TEST DRIVE ∞ May 2025

[thediadem]

Test Drive ∞ May 2025

The First Collision

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Jump ⇅ :: Arrival — Panorama — Fringes — Invite Request

The Diadem is an invite-only panfandom game set in a retro-futuristic world where uprooted souls find themselves deep within an eerie wasteland of roads and highways frequently assailed by cosmic storms. Three united strongholds keep the population. Its capital is Panorama, a large metropolis at the planet's center.

Soon, you realize you aren't alone. Calling themselves fluxdrifts, the "locals" have similar stories to you, either for themselves or their ancestry. You speak to an old woman who claims she hailed from another star. You meet a young man who says his great-great-grandfather knew a strange language everybody spoke "back home." As you explore, you stumble across a coin you recognize or your sister's locket. How did it get here? What does this mean? That's for you to discover.

But first, you need to find a ride.

No invites needed to play on the TDM. Everyone's welcome! Use the Invite Request thread below to request an invite from another player.

∞ Summary ∞

IC-wise, arrivals are scattered throughout the month. Events described on the TDM are also ongoing throughout the month. If you'd rather jump right into the action, you're free to begin in media res with your character having already been on the planet for several days.

Post-impact, characters will wake up in a med tent by the Scrapyard. From there, they must accept a vehicle on loan and make the 2-hour drive to the nearest city, Panorama. If they refuse the car because they don't want the loan, they'll be in debt for medical bills instead...so just take the car. It'll come in handy.

Some things to keep in mind when bringing in your character:

• Pick an injury. At minimum, they got knocked out; at most, whatever they can recover from. Medicine is decently advanced so they'll heal faster if not painlessly.
• Decide items kept. Reasonable items on their person only: photos, keys, clothes, costumes. No pets or animal companions. Wildly out-of-place tech and personal cell phones will be damaged beyond repair.
• Select a weapon. Do this only if eligible. Guidelines about weapons and powers are on the FAQ.
• Choose a vehicle. Decide whether your character gets 2-3 options or if they're stuck with something they hate. Players can pick directly from our collection or source their own images. Anything under a similar aesthetic will work. If your character needs accommodations for driving, they can have them. Ask us for details.
• Get a phone. Characters have to obtain a phone (and a SIM card) themselves. If they've got one from home, it's damaged beyond repair. Phones are cheap. It'll only take a couple of weeks to afford one. You need to know the number before you text or call anyone. Read about phones and the Forum before you hop on it.

TDM threads can be canon if characters are accepted. Top-levels made to the TDM should be open to all.

TDM Questions? Here — Game Questions? FAQ

Setting — Taken — Reserves — Applications ::: ⇅ Top

Fluxdrift

Arrival & Introduction

Date: Throughout May

You've tumbled over a cliff. You were fighting for your life. You're on the cusp of death. You slipped in the shower. Whatever the catalyst, you struggle to cling to consciousness. As darkness overtakes you, a swirling vortex warps light and shadow in a way that defies all physics. A dark wail etches into your very bones. You couldn't describe it if you tried. You can barely comprehend what it is.

Then you open your eyes.

Through the figure's mask ©, you swear the face is grinning down at you. The tent you're in smells of antiseptic, and scratchy blankets line your cot. Injuries you've sustained have been bandaged. In the corner, you spot a MedBot that's fixed you up. Depending on the extent of your injuries, the doctor on duty might give you some painkillers before you go. Thankfully, your belongings are by the exit. Sorry if anything's damaged. Your landing was pretty rough.

You follow the figure outside. They are Yom Crook, here to lend a hand to fellow fluxdrifts like yourself. Their car's parked beside them. Actually, there are lots of cars around, but Yom Crook's stands out with its painted shark mouth. They explain they found you, unconscious, in a diffusion zone and brought you here. The nearest city is a 2-hour drive northeast. Forget about walking. You'll never make it. Also, you owe the doctor a lot of money for patching you up. But you're in luck: they've got some wheels for you and if you accept the vehicle on loan, Yom Crook will cover your medical bills. That's a good deal, right? It's not the shiniest car or motorcycle, but it'll do. If fortune favors, you'll get to choose between two or three options. Plus, if you need accommodations to drive—like adjustments to your seat height or modified controls—you'll receive all that for free.

