folkmeme | June-July 2025 Test Drive Meme

Entry tags:

*tdm

June-July 2025 Test Drive Meme

June-July 2025 TDM

Introduction

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This Test Drive meme is open to all.
Welcome to Folkmore's monthly Test Drive Meme! Please feel free to test drive any and all characters regardless of your intent to apply or whether you have an invite or not.

All TDMs are game canon and work like "mini-events". For new players and characters, you can choose to have your TDM thread be your introduction thread upon acceptance or start fresh. Current players are also allowed to have in-game characters post to the TDM so long as they mark their top levels ‘Current Character.’

TDM threads can be used for spoon spending at any time by characters accepted into the game.

Playing and interacting with the TDMs will allow characters to immediately obtain a canon item from home, especially weapons or other things they may have had on their person when they were pulled from their worlds! There will always be a prompt that provides some sort of "reward" to characters who complete certain tasks.

Current players are always encouraged to tag new people on the TDM!

🦊 New Star Children meet the Fox still in their worlds, and she brings them into the new realm of Folkmore. As you follow her, your body begins to change and new characteristics emerge. These may stay for a while, or perhaps they will hide away after. And during all of this, the Fox explains to you where you will be going: to Folkmore.

and then... you fall like a shooting star, falling to the land in a burst of starlight.

🦊 Experienced Star Children are already familiar with this time of the month. There are shooting stars all across the sky, and some fall to the land, which means the Fox has brought new arrivals. These newly arrived Star Children will face some tests, but Thirteen wants the more seasoned residents to participate as well.

Perhaps you follow the falling stars on your own, or perhaps the Fox simply teleports you there, but it appears you too will be part of this.

[ Prompt One ★ Prompt Two]

Pirates of the Loreibbean . ★

Content Warnings:

Old wood creaks and groans, barely audible over a howl of wind. Wet droplets of rain hit faces and soak into clothing. Clouds overhead are a murky gray, blocking out the sun. Though summer weather is often somewhat temperamental, a true storm has now hit. Both newly arrived Star Children and veterans may find themselves in the midst of this situation quite abruptly, standing on the unsteady deck of an old, grand ship. Those who run to the nearest rail and peer overboard may be shocked to discover a stark absence of water below. Instead, the view just goes down… and down… The land of Folkmore lies far below, as this ship is flying through the storm, its sails struggling to hold under the force of whipping winds. There is no captain, there is no helmsman- there is no crew at all to be found, only fellow Star Children. And yet… the ship is still moving full speed ahead through the storm, as if it has a destination in mind.

A resounding boom echoes, and those with a keen gaze may just spot something whizzing past, missing the ship by a hair. Was that… a cannonball?

Just like that, a second vessel weaves its way out of a deck of gray clouds, pulling up side by side to the ship the Star Children are on. Lightning flashes, illuminating a whole bunch of sneers across the way, along with some eye patches, bandanas and goggles. Sky pirates are attacking! It's clear from their animalistic features that they're local spirits, but they're hardly as benevolent as those typically seen in Folkmore.

Ready yourselves, Star Children!

Those who wish to return fire will find several cannons lined along the ship's deck, ready to be used. These don't work just like any old artillery, though. In place of those unwieldy metal balls, one must load magic into these cannons. Lore, to be precise! It even says so on a small metal plaque, attached near the firing mechanism: "Connection is one's true ammunition." Find a fellow Star Child and start chatting! The more meaningful the conversation, the grander the magic ball one may blast at the pirates with the cannons.

Unfortunately, the cannons alone are not enough to fight off the pirates, as several of them swing their way aboard with ropes. (Or just fly, if they're bird spirits.) Star Children can head down into the armory below deck to grab a weapon. Yes, even weapons from home (or items that can be improvised weapons) are available, and may be kept after the fight is over. Star Children capable of flight may even be daring enough to make their way to the enemy's ship and deal some real damage over there.

The ship continues to shake and creak and bob in the storm, which may complicate the fight, but not all is lost. There, in the distance, up ahead… A beacon of light flickers, struggling to be seen through the thick clouds. What is that?

