Dodos run the airport in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and it suits the game well. This is a flightless travel. Like real airports, it involves an endless series of high-data, low-information screens.

Four quarantined months elapse before we make plans to visit each other’s islands. We are friends, colleagues, and neighbors accustomed to seeing each other weekly in person, who have seen each other near-weekly over videochat; but this is the first time it really feels like we’ve visited since the pandemic began in March. It’s hard to not talk about the fact that much of the country still seems to not get it.

We start at Finch’s island: Doom Tempo — a fitting name for these dark times. In line with her kind and generous nature, her island is a flea market of free items she has been collecting and displaying for anyone who might visit her in need. She has even built a welcoming alley for the art smuggler-forger who shows up on occassion. She’d accumulated all the fruits Bluebird loves but had not yet found — pears, peaches, and oranges.

We move to Bluebird’s island: Xingtian — named for the Chinese folk creature, who grew a face on his belly after losing his head in battle, representing perseverance. Like her apartment, the island is filled with an eclectic collection of plants and animals and machines. She shows Finch all the creatures from her frequent deep-sea dives.

Bluebird’s island has a rich non-human population. They often stand in pairs — stationed protectively at entryways, or communing in scenic groves. Xingitan feels safe and serene.

It’s hard to say what this visit meant to us in the scope of our current reality. We moved to New York City to be around others, and it’s hard to know how to deal with the reality of this cultural shift.