What Ever Happened to Quillson?

I know I said I was going to post all my main hotel rooms first, but I wanted to make an exception for a Very Important Duck I wasn't expecting to run into. 

I was able to add a bit more to Tansan’s history or "lore" with the Resort Hotel Update now that old villagers can return to visit. There’s only a handful of villagers who moved out of Tansan since 2020, including Quillson, so I was interested to see if they would return and if they would remember us… and they do! This post is going to catch up on what happened to Tansan's original smug since he moved out all those years ago. 

Quillson was Tansan’s very first Smug villager. I knew there weren't a lot of smugs I liked in the game because I'm not too fond of their personality and dialogue in general. I can count the smugs I like on one hand: O'Hare, Ken, Shep and Lucha. Despite knowing the crazy odds that I’d get someone I liked, I was… displeased… to say the least. I try not to care too much about villager looks (I mean, I invited Jambette to my island on Day 1). But I was still kind of annoyed that my very first smug was destined to be none other than Scoot's bratty cousin, Quillson (unconfirmed). 

Despite my initial experiences with Quillson back in the day, I was happy to see him visit Tansan again... and it was a nice touch that he remembered us! With Quillson being back I knew I had to look through the archives to see what I could dig up on his time here. Sadly... It wasn't that much. So if anything, I wanted to fix that with his visit. 

Back in the days...

If I recall correctly, smugs were the first to visit your campsite. We are not given the option to refuse the first camper, but I still remember smashing B so hard hoping that "Move here" was code for "Seeya!” 

Initially I was half hoping that my Snooty that moved in right after him, Freya, would give him a good scaring off. But in the end, Quillson got on with his day ignoring the haters, singing everywhere and anywhere he pleased. He was a little turquoise duck with a moppy middle part that accepted Tansan in all its flaws, even though he had quite high standards himself. I appreciated how unbothered he was. 

He even taught me how to do the Resignation reaction, which is funny because that was exactly how I was feeling about Quillson.

In the end, Quillson moved out quite soon after to make room for my beloved Ken, who I had already decided was going to move in through Amiibo. Quillson was such an early move out that he didn't even get to see Tansan in its earliest stages of terraforming. He did however, witness some important events such as K.K's first performance. Knowing that Quillson's goal in life is to be a musician, I'm sure this moment was very special to him. (I don't know what it is about Tansan that attracts so many musicians: Quillson, Ursala, Tabby, Cyd...)

Quillson's "Very Own Recording Studio" (Happy Home Paradise)

I would not run into Quillson again until much later when Happy Home Paradise came out and I saw him looking to buy a holiday home. His request was for a recording studio, which I fulfilled to the best of my ability. It was the least I could do for the kid. 

I went back in to freshen his house with some new items from the update. I ended up moving his recording studio upstairs and turned the ground floor to a studio apartment. Definitely living the big life compared to his time on Tansan!

I made his bedroom on the tiny side, but he's a tiny duck so it's okay. I split the top floor recording studio with his bedroom and a lounge area. I always wondered what kind of music Quillson would make. His appearance makes it seem like he's a duck that would enjoy classical music, but his original house design suggests he wants to be a DJ. So I made his house a bit of both. 

The studio apartment is designed more elegantly than the modern style upstairs. I wanted his work to be separate from his home life so I didn't want to overload his living space with a lot of instruments or equipment. But I thought he'd appreciate a violin, which I imagine he might have played as a young duckling. 

The walls are covered in KK's album covers. The album art is always great to decorate with, but it made me think it would be even better if we could change the color of the frames. 

Overall, I love how the dark wood furnishings against the turquoise and maroon wallpaper siding came out. I think it works especially well for the bathroom paired with the red wedding rug from the wedding season items, which I don't think to use often. 

If you'd like to see Quillson's holiday home in person, please visit my creator code: RA-4182-5590-0275

Eventually, years later, I also made some changes on the island and decided to let our long time resident Freya go, but not before inviting her to Happy Home Paradise to build a holiday home as well. As things turned out, Freya’s dream was to be a “Pro Chef”, which eventually lead me to dedicating the whole Restaurant to her as well, where she worked with her ex-neighbor and Tansan resident Bianca who moved out not long after Quillson (but that’s worth a deeper dive in another post about the facilities).