Star Children (new and old) find themselves aboard a grand wooden ship, flying through a storm. Yes, literally flying!
Sky pirates attack! They're just the local spirits, but a rowdy bunch nonetheless.
Use conversation to load up a cannon with Lore energy, then blast it at the pirate ship.
Alternatively, grab a weapon (possibly from home) from your ship's armory and start swashbuckling.
Star Children can keep one (1) weapon/item from home and other basic weapons.

So Said the Lighthouse Keeper. ★

Content Warnings:

Other Star Children, both new and old, may find themselves drawn to the floating island of Never Fade. Up here, in the clouds, the storm rages just as fierce, and the native spirits all share the same worry: the lighthouse is broken. Indeed, up on the highest hill of Never Fade stands a towering white spire, its beacon dimmed. 'A ship is coming in at any moment', the spirits all whisper. 'And there's reports of pirates in the area, too. What will we do?'

The goats which are quite common in Never Fade join forces to guide Star Children up the hill towards the lighthouse. And if not guiding, then dragging, chompers clenched around the fabric of sleeves or pant legs as they pull. The rain does not slow, but the wind thankfully blows uphill. Best to just go along with it, so you can go take shelter from the storm inside the enormous spire building, because the goats won't leave you alone otherwise.

Just outside the lighthouse stands a very curious cat. It's so large, it's almost the size of a pony, and its fur is black. No, white. … No, it's black, isn't it? (It really depends on what mood it's in.) Karma the cat peers up at any approaching Star Children with knowing eyes. It dashes inside the lighthouse for a second, then reappears with an envelope in its mouth, holding it out for the newcomer to take. Careful- the paper might get wet in the rain! Come stand under the awning or inside the house as you read:

"The lighthouse keeper is on vacation. Please help! The beacon needs to be charged. We need positive energy to power the light, and negative energy to rotate the lens. Be nice or be mean, both are good! :)"

Are you up for the task, Star Children? Then stay in the lighthouse's near vicinity, or go right on up to the beacon, and do as Karma asked: Either compliment your fellows, or insult them. Share fond memories with one another, or commiserate on how terrible this situation is. Both pleasant conversation and nasty confrontation will do the job. Before long, the light springs to life and the great glass lens begins to rotate around it, a majestic beam of light revolving outward from the spire, piercing the dark clouds.

Those who wait around will see it: that great big wooden ship which comes flying towards Never Fade's docks to make port there. … Is that a hole in its side? And a cutlass sticking out of the mast? Confusion may make way for relief, as all the Star Children aboard disembark, surely bursting with a great tale to tell. Elated spirits bring out the hot soup, bread and all other hearty comfort foods to celebrate the successful arrival. Time to celebrate! Or raid the armory for a free weapon from home, if you haven't gotten one yet- with an emphasis on one, because Karma the cat will attack anyone who got greedy, be it now or during the earlier voyage.

Star Children who weren't taken to the ship may instead have been drawn to Never Fade, where the storm rages just as fiercely.
Goats guide Star Children towards the lighthouse, which is broken. Karma the cat awaits them there.
In order to get the lighthouse beacon working again, it must be charged with both positive and negative energy. Engage in either pleasant or hostile conversation with a fellow Star Child to help out!
Once the lighthouse is up and running, the ship from the first prompt will dock at Never Fade, uniting all the Star Children for a great celebration.
The ship's armory is still available for a free weapon (possibly from home), but anyone who got greedy and tried to take more than one will be confronted by Karma. Literally. (And lose the additional items).

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I'm down," she says cheerfully. "I'm guessin' they're after positive or negative memories. That's the way things usually work around here, don't ask me why." She doesn't know why Talking It Out is apparently the road to being your better self. Like sure, sometimes that helps a bunch, but there have been so many ways it can make people feel worse. But Thirteen operates on her own rules and she's stopped bothering to work out why.

She peers up at the beacon. "Welp. I bet we've helped a little already. Let's stick with positive though, yeah? Like... tell me a little about your brothers! Is your Mikey still an artist?"

"Works for me," he says, grinning. He appreciates the fact that she's down to help, not that he'd really expect an April not to, but who knows? He could have been wrong. Usually his variety of help is punching things out, not talking it out, which isn't his forte but he's always gotten along with his April. This one will probably be no different.