Take the vehicle. (And the loan.) Yom Crook assures you that you'll have six months before collectors come around. Any time you're ready to pay a part of it down, return here to the Scrapyard. You'll get a receipt and everything. Paying off the loan in six months isn't impossible, but it will take a lot of work. Just don't get too lax. There's a good chance you'll be juggling multiple loans as you try to get by.

You either know how to drive, or you'll have a bare-bones manual to get you started. Road rules are more a suggestion than enforced, so just hit the pedal and go. The car has some basic features. The built-in compass will help you navigate.

OPTIONAL PROMPTS: a flat tire; a body on the road (is it a trap?); a fender bender

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Panorama

Explore & Settle In

Conditions: Warm spring temperatures, light showers

After 2 hours on the road, you find civilization. The largest of the strongholds, Panorama is where the economy thrives. Massive power plants glowing red make it visible from a distance. The city is divided into three districts. For now, you can access the Pavilion and the Blocks. Don't worry about the Sanctum; they're not letting you in.

You only need to know two things about Panorama: 1) it's big, the size of a modern metropolis, and you'll need your car to get around; 2) anything goes as long as you don't pick a fight with the wrong person. Street smarts will get you far. Despite its geographical size, the population isn't huge. With roughly a million people in a city designed for over twice that number, Panorama is far from deserted, but nor is it overcrowded. It's a good thing. Resources are limited as it is.

The Pavilion: Free Samples

©

Like any large city, Panorama features a couple of supermarkets. The stock's not as consistent as a proper supermarket. On occasion, shelves can remain cleaned out for a week or two. Regardless, the long tradition of free samples remains. If you're not already shopping, you'll notice the crowded parking lot and clusters of lines inside.

Try samples, push through the crowds as you shop, or give yourself a five-finger discount. If you're cautious, you can pocket a few small items without consequences. The Pavillion doesn't have the infrastructure for surveillance; unless someone sees you, you won't be caught. Steal from the store or pilfer someone's wallet. Maybe you even make a new friend if you bump into another fluxdrift. Or, start a fight with somebody who cut you off in the cheese line. Don't make too much of a ruckus, or you'll be thrown out.

As you look around, you'll see posters advertising temporary positions for the cash register or graveyard shifts in the warehouse. Seems they might've lost several employees recently (how'd that happen?), which is good for you! It's just a 6-week position, but it'll get you on your feet. The city has temporary positions like this all over. Permanent ones are harder to come by when you're new.

Samples include: steamed cabbage dumplings, synthetic cherry juice, cheddar cheese, and chocolate-covered alien eggs (it's crunchy and weirdly tasty). They're served in the usual throwaway paper cups with little toothpicks.

The Blocks: Power Outage

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Power's finicky in Panorama, especially in the Blocks. Saint Margery's Hospital, located in the same area, has priority for power so the first to go are the motels. Maybe you've been in your room for a couple of weeks, maybe you just got here—and by the way, every motel desk is happy to put the fee on your tab if you don't have the money upfront—but all the motels on the east side are in a blackout, leaving only the west side motels up and running.

What do you do? You have three choices:

• Risk leaving your room and head to the other side where there's power. Knock on some doors and negotiate with another to share the room. They might shut the door in your face, ask for a favor in return, or be nice enough to help you with no strings attached. There's no guarantee your unattended room will be untouched, though, and you'll be on the hook for any damages an intruder causes.
• Sit in the dark and deal. It's not the worst idea, but the TV's down, the vending machines are powered down, and with the entire place plunged into darkness, you risk getting robbed. If you struggle with defending yourself, you might want to find some trustworthy company. You can also sneak out of there and let them take your leftover pizza. It's not like you've got a ton of valuables, right? Plus, clobbering someone in the face with a frying pan sounds great until you realize you've gotta do something with the body. And what if this person's got a friend waiting?
• Get in your car and drive (or grab a friend for a road trip). If you scroll the Forum, you might notice reports on diffusion zones southward. Besides, these motels are hardly your forever home. The city can only provide so much. Why not go for a ride and see what you can find out there?

