The Lunette Times: An Animal Crossing Story
disclaimer: animal crossing is not my creation. like, at all. ever.
A/N: hello! my name is tchotchke and this is my first fanfiction ever! i'll try not to make this intro too long.
my mom recently had gotten into fanfiction, and we were talking about all of the series we wish had more ff content - fairyland, chrono trigger, 999, kamikaze girls... animal crossing. hmm. i never read an animal crossing fic before.
i took a night and decided to delve into this unexplored world of cuteness and mayorly duties. i adore animal crossing - i remember waking up hours before school to chat with my favorite villager (tangy the cat) until she got frustrated with my prodding and gift-giving. i would spend hours catching fish and insects, going to my mom's town and meeting with her friendly villagers (she's fond of boots the croc), shooting balloons out of the sky and breeding pretty flowers and collecting copious amounts of furniture. new leaf came out on my nineteenth birthday and i'm pretty sure i didn't see anyone for a couple of weeks, as i snuggled deep under my comforter to enter this alternate fuzzy universe.
anyways. i found a lot of fanfiction similar to what this one is - a simple, slice-of-life adventure following a simple human in a simple animal town. but, as an artist does, i saw many opportunities untaken (totally a word), and have decided to do the honors and introduce some concepts uncommon/not found within animal crossing storytelling.
nothing gets too serious, because, hell, it's animal crossing. the worst will be some cursing and perhaps maybe a chapter or two of questionable content revolving around mental illness. this ac world is a combination of all of the games out so far (ac64 to new leaf) and will borrow lil tidbits from here and there. a notable example is that the roost is still in the museum while having the shopping district, as well as club lol. just work with me here, i know what i'm doing!
i also attempt to delve deeper into animal crossing lore with this fic, perhaps introducing issues not discussed in the series itself, but between hardcore fans of ac itself. once again, 'issues' is a strong word, because it's fucking animal crossing.
either way, slide off your fuzzy slippers, dip yourself into a comfy, bubbly bath, make a big ol fruit milkshake, and relax. this is a story about mona and her adventures in lunette. please enjoy!
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PROLOGUE
One day, you're waking up in silken peach pink sheets, doused in lavender oils and opalite shimmer, a feathery pillow cradling your long locks of glossy hazelnut hair. You're slathering butter upon banana pancakes that someone was hired to cook just for you, and you're thanking them with a genuine smile and they're bowing their head so deep that you're worried they'll topple over, and you just can't make eye contact with someone who treats you like royalty because the entire idea is simply silly. You're walking around your courtyard, YOUR courtyard, grazing your soft hands through the primly-trimmed bushes that surround the illustrious front yard, which is sprinkled with mini carnations and lisianthus and cherry blossoms and buttercups as thick as your palm. You're eating a turkey dinner with your affluent parents, who are idly chit chatting about business partners and work gossip and stocks and whatever rich people talk about between sips of blood red wine, treating the dinner table like a water cooler. You're ending every night in a super bubbly bath of your own chemist creation, with rose petals from your front yard and spicy vanilla bubbles and essential oils you made with money you received during your half-birthday party.
And the next day, you have a long talk with your previously-mentioned rich parents, which matures into a long argument, with clenched fists and crocodile tears and "this isn't what I want!"'s, and all of this turmoil left you with no choice but to cut off your beautiful, pin-straight hair into a frizzy pixie cut, which somehow transformed the soft, rich cocoa hues into a clownish earthy dirt orange. You stare in the mirror and feel ridiculous, but you can't help but laugh at the silliness of all of this, from the banana pancakes to the rose petals to the maids to the money. All of that money.
And maybe, the day after that, you find yourself on a train with a backpack of clothes and two suitcases filled with trinkets and bijou of questionable importance (stuffed animals and teabags and batteries and an ocarina and thick hardcover novels and a small string of fairy lights and your favorite quilt that smells like honey), and a small purse slung across your body with all of that money and not enough contact lenses, and you're praying that you remembered to pack your glasses, or else you would never be able to read a book again. There was already a struggle reading the directions you scribbled down on looseleaf from the internet, and you're on a train, tired and stressed and free. You're finally free. Maybe.
