed my outfit on the spot. Never mind... I'll be wearing this hair for the next six months, thank you very much.

Then I was off to bother my neighbors do some friendly visiting.

Bill made me lunch, which was awfully nice of him (though he didn't have to go far out of his way, considering he lives in a Chinese restaurant). I helped with the extensive preparations by taking pictures of the final product and leaving him to do the dishes because, y'know, he deserves to reap the full fruits of his labor and really live in the moment. You're welcome. Love you Bill!

Next, I checked in on my day one homies.

I was afraid that Roald was going to berate me for having left him hanging on the workout we were supposed to do at 4:30 in the morning six weeks ago (can you blame me, though?), but instead he wanted a new greeting. Please ignore the Toy Day decorations in the background. I'll take them down before the month ends, I swear!

I usually don't take what my villagers say to heart, for obvious reasons, but Paula's words hit me extra hard today. The spring (read: right now) semester is the most stressful part of my academic program, and I'm really struggling to maintain my social contacts and feel like a good friend while also trying to stay on top of work. I make consistent time to chat with my parents and my partner on the phone. I see my friends who are in the program every single day. But most of my closest friends live in different states altogether, and I constantly feel guilty for not reaching out to them more. It's extra tough because after a grueling day of back-to-back classes, meetings, and studying from morning to night, I don't have a lot of social energy left to expend.

I'm trying, I promise. I spoke to two friends on the phone today, and made time to eat dinner with my partner (also over FaceTime, lol).

Paula let me sleep it off in her house. What I would do without that woman, I couldn't tell ya.

When I have some free time... though the weekend has just flown by so I'm not sure when that'll be... I plan on doing some landscaping and renovation in Pawtucket. For example, here's an easy one: I've chosen a new location for Marina's house! I She deserves a little garden on a hill. To be fair, I did this landscaping before my return to Pawtucket, but I'll take credit for putting the money down. Take that, November me!

And with that, I'll leave you to some lo-fi beats to end (or start!) the day with. I hope your weekend has been restful (at least a little bit) and that you're feeling refreshed for the week ahead. And if not... well, then, I'm right there with ya, bud. Until tomorrow, my friend!

 

[zissou]

today's bop: chilltendo deluxe
optional ambient noise: fireplace sounds with howling wind
february 6, 2023

Another day, another dollar. Except I haven't had a lot of those come my way lately. I would be coping with my current life situation with an excess of retail therapy (there are mugs I need to buy. and paintbrushes. and hummus, dang it) but due to the fact that I am absolutely broke, I'll have to make do with the various things I can buy in Animal Crossing. Because, y'know, I'm a stalk market bellionaire. Okay, I don't actually have a billion bells, but I have at least... four.

I started off my morning by every player's favorite activity: obnoxiously taking photographs of my villagers while they're just trying to go about their daily lives. Roald was not pleased. He will probably be even less pleased once I edit the photos and send them in the village meme groupchat, but hey, anything for the sake of art, right?

Next, I went to pay Pawtucket's newest neighbor, Louie, a visit! Unfortunately, I didn't feel like our bond was strong enough yet for me to shove a camera in his face and start taking unflattering selfies (read: I forgot to take pictures), so you'll have to make do with this picture of me peeping through his window gearing up to say hello. He seemed enthusiastic and I liked the rug he'd laid down. Rug aesthetics say a lot about a person, so I think we'll probably be lifelong friends.

Since this entry is disjointed enough, shall I tell you about my island flag? Can anyone guess what movie it's from? During the height of the pandemic, my partner joined the hype train and bought a copy of New Horizons, despite never having played an Animal Crossing game before. (It was before they'd met me, so they're forgiven.) Instead of actually, y'know, playing the game, they became obsessed with making designs (mostly Spongebob designs. Anna Wintour who?) When we first played Animal Crossing together, they surprised me with this scene from one of my favorite movies!

Spoiler: click here for the answer

... Uncut Gems, in case you were wondering.
Specifically the scene where Howard's showing off the bejeweled Furby with eyes that move. Yes, I want one, and yes, adoring fans can ship one to 103 East Apple Way, Pawtucket.

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We'll round this shorter entry out with a cute snap of the girls, who not-so-cutely did not move over to give me a spot to sit. It's fine. One day my eyeliner will be sharp enough to earn their respect.

