June-July 2025 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

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).

Comments

[apuckalypse]

[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.

[notapancake]

[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.]

[apuckalypse]

[...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.

[notapancake]

[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.]

[apuckalypse]

[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.]

[notapancake]

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.

[apuckalypse]

[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.]

[notapancake]

[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.]

[apuckalypse]

[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.

[notapancake]

[Oh he notices that slight tearing up, and even if he didn't Casey scrubbing his face with his arm kind of gives it away. He can't help it, this is something better to focus on instead of sending people to the past or who lives or died. Just poking fun with his nephew.]

Well, he's lucky to have such a fine example of taking it on the chin... Although I say you're not as dumb as he is, or as often.

[apuckalypse]

[Casey will honestly take it. Far more preferable than reliving the worst moments of their lives. They can connect through less traumatizing means. (This time.)]

You wouldn't have let me in your lab as often if I was. The "no dumdums" alarm would steer me away.

[notapancake]

[Okay that gets a kind of snort, like the actual sound not him saying it for once, out of him.]

As useful as such an alarm would be, I never did get it perfected.

[Is... is he serious about that?]

[apuckalypse]

[With Uncle Tello it's genuinely a toss-up whether it's a real thing or not. In this case... he'd buy it. (He is pleased to get a real snort out of Donatello, though. Small victories.)]

What're the identifying characteristics of a dumdum?

[notapancake]

Love of the color blue is one.

[Just idly roasting Leo, as one does.]

[apuckalypse]

[He thinks of his new cloak... which happens to be blue.]

Uh-oh. Do I get bonus points if I balance it out with purple?

[He can and will wear twins as needed.]

[notapancake]

Depends. Like I said, a love of the color blue. You just care about an idiot in blue, Junior.

[If Casey doesn't stop him, he will continue to insult Leo. It's his right.]

[apuckalypse]

[He's so torn. On one hand, he wants to let Uncle Tello say whatever he wants, because it's been years and he wants to hear that voice (Donnie's, but different). On the other hand, loyalty to sensei is so strong.]

Well... I do love my dad, and he loves blue, so...

[Mercy, Uncle Tello.]

[notapancake]

[Loyalty can only last so long, Casey. Although maybe Donnie will have mercy, since it's no fun to poke at Leo when he can't hear it.]

I guess I can make an exception for you.

[apuckalypse]

[Let them build up and then sandblast him with them all at once next time they cross paths.]

Thanks, Uncle Tello. You're the best.

[And then the fully-formed cannonball blasts out of the gunner, shaking their whole side of the ship. It collides with something inside the stormclouds, just out of sight.]

Whoa! It finally worked.

[notapancake]

Of course I'm the best.

[Maybe a little of a preen, which is cut short by the shaking from the cannon going off. He doesn't mean to, but it makes him stumble a little with a slight "geh" noise from him as well.]

Y... yeah, about time.

[apuckalypse]

Ah- Uncle Tello! [Hastily Casey circles around to help Donatello stabilize himself.] Maybe you should sit down. We can still talk from the floor, and you'll need your strength when the pirates start fighting.

[He figures that part is inevitable, much as he'd like it to not be.]

[notapancake]

[Urgh he hates this, he hates still feeling weak. He's pretty sure he's not sick anymore, honestly something he will need to check once he's somewhere safer of course, but the Fox didn't seem kind enough to make him not feel like crap.

He lets out a short annoyed chuff at Casey's suggestion.]

I have the feeling if I sit down I won't be able to get back up, Junior.

[apuckalypse]

[Casey meanwhile is scared shitless that he is still sick somehow, and they need to either be very careful or keep him alive long enough for Thirteen's cure or something. Either way, he's going to do his best to keep his uncle as safe as possible.]

If you can't get up, I'll carry you! I can be bigger and stronger than I've ever been here! Just- please, let me help you this time!

[He can do a lot more than just hold Donatello upright as he ninpo-blasts a whole Krang army, now.]

[notapancake]

How about we avoid that?

[He was already a burden, he felt, near the end, he doesn't want to be one here and now.]

Maybe I can just... Lean against something that's not a cannon.

[apuckalypse]

[He's the only one who'd think of himself as a burden. But since Casey's not a mindreader, and the suggestion is an... okay compromise (for now) he extends his chainstick and shoves it into Donatello's hand.]

Here! Hold this for now. There's weapons below deck, I'll find you a staff.

[Much as he is antsy about 1) not carrying his weapon and 2) letting Uncle Tello even briefly out of his sight, this is a necessity. He'll be running off to the stairs before Donatello can really protest.]