Mona was maybe free. She didn't like to think about that too much, because it was far too beautiful on this warm July morning to be concerned with her emotional well-being. If there was any way to begin a spontaneous adventure, this was it. There was nothing more maybe-freeing than a crisp summer day. She had cracked open the train window a few hours earlier and rested her head against the cool surface for so long that it felt as if she now had a minor concussion from all of the gentle thumps against the glass. No matter. She was maybe free.
Mona glanced down at the cellphone resting in her palm. No calls, no texts, no voicemails. Nothing. She couldn't tell if it was because there was no service, or because she was blind, or because no one actually contacted her. Either way, she exhaled, as one normally does if they're alive. But, it was loud, and exhaustive, and with every exhale, Mona imagined a small shadow from her heart sliding up her windpipe, and forced out through pursed lips like cigarette smoke. And she felt lighter each time, as if she were a carnival balloon filling up with helium.
"Excuse me, miss?"
A small, nasally voice reverberated near her. She twisted her neck to face a small, azure cat, who looked rather concerned, for what it was worth. He stood in the aisle of the train, holding his arm out in front of him as if inviting her to waltz. She lifted her head from the window pane; her heart was racing. My first contact with someone, on my very own adventure!
"Yes? Is something wrong?"
"Hah, perhaps. Is today July 12th, 2014? And is it 11:34 AM?"
It's only then that she notices the watch on the cat's arm. Mona clicked her phone's home button to figure out this mystery, via her lock screen. She brings the screen as close to her face as possible without looking like she needed to own a white cane. She looked up and nodded while mouthing, "yup," also noting the fact that she continued to receive no contact of any kind. The cat looked quite relieved before saying, "Oh, that's good. My watch is faulty. It's a pain when I wake up from a nap and I never know if things are right or wrong or backwards or if I moved three days ahead."
"Maybe you should get a phone? They're pretty reliable, because of signal towers and stuff," Mona commented eloquently. The cat gave a toothy grin and replied, "Maybe! I've never needed one, because I've never had anyone to call." This conversation served as a silent invitation for the cat to sit down in Mona's booth, in the bright orange seat across from her. She flicked her honey eyes around and noticed that they were the only ones currently on the train, at least from her point of view.
"I would call you," Mona said politely, making eye contact once again. This comment pleased the seemingly-contented cat, who perked up his ears and continued grinning. His tail swayed back and forth comfortably. Mona quite liked when tails did this, and she liked to imagine that they were metronomes for their heartbeat.
"Sorry, I've been terribly rude," the cat commented, settling deeper into his seat. Mona internally disagreed, for she thought he was being anything but. "What's your name?"
"Mona. And you?"
"I'm Rover."
"I don't hear that name often enough. It's cool."
"Yup, I'd say so! A pretty cool name for a pretty cool cat!" Rover beamed. A ray of sunlight bounced into his deep crimson eyes, mirroring the hue of his argyle sweater vest. He enthusiastically kicked his too-short blue legs off of the side of his too-tall seat.
"Where are you headed, Mona?" Rover asked, breaking the almost-awkward silence from his humble self-compliment.
"Lunette," she replied, thankful that her voice didn't break, and also thankful that she remembered the name immediately. Rover nodded his head, as if in agreement.
"I've been there a few times. Truly a lovely place. Quaint, calming. The villagers there are one-of-a-kind. Oh, and I've never had better coffee in my life than in Lunette, which didn't make my stays any worse, either. And, they have a riveting shopping district! Honestly, it's one of those towns that can only improve at this point," he completed, looking utterly pleased with the thought. Rover didn't realize how much this comment meant to Mona – she truly only chose Lunette as her adventure destination because the name sounded pretty (Celestial Falls was a close second, but Mona recognized it from one of her father's many business trip stories). The relief must've been obvious on her face as Rover prodded: "Hmm, is this your first time going here?"
