Alright, so I've never written a story like this before. Plus I've only ever played the game cube version so that's the one this is based on. Deal with it.

There's some cursing and all that fun stuff. And idk how many people write about Animal Crossing but I'm about to find out here in a second. I managed to write all of this in like 2 or 3 hours and for SOME REASON I still can't get through the things for my other stories I'm working on. I'm sorry to those who are reading A Cup of Stars and are waiting for more oneshots! Idk what's going on with me!

But I hope you all enjoy this in the mean time.


Animal Crossing: The Life of Star

Chapter 1

Day 1: Arrival

Everyone has to move out of their parents' house at some time, right? It's all part of growing up- the evolutionary chain or something like that.

But this isn't about just any other person out there- no; this is about me. I decided to finally move out of my own parents' house for good, and I'm even leaving town just to start with. There's too much baggage back there… Mom and Dad may have been nervous about it, but with a little persuasion I got them to okay it as long as they got to send me a letter every now and then.

Of course they also expect me to reply back. But whatever; that's dealable.

So with that, I was on the train that was now leading me to my new life.

Although there is one thing I should mention…

"Hey there! You mind if I take this seat right here?" A cheery voice tore me from my thoughts and I turned to the source.

A blue and white cat about my height and wearing a red and black-striped sweater was smiling at me happily and gesturing to the empty seat in front of me with his paw.

That's right; a cat.

I may be human, but a good amount of the population was taken up by walking, talking animals that acted just like any other person did. They got jobs, they owned houses, they wore clothes and borrowed things for months without returning them- they were just like us.

I nodded and shifted in my seat. "Go ahead." I muttered and he thanked me before jumping up to the seat and getting comfortable.

"Thanks a lot! I gotta tell ya' it was pretty hard finding a seat on this train; who'd have thought it'd be so crowded!" He exclaimed and I raised a brow and looked around at the rest of the train car. The only other animal in here was a boar sitting in the back with a bag of turnips at her side who was dozing off repeatedly. "By the way, the name's Rover. What's yours?" The cat- Rover- asked, the smile never leaving his face.

"I um…," I paused, is it weird to tell a complete stranger your name? Who cares, new life, new people- er, animals. "My name's Star." I said and Rover paused, his face scrunching up in held back laughter.

Finally, he couldn't it back anymore and just burst out laughing. "'Star'? What a weird name!" He slapped his knee with a goofy grin and I frowned.

Says the cat named 'Rover', of all things… I inwardly growled and pushed my hair back out of my face.

"Yeah, isn't it cute?" I said sarcastically and he ceased his laughter and smiled.

"Yeah! Sorry about that- I think it's a very cute name for a very cute girl." He said and I blinked.

"Um…" I scooted back in my seat. Is this some way he goes around picking up other girls or something? It wasn't unheard of for a human and an animal to get together- so that wasn't the problem. It was just that the stuff this weird cat was saying kept throwing me off.

"Was it that bad?" I nodded silently and he laughed. "Okay, sorry about that. So where you headed?"

"I am going to…," I paused in my thoughts. Tell an awkward cat where you're going? Hell with it- it's not like he'll go looking for me. "Idris."

"Idris, huh? That place is great! So you just visiting or what?" He asked with a smile and I sighed to myself.

"I'm moving out." I said and pulled back in my seat when I felt myself sliding off the edge slightly.

"Ooh I see. Yeah, moving's pretty great, I think," Oh, thinking now, are we? That's dangerous. "Meeting new folks, seeing new places- it's so fun! You've got your new place all set up, right?" My body went stiff at his question and I averted my eyes.

"Not exactly… I haven't picked out a place yet." I said, instantly feeling like an idiot when he shrieked in fear. Seriously, what kind of person doesn't even scope out the place they'll be living in?

"What?! Are you out of your tree?!" He cried and I raised a brow at his phrase. Tree…? Suddenly he jumped out of his seat and gasped. "Wait a second! I got a buddy that runs a shop in Idris! I could call him up and get him to cut a deal for you on a house he's got on the market; how does that sound?" He asked and my eyes widened.

"That… That'd actually be great." I breathed, strangers ad their kindness; what a world. Rover nodded happily and excused himself as he wandered back into the other train car to call his friend.