OPTIONAL PROMPTS: clean up on aisle 3 (what is that goo?); a knock at your door but no one's there; you hear screaming or a commotion down the hall

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©

The Fringes

Quad 3: Lockdown

Conditions: Stormy, with flooding roads

Felix Bjurstrom
> Date: 125-05-17
> Time: 02:15:57

> Emergency road lights have been reported in Quadrant 3! Please, can someone go see what's there? When last we chasers investigated emergency lights, a whole truck filled with sour candy had tipped over. Our stores were stocked for weeks! Oh, be careful - reception looks bad in that zone.

Whether you end up here on your own or you were following a tip on the Forum, the outcome is the same: you come to a stop in front of a 2-story office building that's flooded several inches deep. Emergency lights from a roadblock flicker through the stormy night. Stepping out of your car, you're soaked within seconds. When you check your phone, you don't have any bars. No calls in or out.

Through the open windows, a computer awakens and displays a cheerful smile. The lights inside switch on.

Pick your scenario role below. Your thread partner doesn't need to take the opposite role! They can join you in the same scenario (i.e. trapped together). Players are also free to create a generic NPC for the other side to facilitate the thread.

After characters escape, they'll find one bottle of antibiotics in their pocket or car, whether they remember taking it or not.

A: Sealed In
As you peer through the windows, you see crates of medicine floating around. Antibiotics in the diadem are valuable. Hospitals and doctors are always buying. You can keep it for yourself or make a quick buck. Or maybe you're compelled to help somebody back in the city who's in need. Whatever the reason, you decide to take the risk and step inside.

Water splashes around your ankles. The lock buzzes behind you. If you try to break the windows, you discover they're unnaturally resistant to shattering. With the whole place locked tight, the water begins to churn. Then the computer lights up again.

Warning, it flashes in large, bold text. Quarantine in progress. Release code required for exit.

• To find the code, you'll have to search. Duck under the water, go through sopping envelopes and sticky notes or pick the locks on the filing cabinets and desk drawers. You can also try hacking the computers. Use your computer knowledge or fall back on the age-old trick of seeing who wrote down their password.
• The files, notepads, and emails start innocuous, but as you look through them, disturbing phrases jump out at you—a dark thought you've had or a cruel taunt from someone in your past. The longer you're fixed on the terrible words, the higher the water begins to rise. Only another can break you out of your trance.
• With the rising water comes fear. And the more you're afraid, the more the water also rises. You begin to see faces in the water, bobbing like balloon heads. Do you recognize them? If you move to take a closer look, they will sink back beneath the surface as if never there.
• If you manage to swallow your panic, you can eventually find a triple-laminated binder with the release code and instructions. Bad news: you need someone on the outside to punch in the 6 strange symbols in order. The instructions explain that the code panel is located at the back of the building.

Let's hope a friendly face comes along.

B: Set Free
As you peer through the windows, you see not just the crates of medicine but someone trapped inside. They look like they might be in trouble, and from your vantage point, you notice that the water is bubbling strangely. It's definitely not normal rainwater. As you watch, the water rises unnaturally, stopping and starting. It's as if the water level is responding to an external stimulus.

• The glass is soundproof. You can't hear what the person inside is saying, so you'll have to communicate with each other another way. Try charades, typing on your phone, or whatever you think of. Eventually, you determine that they're stuck and that you need to enter some sort of code onto a pad located—according to your trapped partner—at the back of the building.
• Around the back, shadows swallow your surroundings. The panel must be pried open, but a slippery substance makes it hard to get a good grip. Each time the substance touches you, you grow uneasy. You swear you see eyes watching you, though when you turn around, nothing's there.
• You can't seem to keep the instructions in your mind. And those symbols...they burn into your retinas. Through them, you glimpse an incomprehensibly massive figure unfurling in the darkness, pulsing as if in a deep sleep. When you snap back to reality, you realize you've injured yourself, slicing your hand on a sharp edge or a bruise you can't remember getting.
• Once you manage to release the doors, the water inside the office drains upward into the sky as though sucked out by a giant hose. The darkness spreads. Get out of there fast before the shadows drag you or your partner into the void.

Of course, you don't have to help anyone. You can leave the individual there, make a deal, or outright extort them. But remember, you're not the only person on these roads. You might want to play your cards carefully, even if altruism isn't your first instinct.