She nodded, still not used to her hair no longer brushing against her naked ears. "Yes. I'm quite excited now that you're telling me all of these wonderful things. I was a bit nervous until now," Mona admitted, allowing more cloudy smoke to exit her soul.
"You're in for quite the stay, then! Are you moving, or visiting?"
Mona gulped.
"Moving," she replied, a bit softer than she expected. Thank god for cats' impeccable eardrums, for Rover absolutely perked up at this reply.
"Incredible! I am sure they are making preparations for you right now! I've never heard of anything but kindness coming from Lunette, especially now that Felicia is the mayor. You'll love her, I'm sure," Rover said with a nod.
"That sounds wonderful, along with everything else you've told me about this place, but I'm kind of… going unannounced?" Mona didn't mean to make this a question, but she didn't want to make it a pure statement of truth just yet. It wasn't so much the 'unanticipated arrival' part that made her nervous, but the fact that she was going to live anywhere new at all. Arriving in a fresh town, to move in without warning, all by herself. She didn't want to jinx this opportunity with something as reassuring as a solid proclamation.
"Ah! I see, I see. If you'd like, I could make a call for you and they could have at least a little something prepared for your arrival." Rover paused for a second, waiting for Mona to reply. As she was about to object, he immediately began speaking again, as if reminded by the wonders of Lunette: "Oh gosh! You'll just love it there! Just—hold on! I'm going to use the train's telephone, alright? Just wait there! I'll be back soon!"
Rover was already halfway through the door into the conductor's room before she could interrupt with a, "No! It's okay, really!" Apparently, Rover only heard what he liked to hear, because she could see him already dialing in a number. Mona felt absolutely horrified at this point, and rotated back against the obnoxious orange cushion. She began to reside herself to slight window-caused brain damage once again. She was horrified because of Rover's forward advances towards her comfort (which sounds like wonderful fate written down, but just gave Mona a tummyache at this moment of time), and because she was moving into somewhere that sounded lovely and forgiving and welcoming (which presents itself as a great event in hindsight, but just made Mona feel as if she didn't deserve such lovely treatment for being such an unappreciative human), and because she was utterly and truly doing all of this alone.
Mona closed her eyes. Smokey aura greyness was still built up in her body. It curled around her organs and made her tummy rumble and she could really go for banana pancakes right now. Inhale light. Exhale dark.
"Alright!" Rover announced from the aisle, giving Mona enough time to put on her best I'm-okay-with-the-fact-you-just-did-that face and exude a particularly negative burst of fog from her solar plexus. "I just talked with Isabelle. She'll be meeting with you at around 3 PM in Lunette's train station. They don't have anything, like, super-prepared for you, though. No party or anything! But, she'll accompany you around the town and show you the ropes. Thank god I did that, or else you'd be doing all of that alone!"
Rover had no idea how alone this situation already was for her. Mona offered a faux-smile. "Thanks, I appreciate it. I really do." She wasn't exactly lying, because there's no way this wasn't an action to be appreciated, but she wasn't exactly telling the truth, because she was feeling selfish about this whole situation in general. Rover looked surprised for a moment and began going through his pockets. "Before I forget," he muttered, focused on sorting through his leaves. He eventually found one of interest, which transfigured into a folded piece of paper in his paw.
"Lunette's map," he presented proudly. Mona grabbed the map with a "thank you very much," and opened it up…
Rover wasn't lying when he said it was quaint. There was a lovely winding river that flowed through the middle of the town, clearly splitting Lunette into two parts. The ocean crooked around the leftmost side of land, while a block of mountainous earth seemingly separated Lunette from the town to the east. It was clearly not made to-size, as most maps aren't, but Mona definitely felt a bit… underwhelmed? Agh! She immediately chastised herself for being so critical of a place that Rover was offering much praise, not to mention that it's no use being mildly disappointed about a destination that she was already speeding towards. A glance out of her window showed that the train was now passing over a bridge that overlooked an ocean. She would normally be enthused at this point, clasping her fists at the window and gaping at the briny landmass beside her. But, things felt too raw at this moment to show anything other than complacent understanding of the information given to her.
