May 2022 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

MAY 2022 TDM

INTRODUCTION

[ TDM Questions ★ Jump to Comments ★ Full Navigation ]
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. You can choose to have your TDM thread be your introduction thread upon acceptance or start fresh. Each TDM will provide a scenario for how characters arrive in-game that particular month.

Playing TDMs will allow characters to immediately obtain canon items from homes 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 allowed to have in-game characters react to TDMs via the Network or make a log with the prompts. Current players are always encouraged to tag new people on the TDM!

TDM threads can be used for spoon spending at any time by characters accepted into the game.

[ Prompt One ★ Prompt Two]

A PLACE IN THIS WORLD

Content Warnings: Possible insanity via cuts by thorns. Temporary nullification of abilities.

DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS

The world comes into focus in one sharp, overwhelming rush. You are laying on the ground surrounded by staggering walls of flowers of all types and colors. Their sweet scent fills the air and the sky above is clear, blue, beautiful, and endless. It would be easy to be lulled into a quiet nap in such a peaceful place. You can even hear a soft, disembodied voice singing songs from some unknown place all around you. After some time, this siren song creates an intense yearning that will eventually bring you to your feet and pull you forward. You are filled with the urge to find someone important. You may know who or you might just have some aimless, faceless person at the forefront of your mind.

All you know is that when you finally find them, you'll know. Is it love? Is it a friend you have always needed? The perfect enemy? Only time will tell, but for now, you must find them. The flower maze is dense and for now, it doesn't seem like flying out and above them is an option. If you try, you just wind up vaulted back into the maze. Nope! This trial is about using other means of exploration. Maybe you can destroy the flowers, but you will find that this flower field is apparently endless. If you get cut by thorns along the way, you will become increasingly hectic about finding this mystery person. Some have been thrown into insane desperation just looking for their People among the flowers.

But once you finally find them, you're both filled with relief and the flowers around you blossom wider. You can then treat the flower maze like a solvable puzzle and get your way out of it. However, some people spend a bit more time in the maze since once you do find your person or people, you will be stricken with the urge to talk to them, to "open up" about your yearning to find them...even if you've never met them before!

OUT OF THE WOODS

Just outside of the flower maze is a little festival set up just on the edge of Willow and partway into Epiphany! Little stalls of food and drinks have been set up - and we mean little! The good folk who set up these stalls are magical cats standing upright and wearing clothes like little people! All the stalls are cat-sized and so are the dishes and food - which means most of the people walking through will likely be quite a bit bigger! That's okay, the cat folk seem happy to serve you bigger or multiple helpings of their yummy soups and bread. None of them seem able to really communicate with the new arrivals, but that's okay, their cute meows are fun to listen to anyway.

The music is a bit more pronounced here and a handful of cat couples are dancing around. Don't be surprised if they encourage you to join in the dancing! Maybe you didn't actually find someone in the flower maze - if not, the cat folk will encourage you to dance with another new arrival to get to know them! Because apparently dancing with someone you don't know is a good formal introduction? Ah well. Sometimes it's just the idea that counts.

There will also be some supplies to help patch people up who have gotten a lot of cuts from the flower maze. Some of the bouts of insanity are probably still going a bit hectic, so you might want to lay down in the recovery area until you feel a bit more stable. Talking to people apparently helps with the stability, so maybe strike up a conversation with a fellow newbie?

ENCHANTED

Content Warnings: Optional selective amensia and/or altered sense of self, possible monster/creature violence, temporary enchantments, forced relocations.

LONG STORY SHORT

You're in a very unusual, specific outfit and in a place you might have seen once or twice in a storybook or in the imagination of your childhood. For some, you might pick up on what's happening immediately. For others, you might be so immersed in the role that you don't realize it - but you're featuring in a classic fairy tale. Maybe it's Sleeping Beauty or Little Red Riding Hood or Tale of the White Snake or The Mirror of Matsuyama. Either way, you're the main character or the main antagonist and it looks like you're going to have to play out the story with whoever you're stuck with!

The other person in the trial can either match up to the other side of the story or just arrive as themselves and have to play along. Trying to just abandon the trial is quite literally impossible! You're stuck in the weird woods or high tower and trying to "leave" just results in you going in repeated cycles until you wind up where you started. You have a role to fill and you might as well get used to playing roles in Folkmore! It's time to understand how these trials work. What lesson are you supposed to take away?

If you're grumbling about it or are left confused, don't worry! Thirteen will appear to those struggling and explain the situation: "You need to play out the story! C'mon. Everyone knows this story...Right? Well, whatever, it's obvious! If you play your part, I promise I'll give you something you want." Can you really trust a fox though? Especially the fox who brought you here? She laughs before you can really pester her for more information and vanishes in a burst of red dust. Foxes really are mischievous, aren't they...At least most fairy tales are incredibly short, basic, and straightforward so most people should be able to figure it out!

In theory.

DAYLIGHT

At least the Fox wasn't lying. When you complete the task of the story, the fairy tale world will melt into one of the settings in Folkmore and you will be brought back into the current reality. You will be left in the weird clothes, but fear not! A mystery trunk has appeared in front of you and whoever you completed the trial with. Inside the trunk, you will find some of your canon clothes and a few canon items. Nearby, there will be some weapons sticking out of the ground: basic swords, guns, shields, etc. These items might not be enchanted, but at least you have something to work with!

Better yet, you don't necessarily have to complete the Long Story Short prompt to find these trunks either! They seem to be dotted around Folkmore and you might find them just by virtue of exploration! The trunks seem to mysteriously know who is opening them so you won't find someone else's stuff by accident, but you might have to fight over who gets the sword in the stone...

A word of caution to those who grab the weapons...You will immediately be tested on how good you are with them. As soon as you have pulled them out of the ground, the ground will begin trembling and a serpent-like creature will form out of the ground. If you're in Wintermute, you have a sizeable icy creature to deal with. If you're in Cruel Summer, meet the fire-breathing snakey nightmare that's going to try and roast you alive. Don't think Epiphany or Willow will have gentler creatures! They might be covered in moss or flowers but they will hit just as hard. You have to defeat the angry creature - or try running for your life. They are relatively easy to beat and people without powers can manage if they are highly skilled or...really lucky...Or if someone far more capable finds them! Good luck. As a pro-tip, maybe don't pull weird swords out of the ground in the future.