Raph follows her gaze up. "Hope so. These things need ta stay on so ships can get home safe." The question about his brothers makes him smile, since it's just him, and he figures that she'd want to know differences if this was a whole new world sort of thing.

"An artist? Not really...that's more my thing," he admits, which comes easily enough, though he's not usually one to talk about it. If it meant helping out here though, he'll do it. "Mikey's...well. You ever see a kid hyped up on cotton candy at a fair? Now add about six cans of soda to it, shake it up, and give it ninja skills. Then you got Mikey." That might be a liiiiiittttle bit negative, but it was the truth, since his brother is rambunctious and has the attention span of a gnat.

She laughs a little at that. "Yeah, our Mikey has... uh, some similarities there. But he's a master at cooking and art. He's a little on the ADHD side, but the boy runs pretty deep. Is he still the baby of the family?"

Like she can't be sure, because this Raph looks like he might be the baby, he's so, uh. Tiny in comparison. (But she's tactful, she is not mentioning this part.)

He laughs at the mention of the ADHD side because that sums up Mikey a lot, but the fact that he can actually COOK makes Raph perk up. "Okay yeah, m'bro basically makes abominations in the kitchen so that's different there. But yea, he's the youngest of all of us. So that tracks."

It makes him smile a little, thinking about his little bro, who is probably driving the others nuts with him not being there to be the target.

"Your M is into art though? What about the others? I figure Donnie's still a tech head, yea?"

"Yeah, that's right. And--" She breaks off with a faint snicker. "Yeah, Donnie's as 'tech head' as they come. Kinda glad they've got that in common." She very much shoves down the temptation to ask if his Donnie ever went full supervillain, because that's, uh. Definitely in the negatives column. "Keeps everything workin' round the lair, seems to think if he's not fixing things he's not earnin' his keep...? We're tryin' to break him of that habit."

Oh-- well, a sheepish smile. That is still kind negative, huh. But it could be worse. "How 'bout your Leo? I'm--not sure how to describe mine, actually. He's pretty laid back, but he's a lot smarter than most give him credit for."

Yours is totally the same, right...?

He can't help but chuckle at the fact that yes, her version of Donnie is a technology nut. That makes the most sense, given how much his brother is a nerd. "That sounds right. Though I dunno about the whole not fixing things thing... he usually has his projects, but you gotta make sure he eats and sleeps."

Raph doesn't need to ask - but he's got to. He needs to be prepared if these two are like his brother and his April. "...uh, don't club me with the bat fer this one but are you two...dating?" God he hopes not. GOD HE HOPES THIS DONNIE ISN'T AS BAD AS HIS.

"Laid back? Errrr... I dunno about that one. Maybe if he's watchin' his fave show or something but he's like, always trainin' and serious about stuff. Smart, yeah, if he wants to listen to any of us like ME..."

...look okay, if she'd been drinking at the time he asked that Raph would have a faceful of soda. Oh my god. As it is, she does sputter a bit in the rain. "Dating!? Dee and me are best friends! Trust me when I say that's never come up."

But now it's gonna, because she's going to think about it--so moving on hurriedly, wiping water away from her face with a frown. "Your Leo's super serious? ...I mean okay, ours definitely can be since--uh, we had a whole alien invasion thing. Stuff happened. But it sounds like there's a big difference between them."

Pause. "...though the 'not listenin' to you' part, that rings a lil true. Or it did."

The splutter is hysterical and he can't help but laugh at it. "Well that answers my question--though you know, usually it happens when you're friends first." But he shakes his head, snickering a little. It's probably not the same as his moon eyed brother and their April and their weird back and forth.

At least he hopes so.

Back to talking about the difference in the Leos though makes him pay more attention. "...greaaaaaaaaaat, another Leo know it all, huh? Fan-tas-tic." He sighs, folding his arms across his chest. "Yea, Leo's usually taking everything seriously - need to train more nagging - though I'm always doing it, bossing everyone around, that sort of thing."

He frowns when the mention of alien invasion comes up though. "Jeez, are the Kraang here too or was that in your world?"