To anyone keeping up with this island journal, thank you for your eyeballs in such a busy time. This event has forced me to journal at a time where I have absolutely no time for anything mildly enjoyable, and I'm really enjoying the little doses of creativity associated composing photographs and writing these entries. I'm planning on creating a new island journal after this event and have a lot of cool ideas for it, so stay tuned!

See you tomorrow! (Gee, it's pretty comforting to be able to say that.) Enjoy the beats and bye for now!

 

[zissou]

today's bop: magic library - fantasy music for inspiration
february 7, 2023

Dear reader, today has been a little short of completely dreadful (so just mostly dreadful), so instead of regaling you with my entirely uninteresting exploits, I'm going to share some pictures of Erik and ramble a bit.

Watching this little lad roam around, identifying flowers and bugs in his little encyclopedia, sipping soup by the river, listening to the sound of the nearby gyroids with his eyes closed and his head bobbing in unison... it makes me long for a life like his. That's what Animal Crossing is all about, I'm sure -- a reminder to enjoy the small things, the mundane things, to see the beauty in errands and communities and the light glimmering over pine trees at sunset.

The trouble, for me, arises when I think about how I do, very much, appreciate those things... and yet I feel that my life leaves little space for relaxation and mindfulness. Maybe that's the point -- to claim that space where you can. Or to imbue whatever hectic moments you do have available with mindfulness, an awareness of your body and your thoughts.

Hmm. Well, it's fine and dandy to try to be thoughtful and aware throughout a busy day of rushing from place to place, but sometimes I don't want it to be symbolic. Sometimes I truly do just want to sit by the river and drink soup and think reindeer thoughts.

Where can we find the time? I've been making time for this event because I enjoy the community element and I want the collectible, but I know that as soon as the pressure is gone, I will once again push my hobbies to the side to make more space for studying amino acid sequencing and electric potential energy and the state of the country's healthcare system. And I don't want to!

This isn't a happy post, but it isn't a sad one, either. I'm glad that I have the opportunities to pursue my goals. I'm glad that I have a lot of people in my life that I love and care about, and love and care about me. I need to remember that even if it feels absolutely impossible, I need to take a hacksaw to my life and carve out moments for just sitting. (Reference: Erik, enjoying minestrone soup beside the river.) For drawing, for reading, for playing Animal Crossing. I'll never truly get to live the peaceful life my islander does in Pawtucket, but I can experience snatches of that peacefulness every now and then.

I'm not sure if this made any sense, but thanks for reading. I'll see you tomorrow!

 

[zissou]

today's bop: morning vibes
february 8, 2023

Howdy there, and come on in! No, this is not a house tour. My house is still full of roaches for the sole purpose of keeping my villagers from bursting in at all hours of the day (thought I suppose they still burst in... but they leave much more quickly). This post is... is a vision board. A feeling, if you will. A ray of sun falling across your forehead after a tiring day. A memory of a memory.

Once upon a time, when I used to share a DS and a copy Wild World with my sister, we took great pride in our home. Sure, we were both kids and hadn't quite figured out how the storage system worked. Sure, we thought the number of clothing items we had was limited to how many we could fit into our living room, and sure, my sister's habit of collecting oil drums wasn't making it any better. We fought over our house layout constantly, with the final battle culminating with real-life fisticuffs. But in the meager space we did have after placing all of our meticulously-chosen shirts from the Able Sisters, I carefully curated different vibes for every season.

In the summer, it was cabana furniture. In the spring, exotic furniture. And in the winter and fall... yes, you guessed it, reader. The glory and the gift that is cabin furniture.

Sure, New Horizons technically has some of the cabin set. I won't bore you with another post bemoaning the inclusion of some of the prior games' most iconic sets. I won't even hit you with the "the graphics are good now but where is the soul?!" Instead, I'll say this: I miss the feeling of an entire little world, an entire home, existing within my cartridge. I remember my Wild World house was strewn with candles and four-leaf clovers and yule logs in non-seasonally-appropriate places. Just because I could!

I love coziness, and New Horizons definitely lends itself to creating cozy vibes. What's important to me in a home is that it is somewhere you can see yourself sinking, snuggling, and falling asleep with a book on your lap.

Marina gets it. Here she is, snapping awake despite being four cups of Earl Grey into the afternoon. I'm reading Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, which definitely does not lend itself to falling asleep.