I couldn't hear most of the call, but it sounded at least like a done deal. After a few more moments he came back, his fur practically glowing with the smile breaking through.

"He said you're good to go as long as you can pay," He paused for a moment as he hopped back onto the seat. "You do have bells, right?" He asked and I nodded.

"I have enough," I said and sighed lightly. "Thanks for cutting that little deal for me, Rover." I muttered, feeling embarrassed for making him go through the trouble. He just shook his head and waved a paw at me.

"Not a problem. What're friends for, yeah?" Friends… That does sound nice. His eyes widened when he looked out the window. "Whoa! Looks like we're pulling up to Idris already! Well, good luck with your new place and everything; who knows, maybe we'll see each other again." He cocked his head to the side, his ears twitching cutely and I nodded.

"Yeah… I'd like that."


"You! Hey you there!"

I turned away from the train station at the sound of a voice coming from just a small distance away. The voice belonged to none other than a brown raccoon wearing a blue apron with an apple on the front. He ran to me with his tiny legs practically sliding on the river rock surface as he came to a stop in front of me.

"You! Are you Star?" He asked, his snout moving up and down as he spoke. I nodded.

"Yes. Are you the friend Rover called for me?" It was a stupid question, I know- but it feels like it's more polite to acknowledge someone rather than just silence or a "yes." The raccoon nodded quickly.

"Yes! My name is Tom Nook. I run the shop in acre A-5 called 'Nook's Cranny' next to the dump. I'm told you need somewhere to stay, correct?" He asked and I nodded silently. Suddenly he burst out into laughter. "How ridiculous! Moving away without even having an idea on where to go or a place to stay! It's just laughable!" I grumbled and looked away from the raccoon.

"Clearly…" I muttered, this guy's definitely a friend of Rover's. I'm gonna hate this annoying raccoon in no time.

"Alright, follow me please," He said and I obliged as he walked along the river rock down to wear four different houses were built in a small square, all facing a bulletin board in the center. Each house had a mailbox on one side, and a small gyroid on the other. They were currently all as still as a rock; meaning no one occupied any of these houses. "These four houses are all up for sale, feel free to look through each one and take your pick."

I did as Tom Nook said and went to the orange-roofed house first. It was basically the size of half a one-room apartment. It had metal floors and wooden walls accompanied by two windows and had a small radio in one corner and a journal on a small, makeshift table in the in the opposite. I shook my head and went to the green-roofed house next.

Same radio, journal and windows, but the walls and floor made it look like I was about to live in an insane asylum. The floor looked like concrete but it was cushiony in a weird way and the walls still looked like they were either under construction or they just gave up. I sighed and moved on to the yellow-roofed house next.

The wooden floor was nice, but the walls were basically just sheet metal glued into the boards along the windows and making the same radio and journal stand out even more. I groaned and went to the last house- the red-roofed one.

It had a river rock floor just like the outside, only it was cleaner and much smoother. The walls were made of sturdy bricks the color of mud. And, of course, the same journal, table and radio as well.

I nodded to myself and walked out to find Tom Nook a mere two feet away, looking at me expectantly. "So?"

I touched the wall of the red house and grinned. "I think this one's a winner." I said and he clapped his small paws together happily.

"Great! Now, as for the payment…," He paused to make some calculations in his head. "That'll be 19,700 bells." He said and I froze, slowly pulling out a small bag of bells from my pocket. That's way more than I could ever hope to make. Here we go…

Tom Nook took the bells from my hand and peeked inside and gasped. "1000 bells?! This is a joke, right?" He asked urgently and I shook my head embarrassingly, at a loss for words.

He sighed and pocketed the bells. "I see. Well then you're just going to have to work the rest off. Meet me at my shop when you're settled in and we can start." And with that he was gone, my gyroid beside the house already twisting in a berserk fashion.

I groaned loudly and kicked up a loose rock. "Dammit Mom! Why wouldn't you let me work extra hours back home?!" I shouted to the sky as if I thought that would somehow reach her.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and headed toward Nook's Cranny. Might as well get this nightmare started.


"There you are! It's about time- I was starting to think you'd never show!" Tom Nook yelled at me with his paws on his hips and I shot him a fake smile.

"Good to see you too, Nook." I said sweetly. He ignored me and came over with a change of clothes that had the same apple on them as his apron, except they were green.