The idea probably hasn't even occurred to her Donnie. She frowns at the Leo comment, about to refute it, but the mention of the invasion stops her stone dead.

"Both worlds. You guys make it out okay?"

He makes a face at the mention of the Kraang being here as well, the scowl marring his features as he immediately punches one fist into his palm. "They're everywhere I swear--for the most part, yeah. It's been rough but with them trying to turn the world into Dimension X it's been...a trial by fire I guess. We had to escape the city for awhile."

Oh, shit. April looks plain out stricken. "Wait, the invasion's still ongoin'?" If they've got to escape-the-city stage, doesn't that mean they've already lost? "How bad is it?"

He doesn't like that look on her face but he's not about to lie to her. "Yeah...it's--it's bad. We've been fightin' them for years."

"Oh, man. I am so sorry." This is...the opposite of positive, but apparently negative will also do the job, so. "God, of everything we could share you have to get the juicy fruit rejects. You got any chance?"

Maybe it's different for them.

"S'okay," he says, knowing it's not but he appreciates the 'sorry' from her. It's not the best outcome to find out that other worlds have Kraang problems too. The question about chance though makes him nod. "Things aren't great but we're still going. We'll figure it out with time, m'sure. S'just hard having to deal with it for so many years now."

"I hope you have better luck than we did," she says bluntly. "Or-- uh. One version of us did? We legit had a kid come from the future to tell us the Krang had won and the world was destroyed and we had to stop it from happening. Whole Terminator riff and everything."

That makes him come up short, his eyes widening. "...whoa, what?" This whole different time lines thing was already a semi-new thing but--an actual bad end future? Damn.

He frowns at the thought. "Considering how desperate the Kraang are to taking over, I...wouldn't be surprised, honestly. But you guys managed to stop it, yeah?"

"Yeah." She smiles, more on the reassuring side. "I mean, we took our hits, but in the end they went down. Their technodrome got cut in half and exploded, and I think... they're all dead except for one, and the government has her."

Which is not a comforting thought, one still being alive, but she can only hope the government aren't completely incompetent about it.

That's both a blessing and a curse, knowing outcomes of worlds that you may not have been a part of, but the fact that the Kraang are all gone is reassuring.

Except for that last part.

"...that's a ticking time bomb there," he says, frowning. "They might want to weaponize it."

"Yeah, we know," April says with a grumble. "It's, uh... come up. But before we could really do much about the info, most of us ended up here. But hey!"

And she gestures down to the goat that has apparently decided her leggings are free lunch. "At least you get complimentary kids."

He winces at the fact that they know about the captured Krang and weren't able to look into it further. "Great, this place's preventing you guys from making sure it don't get out and try something..."

The gesture toward the goat makes him laugh as its trying to eat her leggings. "Wasn't really looking to adopt just yet." He tries to wave the goat away. "Oi, those are hers, leave it."

"Oh..." She blinks for a moment, then smiles, nudging the little goat affectionately as it turns to glare at Raph. "Hey. If it helps, when you go home you'll go home to the moment you left. So like... investigating the Krang for us, it's on the backburner, but we're not losin' time. And likewise, your family will be okay while you're gone."

"Yeah yeah, you heard me. Stop eating her pants," he says to the glaring goat, before refocusing on the fact that she just said that he'll go back to whenever he was snagged away from. "At least you guys won't be going back to like, bad news bears."

He swallows, thinking about it. "That's...reassuring at least. Since I won't be there to keep an eye on them."

After a moment, she offers him a softer smile.

"Would you prefer them here with you? All stuck together?" It's not a gotcha question--she's genuinely curious. She gets it both ways, that's for sure.

Admitting anything personal is not something he's very good at. It was easier to keep things behind the shield.

So when she asks, he glances quickly as if he was caught doing something he shouldn't be, but he sighs softly, his voice growing quiet. "...yeah."

If anything, her smile only gets wider.

"You're always better off as a family, right? I totally get it. Like...almost everyone is here for me except Splintz and my own parents, but it makes it a whole lot easier. Maybe you'll be like us. This place seems to love turtles."

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