Restaurant Kitchen (Happy Home Paradise)

I actually thought that it would be hilarious to get Quillson to work in Freya’s kitchen, knowing that the two did not get along on Tansan. I also liked the idea that my past villagers on Tansan were all together on the island, having their own jobs and second life but somehow still involved. Aaand that’s how Quillson became head Chef of Freya’s Fine Dining.

I know I was kind of squashing his dreams as a musician with that lore, but let’s just say he was still actively working on his music career while being head Chef (K.K. Poster for inspiration).

Quillson revisits Tansan

That brings me to the present! 

With the new Hotel Resort update, I’m happy to say that this little duck has visited Tansan as a tourist not just once but TWICE. Maybe he was feeling extremely nostalgic, or maybe game mechanics make past villagers appear more often? Whatever it was, it didn't seem like Quillson was keeping count of the times he was coming to the island, only that "he's back" and that he used to know me. 

It was kind of strange seeing him walk around town again so often, in fact, it gave me a jump scare that made me rethink what year I was in. But him visiting on more than one occassion allowed me to fulfill not one but possibly two of his dreams as a VIP.

Quillson's VIP Resort Hotel Room #1: "Club Room"

On his first visit to Tansan I decided to make him a room that would definitely perk his feathers as hopefully a now a successful recording artist. I made his first VIP room inspired by the “Club Room” theme, a stylish listening room where Quillson can DJ to his heart’s content. I love how it turned out, especially because the box seat is such an underrated item and I love how it encapsulates the 70s feel.

No matter who the villager is, I always try to match the color scheme of their furniture to the villager, or at least the vibe. For Quillson I wanted to highlight his bright orange feet and beak, which is honestly the most adorable part. I also rarely use the fruit wallpapers despite how cute they are, so I thought it would be nice to use it in his room as it is not too different from his turqouise coloring. 

One design trick that I wanted to try out that I saw somewhere on instagram was using the den desk as a backboard or shelf to the box seat. Unlike other tables, the den desk can be placed flush up next to another with no space in between. The boxiness of the frame also closes any gaps giving it the illusion of an intentional shelf when paired with the box seat. Another table that does not leave gaps when placed next to each other is the ranch table. I used that table for the Restaurant's kitchen in HHP to make a corner work table. 

The palm tree lamp also worked great in this room especially with the color scheme. 

Quillson's VIP Resort Hotel Room #2: "Family Style Restaurant"

In his second visit to Tansan I decided to give him an opportunity to run his own restaurant without Freya breathing down his neck. I chose the “Family Restaurant” style room with a stylish open kitchen and diner or family style seating. 

I can imagine that the speakers play Quillson’s greatest hits while he cooks up his greatest dishes. 

Again, I stuck to the orange and turquoise/green color scheme similar to the 70s theme, but on the lighter side. I used the brick counter to separate the open kitchen and the general seating space. I noticed that the castle gate item customized to ivory looks quite close to the counter, allowing me to use that as a doorway into the pantry and kitchen. 

I managed a seating area using box seats on each corner while also adding a smaller seating area right in front. I was actually surprised at how much seating I could fit without compromising too much of the walking area for Quillson to waddle through. For reference, to the left is a zoomed out angle of the whole build to show how each section looks - Kitchen, pantry, counter seating, and general seating.

Finally, here's a close up of the kitchen and the pantry area. I would like to think that Quillson has stocked up with goods bought straight from the local markets here, or handpicked himself at the farms!  

PHEW that was a long post dedicated to one duck that I kicked out as fast as I could many years ago. Anyways, it was fun seeing Quillson wandering around and designing his rooms. Unfortunately, I couldn't catch him hanging out outside too much, so I don't have too many pictures of him enjoying the island, but I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to be holed up in the hotel all trip in this cold. Maybe he will continue revisiting for as long as he can. He’s always invited to visit whenever he wants and I’ll look forward to giving him a VIP room! 

Since VIP rooms disappear, I may yoink this build or at least the composition for a more permenant design like the cafe on my HHP island. I haven't updated that since my first playthrough and going in to take photos of Quillson's house made me want to make some updates on some homes and facilities.