"Change into these; it's your uniform. Once you're done, come see me and I'll give you your first job." He said and I took the clothes off his paws and looked around.

"Where do I change? Back home?" I asked with a raised brow, noticing there wasn't even a bathroom in this place.

"Here in the shop! I don't want you running off with those clothes. It's my only set! Just change behind the sales counter over there." He gestured to the arrangement of wooden tables with flower seeds and stationary on them and I frowned, deciding to just go along with it and not make him any angrier than he already was.

I ducked behind the table and threw off my shirt, every now and then casting a weary glance over at the steaming raccoon as I changed. After also throwing on my hat I stood up again, tucking away my old clothes in my messenger bag. Either I'm three sizes too small or this uniform is literally supposed to be a dress. It felt weird, but I fought back the feeling and spoke to him again.

"Ready when you are." I said. He nodded with a small chuckle and handed me a bag that smelled like plants and flowers.

"Go plants these outside. I don't care how you arrange them, but we need this shop to look more appealing on the outside too. Go on." He gestured to the open door and I nodded silently and left with the bag in hand.

The summer heat was unbearable by the time I was even halfway through with planting the flowers. Nature's pretty and all, but it's a real pain when it's this hot.

Finally I fished the flowers and eventually managed to plant the tree saplings as well before tossing the bag aside by the door and wiping the sweat gathered on my brow and I walked back inside.

"Everything's planted, Nook," I breathed and leaned against the wall. "What next?"

"Great! I still need to prepare the items for the rest of your jobs, so while I'm doing that, just go on and meet all your neighbors. You're gonna have to talk to them all at some point anyway. Meet the mayor as well, it sets a good impression. He'll be at the wishing well." He said and I nodded with a small smile and was out the door and back at the train station in no time, looking at the map to find who's where.

This town had three levels of land, so there'd be a lot of hills to climb in between jobs and errands. Just to the right of me in acre B-4 was someone named Scoot. To the left of my house in B-2 was someone else who lived by the river and a bridge was Dizzy. Then the next acre over were two more people, Emerald and Pippy. Two acres down from them in D-1 was the wishing well, so that's where I'll find the mayor.

The last two residents were all the way down at the cliff diving the second and third levels by the beach. In E-2 was someone named Buzz and two more acres over was Ferva. I also made note of the police station in C-5. That'll probably be handy in the future. I backed away from the map and decided to head over to Scoot's house first.

Maybe I can make some more friends like Rover… That'd be a nice change of pace.


I slowed to a stop when I saw a small green duck come out of his house and I called out to him. "Hey there!" I said, stopping in front of him when he turned to me. He wore a white helmet like he was about to go biking somewhere and his shirt was bright blue with orange stripes on the bottom.

"Who the heck are you? I've never seen you around before." He quacked and I almost flinched back at how loud he was.

"Uh… My name's Star. I just moved in over at B-3 so… 'Sup neighbor?" I said and he quacked loudly in laughter.

"Star, huh? What a dumb name! Anyway, the name's Scoot. Good to see a new face every now and then." He ceased his laughter and I frowned when he extended his wing to me. What is it with all these animals thinking my name is stupid? Scoot's an even worse name if you ask me… I inwardly sighed and shook his wing in a hand shaking gesture.

"Glad to be the newbie then." I said and left to go meet Dizzy next.

The sun was beginning to go down, I better get this stuff done quick.


Dizzy turned out to be a grey elephant with an orange-tipped trunk, wearing a yellow shirt with the number 5 on it. He smiled when I came toward him.

"Hey there! I've never seen you before. You just move into one of those houses ole' Nook keeps up for sale all the time?" He asked with a smile and I nodded happily.

"Yup. Though I gotta pay off my mortgage to the guy too by working it off." I sighed and he nodded with a frown.

"Yeah, that sucks a lot. It must be pretty tough. So what's your name?" He asked.

"I'm Star. Nice to meet you…" I trailed off, hoping he would get my point and tell me his name properly with my hand extended to him as well.

"Dizzy, and nice to meet you too. You'll love it here in Idris. It's great! See ya around!" He waved his trunk at me in goodbye after he shook my hand and I could practically feel myself skipping over the bridge behind his house across the river. Unlike Scoot and Tom Nook, Dizzy was pretty nice.