Furthermore, Mona didn't believe that this cerulean cat's opinion was worth critiquing, considering that he seemed like quite the seasoned traveler. He was too damn dopey to consider anything but truthfulness in his words. In fact, just to make sure…
"Do you go on many adventures, Rover?"
The cat offered a grin, perhaps sly in hindsight, before replying:
"My life is an adventure."
Mona felt satisfied with that answer.
"Rover, could you tell me more about Lunette? You've built it up quite a bit, and my interest is piqued."
Rover cleared his throat theatrically before beginning:
"Of course! I'm not gonna bore you with all of its history, but there are some things that are common knowledge there. The original coot who owned it was named Tortimer, a cranky tortoise who wanted nothing more than to take naps and see his family. Which was fine, except that he ran a town. So, maybe about two years ago, he retired and bought an island that he humbly named Tortimer Island, and now offers, apparently, "Tour-timers that are fun for the whole family" to those who can get there via boat. Hey, there's nothing wrong with a little vanity!" (Rover said that last part in response to Mona's raised eyebrow.)
"But, yeah. He left to follow his self-indulgent fantasy, and another human took his place. Her name was Lulu. I'm going to preface this part with some stuff." Rover took a moment to sort out thoughts. Mona could definitely notice the gears turning as his tail curled curiously. "I'm not sure how to say this gently… she ruined everything good about Lunette for a long time.
"All she wanted to do, as mayor, was capitalize the town as much as possible, with a 'cute village near the sea' shtick. And, I mean, it worked for a bit. It was very touristy for about a half a year, maybe a bit longer than that, and it was clear that Lulu was raking in plenty of Bells. But, as most sell-outs tend to become, it evolved into a charmless location. There's only so many people who desire peace and quiet when most people can find peace and quiet in places that are both closer and cheaper. Many of the villagers moved away in either protest or due to tax elevations, except for a select few who stuck around to try to fight it all. Or perhaps just lethargy. Either way, she didn't care. She was rolling in Bells, and I wouldn't put it past her to bathe in them, either.
"Then, Felicia moved in. Lulu called a professional to ask why she wasn't getting any more money. Felicia, with her dual degrees in Accounting and Business, deducted that Lulu was doing everything wrong and being a selfish jerk – excuse my Animalese. To build upon that statement, the mayor wasn't putting anything back into the town. The shopping district was mostly boarded up by the time Felicia arrived, many of the museum's exhibits were either shut down or sold to neighboring towns for extra income, weeds were littering the grass and the town was covered in dying foliage. And, perhaps obviously and most importantly, no one was happy. In an act of desperation, the animals recalled Lulu and immediately vowed Felicia in as mayor within three days of her arrival. Being the type of person Felicia is, she accepted happily and gracefully.
"That was about a year ago. I keep in contact occasionally with Isabelle - Felicia's secretary, that's who will be showing you around, by the way – and she tells me that things are improving, slowly and steadily. Lulu was quite a destructive force, and although she was just a child, it's hard not to be bitter towards someone who completely transforms a quiet town into a failed tourist attraction, and expects not to be punished for her wrongdoings. She made a break for it once she realized she wasn't protected by that mayoral bubble anymore. I've heard that even Isabelle reared her fangs at her!
"Anyways… boy, that was boring. I guess the important things to know is that things are good now, all thanks to Felicia. Well… improving. But still good. There are only a few people living there currently – I believe about twenty villagers? – and it's sort of a team effort to build up Lunette to what it once was, which was a special sort of place. Truly, I don't speak of Lunette lightly. I know I've been singing praises, but it's been through a lot, and it's extremely impressive to see the growth it's achieved in only a bit longer than a year's time. Honestly, many people seem to be scared off by Lunette's current economic situation. It's been a while since I've heard anyone willing to go there, even if you are entering blind… But, I hope I didn't scare you off!" Rover concluded, looking a little nervous at Mona's widened eyes. She blinked and inhaled, taking in all of the information.
