Test Drive Meme 003

[iyashikeimods]

Test Drive Meme 003

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And That's Final!

Spring is in full effect, flowers are blooming, the farms have gone into overdrive to get ready for the summer and fall harvest. The weather starts with a light chill in the morning before the sun is shining bright by midday. It's not too hot, not too cold, and all sorts of people are opting to spend more time outside. Meanwhile, the students have been under a LOT of stress as school finals are ending! Yadah University and Minarai invite you all onto the campuses to see just what the students achieved before school lets out for the summer!

Yadah University has a couple of booths set up here and there, some on sciences and the inventions they made. A particular group of science students are super excited to explain their backstory and why they created their various inventions. In the middle of the quad, there's a stage where the arts and music students are performing. You're welcome to be an audience member, or, if it's an improv group, you might very well get pulled up on stage to help with the skit!

But the most popular booths of all are the magic booths. Yadah University is the only school that teaches practical magic, and the big ticket for this semester?

NON-MAGICAL ANIMAL TRANSFORMATIONS!

Yes, that's right, either with a wave of their wands or hands, a spell incantation, or standing in a magic circle with interesting drawings and ruins, you will be turned into an animal that most aligns with SOME aspect of your personality. Maybe you're incredibly relaxed and get turned into a bearded dragon! Maybe you can't even rub two brain cells together and are turned into a jellyfish. Maybe you're as sly as a fox or as loyal as a dog! No matter what you get turned into, for the next 24 hours, you are painlessly turned into an animal.

Now, while that is all well and good for those who volunteer to be transformed, well, these ARE students, and so there are varying degrees of success. In THEORY, you should be able to transform back and forth as you please and communicate with those around you... again, in theory.

In reality?

Weellll, there's bound to be some mishaps. Some people may not be able to transform back AT ALL, some may not be able to communicate, some only have PARTS of their body transformed, like the mane of a lion instead of your hair or the wings of a parrot instead of your arms. Some may have shrunk you down to the size of a mouse, but not changed anything else about you! Or maybe every time you sneeze or hiccup, you're forced to transform. Maybe you change back and forth due to hot or cold water being poured on you! Magic is really tricky!

Worst of all! You may have been shot with a stray spell and turned into an animal, whether you wanted to or not! Super sorry about that! But don't worry, no matter the level of mastery, it all wears off in 24 hours, and all of it is a painless transformation, so at least there's that. Well... at worst, 72 hours. But that's it! They promise!

Maybe hearing that a stray spell might strike you causes you to steer clear of Yadah University. Well, why not visit Minarai?

Minarai High School has its end-of-the-year Sports Day Festival! There are booths selling food from the Home Ec. classes, face painting from the drama class students, if you are feeling unsure of where to go or what to do, the Student Council is happy to show you around the school as guides! On more than one occasion, you may notice that certain booths will need help here and there. Maybe they need an extra hand in painting faces or selling baked goods, maybe you're asked to help watch over Minnow students and toddlers to allow parents to partake in some of the other activities! Speaking of some of those activities, there are all sorts all over the school.

There are your typical games: like the three-legged race, the egg-balancing race, the wheelbarrow walk race, the baton-pass race, water-balloon toss, the 100-meter and 200-meter dash, tug-of-war, a riddle scavenger hunt through the school, and other typical activities you might find. There are, however, also unconventional activities! Like the Inflatable Hamster Ball Obstacle Race in the gymnasium! For a REAL challenge, there's even THE ULTIMATE OBSTACLE COURSE! that has been set up in the center of the school's track-meet field.

But perhaps you don't want to be anywhere near the schools. There is a much more peaceful option available to you.

Sunset Memories

All throughout the Main Hub and Outer Rim, you will hear the locals talk about how "it's been 13 years!" As well as posters featuring a reminder to "camp safely and responsibly when viewing," whatever that may mean.

As it so happens, there are just rows and rows of charter buses set up near the Farmlands with lots of people getting on, putting camping gear in the storage compartments, and giant backpacks as well. Why?

For the Sunset Awakening, of course!

That's probably not all that informative (because it isn't), but if you do happen to go, get ready for a once-every-13-years phenomenon! After hours and hours and hours and hours on the bus, driving past the Farmlands and through the smaller mountain range that sits at the edge of the Farmlands, you will arrive in a desert.

It is immediately clear that this desert is more or less uninhabited by Iyashikei residents. However, there is a sense of... memory all over. Maybe you suddenly feel more nostalgic, maybe you suddenly feel more reflective. It's like the very sands and trees hold something within them... but... what?

