thirstology | TEST DRIVE.

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test drive meme

TEST DRIVE.

test drive

Firstly, thank you for your interest! Secondly, since the game hasn't begun and therefore characters haven't actually gone to a world yet, this test drive is going to be a little different. It's intended to be presented as a mini-mission of sorts, on a much smaller scale and timeframe than a real mission in-game but with a somewhat similar feel. Because of this, if you join the game, you're allowed to count this as game canon, so make sure you make choices you want to follow your character into the game!

You know how this works, so go forth and have fun, and don't forget to reserve!

BASICS

Anwick might have been a beautiful town once. It's hard to tell now, since most of the buildings are scorched and crumbling, but they do resemble some rural modern-day buildings. Likewise, the people don't appear to be living too much in the past; several are carrying intimidating guns. For years, Anwick has been terrorized by dragons, living in fear of the next attack. Not anymore.

The people have just ended a bloody battle. Several people limp towards the outskirts of town, holding their bleeding wounds or new burns. In the center of town lies a slain dragon, the last full-grown one left in the world. To be honest, it looks like they've already taken care of their own problem.

A monotonous voice comes through your communication device to explain. You aren't here to help the townspeople; you're here for the dragons. The one motionless on the ground may have been the last adult, but it certainly wasn't the last dragon. Her children are located in a nearby cave, alone and orphaned. They're the ones you need to protect.

WYRMLINGS

The wyrmlings are still growing up, only the size of a small dog. Each has a slightly different appearance, but all of them have at least a few bright copper scales. They're beautiful, and they look a little bit harmless... at least, until they notice you. These dragons have never been exposed to humans before. Or anyone outside of their family, for that matter. They're small and scared, and they don't know any other way to protect themselves than to attack. Luckily, because of their tiny size, they can't do much more than small burns at a time — but make no mistake, it still hurts like hell.

The cave they're located in is pitch-black and labyrinthine. Every footstep echoes throughout it if you aren't light enough on your feet. It'll be difficult to navigate if you don't MacGyver yourself a torch or other form of lighting. Cell phones will work decently, at least until their battery dies, but you don't want to get stuck deep within the cave with no light.

If you do manage to get through the cave and rescue some without getting burned to a crisp, the trouble's not over yet. You'll have to find a safe place to stash them until they can be relocated; the townspeople aren't done with their dragon-slaying yet, after all. Walk into town with one in tow, and you're putting a target on your back. (Of course, this doesn't mean you can't do it.)

PROMPTS

ONE ✗ GOING ROGUE
Not feeling too obedient? Maybe you're ignoring the orders and helping the wounded people in town instead... or just coming to gawk. Maybe you're coming to slay the wyrmlings yourself. Whatever it is, at least try to be sneaky about it.

TWO ✗ THE DRAGON'S CAVE
Try to navigate the cave, fail to navigate the cave and get lost, or try to take the wyrmlings without getting barbecued. Somehow, you get the feeling that you aren't alone. Those footsteps are probably just your imagination... or they could be townspeople coming to kill you and the dragons. Of course, they could also be an ally, but you'd better hope you don't find out.

THREE ✗ HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
You've gotten the dragon(s) to a secure campsite out of town, but the fun's not over yet. They're kind of freaking out a little. Some of them are still spitting fire. Even the less aggressive ones are crying shrilly, bound to attract townspeople or at least annoy everyone nearby. It can't be too hard to calm them down; they're basically scaly, fire-breathing babies, right?

FOUR ✗ NIGHT TIME
It's been a long day, and now it's time for the crew to sleep. Get to know your tentmates, try to ignore them, pray that they don't want to bring along a wyrmling to cuddle... or maybe you've been put on night watch with a few others, in which case you'd better find a way to pass the time until your shift's over.

FIVE ✗ CHIT CHAT
Network option! Maybe you've got a little downtime and you're bored. Or maybe you're frantically asking the rest of the team how bad a dragon bite is. Maybe you're just trying to figure out how the hell this magical jewelry thing works. No matter what, you get one username to identify you and one only — if you don't enter one, it will default to your real name (for example, Voldemort's would be tomriddle.) Choose wisely... or make it assfarts69, if that's your thing. More information on the network is here!

