folkmeme | June-July 2025 Test Drive Meme

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*tdm

June-July 2025 Test Drive Meme

June-July 2025 TDM

Introduction

[ TDM Questions ★ Jump to Comments ★ Full Navigation ]
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

[Casey makes a face at that. Could he give a more obvious lie?]

Yeah, sure. I believe you. [Uncle Tello he swears to god if you die again here because you won't admit you're sick-] Think you'll be fine if we end up fighting a bunch of ghost pirates? Because I think that's incoming.

[Spirit pirates, close enough.]

[EVEN INTO HIS THIRTIES HE'S A HORRIBLE LIAR.]

I should be fine, yes. I mean... as long as I don't move too much?

[Okay, he'll admit that much at least.]

[Learn to get good, Uncle Tello. (Not that Casey's a good liar. He is not.)]

If we stand near one of the cannons, all we'd have to do is load it. You wouldn't have to move at all, and you can lean on the rail if you need. For, um. Balance, when the ship shakes.

[And not for any other reason... ha ha...]

That sounds like a great idea, Junior.

[Considering he had been leaning against a cannon beforehand, but a railing is more likely to not have him get knocked over when say... The cannon is being fired. So, if Casey will let him? He will move to be beside a cannon and closer to a railing.]

[Casey doesn't protest. He walks with Donatello until he's in position and steady, then crouches next to the cannon to check it out.]

No cannonballs yet... guess we'll have to take care of that part ourselves.

Ah, yes, the make a connection deal.

[He knows what's up, and really this should be easy!]

So, hm... How have you been?

[Yes, just. Start with small talk.]

[oh boy. Loaded question.]

Going sequentially, since the last time we saw each other... bad. Incredibly bad. The worst it could ever be. Then... less bad, bad again, extra bad, not so bad, okay. Mostly okay. Now... pretty good? Sometimes bad, sometimes amazing.

[He knows that's vague, kind of unhelpful. But it's just...]

So much happened, I don't even know where to start. But it's been about... three years.

[WHELP, so much for small talk. He got some idea of the fact things went downhill after he passed, from talking to Leo, but hearing Casey state it as bad to worse. But hey, Casey says it's good now? With some bad but that just sounds like life that's not completely focused on war and living day by day.]

Three years, huh? So you'll be seventeen soon, yeah?

[Focus on that, don't let yourself spiral thinking about the possible bad things that happened, Donnie.]

I'm seventeen now.

[Probably more like 3.5 years at this point, but that paints a rosier picture of their world than is real. A lot of that time was spent in Folkmore, not home.

The time does show, his appearance making it more apparent: Casey's always been skinny on account of a highly physical lifestyle and long-term food shortages, and while he isn't much taller than his 13 year old (a week shy of 14, back then) self, he's filled out well, losing the sharpness of hungry cheekbones and too much contour against bone. His hair is cleaner and shinier than it's ever been, and he looks astonishingly well rested. Almost like a halfway normal teenager, at this point.]

Um. Crazy, right? I've got so many of your lessons to catch up on now.

[UGH way to make a turtle feel bad about dying... More than he already did, Junior.

And yeah, it pretty obvious that Casey has not been spending his time in an apocalyptic setting. But talking with Leo means Donnie knows the whole story behind that, so he shan't be asking about all of that. Mostly because he has no idea how the younger Jones feels about that, and seeing what he did of how Casey reacted to seeing him?

Yeeeeah just going to avoid that, as to lessons well...]

I would hope you haven't been slacking on keeping yourself sharp on that front, Junior.

[He's not doing it on purpose ;-;]

I didn't slack off! I learned as much as I could, just... I really missed you.

[Not much seems to be happening yet, and Casey glances at the plaque again. Connection, huh... well, they're not going to get anywhere with smalltalk or idle comments, knowing this world. He can go deeper. Uncle Tello deserves to know.]

I'm... really sorry. We all took for granted how hard you were working, how much you did. We should have helped you more, and... thanked you. We should've noticed you were sick earlier...

[He can't help thinking of the younger counterpart here. All of them just sort of... let him be. Let him work. Until things passed the point of no return. They should have known better in general, but Casey especially had no excuse.]

[Ah, just what he wanted to avoid talking about. That. He had, he thought, done his best to hide he was sick for as long as possible. He had, he thought, done what he could to make it so when he was gone no one would notice, or possibly care.

Of course he's got proof staring him in the face that he was missed and just. Ew, he hates this. But he also is the adult here, so Casey sorry and how "we" needed to realize all that? Kind of a gut punch.]

That's not on you, or anyone else from home either, Junior. I should have told someone when I realized I was sick, that's my fault. Not yours, not my brothers', mine.

You can say that all you want, but we still should've noticed. The only reason any of us lived as long as we did is by looking after each other.

[There were no laws in the apocalypse, but that's as close as it got to official policy. Look out for the living. Remember the dead. Follow orders on the field. Not an exhaustive list, but the most important rules. They should have followed them more carefully in base, too.]

[GOSH stop being right, Casey??? Or a least let Donnie take the blame for it, it is his fault after all.]

You say that, but it's not like I made an effort to make that easier for you all? That and knowing you lot, you probably blamed yourselves for it even though it was out of your hands.

[At least he knows his brothers, he knows Leo at least would have done that much.]

[He will not!! Y'all need to be wrangled, this is his world now. ...Uncle Tello isn't wrong about the self-blaming, though.]

Well... yeah. All of us felt helpless. We couldn't save you... and then you...

