July 2025 IC Mingle

[folkie]

July 2025 IC Mingle

Introduction

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This IC Mingle is open to all.
Welcome to Folkmore's monthly IC Mingle! Please feel free to post with any characters regardless of whether they joined this month.

All IC Mingles are game canon and work like "mini mini-events". They're a great way to gain new CR and immediately jump into the setting.

IC Mingle threads can be used for spoon spending at any time.

Current players are always encouraged to tag new players on the IC Mingle!

[ Prompt]

Meet Me in My Dreams. ★

Content Warnings: Dreamscape/Dream Logic, Potential Violence, Potential Memory Sharing, Potential Mind/Power/Etc Swap

In most of Folkmore, it's impossible to tell how deep the cracks go, their black void and nature to swallow whatever enters them evading the answer. On Never Fade, an island in the sky, one crack breaks through the bottom of the island. It devours the space it occupies and grows little by little by little. When it reaches a foot wide and crosses a third the island, Lavender declares enough is enough! Whatever Star Children decide for the rest of Folkmore, this threat must be stopped. Lavender sends chickadee spirits in dreams and reality to invite Star Children to join them.

Star Children can ease the process by coming to Never Fade with someone who matters significantly to them. People need to space themselves out on either side of the divide and connect. Star Children with bonds—soul mates, Familiar/Unfamiliar bonds, adoption, etc—are asked to go into the tunnels. They must use their bonds to find each other in a dreamscape, which will thin the void until they can see each other again. Star Children with emotional connections—non-formal bonds—are asked to face each other on the surface. There they will knit the energy of Folkmore together with yarn. They can toss the yarn back and forth to each other or even exchange yarn with someone next to them, to tighten the weave. Lavender goes hazy but walks above the crack on the woven yarn. The void fades until its blackness is gone.

The space remains empty, a chasm across Never Fade. No one will disappear from Folkmore should they fall down it, but if they cannot fly, teleport, or otherwise recover themselves from a fall, it's a long way down to go. Mildly problematic when it traverses so much of the island. Lavender asks for Star Children to come up with ideas for how to solve it. Either, Star Children will fix the problems in the process, or it can generate enough Lore for Lavender to heal the island.

Lavender creates a lucid dreamspace around the crack. The dreamscape allows Star Children to use any of their abilities, native or Role or something completely different, and to physically manifest challenges to build the Lore needed to succeed at this healing. It requires both physical and relational (Lore) elements. The greater the differences between Star Children, the more effective their challenges are at healing Never Fade. Differences include amount of time spent in Folkmore, Roles, regions they live in, worlds they are from, species, etc. The greater the gap(s) between Star Children, the bigger the impact.

The challenges manifest themselves based on the approach pairs of Star Children take to solve the issue. They follow dream logic. Success depends on both material means and emotional success.

• Add material to fill the gap > find common ground. Examples: walk across a rope bridge toward each other, with each slat requiring saying something you have in common; fighting an enemy together with teamwork.
• Pull/push the island together > understand a significant difference. Examples: complete a maze/obstacle course that requires skills of both people; walking through a memory that shows why the other person is the way they are.
• Magically connect the sides > switch places and succeed. Examples: complete a challenge with a power swap, body swap, or Role swap; fight an enemy in a mech where one person controls each side or each set of limbs.

• A crack in Never Fade gets so big, Lavender decides to banish it.
• Lavender invites Star Children to help:
• Star Children with bonds (in-game or from canon) go into the tunnels on opposite sides and focus on their bonds to thin the void.
• Star Children with strong relationships face each other atop the island and toss magical yarn back and forth, weaving it together. Toss it to your neighbors too!
• Once the void is vanished, the empty gap remains. Lavender creates a lucid dreamscape where Star Children can face different challenges based on their solution so close the gap:
• Fill the gap with material > challenges to find common ground.
• Pull/push island together > challenges to understand significant differences.
• Magically connect the sides > challenges to switch places and succeed.
• Wildcard (got another idea?) > ask below!
• The effects/impact of successful challenges are bigger, the more differences there are between partners: time in Folkmore, Roles, regions they live in, worlds, species, etc. The challenges are just as hard.