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Comments

[cryptsleeper]

[This is not the time or place for dad issues. Alucard knows that, and he needs to steer them away from the topic. (Even if this makes some of Maria's abilities more logical. The potential of a forgemsater and a Speaker's magic. No wonder.)

To the future then.]

What do you want to do next then? If we're delayed here for a time, we should have some immediate steps.

[churnback]

[ He definitely should have — maneuvered that a different way, his ribs are gonna hate him later. And he severely underestimated the weight of it, but he collects himself, takes a few breaths, wipes at the sweat on his brow, and gets them rolling. He comes down on two sides of this — he can play pretty well at being friendly, sometimes even a reasonable amount of talkative — depending on the situation. He's had to be good at reading situations and people fairly quickly since he was a kid, with the kind of world he grew up in. He's also had to learn to fit in places. But he's not about painting a pretty picture of himself or making himself look and seem like someone he's not. What you see is what you get with him, take it or leave it. It's just that he's very aware of how he is, what he holds inside, how he comes across, so sometimes he works a little harder at doing the opposite of what his first instinct might be.

They don't have to talk. In some way, maybe, there's not a lot to say exactly, except they're strangers and if you flip it, there's a whole lot to say. He's not motivated by the thought of conversation alone, not even motivated by the idea of getting to know her whole history, who she is, what she does, how she's feeling.

Some of it, he can already read on her face, in her eyes. Some of it — a lot of it — she'll hold close until and unless she's ready to give it away. And until that time, she can keep it all safe as long as she wants, he won't go knocking on doors that aren't his.

— what does motivate him to consider some degree of conversation is that so far, it seems to have done...something. He can't attribute "good" to any action he's taken up until now, but it got her in the jeep and they're going towards the unknown city together, and she's fiddling with the radio. It tells him she's a little more at ease, and he wants her to be. And maybe talking a little will keep her there, in a moment where she can just be whoever she wants to be, whoever she maybe hasn't been in a while. ]

Nah, see — worrying about what might happen, what does it do for me right now? Moment to moment, that's what we got. And this moment — [ He almost turns to look at her, but thinks better of it. Until he feels supremely confident with this thing, he'll keep his eyes straight ahead. Going forward is easy enough, at least. ] It's alright.

[ He doesn't have access to those feelings easily, feelings like fear and worry. He knows what they are, he remembers feeling them once more readily a very long time ago. And sure, he's been in situations — especially out in space — that got him on edge. None of them here expected to be here, wanted to be here, but they are, and his mind immediately switches to focusing on what he can do, what he can control, what he can learn about this place to deal with whatever shit might come at them. It's just he spends less time pondering what that shit could be. ] Doesn't mean I feel settled, though.

[ But he recognizes his feelings — or lack thereof — aren't universal. ]

You worried?

two of them

[mechatheism]

[Viktor is getting used to the fact that it's more likely than not anyone pulling over to approach them has nefarious intentions--and that, in such a situation, it would be his responsibility to defend the both of them. Luckily for them (not luckily for the person on the motorcycle), this does not seem to be nefarious. In fact, she looks like she needs help.

And, despite everything, Viktor wants to help.

He follows behind Jayce, letting him do the talking while he steps forward to lift the motorcycle. The motion is a bit less-than-graceful, like he's getting used to this kind of thing, but he is strong enough and it is effortless, the weight of it negligible. He'll hold it up just as long as it takes her to extricate herself from underneath.]

[retrievalist]

[ Eliot stops walking so abruptly he causes a five-car pileup behind him. And on top of that, a small audience starts to gather around them, because this kid ain't ever heard of an inside voice before. And, you know, Eliot is an internationally renowned retrieval specialist—he used to work for one of the worst guys ever to exist, for crying out loud—but as he hears someone call him a dirty old man he feels heat start crawling up his own neck. If you thought his scowl was bad before—if you thought he was scowling before—that has nothing on his current expression. ]

What's the matter with you? [ He jabs his finger so hard against Adrian's chest that he can probably feel it through the foam of his cabbage suit. ] I meant that you should do your goddamn job and sell me some cabbages.

[tataille]

[ Heightened senses mean screeching tires are really screeching tires, and he flinches, pausing mid-turn of his key to see what the hell is going on. Nothing huge, thankfully - not an attack or anything, just a pretty brunette wrestling her motorcycle like it's got a mind of its own.