Comments

Questions

[folkie]

Questions about the TDM here!

Bakugou Katsuki | My Hero Academia

[xploud]

i. Papercuts

[Something is wrong.

Something is definitely wrong, and when red eyes focus long enough to take in the surround scenery, Katsuki almost thinks he's died somehow, slackjawed up until it sets into a hard and aggressive snarl. There's no fucking way he's died, he was just on the way back to Heights Alliance with Endeavor and those other two shitheads after the disaster of a family dinner happened... Katsuki and his classmates apprehended a villain that took the eldest Todoroki son hostage and...yeah. No way he got taken out by that smallfry. No fucking way. He refuses to believe this isn't just some damn fever dream because seriously? What the actual fuck. It's like a gross pop song made real, and he gags slightly when he hears an actual person start singing the cheesiest lyrics ever. For fuck's sake...can he not have a weird fever dream without wanting to vomit?]

Swear if i got poisoned by that Half-and-Half bastard's food... [Highly unlikely, even Katsuki knows this - the mapo tofu was delicious and absolutely perfect - but he'll take any excuse to antagonize Todoroki, really.] OI, SHUT YOUR FUCKING TRAP, SHIT!!!

[Up and at 'em... Standing and proceeding to curse and dust himself off, Katsuki begins to move. He has to find those other two idiots. They were all there with him, so obviously they're here, right? It might be a dream, but it doesn't feel like it... It feels different. Regardless, he's stomping through the hedgerows, grumbling and muttering to himself as he follows the source of the voice as best as he can. Gotta find Deku and IcyHot...they're definitely here. And even though he's ready to strangle the singer, Katsuki knows if he can find someone here, they can probably point him to the other two idiots.

Because he has to find them. He has to. It's like a maddening urge that makes his fingers twitch and crackle with small explosions, or smolder and smoke, because these hedgerows are thick and covered in brambles and thorns that cut and tug at his pants, thick blazer, and scarf. It's too goddamn warm to be winter here...but he's sure it is. Was. UGH!! It was winter break, so what the fuck?!]

DEKU!! TODOROKI!! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLES BETTER WAKE THE FUCK UP AND GET OVER HERE! Tch--shit!

[He hisses as swiping back a low-hanging branch ended in a large thorn slicing at the side of one hand, a thing trickle of blood running down Katsuki's wrist. Fuck this place...he could easily burn it to the ground with an explosion, but...yeah. He's not even that bad. Just gotta keep going.]

ii. Out of the Woods

[Welp...he didn't end up finding who he was hounding after, but Katsuki sure as shit found something. He's sitting on the ground, cross-legged, frowning as a handful of clothed, mewling, walking cats fawn about him and shove plates of food his way. Yeah, this is...he still has no fucking clue what is even up, and scowls at the offered meals, holding up a palm and shaking his head.]

Naa, I already ate.

[Not a lie!! Technically, he did. He literally just came from a family dinner with the Todorokis, so he's had his fill, though he does make a hand gesture for some water, which the cat people take a few minutes to parse before clapping their paws together and rushing off to fetch a pitcher. For fuck's sake...what the hell is even happening? Katsuki doesn't know, and the moment he's alone (or at least not being bothered by cats, he sighs and rubs a hand over his face, looking tired and a little...nervous? It's a second's worth of his walls going down, before his scowl is back in full force.

What is this? Where is he, and how the fuck did he get here? Did he get kidnapped again? Why? Why always fucking him?! Does the world hate him so goddamn much that it just decided to do this sort of shit again, and again? Hah, yeah...it'd make sense. He deserves it, but he'd like to at least...know what the fuck this all is. And if his two stupid classmates are okay.]

iii. Daylight

[Welp, since this is clearly happening, and Katsuki has no way to get out until he finds that damn fox and wrings its neck, he might as well do what he does best - ward off a bunch of baddies from clearly doing harm to other people. Suited up in his winter Hero Costume, Katsuki grins wide as he charges in to intercept an attack meant probably for someone who stupidly thought to grab a weapon from the ground. Dumbasses...there's always a price to taking things from a spirit. Literally every myth and story says that.]

Oi, if you can't fight, then get out the way!

[BOOM!! An explosion rips through his palms to deter the oncoming attack, the frosty behemoth of Wintermute trilling in agony at the fire and smoke as it rears back. He's not saying that to be harsh...m-mostly. Katsuki is a trained and experienced Hero, he knows how to fight, and with all the gear he got back from one of those trunks...he's in top form (or so he wants to believe) to take this monster on.]

iv. Wildcard!!

[None of these prompts tickling your fancy?? PM me, or ping me on plurk at StarFruity and we can plot something out! Or feel free to write your own toplevel here and I'll work with what you got!]

Re: Questions

[overnightoaks]

Does the person characters feel compelled to search for in the maze have to be someone who is also on the TDM/someone they will be able to find? Or can it be someone from home who they can't actually find because no one actually RPs from this canon except me? Can it start as someone specific from home, and then the insane desperation twists it until they feel satisfied happening upon another PC?

Ken Kaneki / Tokyo Ghoul / Familiar

[anthropophagite]

DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS

[ His eyes open slowly and kaneki looks around. Not a moment ago, he was but light falling from the sky, and although that all felt like a dream, it's something Kaneki wonders if it wasn't real. it can't be, right? But he isn't panicking, at least not yet, and after a couple of seconds looking around, finally the half-ghoul snaps out of it. His eyes go wide and he suddenly stands, breathing heavily and around at the flower field, he seems to realize there is someone he should find.

Who?
Hide? Touka-chan? Mother...?

No, it doesn't matter, he needs to figure out what is going on, and immediately kaneki is on the move. The thorns hinder him and eventually they actually manage to cut skin, which is a big surprise to kaneki; as a half-ghoul, his skin would be too tough to be cut by normal means. So what even is that? The confusion doesn't end there, however, because that yearning is still there and kaneki still doesn't know who he is looking for.

Among the flowers, he notices someone and suddenly he rushes towards them, his hand managing to capture their wrist gently. Whoever it is, Kaneki stares, confused but relieved to finally see someone ]

OUT OF THE WOODS

[ Once he is finally out of that flower field, kaneki stares at all the festivities for a Long While. Mostly because he sees cat people and he now knows he is dreaming for sure. This is all probably just one crazy dream and he will eventually wake up. Hopefully?

