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

[notapancake]

That is mystic energy, totally different things.

[And yet he was encouraging his Leo to get back into magic earlier, shhh.]

Mm, yeah I can see why you'd want to do that for him.

[apuckalypse]

[Casey sticks his tongue out, resting his chainstick against his shoulder and pulling a paper glyph out of his pocket. He taps it, and the paper crumbles and transforms into a ball of light, which he sends floating off away from the ship, where it hovers, a gleam in the clouded storm. (After a bit, a cannonball from the enemy ship comes blasting towards them, but it sails harmlessly through the light instead, off-target.)]

I think he deserves a fresh start somewhere safe. And sensei said it's fine if he makes me happy, which he does, so. [That's that.

He does briefly consider mentioning that he somehow unlocked borrowed ninpo here, but this feels like neither the time nor place. Anyway, he's only been able to use it with Raph, so it's sort of useless to bring up at the moment.]

[notapancake]

[Disapproving look at this magic shenanigans. But he says nothing about that, because of Casey saying that Hunter makes him happy.]

As long as he does that, that's all that matters, really. [Like, he's not going to say Casey isn't allowed to be happy. That would go against everything he and his brothers sacrificed for.]

Just as long as he doesn't become a problem, we're good.

[apuckalypse]

[Uncle Tello not commenting on magic feels like a small victory he will wisely not comment on himself. He'll take it and put it in his pocket.]

What kind of problem are you thinking of?

[Now he can't help feeling a little nervous. Poor Hunter.]

[notapancake]

What kind of problem, hmmmm...

[He's thinking about it, because he can think of a lot of ways a person can be a problem so just going to say this;]

How about a Leo-type problem?

[apuckalypse]

[Casey pauses.]

You... might have to be more specific.

[Sensei can cause so many different kinds of problems in the eyes of Uncle Tello.]

Unless you mean all of them.

[notapancake]

I might mean all of them.

[He's not serious, honest. But he will judge Hunter until he meets the young man.]

[apuckalypse]

[ lol, lmao. He's so preemptively sorry, Hunter. His family is weird and menacing as heck.]

I'm not gonna tell you to not mess with him, [that would be asking the impossible] just please don't scare him off.

[notapancake]

[MAYBE not tell your Magic hating Uncle that your boyfriend is a magic user.]

I make no promises, Junior.

[apuckalypse]

[Lying would be worse, mostly because Hunter is likely to blurt all sorts of things out because he panics. Better to hear it from Casey...]

I wouldn't expect you to. He's... really easy to mess with. Just try?

[Hunter, be strong... for your boyfriend...]

[notapancake]

I guess I can try, for you.

[Anyway, he's going to have other shit to deal with instead of who Casey is smooching later.]

[apuckalypse]

Appreciate it.

[Small miracles, he'll take it.]

Do you know your, um, your "role"? Did Thirteen tell you?

[notapancake]

[Oh yeah... That.]

Nooooo, she didn't?

[He knows what it is, he doesn't agree with it, in fact it's very uncomfortable to think about.]

[apuckalypse]

[Hmm. Suspicious? Whether he knows or not, it's fine.]

Well, you'll figure it out. I got Familiar, sensei got Legend. The others are- oh, sensei told you the, um... the younger versions of you all are here too...? Right?

[notapancake]

[Oh god. He and Leo are matching, that is... He laughs a bit nervously when Casey says Leo is a Legend. As to if the younger selves were mention?]

He might have, yes?

[It might have been implied at some point, right now Donnie doesn't care too much about that?]

[apuckalypse]

[Uncle Tello you keep being suspiciously vague and it's concerning.]

Oh. Okay, uh... [This is hard!! They need to make cannonballs! They need to- emotionally connect! He doesn't want to force the awkward, though. (They might be better off fighting the pirates at this rate.)] ...It might be kinda awkward with them for a while. Still adjusting to sensei being here. I... hope everyone can get along, though.

[notapancake]

[Allow an old man his secrets, Casey!]

Ah, yes that. [How to put this, in a way that won't upset Casey?]

Knowing myself? It'd be best if I interact with them a little as possible.

[apuckalypse]

["In a way that won't upset Casey" wrong answer selected (There is no right answer, trick question). He scowls immediately.]

You and sensei both, seriously? Your younger self might hate you and sensei, and Leo's awkward and taking it slow, but Raph and Mikey will want to meet you. Mikey already wants to meet Master Michelangelo.

[He'll probably be kinda disappointed that it's Uncle Tello and not his future mystic self, but ideally that's the worst that would come of it.]

[notapancake]

[Don't lead with "I hate myself, so my younger self feeling that way is normal" Donnie, don't.]

Leo and I are kind of interlopers, Junior. It makes sense our younger counterparts wouldn't like us, and you know how Raph and Mikey are. They'd accept a worm version of their family.

[Yes, he did just make a vague "would you love me if I was a worm" reference.]

[apuckalypse]

[Too bad he doesn't get the worm reference.]

You're not interlopers. Just because they got here first doesn't mean they own this world. And just because I have more family now here doesn't mean I don't still want you with me! You're my family, they'll respect that. What're you planning to do, just avoid them forever?

[He's not taking this with sensei, and certainly not with Uncle Tello either.]

[notapancake]

And what about when you all go home? You know Leo and I can't go back with you.

[Now that, that would be a bad idea and Donnie can accept that fact. And well...]

Also consider this, Junior. How would you feel if a version of yourself who was from a time where you failed showed up, just a reminder of how you're a screw up?

[apuckalypse]

You don't know that. [Mumbled. And then, louder,] That could be years away. Leo and Donnie have been here two years already. me and Raph almost that long. Anyway, you didn't fail anything! The Krang were too strong for you, like they were too strong for everybody. Do you think we won in the past because we beat them?

[He can and will FIGHT YOU on this, spitting and hissing if need be. You all deserve a rest, to be with family.]

[notapancake]

[Just not going to touch the first bit.]

You found a way we couldn't, beating them or not. And it's your future there, not ours.

[apuckalypse]

It's only my future there because I'm making it that way. I'm trying. I don't belong, either. I ask a million questions and I don't understand a ton of "normal" stuff, I can't even walk barefoot anywhere. [The Krang Goop paranoia persists even years later.] I know way less about that world than you do.

[He didn't have 15-18 years living in it beforehand, he's learning as he goes. At this point he still barely understands capitalism.]

Can't we... can't we just... be a family again? Even if it's only here... even if it's for just a little while... I wanted so badly to see you again...

[notapancake]

[Hrm, he would point out that Casey is young, it won't take him too long to adapt. Also he has the younger turtles, April and possibly even his mother for support?

But he doesn't say that, because of the last thing Casey says.]

I'm not saying that I won't be around for you but, you can't expect things to go well with younger me and Leonardo.

[How to say "pretty sure I will try to strangle myself and/or he will try to mcmurder me" and not upset Casey? By not saying it at all.]