MY PLACE s01:e22 - Blathers

The museum resided at the far end of Main Street.
It was easy to point out – a big, temple like structure with a large sign beside the entrance. I only glanced at it as I walked in, but I think it was a list of exhibits. An awfully empty list of exhibits as a matter of fact, but I didn’t dwell on it too much.

Once inside, I was caught off guard when I saw a bowtie wearing owl stood in the middle of the room… asleep. It didn’t take much to deduce that he was the owner of the building, what with his attire and all, but also because of how empty the place felt. Still, the lack of a front door allowed the cool air from outside to pour in, keeping it from feeling stuffy in here.

I sorta just stood staring at the guy for a while.
I mean, how do you handle a situation like this? I spent so long awkwardly gawping at him that I eventually connected the dots as to why he was a sleep: because he’s an owl, and they’re nocturnal. I felt so smart.

Eventually I decided to gently tap him on the shoulder.
No luck.
A more forceful shove finally got him to stir.

“Hoooo…” he whistled as he slowly opened his eyes, followed by a sudden “WHO!?” which made me jump. Once he caught sight of me, he immediately started to dance about on the spot in panic. “Hoo! I’m a bit of a night owl” he chirped “Drowsy in the day time, you see!”

“Hey it’s okay!” I said, catching my breath “I’m kinda the same way…”

“Ah yes” he replied in an almost stereotypical British accent “Well anywho, welcome to the Place Museum. Hoo! Are you the new mayor?”

“So people say”

“I am Blathers!” he said, shaking my hand with his wing “The director of this museum. It is my honour, entirely, to make your acquaintance! Our museum exhibits the best in archaeology, the natural sciences, and art – fine or otherwise. Hoo! There I go again. You’ll find that each time I open my beak 10 words fall out when two will do.”

Reminds me of you-know-who.

“Never mind” he spluttered “let me start over with, hoo, fewer words”
He outstretched his wing to direct my attention to the surrounding exhibit rooms.
“This museum exhibits insects, assessed fossils, and artwork. The reason? To make Place as it can be! But here is our problem. We are currently exhibiting… nothing.”

“Nothing?” I asked “How is that even possible? Did you just set up?”

“Well… no. This museum was established some one hundred years ago…”

“Then what happened?”

“Heh. Hoo” he chuckled nervously “It’s a tad embarrassing. But perhaps you can help? Hootie hoo! You can!”

I wasn’t gonna bother pestering him for an answer. If there’s something I’ve learned by spending a day and a half with anthropomorphic animals, is that they have secrets they very much like to keep.

“If you donate your precious finds to the museum” he explained “I would be eternally grateful, as would all of Place.”

“Well you’re in luck!” I said, pulling out the fossils I had collected “I’ve been digging up these all morning. I’ve been told that they’re fossils.”

Blathers took them off my hands and took a careful look at each of them.
A few moments of silence past until suddenly…

“HOO HOO! All of these are rare fossils not yet found in our collection!”

“Great!” I smiled “I guess that wasn’t too hard though considering…”

“What a surprise!” he exclaimed, oblivious to my snide remark “You have a knack for finding fossils don’t you? Oh, I do hope I can convince you to donate them for Place’s cultural development…”

Of course, I let him have them. One of the bones apparently belonged to a Stegosaurus! That made me feel like an expert palaeontologist. Blathers then proceeded to give a lengthy explanation about the creature’s biology. A very lengthy explanation, might I add. I didn’t mind too much though, I had always loved visiting museums back home so this was kind of nostalgic.

Home…
Ugh, gotta stay focused.

~Author’s Notes~
Blathers used to be such a large part of my daily routine in New Leaf.
Everyday I would visit him to make sure whether or not I had an un-examined fossil in my pockets. Of course, I eventually completed that sector of the museum, so I don’t see the old owl that often anymore, but I’ll make sure to spotlight him again in this series.

Also, I know that there’s usually a large clock blocking the way to the staircase when you first visit the museum, but I’m choosing to ignore that little detail for the sake of believability. Just know that the first floor is currently empty and used for storage.