Now, onto Emerald and Pippy.


"Hi there! My name's Pippy! Don't you think that's just the cutest name ever?" I had to practically jump back at the high pitch tone that was Pippy's voice. She was a yellow rabbit with blue ears, the blue also engulfing her forehead as her paws twisted together over her red and white-striped dress.

"And I'm Emerald! What's your name? You're new, right? I don't think I've met you…" The other girl- Emerald- trailed off. She was a green frog with pink eyelids and was wearing a yellow shirt with a small frog face on it.

"Uh, yes, I am new. And my name's Star. Look I gotta go, but I'll see you two around?" I turned toward the hill just an acre away and the two animals nodded happily.

"Of course! Welcome to the neighborhood!" They smiled and I fought back a shudder at how uneasily perky they were and I ran down toward the wishing well. This'll take some getting used to…


The wishing well felt strangely peaceful as I strode in front of it. It consisted of a large tree surrounded by river rock with a small fountain placed in front of it. I paused at seeing an old turtle wearing a top hat and green bowtie with a cane holding him upright and walked toward him.

"Hello. Are you the mayor of Idris?" I asked and the old turtle adjusted his glasses and fiddled with his small beard.

"Yup! That's me! Mayor Tortimer at your service. I don't believe I've seen you around here before, young lady." He said and I nodded.

"That's right. I just moved in one of the houses in acre B-3. I'm working for Tom Nook to pay off my mortgage. It's nice to meet you, sir."

"I see. That Tom Nook, always the slave driver," He paused to chuckle and I couldn't help but agree with his words. "Well, welcome to Idris! I hope we'll be seeing you around the village's special events while you're here, Miss…?" He trailed off.

"Star. My name is Star. And it's nice to feel welcomed." I smiled and he grinned in turn with a nod.

"Indeed it is. Alright, off with you. I have some wishing to do!" He cheered as he shuffled over to the wishing well and I shook my head with a light laugh before moving on down to the third level to go meet Buzz.


Buzz was big.

"What're you staring at, girl?" He grumbled at me and I frowned at him. Buzz was a large, brown hawk. His beak looked like it could snap me in two if he really wanted to. His shirt reminded me of a race car with the way it was striped and the circled number 6 in the center.

"Nothing. I'm staring at nothing," I said quickly and walked over to him, careful to keep a fair distance between us. "My name is Star. I just moved in today."

"Alright then. Hi. I'm Buzz. Now what do you want, girl?" He grumbled and I fought back the urge to break his annoying beak.

"First of all, I just told you my name, so you might as well use it. And second, I'm working for Tom Nook and he said it'd be a good idea to get familiar with my new neighbors, so here I am. Nice to meet you." I seethed, crossing my arms over my chest.

He shrugged, his feathers poking through the shirt that was obviously too tight for him. "Whatever. Good luck dealing with him. Now get lost, Star." He attempted to spit my name out by it barely worked and with that I was gone, off to meet Freya next.

Hopefully she'll be better than this douchebag.


Freya was a bright pink wolf whose voice seemed way too high for a canine such as herself. Her eyes gleamed like golden nuggets and it was honestly scary how much eye shadow the wolf managed to force through her fur and onto her skin underneath to make it pop out so much. She was also wearing an army camo shirt.

"Uh, hi. Are you Freya?" I started and I had to back up as she turned her long snout to face me.

"Hello! You must be new here! I am Freya, I see my reputation perceives me." She breathed dramatically and stroked her fur lightly and I rolled my eyes. Here we go; a diva wolf. And here's me thinking wolves were my favorite animal. She just killed my image of them completely.

"Okay, right then. My name's Star and I just moved in by the train station. Nice to meet you," I shook her paw and before she could say any more I released her paw and ran up the hill beside her house. "Can't talk, I gotta get back to work. See you around!"

I hope I don't have to talk to her all that much. These animals down at the third level freak me out…


"Great! You're back. I need you to deliver this carpet to Freya." Tom Nook handed me a small rolled up carpet in his paws.

Well, fuck.

I inwardly groaned and took the carpet from him and stuffed it in my bag and ran back to Freya's house. In a hurry to get my work done and in a hurry to see her even less. I saw her outside her house and I handed her the carpet, saying it was a delivery from Nook's Cranny.