Comments

[saisdoesmatter]

Casey's got him there. He rubs the back of his head and laughs softly. "Well, yea, that's bound to happen from time to time." Not to mention going to look for trouble to break up but you know, that's how it is~

[apuckalypse]

"Just be careful you don't take too much on your shoulders, is what I'm saying." They're all troublemakers, they all take care of each other... that's how it feels, to him.

[saisdoesmatter]

The laugh that slips from him isn't meant to be slightly bitter but it comes out in a burst anyway. "A little late for that, Case."

[apuckalypse]

"Never too late to switch things up."

Well, okay. It's too late when everyone's dead. But that's a messy scenario that tends to not apply to most people. (There are also things you just don't say out loud. He's learned that well.)

[saisdoesmatter]

"Well, to be fair, none of them are here so...don't gotta worry about it, I guess." He shrugs at the thought.

[apuckalypse]

"Yeah, but while you're here, you can practice leaning on other people! I mean, I know it's not the same, but all of us are here too, you know? We've got your back."

Just because he's the only one from his universe doesn't mean he's alone.

[saisdoesmatter]

"M'not real...good at that, Case," he says, still kind of lost in his own head regarding his brothers and Slash. Shit got real bad for awhile there.

He tries to smile it away but it doesn't reach his eyes. "Yeah, well...I can try."

[apuckalypse]

"You can try. We'll help, and you'll practice, and you can get good at it eventually."

He will bully you into sharing the load, somehow. He's gotten pretty good at that over the years!

"I'm sure he'd want you to relax more and let yourself be happy, right?"

[saisdoesmatter]

"Heh, maybe," he says, shrugging again. "Hard habit to break an' all."

Bully the boy; he needs it.

"Huh?" he asks, unsure of what Casey means, before glancing back at the downed Slash. Is that who? "...hm, maybe?"

[apuckalypse]

"I mean, you can correct me if I'm wrong. I don't know him. But that's normal for people you care about, in my experience. You want 'em to be happy."

He doesn't want to project or anything. That's just the impression he'd gotten from how Raph talked about him.

[saisdoesmatter]

It makes him go quiet for a little bit, considering the fact, yes, after everything - Slash still called him a brother. When things were good and they weren't being mucked with.

The slow smile that shows up on his lips is genuine when he thinks about it. "...well...yeah, I think he would."

[apuckalypse]

Casey nods, smiling faintly, and moves to sit down next to Slash, giving his head a gentle pat. "I think... this is a trial, or something like it. I don't know what we have to do, but I hope it's to, I dunno. Find a peaceful end. I don't want to hurt your friend anymore."

[saisdoesmatter]

The fact that Slash doesn't move or wake up just kind of solidifies that it must be one of the trial things - Raph watches as Casey sits down and pats his friend's head. It's a peaceful gesture and even the big guy seems to relax at it.

Raph comes closer as well, watching and nodding. "Yeah, me too. M'still not sure how this all works but like... I don't hate Slash or anything. I mean he was one of my only friends other than my bros for the longest time."

[apuckalypse]

"Wow, no wonder you're attached. I would be, too." It's different, when they've been around for a long time, or when they're the first friends outside of the main family circle. At least that's been his experience. "How long have you known your Casey? And April?"

[saisdoesmatter]

It was, at the time, the coolest thing to happen when his pet and best friend turned into Slash, another turtle to hang out with that wasn't his actual family. Things were just awkward and he had the guilt™ over it still. "Yeah, like, I don't regret that, you know?"

The question makes him think about it, pondering over the adventures they've all had. "Two? Three years or so?"

[apuckalypse]

"Huh. That's a lot later than I've heard for April... might be about right for my mom, though." He knows April knew the turtles when they were pretty young, but they didn't meet his mom until like... mid to late teens? "Funny how different the timeline can be, along with everything else, yet all the names are the same."

Now he wonders if any of the people in his timeline knew anybody named Slash.