There aren't any airships that fly overhead, and outside of the Ranger Outpost, this is a place left untouched. Once the buses drop you off, you're shown to the designated temporary campsites. The rangers there are happy to welcome you, so long as you are respectful of the desert. The Rangers go over the rules and expectations at the campsites, your standard fare about throwing out all your trash and food scraps in the correct bins, being mindful about fires, and respecting nature and other campers. If you don't have the correct tools and gear, thankfully, they have spares and backups. All of this is very confusing, but there is excitement in the air. There's plenty of talk about "hoping one lands on them."

Lands on them?

As it would happen, every 13 years for exactly one month and one month only, there is a rather ethereal magical creature that emerges. Just as the sun is setting, tens of thousands of fuzzy Sunset Moths will come up from underneath the sands of the desert, climbing up the trees and unfurling their white wings under the light of the setting sun. The moths seemingly catch the colors of those last rays of light in their wings, and the wings go from white to beautiful pinks, reds, yellows, oranges, greens, purples, and any number of combinations.

The ground and trees become practically covered in these moths as they breed and lay their eggs in the sand. The sky is a constant artificial sunset as they fly through the air. There are all sorts of predators that come out to enjoy the feast, but that's not why people are here.

If a Sunset Moth lands on you, and there is a very good chance it will, considering how many there are, the Sunset Moth will leave a trail of glittery dust along the skin and restore a lost memory or feeling. The memory or feeling may be sweet, it may be sentimental, it may be bittersweet, or it may remind you of happier times. The memory or feeling is always, in some way positive, at least in some fashion, even if those memories or feelings might be in short supply for some.

The Sunset Moths are a reminder of the temporary nature of everything, living only for a couple of weeks after they emerge from the sand. Once the month is over, the buses return to take everyone back. The desert is protected land; it's not meant for those brought to Iyashikei to inhabit.

Weather Wise

While Iyashikei is usually a very warm and welcoming place, as the month of May starts drawing to a close, there is a distinct sense of... nervousness? Worry? Fear? At least something bordering on concern as the month continues.

Why?

Well, the immediate answer is that June is the rainy season, and Iyashikei is filled with canals and waterways. While some flooding is to be expected, it's best to be overprepared rather than caught off guard. But there is... something a bit unusual about their answer. There's the sense that something more is under the surface but any attempt to get a more in-depth answer is met with just concern about how bad things can get and trying to use any sort of magic or abilities doesn't get them to open up any further.

So it's time to get weather-wise! There's no telling how bad it will be this year! So all of Iyashikei is getting involved, as it so often does. There's waterproofing the roofs and walls of homes. You can help by filling up hundreds and hundreds of sandbags. There's making first aid kits for anyone who is a new arrival, or going from home to home and helping make sure everyone has what they need. You can help by cleaning up the pathways along the canals so that when they flood, trash and dirt don't get in the water. In some homes, you can help by moving furniture upstairs, reinforcing windows, and taking inventory of how much clean water they have. Houseboats should have their hulls checked.

Head to the docks and beaches to help make sure the boats are secured and tied up tightly. Go to the Farmlands to make sure pens and stables are leak-proof. YOU will be asked if you're prepared for the rains as well! Do you have sensible rain boots, rain coats, a strong umbrella, a first aid kit, do you have enough food, medication, and anything else you might need? You don't? Better go get them while you're still dry and the paths are clear. No, no, no, residents will insist. You may have experienced serious rain or even hurricanes back home, but not like this, not like here.

And... there's that fear again.

Well, better to be safe than sorry, everyone will insist! Besides, everyone always needs a first aid kit in their home anyway! Even minor flooding can be inconvenient, to say the least. Truly, all of Iyashikei is getting ready, as if holding its breath because as soon as June hits?

The rains will begin...


MOD NOTE: June will be a unique event month and so the effects from that event will be added here in the TDM once the month of June starts.

A Kindly Curious Question

There are several little beeps, or depending on whether you've begun customizing it, maybe a little song instead starts to play on your Glimmer. A little envelope notification appears and does a little wiggle. Should you open this, a cute little message appears:


Hello hello Iyashikei!

This is the monthly Kindness Curious Question (K.C.Q.)! What is something you’d love to learn about? Answer honestly to get your sticker!

Answer honestly on the Glimmer and you'll get your K.C.Q. Digital Sticker! It will immediately go into your K.C.Q. digital sticker album folder on your Glimmer.