"It's about time! I ordered this specifically to match my elegant home days ago!" She growled irritably and I sighed.

"Whatever bitch, back to Nook's I go." I muttered and started up the hill.

"What was that?" She called back to me. How did her huge wolf ears not pick that up?

"Nothing. Bye Freya."


My next deliveries went by pretty fast. A ranch table to Dizzy, a wallpaper to Pippy- simple stuff. And what's better- they all gave me shirts or my own furniture in return as well.

"Last assignment for the day, Star. Then we'll continue tomorrow." Tom Nook said and I instantly perked up.

"Great! Give it to me, Nook. I'm ready." I jumped up and down in place excitedly and he handed me a piece of paper and a pen.

"We're having a customer's appreciation sale soon and I need you to write a letter about it to Buzz. He's a loyal customer of mine, so make it good! When you're done, take it to the post office in acre A-5 and the pelicans will do the rest." He said and wandered off to the back of the shop.

I grinned and immediately started the letter to Buzz. Time for some payback… Once I finished, I read it to myself in complete silence, an ever widening grin on my face the entire time.

To Buzz

Greetings, Citizen Shitbird. Ole' Nook's having a dumb sale and for some reason he wants you to know first. Don't ask me, I think he's nuts to think you're loyal. Bye Shitbird.

From Star

So it's not as professionally done as I'd like it to be. It's Tom Nook's fault for giving me a pen instead of a pencil. And who cares if Buzz gets pissed and whines about it all over town? I sure as hell don't.

Oh well, time to deliver this dumb thing. I hurried out of the shop and to the post office in A-1.


"Hi there. My name is Pelly. Do you have a letter you need delivered?" The white pelican at the desk smiled at me, her feathered arms folded over each other neatly. I smiled and put the letter on the counter.

"Yup. Here it is." The post office looked old, but nice in its own way. There was even a plant in here. The desks were a dark-colored wood and Pelly was really nice too. She wore a pink dress with a big white bow over her chest.

I glanced over at the corner to see a purple pelican punching in her time on a small card. She didn't look as nice as Pelly did though.

"Alright," Pelly paused to pace the letter on the back counter and turned to me again. "We'll have it delivered as early as tomorrow morning."

"Thanks Pelly. Have a good night." I said and stepped through the door after she wished me the same.

Time to go home.


I crashed on the blanket I laid out over the smoothed river rock flooring after I changed into the pajamas I brought with me. I flicked on a flashlight I materialized from my bag and opened the journal on the blanket since I used to table to keep my uniform from touching the ground and I bit into a peach I'd grabbed from a tree on the way home. Apparently peaches were Idris' local fruit. Who knows, maybe my parents would send me some fruits for me to plant around here so we could have more variety.

"Hmm…" I trailed off in thought. Do I write in the journal? Or do I toss it in the dumpster conveniently located right next to Nook's Cranny?

"Ah hell, might as well make use of it." I said to myself and grabbed the pencil after flicking on the radio to some random station, frowning when no matter how many I changed it to, I didn't get anything. I sighed and realized the only way to get music around here was to get it from somebody somehow and started writing in the journal.

So, my first day away from my old life… Not so bad considering I've already been subjected to what might as well a life-long servitude to an angry raccoon who wears nothing but an apron while being surrounded by mostly ditzy and asshole-ish neighbors. Let's see where this new life of mine takes me.


Alright...so yes? No? How was it? I gotta know 'cause this type of story is COMPLETELY new to me

Buzz is a dick because he was in my file when I met him. That letter is in exact words of what I sent him. And I'm also going to try keeping Star's journal entries on my file too if I can. It's gonna drive me nuts but I'll make this work!

Plus I've always hated Scoot. He's always been so annoying to me. And I bet you City of Bones readers out there are just killing me for naming my town Idris of all things. I'm going by EXACTLY what I did for my file. Right down to the name, city, where everything's at, the characters- everything. I'll do what I can to fit in all the NPCs too, and maybe even another human or two. I'm not sure yet

REVIEW BEFORE YOU FAVE/FOLLOW PLEASE, ESPECIALLY FOR THIS 'CAUSE IT'S A FUCKING CHALLENGE. THANK YOU

bye bye