{
  "description": "[b][u]MY PLACE s01:e39 - New Horizons[/u][/b]\n\nGotta admit, Tortimer wasn’t what I was expecting.\n The way everyone in Place alluded to him being a neglectful grouch had me unprepared for how much of an oddball coot he really was. He had popped by to see how I was doing as his new replacement, although he seemed kinda disappointed with me being the one in charge these days. Maybe I was just reading too much into it.\n\nWhat was most surprising was that not only did Tortimer own an island, but he also wanted me to visit it. Isabelle was invited too but said that as much as she wanted to go, she simply had “too much work to do”. To be honest, as inclined as I am to believe her, given her work ethic, I would not be surprised if that was just a coy excuse to avoid more awkward situations.\n\nTortimer lead me down to the beach, where a boat was parked beside that wooden docking area thingy.\n\n“Here we are!” he exclaimed with perhaps a little too much gusto. He paused. After a few moments, he turned back at me with his eyes asquint “…say now? What did I want to see you about?”\n\n“Uhhhhh…” To tell you the truth, I had forgotten too.\n\n“Hmmmm….” \n\n(We “uhhh’d” and “hmmm’d” for way too long)\n\n“Ohhhh! That’s right! That’s right!” Tortimer cheered at long last “I was going to tell you about the tropical island!” He pointed towards the horizon. I could quite clearly make out the shape of land sitting on the horizon. I remember Tom pointing it out to me when I first got here and thinking about how far away home felt. I had always wondered what was over there. Guess today I finally find out!\n “The tropical island where I live is a resort where summer is endless, and people visit from all over the world!” Tortimer explained with great mayoral gravitas. I can see why he became a politician. \n\nThe sailor in the boat next to us finally turned away from whatever it was that he was doing and was startled when he noticed us.\n\n“Gar, what in the deep blue…” he grumbled. \n Oh yeah, forgot, only human here. I love being a freak!\n “Do me peepers peep our new mayor?” he asked with a pair of lazy eyes. “Yar har, HAR! Ol’ Tortimer left a whale of a job to a wee minnow!” \n\n“What are you implying, you urchin!?” snapped the tortoise in question, with the sailor’s snide reference to Place’s barren landscape striking a blow to his ego.\n\n“Nar, don’t pay me no mind!” he laughed “I be known as Kapp’n. I ferry folks across the briny deep to the island and back… in me boat.”\n\nThe last time I was on a boat was when I was a kid. I vomited after 30 seconds.\n Thankfully I only threw up in my mouth this time and swallowed it along with my dignity. Hopefully after a couple more trips I’ll finally get my sea legs. It was a relaxing journey though, with the ocean making for an expansive yet serene backdrop. That said, it was a bit cramped, with the three of us having barely enough leg room to get comfortable. \n\nTortimer told me how rare bugs are found on his island as Kapp’n sang us a sea shanty about pickles or something. Bell signs flashed in my eyes. I’ve heard the rarer the bug, the higher the price Reece will give you for them.\n\n“Say, what’s this island called?” I asked.\n\nTortimer inexplicably stood up and held a dramatic pose with his cane, nearly rocking the boat and tipping him overboard, scaring me half to death.\n “Why, TORTIMER ISLAND, my boy!” he proclaimed “Where the sun is always high! …and your ex-wife can’t find you… heh, heh.”\n\n \n\n~Author’s Notes~\n Very proud of how this turned out.\n The characters could do with some work but, call me weird, but I love drawing clouds for some reason. It’s oddly satisfying to get them looking right.\n\nI’m basing a lot of my portrayal of Tortimer on the Animal Crossing OVA, as well as the games, of course. He was so much fun in that movie, I love characters with big egos."
}