[saisdoesmatter]

"I didn't meet April until we were like, mid-teens," he replies, thinking about it. "Casey and I met some time after that as well." Kind of interesting to think about it - he wonders if things would be different if he and the bros knew April before the time they did. Maybe it would have helped prevent some of the crap they went through.

"You'd probably have better luck asking one of the Donnies about it than me."

[apuckalypse]

Yeah, they probably would come up with an answer. But Casey's not sure he wants to bother them with that.

"I dunno. It's not as if wondering about it will change anything. Our worlds are different, so what? It just means we have to get to know each other, like anybody else." He shrugs his shoulders. "When I showed up in the past, I thought I knew everyone, and it was just them who didn't know me. But the longer I was around them, the more I realized, they're really different from the turtles I knew. They were already so different by the time I was even born. Our timelines were so varied it may as well be a different universe."

[saisdoesmatter]

Raph settles to listen to Casey's perspective of it, since he would know the Donnies better than Raph would. There's a simple answer right there, that things would be different, and that perspective is sobering in a lot of ways. Of course it would be changed - they were all different people.

"You got a point there, Case. It's...just another reality. People might share the same names and similar origin stories, but they're still unique in their experiences and perspectives."

He's had a lot of that drilled into his head from time to time. Strange things might happen or weren't easily explained, but people were people and ultimately they were just that: people.

[apuckalypse]

"Yeah. I've been trying to train myself not to compare my old family with my new one. We had some fights over it, before... I kept expecting them to be one way, but they weren't, so they couldn't be, you know? And now even you're here." He smiles, to indicate for sure that it isn't a bad thing at all. "You're Raph, but you're not our Raph. We've gotta not expect you to be like him, and just let you be you."

[saisdoesmatter]

"I don't think anyone should blame ya for it though," he says, considering how strange it would be to say, meet older versions of himself and his brothers, if he had to time hop like Casey said that he did. "At least at first, because like, that's what you know. Or knew?"

He isn't really expecting that from Casey and it shows, as his bright eyes widen for a second as he gapes for a second, then laughs. "...well, I wouldn't expect anyone who was expecting a different Raph to know what to do with me either. But I get what you're putting down."

[apuckalypse]

"I dunno if anybody did. Not much to my face, at least. It's just something I had to learn myself."

It is what he knew, but that's a good excuse that can only take him so far. He still has responsibility to manage his own expectations.

"I'm glad you get it. The last thing I wanna do is make you feel unwelcome. It's not your fault you're here, and... well. I like you, you're cool."

[saisdoesmatter]

"I'd like to think they'd give you a break, considering what happened with ya'll, but yer right. S'just something to consider and change perspectives."

It was nice to be able to talk with someone who...well, got it. In a way. Raph knew that Casey's sensei was here - his dad - but it didn't really change how Casey reacted to HIM. He had a wide berth of how the other turtles reacted to him - a difference of opinions.

"I appreciate it, Case," he admits. It's not easy for him to talk to people, especially ones he doesn't know well. Hell, even it was hard to talk to his brothers at times. He gives the guy a little smile. "Yer pretty cool yerself, dude."

[apuckalypse]

"Heh, thanks." Casey grins more brightly. He appreciates the approval. "We should try to get out of here. Whatever the trial is, I think we should've passed with flying colours."

[saisdoesmatter]

It's a nice feeling - one of actual connection. Casey's been a pal since he's gotten here and Raphael does appreciate it.

The mention of trying to get out of whatever trial this is makes him refocus on the task at hand. "You're the one that's dealt with these before. Got any tips about getting out of here--" he starts to ask, his gaze returning to the downed Slash.

He startles as the memory is breaking up around them now. While Casey's staff has wrapped the big turtle to keep him down from attacking them, now it's almost as if Slash is fading out of existence right before them. He blinks a few times before he's reaching to gently curl a hand against one part of the bigger turtle, a light squeeze there as Slash continues to disappear.

"...see ya later, bud..." he says, softly, but it's almost relieved that this is just a memory given form and not the angry, hateful turtle that he considers a friend.