After the day my sister got into a real-life fistfight (as much as a fistfight as you can have been two children whose ages are not yet in the double digits) over Animal Crossing, I eventually received my own DS Lite, and she received her own copy of Wild World, so we wouldn't have to battle for house space anymore. In a weird way, I missed co-habiting the village. I liked seeing what weirdness she got up to. As much as I hated the chopped-down trees and the strange designs in Able's, I wanted the knowledge that she was behind the scenes. I even missed the oil drums cluttering up the house.

When I get my own home, my first real home -- a home that I'll live in with someone I love, a home that will be mine and not a temporary place to stay for school or work -- I plan on designing it similarly. I want wood , plants , brightly-colored warm fabrics , socks strewn everywhere , books and coffee ️ on every available surface...

I can't wait for the day. I think it might be coming up soon. I'm finished with (this leg of) school this year, and then I'll take a break and work during my gap years. Check in with me in June. Future me, you better be the proud owner of no less than three tea cozies and at least one overstuffed poofy ottoman.

That's all for today. I hope you're warm and cozy wherever you are. Thanks for reading, enjoy the morning beats, and see you tomorrow!

 

[zissou]

today's bop: pudding club - songs before bed
february 9, 2023

I know that judging a book by its cover is supposed to be a bad thing, but what if I think a book has got to be really cool because it has such a cool cover? And then it turns out to indeed be extremely cool? Have I given it a fair shake then?

That's how I found today's bop. Despite my (mostly irrational) hate of The Algorithm, my YouTube front page offered me video with strange album art (a painting of a medieval cat sitting on the moon? with airplanes flying into the sun in the background?), and I had no choice but to click.

And, reader, I am glad I judged this album by its cover. It's weird, it's pure vibes, it's a bop and a half, and it's low-key enough to be your friend while you write or play Animal Crossing or crochet or fall asleep. I'm writing this post to the soundtrack of Songs Before Bed as we speak!

Today's vibe, I suppose, is "gazing wistfully off into the distance while wearing a hard hat because I am, as always, terraforming". That should be its own category on Spotify.

There are certain areas I absolutely adore in my village... and then the rest of it is an undecorated, unlandscaped mess. A mess that I'm afraid to touch because the prospect of turning a barren plain into a bustling neighborhood or a flower field or a haunted forest seems so daunting.

It's times like these when I hide from my responsibilities and linger over cups of coffee and familiar conversations with my villagers in the parts of town I do like. Bridges are very photogenic. So is Roald. Just look at him, fresh off his shift at the pizza parlor, unwinding with a lollipop yes, I am still wearing a hard hat. It's moments like these when I wish I could genuinely be sitting in my village square, asking Roald how his day was while he blinks at me with those big plate-sized eyes.

Returning to my villagers feels, a little bit, like returning to old friends. You need someone to come home to, don't you? Life has been tough lately (my entire New Year diary is a testament to that). The older I get, the more I think about how while life is fully doable on your own, it's more fun, more weatherable, more joyful, with someone to sit with in the evening. ️

Marina's got my back. And I wouldn't want it any other way.

Until tomorrow, my dear reader! And listen to Songs Before Bed, or at least take a peek at the funky cover art. You won't regret it!

 

[zissou]

today's bop: japanese math rock to listen while strolling around in the cherry blossoms
february 11, 2023

Contrary to popular belief my belief, math rock is not music you listen to while doing physics problems. It's a style of rock that emerged in the late 1980s that is "characterized by the complexity of its rhythms and the rareness of its structures. It handles extreme spaces and times, and in the same song you can hear a harmonious melody and a distorted riff." Another gift from The Algorithm, and an extremely good one at that. If you want to jam out while being vaguely stressed, this is your playlist.

I spent the entirety of today at the library, then came home and fixed myself a glass of bubble tea like I was a 1950s husband making himself a post-workday whiskey neat. Sleepy but not ready for sleep, I wandered into Pawtucket to see what was going on.

First up... a workaholic's weekly reminder that it's Saturday. Sometimes I only remember it's the weekend only because my villagers tell me about K.K. or Daisy Mae. Sigh.