After exploring for a little while - and refusing any food given to him because it's not the kind of food he'd eat (not because it was made by cats! Simply because kaneki can not consume anything like that, really) - kaneki finds himself being told by a friendly feline that he should pick a partner and dance.

he tries to refuse, naturally, since he is a wallflower and never really danced before, but the cat is insistent and eventually pushes Kaneki against the person closest to him and who also doesn't have someone to dance with. naturally this means the half-ghoul unharmoniously bumps against them and quickly gasps, bowing his head ] I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! [ the cat is gone, though, thus Kaneki can't even blame it for this ]

LONG STORY SHORT

[ Kaneki is now Kenderella!

Actually, it's Cinderella but he is wearing a dress and he can't argue, even if he did try - the Fox simply didn't care and vanished. So now he is in a house, on his knees, washing the floor with a big sigh and cheeks red because he is still wearing a dress. Does that mean he has to marry the Prince Charming? This all sounds very ridiculous and something he really doesn't feel like doing.

At some stage, he stops cleaning the floor to sit down besides a bucket of water and a dirty rag, and drops his head in his hands ] ... I just want to go home.

[ what is he even doing? Why? The Fox makes no sense to him, and this story? It also makes no sense. he is not a pretty girl with crystal shoes! ]

DAYLIGHT

[ Ether he manages to finish the story he was stuck on or not, it doesn't matter, because kaneki is still wearing the dress and he is so embarrassed about it. The trunks were a godsend (a fox send?) and he is ready to grab everything he needs to change.

However, something does come along. A leather and somewhat creepy mask, that Kaneki observes for a second. ]

... Hopefully I won't need it here. [ and hopefully no one will notice this kid, dressed like a princess, staring at a leather mask. because that sure would be embarrassing and very hard to explain ]

NETWORK ; un : samsa

How do we know if we are close to our full potential? What is our full potential?
Something like that sounds incredibly vague.

WILDCARD / OOC

[ Kaneki's general info/first impressions can be found here! And do you have anything else in mind? or maybe want kaneki somewhere else? These prompts don't work? Super cool if you make up your own! Or you can always contact me through PM or over vilani (feel free to add me)! ]

Junpei Yoshino | Jujutsu Kaisen | Familiar

[moondregs]

DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS

[ There was a horror film he'd seen like this once.

He hates that he can't stop thinking about it. Now is not the time.

... but that was in a cornfield maze, not a hedge maze. Much better suited for a horror movie and the special effects had been quite impressive. Still, various factors made him feel as if he should probably be sufficiently creeped out by his current circumstances.

And yet ... and yet ...

Around every corner he feels his anticipation reach a fever pitch and when he finds yet another leafy corridor empty it falls back to the floor. What is he hoping for? Or who? The question is an itch tingling on whatever the cerebral equivalent of the tip of his tongue is.

Then, suddenly, a corridor is not empty. His heart soars. Before he knows it he's walking quickly towards them, then running. ]

Please ... I ...

[ He what? Just please. Look at him. Acknowledge him. Don't. Go. ]

OUT OF THE WOODS

[ The folks patching arrivals up are having some ... issues. With Junpei. He'd gotten a little spooked at some point and as a result had run afoul of thorns, streaks of red decorating his arms in contrast to his pale skin. Well, that's when he has arms. Insanity combined with his new animal transformation abilities as a familiar mean he's popping in and out of various species wildly in a panic. When he's a rabbit he's fairly easy to keep a hold of in spite of being very kicky, but a beat later when he poofs into an ostrich things get dicey. Everything inside of him is telling him he can't just be held still, he has to find ... them! He'll never find them if he's stuck here! He has to GO GO GO! One meaty leg juts out to kick some poor soul right in the gut, sending them crashing to the ground.

He seems to be switching through the animals he knows at random, and it's taking a number of hands to hold him down long enough to begin to treat the cuts.

Finally, once he's managed to exhaust himself, he collapses. Feathers are dancing in the air around him from his ostrich freak out, eventually gently landing on and around him in a way that would almost look pretty if not for the previous chaos. His eyes are still wide, his chest rising and falling rapidly, but at least for the moment he's not lashing about or going through the greatest hits of a box of animal crackers.

Finally, once he manages to catch his breath, he declares in a daze: ]

... n-no ... I've got to ... go ...

LONG STORY SHORT

[ In theory, turning into an animal is one of those abilities you see in a movie or read about in a story and think it would be an amazing thing to be able to do.

Junpei's quite over it already by the time he finds himself stuck as a very tiny, very unfortunate looking ... no, not a duckling. He knows this story. He's a cygnet. He tilts his head back to let out a frustrated curse, and -- ]

HONK! ... honk! HONK! Hooooonk!

[ How is he supposed to finish this? Just wait around to grow up? Like, in real time? Oh he's so frustrated, but sadly anything he does just looks pathetically cute as he flaps his little fuzz covered wings.

When someone appears he'll run over on tiny little webbed feet plap plap plap plap plap! and honk at them desperately! ]

atsumu miya | haikyuu!! (familiar)

[foxsets]

ᴀ ᴛʜᴏᴜsᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴜᴛs
[ atsumu hits folkmore like a fallen little comet in a burst of stardust— he's dreaming, he dreamed up the whole thing, down to the fox that led him all the way here once he's awoken to an unreal, flower infested maze. atsumu doesn't feel like himself at all, with everything so large around him, with his arms and legs positioned oddly beneath him as he steadied himself um for balance. that, those are paws, those are furry paws connected to him— no amount of walking backward in a stumbling, panicking mess would make this young man unsee, or realize, that he was no longer himself, not a grand legend or myth that was promised, that he had imagined was his greatest potential—

he was an average, barely 1kg, gold-coated fennec fox of a joke. in between the lazy drawls of the siren's call is something that keeps screaming sharply. it's this guy, having a breakdown. ]

It tricked me! That damned—! Auuuugh!!

[ he can't even wear his clothes, now a sorry pile he couldn't even fit in, not even the shirt! he was too small. out of everyone in the entire universe— he has his brother in mind. he wants his brother as he would always have, there when he woke up and there when he went to sleep. but his brother would laugh at him to no damn end seeing him all . . . cute, and puny, he's sure of it. everyone would laugh. but he had to find someone— there's someone, out there, he couldn't explain it— and so he trots about the maze, spewing insults like: ]

—so ain't no way, I ain't no shitty ass-broke furry mascot— the mascot suit was a joke, okay—?! [ more foxy shrieking, but at this point, the voice doesn't sound angry— he sounds lost and desperate. ] Where are ya' already?!

ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏᴏᴅs
[ to say the least, atsumu is . . . not in the best of moods! his entire role and body status has completely knocked his cool over like a tall, overfilled glass of milk. he's unable to really enjoy any of this wonder, if he could even call it wonder or potential or ever. because he is the uncoolest thing alive right now! everyone is bigger than him, even the damn cats that are standing on two legs while he's still crouched onto all four of his. he refuses to eat. he hisses at the cats to leave him alone as he tries to find a hole to hide in. during this process, he's gestured towards a human, and the other couples dancing the day away as if everything isn't completely wrong right now— atsumu has to look all the way up, begins to crouch even lower as his tail curls around him for protection and he bristles: ]

Does it look like I can just stand up and dance?!

[ he's being bullied!! unbelievably bullied!! ]

ʟᴏɴɢ sᴛᴏʀʏ sʜᴏʀᴛ: ᴛʜᴇ ғᴏx ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ "ʜᴏʀsᴇ"
[ you may be a wayward "son" or "daughter" who's been kicked out of their own house by a "father" who no longer thinks you're worth the time and money to maintain (or maybe you really are in a horse costume). outside, in the farm-house field is your first checkpoint: a golden fox with a little black bowtie sits on top of a wooden fence's thick planks and sighs, loudly. ]

Are ya' just gonna take your sweet time there, or what?

[ or, perhaps, you're another figure in this story: the lion, and you just so happen to smell fox. you are terribly hungry. maybe it's time for dinner? why is there a lion near a farm, anyway—? ]

ᴡɪʟᴅᴄᴀʀᴅ
[ lets do random setting things, too, why not! if you'd like, let's plot something a little different! hmu liberos ! ]

Flynn Scifo | Tales of Vesperia | legend

[thinkfirst]

1. Ghost, I know someone wants to be with you // in the flowers // cw: minor injuries

[ First there is the rustle of flowers, small and soft and far off. It almost sounds like the wind, except it's clearly purposeful, and getting closer. Maybe an animal trapped in this place too—

Except the rustling gets louder and louder, more pointed, closer, until finally there's a desperate sort of voice— ]

Hello? I'm close—

[ —and then all at once a blonde-haired wild-eyed young man bursts through a wall of blood-red azaleas and freezes. Blood trails from small scratches along his face, but the rest of him is protected with thick, real-life actual armor. He wastes no time tripping forward to drop to his knees in front of you, inclining his head with both palms pressed to the tiny buttercups under both of your feet. ]

I found you. Thank goodness. Please forgive me for taking so long.

[ Seems like you have your very own personal knight now! Do... you know this guy? ]

2. given the life that you wanted // at the festival

[ Sitting in the recovery area, clutching a tiny cup of tea much too small for his hands, is Flynn.

The wildness from the flowers—desperation crowding into his ears and his nose, thick-scented and driving—is beginning to fade, leaving him tired and sheepish and more than a little confused. Perhaps it's a bad idea to trust these cats, to trust what they're giving him, but they seem nice enough, and Flynn can give himself a small moment to rest before he figures out his next move. It's nicer out here: the air is sweet and full of music, and he finds himself smiling at whoever is nearby. ]

Do you suppose it's impolite to ask for another cup of tea? This one is, um, quite delicate.

[ Or maybe you find Flynn out in the festival, folded neatly to his knees and conversing seriously with a cat in a small robe who appears to own some sort of very small pastry stall. ]

There's nothing I can do to repay you for this? It must have taken so long to make...

[ The cat just meows at him, and Flynn looks up, catching your eye. Maybe you speak cat? Please help him. He just wants to pay the nice cat. ]

3. only you can let you out // long story short // flynn-belina!

a. only flynn's in the story

Pleaes watch your step!

[ If you're normal sized for this story, a tiny voice from near your feet echoes up, desperate and high. Flynn, only four inches tall and clinging desperately to a waving stem of grass, waves a hand, trying to get the attention of the massive person above him. He's been stuck down here among the plants for a while now, and catching a ride on someone much larger certainly seems like a good idea. The tiny dress he's in isn't precisely the best for climbing and adventuring, and his miniscule hands are so difficult to get around even the thinnest plant stem. ]

b. you're in the story too!

[ Alternatively: congrats, you're both tiny now, and—are those sparkling wings on your back? It sure seems like it! Every time you move, you shed glitter. How nice.

Good thing you can fly, because there is a tiny little person currently fighting off a swallow who's holding him in its beak, and he's in mid-air while doing this. He lets out a tiny, angry yell, slams his fist into the swallow's face, and... plummets.

Oops! ]

ranpo edogawa | bungou stray dogs [ enchanted ]

[greatestdetective]

[ A squawk tears through his daydream.

The departing cart thunks over a gnarled trunk, kicks a pebble, straddling a neat bread dotting along the grassy floor; powerful wings flap, and green eyes ( dazed, blinking wide and long ) follow to the swooping bird as it pecks the trail and innocently hobbles forth to collect the next bread offering. Dimly, Ranpo registers irritation, despair, feelings drowned out by bone-aching hunger -- the sort you'd mistake for a gut-punch. Gulping his saliva down to fill that emptiness. Weak fingers sprawl over his rumbling tummy and --huuhh.

The morning trickles away like sand. The afternoon frayed and loose. It leaves evening grimly present, the sun setting. Red glitters spike through the treeline and frame the departing carriage, the very one carrying a poor woodcutter and his wife. Below his nose, a fallen loaf of bread... the one he dropped, his mind supplies helpfull, so he squats down to wipe the honey-shined top of dirt in a distracted fashion. From the bread, he looks back to the departing cart and somehow knows, knows he's been left for dead, though he doesn't know... how he knows. A pang in his gut that goes beyond hunger.

This is a test. He needs to find his way back. The bread...

Ranpo frowns at the winged rat currently gobbling down his lifeline. Without thinking, he rushes forward in a failed attempt to punt the creature only for it to carry off into the fading light, a furious twitter answering him back. The aborted violence leaves him to stand in the middle of the woods, scraping his brain for where, why, when -- Camping? No, he holds his head and follows the breadcrumbs just far enough to see birds further down cleaning after the mess he left, because, yes, he had done that.