He watches a second longer, lips twitching at the corners. She's like a baby deer on ice. ]

Kickstand’s on the left, cher.

[ He's gruff, not unkind, maybe swallowing down some amusement as he jangles his keys and stuffs them in his pocket. ]

Need some help? Bikes can be tricky, gotta sweet talk 'em a little, or they won’t behave.

[mechatheism]

It's not...good.

[Steam coming out of an engine is fine. Smoke, not so much. When he finds nothing in the front, Viktor will let Jayce negotiate while they work their way around the back of the little bus. Ordinarily, he might refuse any kind of payment, wanting to do these things because he has the ability and it's right, to do so--but he's aware that Jayce is human with human needs. They need food, and supplies, and, potentially, medical care.

He doesn't flinch in the face of the cloud of black smoke--just one advantage of not needing to breathe. Viktor studies it for a moment, then offers Jayce a glance.]

We should be able to fix it.

[Perhaps it's just a timing belt, or a lack of oil.]

Sam Winchester | Supernatural

[hellunbounded]

ARRIVAL

( It was supposed to be a simple hunt - or, at least, as simple as anything ever gets with the Winchesters, which isn't very. Still, compared to alternate realities and hunting Lucifer, facing a werewolf was almost a break.

Their target was a nasty motherfucker, almost matching Sam in height without transformation, and even as they chased him, he gleefully recounted the innocents he turned against their will, taunting them from the shadows of the forest. His victims who were alive still had a chance, but this asshole was going to get a heart full of lead, one way or another.

He and Dean operated like clockwork, silently tracking the creature with their shotguns held high. Sam was sure he had a good read on his location, and he tilted his head to indicate it to Dean, but the action was quickly aborted by a stunningly quick slash to his ribs, and one blink later, and the creature is gone again. Sam gasped in pain, trying to keep his gun steady, but vertigo overtook him as his weak chest unconsciously tilted towards one side. He tried to self-correct - it's just pain, you've had worse before, this is nothing - but his body can't hold itself upright. As consciousness fades, all he can see are blood-red eyes and a snarling mouth, and a familiar cry rings out in his ears, Sammy!--

He wakes up, thrashing, fighting, reaching for any weapon in reach. His ribs are screaming, but when Sam's vision barely focuses, Dean is nowhere in his line of sight, which means danger in every language Sam knows. Flailing upright, he scans his near surroundings, looking for anything he can use to defend himself. An object appears to his left and Sam immediately wraps his hands around it. His mind can't process what it is yet, but it's something cold and thin, and Sam yanks it off whatever it's attached to with a violent jerk. Sparks fly, and Sam doesn't care, his heartbeat pounding in his chest. The werewolf - he was about to die, Dean screamed for him, and Dean isn't here--

Running out of the tent, gripping the syringe-like device like a weapon, he scans the horizon for his brother. There's no one there, but there is another figure. He's shaking, practically stumbling over his own feet, adrenaline and agony a sharp and heavy mixture in his head, but he keeps walking towards the figure. When Sam reaches them, his questions sound more like a desperate plea than a threatening demand, but his head keeps pounding, and he has to know: )

Where are we? Where's my brother?

FLUXDRIFT - ROAD

( It becomes clear quickly that Dean isn't here, which means it's time for Sam to go.

Even after his adrenaline and panic recede, Sam isn't sure he isn't trapped in a strange version of hell, or just a nightmare. The masked man who claims he found and patched Sam up says he found him passed out alone in something called a "diffusion zone", and Sam isn't given much clarification on what that means from the strange, astronaut-looking stranger. In fact, he doesn't offer many answers to Sam's barrage of questions, he just keeps walking until they reach... a junkyard?

Memories of Bobby's place, the only home without wheels Sam had ever known, sting like pinpricks on the edges of Sam's mind, and it's almost enough for him to miss the stranger say something about a loan and a debt. Sam is incredulous at first, but when the stranger points out that he used their precious med supplies to save him and that Sam had damaged his robot - because medicine robots exist here, apparently - and that he wasn't getting anywhere quickly on foot, Sam has to begrudgingly concede this bizarre fight. If he has a car, at least he has a fighting chance of finding his brother in this world - probably another alternate one, he guesses. Jack would come in handy right about now, but he hopes he and Castiel are still back in his world, looking after Dean. Because he's not dead. There's no way he's dead.