SIX ✗ WILDCARD
Do whatever the hell you want. Explore the ashes of the burned city, try to run as far away from this crap as possible, or try to teach a wyrmling tricks. The world is your oyster.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Uh oh. Yeah. He knows that face. So she gets a 'please-don't-be-mad' face in return after they've hugged and pull back to look at each other. Crossing realms is kind of no big deal to him by now but being here is way different from Neverland or the Enchanted Forest. ]

Whatever they...tell me to do... [ He's sort of fumbling with that answer because truth be told, he doesn't have a good answer. But he smiles, trying to make it better somehow and play it cool. ]

Hnery Daniel Mills, if you went into that cave by yourself to look for dragons, I am grounding you for the next decades as soon as we get back home.

[ and this is now an urgent top priority, get back home before Henry is hurt and Regina will be then forced to burn the realm down. a pity, really. ]

You know, you don't always have to play the hero, especially not by yourself. did you get burned?

[ No one could deflate him faster than his mom, but he knows she has a good reason for her concern. These are dragons, after all. But though he feels some of his excitement over being here waning a bit, he's not completely defeated because he still thinks it's cool. Plus, they're together; he likes the idea of being on missions with his mom.

She won't like the answer to his question so he hesitates a moment, trying to break it to her the best way. ]

Don't worry, I was with people, I promise. But...um. [ He rolls up his sleeves, showing her a few burns on his arms. ] It's okay, though, mom. It's fine, I'll be fine. We have each other now. Plus, the dragons don't know any better, they're just babies. And they're pretty cute. Right? [ He smiles, trying to lower her defenses. He's not sure if it will work. ]

[ regina has to remind herself that her son is a teenage boy and this has to be somehow better than a slammed door and girls in his room.

right?

wrong. ]

Henry - look at your arms, sit down.

[ it's nothing her magic can't fix, she gives him a little look that's torn between affection and irritation ]

in 3 weeks, these pretty cute dragons could have us all for lunch. who were those people you were with? rather useless, if they let you get hurt.

[ He takes a seat beside her, wincing internally a little when he sees his arms. He should have tried to be more careful, he knows. ]

They were just...some people. [ He's evasive because he doesn't want anyone getting burnt to a crisp now. He knows his mom and how protective she gets. ] It's my fault - I was just trying to help and I wasn't being safe. [ He remembers their talk together when he'd been upset about not having magic and being useless and she'd told him he wasn't, that he brought them all together and he has his own strengths. And he's mostly taken that to heart, except his excursion in the Enchanted Forest has given him this boost now that he can do probably more than he should be doing. ]

[ regina sighs a little and shakes her head. for all her annoyance, she's never one to approve of her son taking fault for something that he's not entirely responsible for. he shouldn't be here and whoever brought him here to play the hero, they're the ones regina is really pissed off about. she smiles a little ]

well, you did better than a guy I saw who had all his hair and eyebrows scorched off. dragons are unpredictable. especially in this age without an adult to show them some sense. from now on, whatever mission we have, we do it together, alright?

[ He's pretty sure some of her annoyance is based on fear because...she's a mom and he knows she gets scared about the idea of losing him. But he also knows that...yeah, he shouldn't have gone looking for dragons without double-checking to make sure his moms were here. ]

Okay. [ His shoulders slump a little, though. ] I just like helping and being with everyone. [ And he knows he can now. He's good at it, he saved everyone. ]

I know. and while I know that going on adventures and succeeding in missions with your mother but.

[ she smiles a bit, nudges her shoulder against his ]

we can name it a new operation.

[ His lips quirk in a half-smile as he nudges back, leaning his head against her shoulder now, just getting warm by the fire. ]

What should we call it? We'll have other missions, too, not just dragons. So.... [ He thinks about this for a moment. ] Operation...Operation... Phoenix? [ It just sounds kind of cool. ]

I think I like the sound of that.

[ she wraps an arm around his shoulder, a sense of very rare peace evident in the way she calms down a bit. this isn't ideal but henry is alright, and he is safe and it allows her a moment of serenity ]

Operation Phoenix.

[ It's definitely not ideal because even though he's glad his mom is here, there's the rest of his family to think and worry about. And though he's still eager to help with missions, he knows he'll miss home soon enough. That's where they belong. But he leans in close to his mom nonetheless, thinking it's been a really long time since they had this. ]

Mom? Do you know if anyone else is here? Mom or Grams or Gramps or...anyone from home? [ He especially wants both of his moms here, if nothing else. ]

Yes- there's - Emma. Emma's here. But Henry - I have to know. What is the very last thing you remember happening to Emma?