I finally got around to doing Toy Day cleanup (mostly), which forced me to seriously wonder what was going on in my brain in December. I had gotten into the habit of shooting down balloon presents and then just... leaving them there. I still like the aesthetic, but there were too many presents around Pawtucket, so I opened some of them. This one was a... plastic canister. The kind you put petrol in. Exciting stuff!

Snapshot for the gram, as usual. Note to self: Photoshop a cooler present in, like a giant inflatable dinosaur or something. Yeah, that'll be good for the numbers!

On Thursday, I missed my morning coffee in a rush to catch the bus, and by noon I had a raging headache. It got so bad, reader, that I was late for biochemistry because I had to run to the local mini-mart to buy a bottled cold brew and chug it on the way to class. Embarrassing, honestly, but I wasn't about to take any chances in Pawtucket today. ️

Brewster and I were close in past games, but I feel disconnected from him in New Horizons. Maybe it's because there's nowhere to sit and just hang out? He's awfully particular, now; if I so much as look at the plush green couches, he reminds me that they're reserved. As a coffee shop gremlin, this simply will not do. But after I had picked up my to-go coffee and was about to leave...

Are we... friends? You actually... like me?!

In my excitement, I snatched the recipe out of his hands (feathers?) and scampered out of the museum as quickly as my feet would carry me. Only when I was halfway to the farm did I realize that I probably should have, y'know, thanked him and told him that I appreciated him too, and all that. Just another day in the life of Zissou. I'll see him in a few hours when I need my next caffeine hit, it's fine...

So. Off to the farm! Let's put all of these ingredients to use!

Nothing like a big oil drum to add a sense of *coziness* to food photos. More baking blogs should try this, I swear. Once it was fresh and hot out of the oven, I decided that, as the master of sacrifice, I should give it to someone else rather than eating it myself. This counts as my good deed for the year.

I wandered around town, wondering who was worthy of my precious cookie. Louie? He wouldn't even accept it, he was on a cleanse. Wendy? She had just finished yelling at me for ignoring her for two months and I was scared of provoking her again. Bill? He was deep in thought, fishing at the river. Then I spotted my dear friend Roald doing burpees in front of his home.

I proffered the cookies as he leapt to his feet, and...

Oh my goodness! Where's all of this love coming from? I've known Roald since March 20, 2020 and I hadn't gotten his photograph until today. I expected the moment to be... well, momentous, full of tears and hugs and snot and sniveling, but he dropped the photo into my hands, shoved the cookie into his mouth (beak?) and got right back into his workout. I was so shocked I didn't know what to do but stand there and watch his sweat freeze into icicles.

That's the end of part one of today's journey in Pawtucket -- stay tuned for the second half tomorrow! I swear I'm not pulling a movie franchise move here where I'm trying to stretch out one book into two; I just ramble a lot, so consider this decision an act of love. The next entry will be: the spicy night edition. Spicy if you think oregano is spicy. But still.

This also marks my tenth entry! Woo! Thanks for joining me on this musical adventure for this long. I've really been enjoying this event so far, and look forward to continuing with journaling after it's done.

Solve equations while listening to math rock! See you tomorrow!

 

[zissou]

today's bop: swimming in the ocean of bossa nova
february 11, 2023 (continued!)

Ahhh, the long awaited sequel to... February 11th. Not exactly The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part Two, but I'd like to think it's the Bell Tree equivalent.

As evening swept over Pawtucket, so did heavy gray clouds bearing armfuls of snowflakes. I’m a big believer in "There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes." As in, I'm that girl on your block wearing long johns and a scarf and two coats. Needless to say, I headed home to put on something warmer.

I had just finished pulling on my knit cap when familiar footsteps reverberated through the entryway...

Oh dear. I know I'm always bragging about how the roaches keep nosy neighbors out, but it's awkward when it actually happens, let alone with a distinguished older gentleman who you look up to. Regardless of the truth, I didn't want Frett to think I was an abhorrent goblin living in my own filth. I set out into the snow to find him.

On the old bridge, I passed Bill, who was steadfastly lugging a reusable grocery bag loaded with protein pancake powder. I, on the other hand, was huffing and puffing after just taking the steps up. My heart rate spike from just trying to go up up a staircase did trick my smart watch into thinking I was working out, which was kind of nice.

I finally found Frett in the plaza, waiting for the K.K. concert to begin. I hadn't attended one of those in months, but I knew my best chance of catching him would be after the show, so I snagged the last available seat beside Roald, who was wiggling his flippers obliviously.