The landscape he drives through is familiar enough - vacant, lifeless, nothing but road - but it doesn't do anything to ease his whirling mind. He picked out a car that's distinctly different enough from their Impala, modern and colorful and clearly uncherished, because driving in a facsimile of their home feels too much like a slap to the face without Dean sitting beside him. The navigation tells him he's heading the "right" way, though it's a complete mystery where that way will lead him other than to "a city". The bandaged claw wounds on his chest pull taught as he holds the wheel, but it doesn't break his concentration - he's driven in similar conditions several times. So instead, he ruminates, marching through the possibilities like a soldier through the trenches. What will he find at the end of this road? What the hell kind of job can he take to pay back this "debt"? Where is--

Suddenly, a figure appears on the road, and the tires screech as Sam pumps the breaks and jackhammers the wheel. The car spins a few degrees, then stops, thankfully upright. Sam's heart is in his throat, eyes wide, but he didn't feel an impact. As soon as the car stops, he opens the door and tries to find whoever, or whatever, appeared like a phantom in the middle of his drive. )

Shit. What the - are you okay? ( He approaches the figure, concern in his tone, but his hand is only an inch away from the gun resting in his holster - the only piece of extensive weaponry cache that's made it to this place with him. ) The hell was that?

PANORAMA - GARAGE

( Well, it's not a glamorous job, but it's a job. "Swappy" has a lot less dignity than "mechanic" in Sam's head, but he can't live off free samples forever, and switching wheels off-and-on cars in a shitty garage for meager pay isn't exactly difficult. He's done in on the Impala a hundred times, once he was deemed old enough by Dean to help. There was also that time Sam had begged Bobby for them to stay at his place, just for a few weeks so Dean could rest up before their Dad inevitably dragged them into a new and dangerous hunt - Dean was stubborn, he'd never admit that a broken ankle hurt like a bitch to Sam, or Dad, or anyone, but not telling Dad meant he'd just keep pushing - and Bobby had seen through his desperation and offered him a "job" in his junkyard for a few weeks. Dean had almost lost his mind with boredom, but Sam had relished the relative safety and stability, mentally doing drills for the SATs as he dismantled mental and tires on repeat. Sam still smiled at the memory of Bobby offering Sam a lemonade after a long day, and the way Bobby had playfully swatted him on the head when he asked for a beer instead.

So no, it's not glamorous, and every moment Sam doesn't spend looking for his brother in this wasteland is liable to drive him insane - or, at least, more insane than usual, since the occasional hallucination of Lucifer is liable to appear, even in this different fucking universe - but going through these motions is familiar enough to help him concentrate. He's mapped out what he knows of this place in his mind; it's limited, but Sam knows he can probe wider, and he will.

He made it roughly six miles north yesterday, asking everyone he could about a guy who fit Dean's description, but no dice. He almost got mugged for his trouble, but that was on Sam for being sloppy more than anything else. He left with his money intact and one less bullet in his gun's chamber. The mugger clutched his leg and yelled in agony, but Sam kept walking. This place was dangerous, but the sun wasn't down yet.

The sound of a clang as a door opens, then closes. Sam barely glances from where he's spinning the lung wrench to get a nut onto the latest tire - he's not sloppy enough to keep his back to the only entrance to this place that isn't a garage door, at least - but his voice is short and clipped. He'd usually be more accommodating, even if most customers that come through here are assholes, but he's on a tight schedule. ) We're closed. ( They're not, but they close in five minutes, and Sam has no intention of being anywhere but in his own car continuing the search for his brother as soon as the clock hits five. ) Come back tomorrow.

WILDCARD

HMU with any prompts from the TDM or anything you'd like, honestly! Feel free to PM me on here or ping me on plurk @ ladybastet92 if you'd like to plot. Shaking off the rust, so I apologize if my writing is wonky!