Idiot. Dropping something edible. Stupid, stupid... ]

... Mh. [ Sour, he stuffs the entire half-loaf into his mouth and turns just in time to spot the stranger. No. It's not a stranger. It's his . . . sibling. The thought seems odd, and still he sheepishly draws out some of the bread he'd had pocketed in his cheek. They'll need it for the journey home. ]

( ooc: who wants to roast a witch?? )

Kevin Regnard | Pandora Hearts

[unghosting]

Long Story Short: The Twelve Wild Swans

This is not the first time in very recent days that one Kevin Regnard has tumbled through dimensions and found himself in a brand new place and cut away from everything he has ever known. However, in the last place he was received by humans who have been far kinder to him than they should be, and it was at least the same world, blessedly unmagical except for the part where it turns out it kind of isn't. This time he's been greeted by an obnoxious fox who slapped him into a pretty princess dress immediately and basically told him if he dances for her entertainment like a monkey he'll be given a present.

Kevin Regnard is not delighted by this.

After some deep contemplation, however, he has concluded that he does not wish to be burned at the stake, so he is playing along. At present, he cannot speak to anyone, being bound by a vow of silence -- this suits him fine -- and he's very busy knitting up a shirt out of the fibers he fished out of the stems of a bunch of stinging nettles earlier. How exactly those fibers came to be spun into a real amount of actual usable thread is blurry, but he assumes he must have done it, given the horrid nettle blisters all over his hands which are making his knitting complicated. How convenient, that he does in fact know how to knit. He scowls at his work all the same, given the pain in his hands and the fact that he is presently being carted off to the aforementioned stake, getting accused of witchcraft by an increasingly vicious mob of bystanders.

As they go, he keeps an eye out for a swan. In theory, the swan is supposed to save him from being murdered by the mob, and his job after that is to put the shirt on the bird so that they become human again. He is also keeping an eye out for a sword that looks easy enough to steal from somebody, just in case worse comes to worse and he needs to beat a more violent retreat to save his own skin here.

The lesson he's supposed to be learning, of course, is that sometimes life will go better if he allows people to help him. He has a thousand reasons to be bad at that, so probably it will take a while before it sticks.


Out of the Woods

Kevin has survived the fairy tale, easily dispatched the monster that showed up after and is honestly in a much better mood for having gotten to hit something with a sword, and, thank goodness, acquired some trousers. He is pretty sure these are his clothes, actually, which is creepy and weird and though he prefers them to the clothing Rainsworth gave him he doesn't like the fact that they are here at all, nor does he like the...cat...festival...he seems to have wandered into. The whimsy of what's in front of him doesn't feel like the brutal nightmare the Abyss was, with its chattering dolls and rose-laden tea parties and, you know, madness and blood rain. But given what he's been through, he doesn't trust this whole place not to turn on a dime and lash out, not after a capricious fox has already forced him to participate in a "story" where he might well have wound up murdered.

To that end, he lingers close to the recovery area at the edge of the little festival, too nervous to sort out what to do. His hands are in obvious need of attention; he's holding them crossed over his chest at the wrists, defensive, and the blisters and rash-like burns on them are vivid on his pale skin. He's also hungry and uncertain whether the food here is safe, and if it's worth bothering to look elsewhere when there's no guarantee any other food he runs across in this realm will be any safer. On top of that, is he really supposed to just accept the words of the fox, that he's just here now and that's that...?

He's pretty openly lost and overwhelmed. Perhaps someone will catch him before it becomes too much, and he runs off to find a nice hidey-hole.


[OOC: Starting in prose but I'll match!]

Aloy | Horizon: Forbidden West | Legend

[tripcaster]

OUT OF THE WOODS

[ To say Aloy is a little perplexed at the scene unfolding in front of her is a massive understatement.

Cats of all sizes, all colours, all temperaments, going about their merry little lives as if a bustling crowd of feline frolics is a perfectly normal thing to stumble across.
Worse, Aloy had been promptly commandeered as a captive audience for a particularly talkative ginger tom that's been cheerfully meowing and chittering up a storm - all while Aloy politely but awkwardly sips at her tiny bowl of soup and makes agreeable noises from time to time, the perfect picture of an introvert's worst nightmare.

The tom pauses expectantly at the end (?) of his little story, prompting a hesitant response: ]

That's... something. [ MEOWWWW! cries the cat; in a suspiciously "I know, right???" tone. Cat gossip? Rumors? Giant fish tales? Who knows. ] Anything else? I'm learning so much.

[ Evidently sarcasm was a mistake, because the fuzzy little storyteller launches into another dissertation by chattering twice as fast, little paws grandly gesturing this way and that with such energy and gravitas it's plain she's going to be sitting here for A While Yet. Who knew cats could be blowhards too?
So, naturally, Aloy looks up in pleading silence at the first person that comes walking by.

Pls help. It's a catastrophe. She's so out of her depth here it's not even funny!
well maybe just a little funny... ]

LONG STORY SHORT

[ Tights and feathered cap, check. Uncomfortable gaudy doublet, check. Awkwardly bulky crossbow, check. ]

For the record, I still don't know this story! [ Aloy hollers peevishly at the bushes - presumably either at the scenery in the hopes the vanished Fox will hear (not that she'll care) or whoever it is playing the dramatic background music will calm the fuck down because it's certainly not helping the mood.

She's not even the one in the worst position here by a long shot.

Whoever her lucky partner is, they'd better have nerves of steel and worn their brown pants for extra insurance; the story they've been yeeted into is none other than William Tell, apple on head and all.
Giving her counterpart an apologetic look, Aloy tests how sharp the quarrel bolt loaded into her crossbow is (hella). Damn bro. Fox ain't playing around, is she?

SIGH. You really can't make this shit up... ]

I'm a good shot if that helps any. Sorry about this.

WILDCARD

[ Choose another prompt/YOLO it up if you want! ]

Re: Questions

[folkie]

Nope, it can be anyone! Whether in the setting or back home! Yes, it can start as someone specific then be alleviated by another PC!

kenderella kardashian

[givehead]

(Hello, yes, Dirk Strider is here, and he's queer, and he's technically a Prince. Charming? Debatable. Hot? Absolutely. Completely willing to play along with whatever the actual fuck is going on? Maybe. There's some broad's glass shoe in his hand and he doesn't really even like girls so he's kind of just miffed about existing. He's a little more pissed about some existential void shit going on in his life, so he's floating over some wheat field that probably is supposed to be romantic to the atmosphere but he's just not vibing.