Surprisingly, I even had a request for K.K. this time. I didn't know where it came from. I must have read about it in one of Tammi's old copies of Miss Nintendique.

Yes, I am a hipster now. I liked naked dogs with guitars before they were cool. Wait, what?

Man, there's something about K.K. Slider concerts that always gets me, even if I'm only attending to accost my neighbor after it's over and beg for forgiveness for having a roach-infested home. Watching the seasons change always makes me think of everything I've been through with my villagers. And that makes me think of everything I've been through since 2020.

Since then, I've graduated from (round one!) of university, worked my first incredibly stressful full-time job, ended a relationship with someone who I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with, only to find someone else who I now consider the love of my life, lived in my first apartment alone, had a massive career change, applied and was accepted to university (round two!), made many new friends...

... by the time I came to my senses, the song was over. I tugged my hat over my head and approached Frett, who, as it turned out, did not care at all.

This is the last day to post for the New Year, New Horizons event (fifty minutes to spare!) and I'm feeling nostalgic. Even though I scraped past the requirements by the skin of my teeth (in usual Zissou style), it's been fun pushing myself out of my comfort zone. A.K.A. actually playing NH, taking screenshots, and writing about it.

I'm fond of island diaries, and, like I say in every entry, I plan on continuing to write. Thinking about my relationships with my villagers, pondering about my own life, landscaping the ever-changing village of Pawtucket... it's a nice escape from the stress of my daily grind. Thank you, Bell Tree, for giving me this space, and thank you, my dear reader, for checking in on this journal amidst your busy life. I truly appreciate it!

I might not see you tomorrow, but I'll see you around. Stay tuned, and, as always, enjoy the beats!

 

[zissou]

today's bop: japanese soft/indie rock that would be in goodnight punpun's playlist
february 27, 2023

Good morning, dear reader!️ Fancy seeing you here. Thought you were rid of me forever, did you? Never. I'm like a fungus. Just when you've thought you're in the clear, I erupt from — okay, I'm getting off track here. Let's talk about Animal Crossing, shall we?

I originally planned on creating a new journal once the New Year event was completed, but I've grown fond of this one. I'm experimenting with different layouts and aesthetics, so everything is an incohesive mess, but we'll get it squared away in time.

So what's going on in Pawtucket? Well...

As I've eased back into playing somewhat regularly (emphasis on the somewhat), I've become more unhappy with the way that Pawtucket looks. This poor village has gone through countless iterations, from my early days of coming up with a completely unique, never-been-done-before "fountain plaza" concept, to my lag-tastic "business district", to my fated encounter with The Path.

the orchard​

In my previous journal, I wrote about how I was redesigning Pawtucket with a focus on wide open spaces and lots of room for running and exploring. I had completed my entrance, a sunken Resident Services with waterfalls and a fountain plaza, a cute little uphill neighborhood, a house by the ocean for Frett, a campsite, and a farm. I was far from done, but this was the most cohesively "designed" Pawtucket had ever been.

Things were evolving, but I was mostly happy with 'em. Upon my return I felt that things felt slightly off in certain spots, with front-loaded focal points (lmao as i write this i am torn between 'wtf am i on about' and 'i swear it's art theory BRO!!!'), so I decided to fix things up a bit. Starting with the farm.

oh, sweet farm!​

Reicheru Farm was Paula's attempt at a new life. She was the bass guitarist for a now-defunct punk band, the Screaming Spikenoidz, and is now retired (though she’d never use that word herself). She moved to Pawtucket to try and find more satisfaction in the simple life, and is trying to scrape together a living off the plot of land she’s trying to turn into a farm. She spends her days practicing the drums, tending to her vegetables, making cocktails, and responding to decades-old fan mail.

Unfortunately for dear Paula, I was really not pleased with how the farm looked. It felt... too linear and yet disorganized. Of course, Paula's not the most organized gal herself, but if she was going to be messy she was at least going to be messy in style. It didn't look natural, but having a farm is important to Pawtucket's economy, so I decided to tear the whole thing down and start over from scratch.

i'm in me mum's bulldozer, vroom vroom​

Dear reader, I forgot what a dreadful and soul-slurping process terraforming is, let alone flattening an entire area. I had to pick up all of the items, kick up all of the paths, pick all of the weeds, dig up all of the plants and move them elsewhere, eat enough fruit to transfer all of the trees to another area... all while constantly having to mend my tools, which kept inconveniently shattering to bits in my hands.

