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]

[Okay but it might be kind of gratifying to see him get strangled. At this point it's not even because of the stunt he pulled in February but because he'll probably do something to deserve it. (The same could be said of Uncle Tello.) Not that Casey will say as much...

Casey huffs a breath, scrubbing at his eyes again and clutching the rail, glowering out at the storm rather than focusing on his uncle, though he keeps Donatello carefully in his peripheral.]

It doesn't have to go well, especially at first. You don't have to like each other. Just... be here. Please... for me.

[notapancake]

[Yeah, see? Donnie knows himself, he will somehow piss himself off??? So either way a Donnie will cause harm to a Donnie. This is weird to even think about.

Anyway, he scrubs at his face now and sighs.]

I'm not going to leave you, if I have a choice in the matter.

[apuckalypse]

[He can and will utilize the favourite only sad nephew card. It can only be used to wrangle Uncle Tello and sensei, and even then only to a certain degree, but he'll do it.]

Yeah... I know. Okay. [His shoulders slump, satisfied as much as he can be by this answer. This world has no guarantees, the same as the world they came from. He'll take it. They won't leave him by choice.

He's... not ready to lose them. Not again.

Another cannonball blasts off into the storm, impacting something a little closer. His grip on the rail tightens, and he lowers his mask over his face, trying to scan the sky again for a ship.]

...I got your present. Thank you... it was my favourite.

[All the files and recordings of Uncle Tello's archives, hours and hours of footage to sort and watch, stored safely on the mask he never goes anywhere without. All those memories, things he can cling to in his grieving aftermath. It's... everything.]

[notapancake]

[The shot rattles him a little, but he's got enough support from his staff that he's not as bad off as he was the last time. But still rattled a little.

As to Casey's gift, he can't help but smile a little.]

Good, although I have to say I'm also pretty proud of your chainstick?

[This is something a lot nicer than getting along with his younger self, or his death. So totally going to talk about gifts.]

[apuckalypse]

I like it too, don't worry. An easy second. [He gives it an appreciative pat. It has sentimental value as well, just... it can't give him a whole hoarde of family photos, the ones hanging on his wall at home now.] Actually, when I first got here, my chainstick wasn't with me. The other Donnie made me a replica.

[The one he's using now is, pointedly, NOT a replica. But it's a recent acquisition. He's not looking to paint Donnie in a completely positive light (he's done fighting over any of that), but it's only fair to give him credit for some of the good he's done before they meet and start fighting or something.]

[notapancake]

Huh... Well, I would hope he did a good job of it. [He can't just say something bad about himself, even if it's a younger version he hasn't met yet. He has his stupid stupid pride.]

Although I can't imagine things were fun here without it on hand, if things are like [small gesture at their surroundings] this.

[apuckalypse]

He did. It was a match for your blueprints, but we have access to different materials here. It's got pros and cons.

[He can feel the difference, now that he's back to wielding the original. The weight's slightly off, he's had to re-train himself with using it. Both were good in their own ways.]

I think Thirteen was giving everyone a break when I showed up. It was... really different? No pirates or fighting. Raph and I got lost in this weird fog, I served at this beachside cafe for spirits, then there was an ocean festival with a bunch of boats we got randomly teleported to, that's where I met Hunter. Things didn't get really dangerous until the month after.

[Probably some other stuff happened too, but he can't remember and the player doesn't have her thread tracker open]

[notapancake]

[He nods, yeah different materials would result in a different weapon after all. So he can understand how Casey would say it has is good and bad, and he, for once, won't pry about the workmanship (workturtleship?) of Casey's replica chainstick.]

I see... I think I'd go a bit stir-crazy if things were like that then. [But ah the month after things got dangerous, a tiny frown.

Also he totally doesn't expect Casey to remember everything, not everyone has a mind like his. Or records everything.]

[apuckalypse]

I kinda did, at first. But it was like... mixed stir-crazy? I wanted to go out and explore, but I felt so nervous being up on the surface without any cover or weapons. It got better the longer I was here, but for a while I thought I'd just live underground.

[There is still an occasional temptation for that. He hasn't yet broached the topic of moving to the lair with sensei yet, he's certainly not going to bring it up with Uncle Tello either. But it seems he's destined to live underground once more. (At least it's somewhere cooler and more comfortable than a dank resistence tunnel base.)]

[notapancake]

Ah... Well I'm glad that's different now? You deserve to get to enjoy top side.

[Oh good idea, Donnie would so not approve of it. Or at least grumble about it until Casey says anything about it being what he wants.]

[apuckalypse]

It's nice to experience the sun normally, at least. And see a blue sky.