Wait. He should probably have some gorgeous steed? What the fuck. Princes in these stories always got beautiful horses? He wanted a horse. He has never even seen a horse in real life.)

This is fucking cheap. (He whips the glass shoe at the ground and it shatters. Take that, heteronormative nightmare hellscape--- aw fuck. Another one just pops into existence and plops back into his hand.)

Goddamn it. (He's going to make a fur coat outta that fox...Nah, he wouldn't, but he's thinking strongly about it by the time he comes across the house. Because he knows the story, he skips the entrance, cuts around back to where it looks dirtiest, and knocks Aggressively on the door.)

[anthropophagite]

[ kaneki actually doesn't move from his spot when he hears the knock because supposedly he has two evil sisters and an evil step-mother who'd be the ones coming to the door and fan over the prince and the shoe.

But they never come. kaneki can hear them, for sure, but they actually don't come and he realizes he has to be the one to greet whoever is at the door. With a small resigned sigh, he gets up from his place and eventually opens the door to meet...

Prince Charming?

There is a long pause because prince charming has shades. Kaneki tilts his head for a second, wondering if this would be a NPC of sorts and perhaps he could just get away with trying the shoe and then skip everything else, but-

No, this is not a character at all, is it? This is another person just like him. And realizing the situation - that he is wearing a dress - kaneki's face turns bright red ] S-sorry! Uhm-- are you---?? [ "are you a normal person who got sucked into this as well"? But what is even "normal" at this stage? Kaneki has no idea how to ask things correctly ]

Prince Charming? [ nailed it ]

Rosenkrantz | Original Character

[erschlagen]

Death By A Thousand Cuts

[A noisy *snap!* echoes throughout the maze followed by a second one in close succession.]

Okay, well that didn't work--[Rosenkrantz mutters as he snaps his fingers for the third time. This isn't the first time Rosenkrantz has been tossed into the middle of nowhere against his wishes. However, this is the first time that the prideful arkana found himself tossed in the middle of nowhere without his powers. He snaps his fingers again in blind hope causing a little spark of flame to ignite. The small flame flickers periodically upon his fingertips before eventually fizzling out in a puff of smoke.]

Fantastic. [He groans as he rakes his fingers through his glorious white mane.] I can't even get a single ember to spark.

[It would've been easy for him to just burn down this little maze and be done with it, but unfortunately--or fortunately, depending how you're looking at it, he can't. Those terrible rose bushes got the better of him earlier getting all tangled in his hair and leaving thin little scratches all over his bare arms. As much as he likes roses, he really hates their thorns but that's besides the point. His anxiety is better of him and his patience is running thin.]

I love that for me. [Sarcasm aside, Rosen falls silent once he hears someone trudging along the path. A glimmer of hope blossoms within his chest as he follows the sound. If he's lucky, they'll be his ticket out of here.]

Out of the Woods

[The second Rosen used the fluffy of his ponytail as a mock feather, it was the end of him. These adorable cats are a playful bunch. While they seem quite intent in dancing and celebrating, they're quite eager to play. All he had to do was waggle his absurdly long ponytail at them to get those cats jumping. Despite how humanlike these little fuzzballs seem, they're still cats at the end of the day. It was fun & games for the first three minutes but now Rosen is getting tired of prying these mischievous felines out of his hair.]

Mercy, mercy! [He all but begs once another cat yanks on his hair. It was a mistake to tease these little rascals and he's paying for it one claw at time.] I do not want to play more!

[A confused meow escapes the tortoise shell feline he tossed out of his hair as another feline tries to pounce him. Rosen manages to pivot out of the path of that dastardly feline, only to end up getting pounced on by an adorably gray tabby in a cute navy-blue waistcoat. A heavy sigh escapes Rosen as he hastily tries to detangle this pest from him. Unfortunately, he needs a little bit of help.]

You there! Get this overgrown mouse-muncher off me!

A Long Story Short

I'm a little old for dress-up games, dear.

[Rosen lets out deep sigh as he stares down at the lovely crimson red gown that Thirteen most likely picked for him. He doesn't know the first thing about this fairytale but apparently he's the "princess". Rosen would've preferred to play the villain in this absurd tale but beggars can't be choosers here. Although, he does question why Thirteen looks so thoroughly amused right now.]

How does this fairytale go again? A princess locked in a tower and some Prince Charming?

[He's bored, ridiculously bored. Just the thought of being forced into such a humiliating role bothers him. It's a strike against his pride but be damned if he isn't well dressed for the role. It seems that someone went through the painstaking task of braiding faux roses into his hair to spice things up a bit. He has more than enough hair to do so, especially since he's supposed to be Rapunzel.]

Let's get this over with before I change my mind.

[This is just the beginning of a very bizarre enactment. Good luck to whomever is playing the "Prince". They have a very tall tower to climb.]

Wildcard

(feel free to make your own prompts!)

[givehead]

(There is an equally long pause on Dirk's end. Despite his shades covering his eyes, he's still somehow openly staring at this guy. And it is a guy. He might have one of those soft, pretty faces, but it's still distinctly Boy. Then he looks down, down...and slowly back up.

Okay, so. This isn't actually annoying as he anticipated. He raises a hand to rest it against the door frame and twirls the glass shoe gracefully around his finger.)

For you, baby, I can be as charming as you want me to be.

(Dirk. NO!.)

You must be Cinderella. (He hopes anyway. He's assuming by the shitty dress and figuring that he was thrust into the kitchen area as a servant or whatever. Dirk actually wasn't all that familiar with the details of the story. He just knew the basics, okay.)

Ash Graven | Final Space

[sculptedash]

Death By A Thousand Cuts

[Ash felt absolutely exhausted when she first regained consciousness in the maze. The last thing she remembered was freeing Invictus and the portal opening to Earth. ...But all she heard here was the gentle brush of the wind through plants and a gentle song being sung by a familiar voice. It felt very disconnected from what she had experienced last.

She doesn't move at first but the more she hears the song the more she realizes she shouldn't be able to hear that voice anymore.]