[churnback]

[ Though his general detachment from that feeling of panic and dread isn't intentional — it's just who and what he is now — in this moment (and other moments) it seems like he sometimes has the unintended effect of being steadier than maybe others around him, and in turn, maybe that helps them. Though lacking the conscious thought of, I need to help her feel less panicked, he seems to have — done something for her. She steadies herself, at the same time she silently steadies him. She probably has no idea she does, and he wouldn't know how to say it anyway, wouldn't be able to connect the dots enough that way.

He can't think of how to voice aloud what he's feeling, because it's so faint and unfamiliar, a heaviness around him and on him, and all he can do is breathe through it, be with her in this moment and the next.

What he's seen here already — glimpses of his past — are enough to rattle him, but also to turn him swiftly to action. In another situation, it would be enough for him to want to take those feelings out on something, someone, but it — settles him. That she's here. It's what she says, too, that makes that even truer. Start to see things you've never told anyone. ]

Yeah, that — [ With his left hand, he briefly rubs at the back of his neck, spares a glance at her. Is that why his neck felt hot? Like something burning him? This feeling like something hurt, but he didn't know why, and he might have gotten lost in it, too, but she was about to go...somewhere. He might not have been able to pull her back. And he figured he needed to try and grab her from whatever had a hold on her. What she's saying doesn't sound crazy, though. Not even close. ]

Both of us. [ This, he decides, is enough said for now. They get it. And this place is more than it seems. He starts rifling through every drawer he can find for something that would have a code of any kind. That water's still creeping, sloshing, but he has less of a feeling like they might drown here, like it's...settled down a little maybe? Just another fucked thing about this place. His fingers touch something, though, a binder of some kind, and he pulls it out, brings it close so she can see. ]

Instructions — right, couldn't start with that.

[ Despite the flatness of his tone, there is a trace of sarcasm there. Of course, it will unfortunately become clear to both of them that, unsurprisingly, instructions and a code are only half the battle. ]

[haemophile]

[Laszlo is intensely offended that Wriothesley has just entered his personal space, and gives him a look that says so. Never mind that this is his phone in the first place.

The game comes back to life with a few aggressive beeps, and Laszlo's attention quickly flicks back to the screen.

There is a line. It's moving. He's slightly concerned that this is bad.]

Is this what it was doing before?

[haemophile]

Obviously a better mode of transportation is flying, but it is a wide open stretch of land and he's pretty sure he'd be seen. The automobile will have to do; he supposes he will pick it up quickly enough. Whether or not he'll maim anyone in the process, well, he's not thinking about that.

Laszlo glances reflexively in the direction of whatever passes for a city in this wasteland, unable to make out any evidence of it in the distance, even with his vampiric vision.

"You've suspicions of what's waiting there?"

[haemophile]

It's an interesting supposition, and Laszlo can't help but smile wider. There are very few things in the world he cannot kill. Though to be fair to her, he has no idea if that follows into this world, or even the one she comes from.

"All right," he says with what is probably an unwise level of amusement. "I should like to be released, but I'm interested in why you'd think I'd choose otherwise."

[haemophile]

[Laszlo does his Fucked Up Laugh™ at that, twirling his hand theatrically in the air.]

There'll be nothing little about it, I assure you. [Just because Nandor has the proportions of Colbrand, it doesn't have any bearing on anything else's size. Laszlo does not have a complex about this and 5'10" is not short.

There are precious few things higher on Laszlo's priority list than sex, but they are there. He points at Nandor, eyebrows raised. If he's not managed to pull anyone in a week—or twenty days, or whatever—that's not Laszlo's problem, and he will have to learn to wait.]

First. My wife?

panorama

[reindered]

[Look. Chopper can never resist one of Usopp's tales. He hears that name and immediately does a double-take as he walks past and happens to overhear the other's story. The tiny reindeer approaches, all but leaping towards the other, conveniently interrupting the guy manning the stall about payment. Not that Chopper was really aware. He's far too relieved and distracted by seeing a familiar face in all of this.]

Usopp? Usopp, you're here, too!

[Congrats, Usopp. Here's +1 toddler-sized reindeer now attached to you. At least for the time being, he's thrilled and now bawling. That would probably come in a second.]

[terrorisms]

( When that crowbar comes out is about the time that Frank begins to finally, slowly, rise to his feet.

