Burshire Times

Like all things cute and innocent, I finally discovered Animal Crossing's dark secret. It lulls you into thinking that you have everything under control in your perfect little world filled with flowers and rainbows and then...then it taunts you by preying on two basic fears - the fear of loss and the fear of change. Yes!

I was in a total freak out mode on Sunday morning because I logged into the game and realized that I had StreetPassed an unwanted villager from someone else. It wasn't just any villager though, it was an ugly villager, Tabby.

I don't have a problem with ugly villagers. It was just the shock and horror that I was saving my last spot for a camping villager that made it a problem - and had I known that she was going to move in, I would have used the reset trick to make sure her house was in a decent spot. Instead her house landed too close to mine.

"Noooo!" I cried inside as my pre-breakfast, early morning brain could not handle these two facts. How? I had been so secure in the advice that random move-ins don't happen with nine villagers. BUT you can StreetPass a villager and indeed Tabby was from one of the people I StreetPassed at the mall the day before.

My husband rolled his eyes at my interminable complaints about the matter. "That's what you get for letting people like Biskit move out."

"But he wanted to move!"

Then, later:

"Why are you going to send a rotten pear to Tabby? Maybe she has a great personality. Did I marry a monster?" :D

There are no shortage of theories on how to get a villager to move out. One person suggests talking to them until their brain breaks. Others suggest not talking to them except for the first time while they are still unpacking. To be honest all these theories sound like schoolyard advice where you might as well spin around three times with your DS in front of a mirror!

Then there are the villagers that love that want to move and who may not tell you that you're moving, breaking your heart.

This is how the game messes with you!

So cruel Nintendo, so cruel.