Fox?

[Her eyes eventually open and she starts to look around desperately.]

Fox, Where are you!?

[Long Story Short]

[Ash had heard of a few earth fairly tales in her time but hadn't really taken an interest in them. ...And playing the part of Sleeping Beauty was not making her feel like she had missed out on much. She fidgets and shifts where she's laying and ends up letting out a groan of frustration.]

This is so stupid.

[To which she is promptly shushed by the Fox.]

You shush!

Dirk Strider | Homestuck | Legend

[givehead]

OUT OF THE WOODS

(Dirk isn't much of a cat person. He's more of a horse person, a dog person, and kind of a bird person, but not a cat person. Still. They are fucking cute and it's hard to no coo over them because he felt, maybe, that it would be kind of rude to coo over something that seemed more sentient than the typical cat. He's sitting on a micro chair, somehow managing to look completely at ease in the undersized chair, and has a mini teacup pinched between his fingers that he delicately sips from.)

This is delicious fuckin' tea, Anne Marie. Did you really make this on your own? (The cat he's talking to is a puffy ragdoll in a dress and she gives a loud 'murrrrrow.' As if he can understand her, he just nods and holds his cup out for more tea.) Absolutely supreme work.

(Another meow as she pours him some tea.)

How are the kids? ('Meow meow meow') Wow, Johnny's already in pre-school? Where the hell does the time go? ('Meeeeow!') Goddamn. Susan said her first words? What the fuuuuuck- hey, where are you going?

(Wow, Anne Marie, the absolute betrayal??? The cat's wandering off, confirming Dirk's suspicion that they don't really understand them at all. That or cats really are just that rude.)

I didn't care about your dumb kids anyway. (Can someone please talk to him so he's not talking to himself anymore???)

LONG STORY SHORT: SLEEPING BEAUTY (CW: Decapitation and kinda necrophilia if you squuuint! But like it's aesthetic.)

(There's a dragon lurking around somewhere waiting for everything to be set in motion, but for now, none of that matters. For now, it's you and a castle and the princess in the tower that needs to be saved. Only it's not a princess, it's more of a prince. Dirk's body has been laid on top of a bed of dense, luxurious white roses. The bedframe is ornately crafted to look like a swan, wings folded around the head, thin, gauze-like material acting as a modest curtain around the bed.

Dirk is dressed in an elaborate purple outfit complete with crown and all. Even being a prince, it is an otherwise enchanting setting, but upon closer inspection, there were a few things off.

The first being that written above the bed in bold, slashed letters is: WAKE THE PRINCE: LET HIM WRECK THIS SHIT. Not exactly standard of a cute retelling of Sleeping Beauty...It appears as though Dirk's dream self must have written the demanding note. So, are you going to wake him up or take some (reasonable) caution with that threat?

The next thing is the sword lodged through the swan's head. Hm! That's not where that belongs! Actually, now that you're looking around, there are swords sticking out of just about everything in sight. Wow, okay!

The last thing is Dirk himself. His body is deathly still, which, you know, fits with the whole Sleeping Beauty story...But his head isn't connected to his body. It's resting on a pillow just a few inches about the stub of his neck. It's as gory as you would imagine, blood staining the pillow. Yet, despite all that, his body is still warm. Erm. Do you really want to kiss a beheaded corpse though? Do you even have a choice...? Nope! You don't. At least not if you want to leave.

>>Kiss the prince. Dragon attack is optional - but don't worry, he can take care of it even if it happens. When it happens.)

LONG STORY SHORT: PRINCE CHARMING

(Dirk is canonically the Prince of Heart, so naturally, he is an ideal figure for most fairy tales that revolve around some prince to come along and save the day. He can be the prince to your fairy tale, coming in astride a beautiful white horse and some epic as hell fashion. Sword and all - and holy shit, can he kick some absolute ass. Dirk will be playing the hero in your story, swooping in to save the day, kiss people out of sleep - whatever you really need.

Mostly he's just doing his best to distract himself from a crippling sense of failure. As you do. He's by no means a traditional prince - a given enough sentiment considering his appearance. He's not much for romance either, but he will help you get the job done.

This is the literal choose your own story prompt for whatever princely things you need doin'.)

[anthropophagite]

[ oh my god.

This is ridiculous.

kaneki is red up to his ears, and for a second he drops his head because he realizes he just can't crawl away, dig a hole, and hide there forever. This is really happening and this person is staring at him ]

I... yes. [ but actually, no ] Kaneki, actually. Uhm-- did the Fox bring you here too? [ he wants to make sure he is not about to talk to some character without an actual existence, although Dirk certainly doesn't seem that way ]

[givehead]

(Lord have mercy. We must stay focused, brothers. We must stay focused.)

Yup. (He drags out the 'yup' in his Texan drawl. He tips his head at the guy. Kaneki. He leans forward into Kaneki's personal space and holds the glass shoe up between them.)

If I recall the story, this must be yours.

long story short

[givehead]

(What the fresh fuck. Dirk, dressed to the tens in his Prince of Heart outfit on steroids, stares down at his newfound companion. He doesn't really give the impression that he's the sort to be particularly moved by animals, but...)

Awww...look at you little fucker. (He squats down, resting his elbows on his knees.) Goddamn you're adorable. Holy shit. You're gonna get killed out here on your own.

(It...does not occur to him immediately what story he's in yet. There are a lot of animal based stories, okay. Sue him. He's gonna reach a finger out to poke at the duckling's little chest.)

The fox is gonna get you.

[anthropophagite]

[ oh boy oh boy, he is very close and Kaneki is so very not used to other people being close. He blinks a little, surprised, but then the shoe gets between them and his attention turns to it ]

... Ah. I suppose. [ he is actually more relaxed now, knowing there is someone else doing this silly roleplay with him. In a way, it's better than doing this alone (is it, though? Is it?

kaneki looks back at Dirk and smiles, despite the red cheeks, while he takes the shoe with his hands, careful not to break it ] Thank you.

I will try it on, and I think the story ends. [ not really, Kaneki. There is a marriage you are forgetting about ]

[moondregs]

[ There are a number of things a teenage boy who takes himself seriously probably doesn't want to be called - adorable is fairly high up on that list.

Then he gets poked! Right in the chest! Oh, he's letting out the most indignant little HONK at that, snapping his bill at Dirk and giving him a look that's supposed to be perturbed but again just looks incredibly cute.