Finally, finally, after the sun had fallen from its perch in the sky, and the cool late-winter night chill had begun seeping into my bones, I found myself... somewhat done. Everything was dug up and I had a new, impromptu forest in the southwest corner of my island. Mostly because I have an aversion to chopping down trees because what if I need them later?

holes (2003)​

It was late at night when, entranced by the mind-numbing repetition of knocking down the north cliffs behind the farm, I saw... Her.

Celeste! She was surprised to see me roaming the barren cliffside at night (I could say the same for her) but she was happy nevertheless, and gave me a recipe for a starry-skies rug. And as soon as soon as I had stuffed the DIY into my pockets, I gazed above and noticed a a streak of white shimmering overhead. A meteor shower!

Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, I was done. I had obliterated the farm I had spent so long carefully constructing, and I was glad for it. All that was left was the "farmhouse", a.k.a. my sister's house that hasn't been touched since May 2020. The earth lay pockmarked and defiled, but it was the foundation for better things to come. (And other stories and I tell myself...)

Things don't always go to plan (hint hint), but in that moment, watching the meteors mingle with the distant stars above, things felt like they might soon fall into place. I have big plans for what Pawtucket is going to be. A haven. home. An escape, and yet a living one, full of vibrance and adventure. I could almost smell spring on her way.

That's all for today — thanks for making it through this long post. Stay tuned for my misadventures in my attempted re-construction of Pawtucket, and, as always, enjoy the beats!

 

[zissou]

today's bop: lamp「恋人へ」(2004)
february 28, 2023

Oops... I may have... um... accidentally... accidentally-on-purpose... kinda-sorta... razed my entire village to the ground...

After getting rid of my farm, I found myself irritated with my paths. Specifically, my naturalistic version of The Path. Suddenly, I didn't want to use log stakes and white hyacinths like my life depended on it. Instead of hyper-realistic dirt, twisting paths, and subtle gradations, I wanted bold and bright and simple. I wanted... in-game paths.

Also, I kind of wanted the sound effects of running on stone and the visual effects of splashing in the mud during a rainstorm. Because my entire village was built around using The Path to create "realistic" wilderness, I had grown used to silence. Nevermore! Bring out the axe!

Lemme tell ya — or remind ya, since I'm sure many of you have been through this Experience already — flattening an entire island is a CHORE. And a BORE, if you will. It was a multi-day endeavor. Chop, gather, rebuild tools, dig, sweep, repeat... I must have listened to over five hours of podcasts. (If you're a morbid girlie, Knifepoint Horror, Dateline, Casefile, and Malevolent — you already know!! I also tried watching "Married at First Sight" again and had to stop because it's too depressing and stressful. Chris is a terrible person. But I digress...)

I made it more complicated for myself, of course, by initially clumping all of the trees in one area instead of cutting them down. Even in a game, it felt monstrous to chop down innocent trees. But my forest got... rather unwieldy... real fast...

So eventually, the briefly-lived and eternally-loved Pawtucket Forest also had to be hacked to smithereens. But first, a visit to Frett for some rest and homemade sweets.

The man may have only started cooking because his ex-wife quit her job as a rheumatologist and started traveling the world without him, but he makes a damn good pumpkin-cinammon muffin. If only he wasn't always watching Jeopardy re-runs...

Destroying everything was surprisingly soothing. I'm the kind of person who likes to throw everything away and start afresh, for better or worse. When I write it out like that, it kinda seems like it's for worse. I'll rephrase. I like second chances. And third chances. And fourth chances...

In all seriousness, I really want Pawtucket to feel like my little virtual home, and I'm willing to try again as many times as it takes to create something that I'm proud of.

It also started raining while it was sunny out, which my father once told me means that foxes are getting married. I hope Redd doesn't expect too expensive of a wedding gift from me, especially after the number of times I've spent my rent money on fake Cleopatra statues. Congratulations, cousin!

So now, Pawtucket's off to yet another fresh start. Time to go crazy with freedom and exciting new builds, by which I mean get perfectionist choice paralysis and stop playing the game for six months. We'll see what happens. Ta-ta for now, dear reader! As always, enjoy the beats!