[Never had that in the apocalypse. As for Casey wanting it... well, it's a mixed bag there, too. On one hand, yes he wants to live with family. He also wants to let his boyfriend experience it, since he's excited about the idea. Moving back underground, though... especially now that sensei and Uncle Tello are here... yeah, that part's tough to swallow. He's letting himself get used to it., as moving day nebulously approaches.]

[notapancake]

Yeah... and actual weather outside of that.

[Oh god, rain. He actually misses rain? Not that he'll say that, but yeah. And hey Casey should know that his sensei and uncle will be happy for him where ever he lives.

... Also Donnie is not going to bring up that Leo, his Leo, talked about the two of them living together. Like some mutant sitcom.]

[apuckalypse]

...Oh, that's right! It rains here, and it doesn't burn! I've seen snow now, too. Sometimes it storms, but there's no ships in the sky- [A beat.] Except for now, I guess. There's a whole ocean, it isn't dried up, it's real and huge, and there's a city underwater... there's a floating island in the sky, too. And the weather's different in every area!

[Conveniently for Donatello, there's about to be a vacant room in the apartment sensei's currently living in... it'd actually make Casey happy if his very first apartment remained in the family, since he's moving out.]

[notapancake]

[Okay Casey getting excited about rain and snow and just weather? Adorable, and it makes Donnie smile as he listens to the teen talk.]

Well yeah, back before the Krang the weather would be different if you travelled far enough.

[Casey, your turtles are going to end up squatting in your apartment.]

[apuckalypse]

[He's been unleashed. The world is so pretty! He'd had no idea before.]

Everybody said that, but it was really hard to imagine! It never changed back home, it was always red and angry, with just the Technodrome. And I only saw New York at night, it was either crazy-bright at street level or a pitch-dark sky, at least until the portal opened. Here I can finally see stars, the moon...!

[Is it really squatting if you move them in and then continue to pay their rent perpetually after you stop living there? Because, well.]

[notapancake]

[Einstein bless his nerdy nephew. Just hearing Casey get excited about things he used to take for granted? The greatest outcome. ]

Mmhmm, New York isn't the best city for stargazing yeah. Been doing a lot of sky watching since you've been here then?

[Casey, you're going to be putting two middle aged turtles with PTSD alone. It's going to be horrible, also that is almost textbook definition of squatters!

At least make them pay rent.]

[apuckalypse]

Probably an embarrassing amount, yeah. Night or day, doesn't matter- it's just really nice to see a sky that isn't exploding.

[Hey he lived alone with his PTSD for months and he turned out fine 8D Plus he'll visit all the time! Like, probably constantly! It might get very annoying!

also: no. rent will be paid. You don't yet know how disgustingly rich this kid is. He could buy the moon.]

[notapancake]

Junior, there's no embarrassing amount for that kind of thing.

[If Casey's visiting all the time wouldn't that defeat the purpose of moving out?

Also, if they don't have something to be responsible for we all know these two will wallow.]

[apuckalypse]

It can be a little embarrassing, but not enough to stop. So I won't.

[He grins, shameless. He's been molded into a man of science too, thanks to someone. He cannot be stopped!

Also the point of visiting often is to make sure they don't ONLY wallow. They can get groceries or something with their measly antisocial lore collection.]

[notapancake]

Good, if you did...

[he lets that not really a threat trail off, because yes he is very much proud of how Casey turned out. Hell he'd be proud nerd or not.

Also WOW, they'd have each other to talk to. That's a way to get lore, right?]

[apuckalypse]

I don't even want to know the end of that sentence!

[It could involve DISAPPOINTMENT from his science/discovery uncle. Can't have that. He's laughing, though.

Would it be talking, or fighting...]

[notapancake]

[Ah the laugh is infectious, as he also laughs at that. And maybe there is a slight thunk in the cannon of a ball forming, seems like this was enough for some kind of ball to be made. Probably not the best, but better than nothing.

And por que los nos dos?]

[apuckalypse]

[Casey watches the cannonball go, whistling faintly as it vanishes into the storm. The impact hits a lot closer than before.]

I can see the shape in the clouds. There's another ship!

[notapancake]

... Seriously?

[He sounds exhausted by this news, but not surprised. It makes sense that more than one ship would be involved, since one on one ship battles while cool? Not how things tend to go in reality.]

[apuckalypse]

Nothing's allowed to be easy, even here. We'll probably have to fight.

[He glances over again, trying not to look worried.]

I know you won't, so I won't ask, but... I really want you to go below deck.

[He wants you safe!! But he knows how stubborn and prideful his uncle is.]