At the mention of becoming a meal for the fox he stills, looking around nervously. Could that be true? Was he brought here just for that?

No. That's not how The Ugly Duckling goes. He shakes his tiny head.

But ... he doesn't remember any kind of ... prince in that story either? He gives Dirk a loooooong stare. ]

... honk.

brad boimler | star trek: lower decks | familiar

[bradward]

1. Death by a thousand cuts
[ If any of his professors from the academy knew that Brad mindlessly followed a fox to a whole new world, they would be pretty disappointed in him. They would cite so many instances where people or creatures confused and conned Starfleet officers into doing terrible or stupid things. And Brad knows all those things! And yet, when push came to shove, there he was: following a fox, talking to her, letting her lull him with her talks of finding his potential. A familiar! That sounds exciting. Turning into an animal? He could never do that, before! He wants to try it, but he's also terrified to. What if he doesn't manage to do it right? What if he gets stuck? What if he's left with animal features and Mariner laughs at him forever and calls him Kitty Cat again?

With all that swirling in his mind, he pushes himself up in the most idyllic meadow of flowers, surrounded by soft, lovely music. He could go back to sleep here, he could ease into the grass and enjoy himself. When was the last time he had R&R planet-side? It's been so long since he touched real grass, since he was able to relax like this. His fingers press into the grass, and he smiles up at the sky.

His mind relaxes into a dreamy state, drifting, thinking of what he can do now, of what his potential might be-- when his mind hits on something he desperately needs. To find them-- who? He's not sure-- and it spurs him to get up, stumbling to his feet, moving, unseeing, through the maze.

He spots you, whoever you are, and it lights up something in his mind. He sucks in a breath and stumbles toward you, his Starfleet uniform catching on some of the thorns ]

You-- you! Wait, wait for me!

2. Long story short
[ Brad's been given armor and a sword, and a very large tower that you may or may not be in. He stares up at it, pretty sure about what to do. He has to rescue the princess from the tower. Pretty straightforward stuff. Except that the armor is exceptionally heavy, and so is the sword, and he doesn't seem to have his phaser.

He clanks over to the edge of the tower, staring up at it ]

I have to climb that..?

[ Big yikes. He looks around for something to use, but isn't sure quite yet, so instead he yells up toward the one window high up in the tower: ]

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your-- hair? Is it hair? Why would I climb someone's hair?!

bakugou katsuki | mha | familiar

[blondshell]

DEATH BY THOUSAND CUTS

(Imagine this: you're walking along, enjoying your nice little flower maze walk of desperation or whatever, and then all of a sudden, there's a goddamn explosion that just absolutely blasts you the hell away. That or you see the explosion from afar. The plume of smoke rises and oh shit, is the field on fire? Better go check it out.

It's not actually on fire. Though it's crispy in a crater shape around one blonde guy whose hands are still smoking. He looks agitated as hell. The poor roses around him are completely destroyed.)

I'm not doing this goddamn shit again! (He starts shooting off small explosions at nearby flowers as if they have personally offended him. Which, to be fair, they kind of have.) Get the fuck outta my way. You useless shrubs.

(He's got this bushy blonde fox tail hanging between his legs and ears that are fluffed up. It's stupid. All of this is stupid. He wants out. This isn't even a real trial. Since when were mazes and flowers trials of anything?

He only stops popping off when he notices your poor soul.)

The hell are you looking at? (He's annoyed at the relief he feels at finding someone because, despite his attitude, he was still being hit hard with that desperation to Find Someone in the field.)

OUT OF THE WOODS

I'm not dancing with you.

(That's what you get for trying to ask Katsuki to dance. He's to the side, hands shoved into his pockets, looking completely sour at the very idea of dancing with anyone. He's never danced before in his life- okay. That's not actually true. He knew how to dance. Knew how to slow dance. Knew the basics. But what in the hell would he dance with a stranger for?!

The nearby cats yowl at Katsuki as if to shame him for his lack of enthusiasm.)

Shut up, hairballs. I'll neuter you! (He raises his hand, a small explosion popping off in the center of his palm. Please do not let him neuter the cats???!

He won't actually, but when they yowl louder, Katsuki absolutely leans towards them, getting increasingly angrier.)

Do you think I won't?! (Ugggh! What a pain...

If you're lucky, you might come across Katsuki at another time when he's less pissed off. He's kneeling on the ground over one of the cat's cauldrons of soup and using a small spoon and a small cutting board to chop up some ingredients. A cat is sitting on his shoulder, watching him intently, and his brow is furrowed in concentration.

After he adds the ingredients, he gives it a taste test before humming. Looking at you, he offers another small spoon.)

Try this. (He's not asking :D)

Closed to defendure - Long Story Short

(There is a clearing in a dense forest and sitting in the middle of that clearing is an ethereal-looking fox. It's not the fox at the beginning of the trial but instead is blonde in color with vivid red eyes. It seems to be lost in thought, staring intently into the woods, its predatory face sharp and alert, ears pricked.

When it hears something coming into the clearing, it gets to its feet, immediately alert, tail fluffing up and standing into the air. Its lips pull back as a deep snarl digs through its throat, head lowering to the ground. Despite its beautiful appearance, the creature was all hostility and nothing like an enchanted fairytale critter. This thing probably had rabies.

It's sure foaming at the mouth as it does. But then the moment it actually sees who is entering the clearing, its entire body is relaxing and it stops snarling. It still somehow manages to look pissed, but...

Listen, this fox is definitely somehow identical in appearance to Katsuki. Izuku would have to be an idiot to mistake it for anything else. Even the spikey fur was identical to Katsuki's normal hair.)

1

[bradward]

[ Brad is feeling his own need to find someone. Is it Mariner..? He's not sure. Their shape hasn't totally coalesced in his mind, but when he hears something rustle in the flowers, he isn't totally unprepared, or scared at all. He just wants. Wants, wants, wants whoever it is, and his hopes are up-- and then he's completely distracted by this man dropping to his knee in front of Brad, bowing before him like a Klingon warrior. He's a little flustered and a lot delighted by this guy who seems like a very real knight kneeling in front of him. Is this what he has to look forward to in this place? Don't mind if he does. ]

Oh, uh... no, nothing to forgive! You're right on time..? [ For what? He doesn't know. ]