"Honestly," Mona began, settling back into her seat (she subconsciously leaned forward more and more while lapping up every second of the adventurer cat's explanation), "I'm trying to get away from anything economic for a while, so it might be nice to be going somewhere that is struggling a bit. I could use a struggle right now. Everything you just told me was priceless – no pun intended. Thank you."
Rover looked relieved by this reply. He gave Mona a different smile, different than his toothy theatrical gleams and beams. They both let the air settle a bit, as they comfortably allowed the booth to fill with a cozy silence. Mona was reminded of train rides with her parents, a silent aura as Mona stared out windows and read fairy tales and her mom idly brushing her little girl's luscious hair and her dad scribbling numbers on notebook. She cringed outwardly and missed them, for only a second. Mona noticed his tail lazily tapping at the comfortable speed of a resting heart rate.
"Since I'm a nosy feline," Rover began gently, "why did you decide to move somewhere new?"
"I'm still not completely sure," Mona replied honestly. "I'll let you know when I find out."
"I'll hold you to that, Mona."
Mona allowed more fog to exit her lungs. This will be okay.
A quiet moment passed. While Mona continued gathering her thoughts, and Rover stared out the window with his dopey, lazy smile, an electric chime reverberated through the cabin. Shortly after, a comically squeaky voice could be heard over the speakers:
"Eek eek! Next stop, Lunette! Next stop, Lunette! Eek eek!"
Mona gripped her cellphone tighter. This was it. She looked over at Rover, who was already smiling at her. He gave her a thumbs up, and she took a mental photograph of how cheesy and dorky he looked. She laughed for the first time in about twenty four hours (which is quite impressive for someone as normally giggly and easily bemused as Mona), and Rover began to self-consciously smooth his sweater vest in response.
This will be okay.
"Alright, Rover," Mona began, as she felt the train beginning to slow down, "It was a pleasure meeting you."
"Likewise!" Rover extended his paw, to which Mona shook. She let go first, and grabbed both of her holographic, sticker-coated suitcases. She flattened her floral summer dress with the corner of her baggage and began to walk out of the booth. She could hear Rover's tiny padded footsteps following close behind her. Mona leaned her body against one of the train's poles as she watched foliage begin to wisp into view, mouth subconsciously growing agape. Rover weaved through her and hopped up into the booth closest to the train door and rested his head into his paws, watching the scenery himself. The screeching of wheel against rail was suddenly loud... and then halted. A hiss of air released from the door across from Mona as it creaked open.
So far, this whole experience had been kind of surreal, and kind of trope-y, and extremely silly. Mona was ready to wake up from this dream, where she finally escaped a life of repetition and comfort to spontaneity and struggle, where she met a kind adventuring cat with a heart as large as his personality, where she slowly began to release the murky steam that had built up within her soul since she was a young child. This was a dream, right?
Mona treaded out of the train, each step feeling like a release of air pressure. She held her breath as she stomped emphatically onto the aged wooden stage. She inhaled her first breath of sticky, salty beach air, hosting a hint of floral and sweet sap from the vegetation surrounding her. She couldn't really see that well, but she knew instinctively that Lunette was a location of warm, loving energy and vibrations. Her mind's eye was as clear as crystal, and this was not a dream, and this will be okay.
The sound of a train whistle warped her out of her thick senses. She whipped herself around to a train slowly beginning to chug out of the previously quiet, still station, observing a small blue cat wave out of the window. Mona suddenly felt that she was very rude the whole train ride, only ever talking about herself and asking questions for her benefit, so she dropped her suitcases with a thud and cupped her hands around her mouth:
"Rover, where are you going today?!"
She could still see his grin as he replied:
"On an adventure!"