[He swallows around the lump in his throat, trying not to cry again and make things more awkward for his uncle. It was years ago, he's had so much counselling, and they're alive here now. He should be celebrating. This is also an active battlefield...]

I know you... tried your best. Gave it your all. I just wish we'd made it easier for you, and... found a way to help you stay.

I made my choice.

[Said with finality. He will not argue this any more, he went out how he wanted to. Which was not rotting away from his illness, to become a husk of himself in front of his family, and to at least make it so his life was useful even to the end.]

[Casey's known Uncle Tello long enough to recognize finality. He also knows that this seems to be working; the formation of a sturdy cannonball has begun, so they're on the right track. Rather than dig at that particular wound any further, he tries for a different tactic, one he knows both Donnie and his uncle share a love for: gushing praise.]

It was... a really badass choice. Like- the coolest thing you've ever done. It took out half a technodrome, they were scrambling for months. It bought us so much time.

[Time to grieve, sort of. Time to reorganize and delegate all the duties Uncle Tello used to handle solo. Time to re-read a bunch of manuals and try to figure out how he'll fix all the tech that would inevitably break down. Time to... find a way to keep living, keep fighting, under the weight of such loss.

[Yeah the praise kind of works, except he's talked to Leo already. So he knows that the "so much time" was only two years, only enough for Mikey to learn how to make a time portal to send Casey to the past. He sighs a little, because he knows what Casey is trying to do here.]

I've already talked to your dumdum Sensei, Junior. They may have been scrambling for months, but you all only got two years out of that.

[His tone is resigned? Or at least accepting of the fact that he can't change the aftermath of his passing. But damned if he wishes it could have been more time for them.]

[...Oh. Sensei spilled the beans already, huh... well, it is good that Master Leonardo and Uncle Tello got to talk first. If anyone should, it'd be them. But that cements the timeline harshly, which is something he'd rather have been vague about for a while.

Too late now, unfortunately. Okay... okay, he can work around this.]

We were... always going to lose, weren't we? We were just putting off the end as long as we could. Two years, three, five- we'd just end up in the same place. That's why sensei and Master Michelangelo planned what they did.

[Contingency plans that save only one person by sending them away aren't things you come up with under victory conditions. He helped save another world because theirs was doomed.]

I'd rather have had you still with us than tons of years in that place.

[Ugh, that hits hard. "We were always going to lose" was not something Donnie wants to hear, or to have ever considered. But it is the truth of the matter isn't it? And while he doesn't approve of Leo and Mikey's plan, he wasn't there and thus had no say. The joy of dying, he guesses.]

If I was there when they sent you back, do you really think it would have made it easier for you? Instead of leaving one idiot behind, you'd have left two.

[Just calling himself, and Leo, an idiot.]

[Casey frowns at that, shaking his head.]

Is that what he said? I didn't- I didn't leave anyone... I didn't even get a choice. Sensei grabbed me and threw me into the portal, he ran away from it. And then he...

[He died. Horribly, but at least quickly, hopefully without much pain. It was over before the portal shut behind him, and then suddenly he was in the past, with a mission and no time to grieve having to watch helpless while the last of his family died.]

No, Leo didn't say that. But it was obvious to figure out?

[Not like Leo was fully truthful with Donnie, but he's not stupid. He knows Leo had to have died after getting Casey into the portal, he doesn't know that Casey saw it. So Casey trailing off like that...]

... he's such a dumdum.

[Casey feels a little better for that- he doesn't want Master Leonardo to be lying or giving half-truths to downplay what he went through, nor does he want anyone to think Casey himself would abandon his family. Would he have gone through the portal willingly? Maybe. He'd been ordered. Sensei used that voice, the one that allowed for no protest or condition. "Say it!" "Find the key, stop the Krang." He was pretty good at following orders when sensei demanded it, he'd been trained for it. That 'maybe' is a big risk for their last-ditch attempt to stop the end of the world though. Sensei wasn't thinking about bifurcated time branches, or how a kid with no knowledge of past New York would accomplish this plan. He likely was thinking, they have one chance at this, and he wasn't going to risk Casey saying no at the last second.

It's a valid concern. He doesn't regret being sent back, getting the chance to help everyone stop the Krang and save the world. They deserve to live, the world deserves a chance. But... he wouldn't have minded. Staying with his sensei, till the very end. Between this and closing the portal on Leo, he doesn't like being the one who'd abandon his family to die, greater good or not. He doesn't like being despised for the choices he's capable of making.

In light of all that... what else can he say?]

...Yeah, he is.

[He... doesn't want to think about that moment anymore.]

[Donnie might not say it, but he doesn't blame Casey for being the one sent back. He could never blame the teenager for that, the fact it had to be Casey alone is what bothers him. Like if had been there, maybe his brothers could have also made it? It's something that's been on the back of his mind since he talked to Leo.

And goodness, never let him know about the younger Leo's sacrifice. He'd have words about that. And mostly for Leo, not Casey.

As to Casey agreeing with him about Leo being an idiot? He lets out a soft chuckle.]

Hey now, don't let him hear you say that. You might break his heart, hearing his son call him dumb.

[This is an attempt to lighten the mood now. Also just dropping the s-word.]

[Yep, he sure did drop that word. It's lucky Leonardo already crossed that threshold officially, because otherwise Casey might just have lost it. Big ol' emotional breakdown. As it is, he can't help briefly going still, his eyes tearing up (yep here it comes after all), and scrubbing an arm against his face. It just... it means so much to say it, to acknowledge it as real instead of assumed or implied. That's him! That's his dad!]

His- his son's a dumdum sometimes, too. He should take it on the chin like me, set a- an example.

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