What's the point, you might ask? Well, when you open that sticker and press on it, the little sticker will help you make a difficult task feel less complicated. To be clear, it doesn't make the task EASIER, just gives you more confidence to handle it.

< isopods >

Comments

[lanternsgleam]

[At the glare, she took a small step back, lifting the bags slightly as if to hide behind them. She hadn’t meant to interrupt or upset him; she had just been trying to help. But when he spoke, she lowered the bags again and looked at what he had been working on. It was clear that he had been putting in his best effort.]

Alright, but if you need anything there's a lot of people willing to help.

[When he asked about the bags, she held one out.]

If you'd want, I was bringing them around so people didn't have to walk back to grab them after filling the ones they had.

[oldwarsfinished]

[ The way she spoke, so confidently, even when he'd shown her such attitude, Kiyoaki had to admit, he was impressed. Raising both eyebrows, he shrugged his shoulders, trying to give an air of indifference, when in reality he was eager to seem strong and capable enough to take care of - not only himself, but others as well. Although such worries were far beneath him, both as his father's son and a young man who had studied under Count Ayakura.

Except, in this place, he was alone, and whose son he was, or whose student... It didn't appear to matter. Kiyoaki wasn't certain what to think of that. He could only conclude,his hands, so refined and opposed to coarseness, took to labour well enough.

So, when she held out one bag, he took it in both arms and met her eyes. ]

Show me where this one is supposed to go, and I'll take it there. [ A proud tilt of his chin. ] I'm Matsugae, by the way. Kiyoaki Matsugae.

[ For some reason, introducing himself with the Western order of his name came easier here, but Kiyoaki just went with it. ]

[lanternsgleam]

[Oh he wasn't so bad after all, she relaxed a little and smiled again seeing that he wasn't too angry or upset.]

Rapunzel.

[Matsugae, it was a strange name unlike any she'd heard before, but it was fun to say too. When he took the bag, she seemed to look around a bit.]

Once it's filled I guess it can go where the others were. I don't really know what I'm doing. Or what they're for, but I'm trying to be helpful and this seemed like it would be.

[oldwarsfinished]

They'll use it to try and keep the water out. If it doesn't help, it's not our fault.

[ He starts filling the bag, the way she informs him that she wants it to be, quickly shovelling sand into the empty sack, working quietly until it's full. It reminds him of long gruelling hours at his school, picking trash up from the grass, cleaning the grounds by hand. Part of his education, then, and it could be the same here. It's so that he learns.

Simply because the young master doesn't want to learn, doesn't mean he should not, Iinuma would say, probably. And Kiyoaki wouldn't listen. He would be thinking about something or other.

Here, he's thinkiing about her name. It's strange, he feels like he's heard something like it before, but he can't recall where. It's foreign under any circumstances. ]

Rapunzel, huh? [ He comments, still looking down at his shovelling hands. He can't think of anything better to say, which he knows would make Satoko laugh at him. ] What does that mean? Your name?

[lanternsgleam]

I, don't know. I would assume flower or something since that's what mother always calls me.

[Seeing him start to fill the bag, she figured she could help by holding it open at least, stepping a little closer and keeping it upright so he wouldn't have to juggle between the two tasks. Plus this way she could help move it once it was full since he'd already had one ready.]

What does yours mean?

[oldwarsfinished]

[ She moves closer again and he tries to focus on just filling the bag, just shovelling the sand, just... Why are all girls like this, do they only exist to shake his foundation? Is that why his father goes to the geisha houses, too? His mistress having been installed in the house just outside the Matsugae estate grounds... Kiyoaki doesn't know, he's never been particularly interested in these things before.

Once the bag is full, he ties it up and pushes it towards her. She's close enough to balance it on her own, isn't she? ]

Kiyoaki. It's written with the -- [ He has to concentrate to say the Japanese word properly, which is a strange feeling. ] -- kanji for 'purify' and the kanji for 'existence'. It implies those concepts.

[lanternsgleam]

That's nice, it seems like a good name.

[Once it was full and he leaned the bag towards her, she grabbed it by the sides, it was pretty heavy. Luckily she'd had to pull her mother up the tower often enough, and even lifted herself up painting enough that she'd at least be able to get it to her shoulders.]

Alright, here we go.

[Lifting it up, she had a take a step or two backward trying to catch her balance, almost tripping over her hair, but managed to keep from falling over. It might have been a little heavier than she thought it would be.]