[ because if henry is not aware of the darkness, then the situation is about to get even more dangerous. especially as regina doesn't have the dagger with her ]

[ This already doesn't sound good. Happening to her? ]

You saved me, you died for me, Mom. [ His voice wavers just slightly because he still can't believe she did that for him. What if he couldn't fix it? Then he would have lost her forever. ] But we all made it back to Storybrooke, I fixed the stories after Isaac tried to give all the villains happy endings. We were all okay, so what happened to her? [ He lifts his head, looking so worried now. ]

Henry -

[ she pulls him into a short embrace. the alternate story had been an odd one but dying for henry would never feel anything but the right thing to do. she doesn't tell him that, does not wish to sadden him and his question makes her frown ]

Gold was about to die, his heart was too dark. The Apprentice took the darkness out of his heart and placed it in the Sorcerer’s Hat which meant Gold no longer dependent on the dagger of the Dark One. He replaced his heart with one of light but the hat it - couldn't contain all that darkness and it entered the Apprentice but Emma she pulled it out but - it came at me, Henry. And Emma she - she took it in to save me. She took all that darkness in and now the dagger has her name but - it's back home. I don't have it.

[ and if that darkness acts out, Regina has nothing to keep it at bay, she knows as much ]

But it doesn't matter. We're going to save Emma, no matter what it takes. it would be our mission, alright? I promise you, I'm not letting Emma become consumed by Gold's darkness.

[ His heart sinks and he looks absolutely pained as he lifts his head to look at her. He's frowning deeply, an outward reflection of his heart dropping to his stomach. ]

No...she can't be the Dark One...

[ And yet the alternative would have been his mom consumed by the darkness. He knows why his mom had to do it but it doesn't make it hurt less. He looks at his mom, though, just really looks at her. He's breathing a little heavy, just a surge of emotion and adrenaline, but he takes a few deep breaths and nods. ]

We'll save her. We will, I know it. We can do anything together, right?

Yes, we can. Henry, I promise you, I won't stop until Emma is free from all that darkness. We are going to save her, you and I. But we need to remember that she can't always control herself now so we need to be careful, alright? she has a lot of darkness in her and it may lead her to do things she doesn't want to do or say things she doesn't want to say and it's not fault but Henry you have to promise me, whenever you want to see Emma face to face, you'll tell me so I could come with you.

[ nothing will be more tragic that emma hurting their son. it would hurt henry and it would destroy emma and for both of them, regina can't let it happen ]

Do you understand?

[ It's going to be hard just because Henry doesn't like to be separated from the people he loves, doesn't want to be pushed away. But this is totally different, this isn't like when Regina was battling to control her darkness, this darkness is something else and he knows that. It's like a monster living inside.

So he knows, as much as he hates it, he can't go near her by himself. Nodding, he looks very serious, taking her words to heart. ]

I understand. Only with you, mom. Can I...can I see her on video sometimes, just to talk to her?

Of course you can. I don't - want to keep you two apart.

[ an evidence to how much she had changed from her initial meeting with emma swan. henry needs emma in his life as much as he needs her and it's something regina had long ago accepted and in truth, she needs emma as well. they all do ]

I just don't want that darkness to make Emma hurt any of us, I know she would find it hard to forgive herself that when we release her from it.

[ That's something, at least. He can still see her in some capacity, even if he can't touch her. That'll have to do for now. ]

That's better than nothing. The last time she accidentally hurt me with her magic, she felt so terrible so I don't wanna do anything that could put her through that again.

You'll be safe, too, right?

I will. Don't worry. I dealt with Gold and with Zelena, Emma can't be any worse than the both of them. I'll take care of myself.

[ she smiles ]

I'm not going anywhere, I promise. You and I, we'll see this one through together.

[ He trusts that, believes it. His mom is one of the strongest people he knows and even though her dying in the alternate world rattled him, it didn't keep them apart for long. Family always finds a way back to each other. He smiles back and just hugs her. ]

We've totally got this.

[ Though he's worried about his other mom a lot, he trusts they'll figure that out, too. ]

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TEST DRIVE.

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