Here's the thing: Frank can look at a person, measure them up, and walk away with a decent understanding of what they're all about. These two punks are a couple of opportunistic thugs more interested in the cash than a fight, but they're desperate enough for the local currency they're willing to swing. The only violence they know is the haphazard, chaotic kind that comes with two untrained men getting into a bar brawl.

This other guy, though? The one with a cigar? Took him all of about thirty seconds to peg him for a vet. He knows a soldier when he sees one, and he's not exactly in a hurry to go intervening on that guy's behalf. Nah, he can handle himself just fine — although, Frank does spend a moment second-guessing that assessment when he lets himself take a crowbar to the face.

Seen a lot of shit, but he's never seen a man take iron like that without so much as flinching.

Huh.

Anyway —

It's not much of a fight. All eyes are on Logan and his ringing ears, the solid dense thwack of unforgiving metal on unforgiving flesh. Passenger's Seat, with his waning attention span and absolute incredulity at what he just witnessed, doesn't even see Frank move. He's upright one second, horizontal the next, body slumping gracelessly to the sidewalk.

He leaves the other one to Logan, and scoops this one up on one shoulder to start casually marching him around the side of the building. There was a dumpster in the alley. This asshole's getting unceremoniously dumped into it, and Frank doesn't even give enough of a shit to check if he's alive or dead first. )

[satanicpanics]

Uh—yeah, you know, I’d say that helps. Cool trick.

[ Jack is fortunate in that he’s stumbled upon a young man who has just recently given up on questioning things. He watched a girl die via an unseen supernatural force, and his hometown is cursed with a haunted alternate dimension beneath it, capable of being entered via a gate right in his uncle’s trailer. He lost his ability to be shocked within the span of a week.

A light gathers in Jack’s palm, he only blinks to be sure he’s really seeing what he’s seeing, then grins, glad to be able to put a face to the voice. And especially glad that the face that greets him is totally ordinary. ]

Hey, man. Eddie.

[ He’d offer a handshake, but…He’s not sure what the light in Jack’s hands is going to do to him. Instead, he glances around the hallway in the dim light. The motel really doesn’t look much better this way either, but he really can’t complain. It’s a roof and a place to lay his head. ]

Ones that actually have lights that work, maybe. Been here long?

[faithfall]

[ Oh, he is over this. He doesn't care if the man's scowl is somehow wearing another, angrier scowl. He's spent all day being needled about standing or leaning wrong, or about the colour of olives or the price of this or that nonsense only to be forced outside in this utterly humiliating outfit— and now he's being gaslit! By some lecherous brute!

Adrian grabs a cabbage and throws it into his basket in a most ungentlemanly fashion. He steps back, however, careful to put some space between them even in the midst of his own tantrum. ]

The till is over there. [ He points. ] I hope you choke on your cabbage.

[ The thing that he put in the basket? It's not a cabbage. It's lettuce. ]

[lufeng]

What a foolish man, to have hassled An Zhe more than just the once, it sounded like. This was not an 'open fire' sort of hassling, at least, but Lu Feng had heard enough. Time to put a stop to this.

He reached past the stranger, hand catching the back of An Zhe's before he could pull it away from that sample cup. "An Zhe," he said, voice soft in spite of the icy reception he was giving the back of the other fellow's head just moments ago. He leaned in a little over the person between them, as though he were extremely unconcerned about his mere presence, before continuing, "Is there anything you want me to find for us tonight?"

[frostfist]

[ So they set off, an unlikely pair with all of five minutes of rapport under their belt. Still, it seems more of a bond than whatever the trio of loudmouths they approach have going on, all of them with fingers pointed and voices raised as Wriothesley and his companion approach.

The tiff quickly becomes clear; something about stolen goods and missing thieves. A common enough occurence especially in less well-to-do neighborhoods. Nothing that should, hopefully, escalate into a full-blown quarrel, though just in case Wriothesley lifts up both hands in mollification, palms facing outwards. ]

Just like he [ with a nod to his buddy for the moment ] said. He's been in his room the whole time and I've just gotten back from a long and grueling work shift.

[ A bit of an exaggeration, but if he's learned anything from Fontaine's love of theatrics, it's when to dial up the drama. ]

If you'd like, you're welcome to check my pockets.

[ The three murmur amongst themselves for a handful of seconds before nodding, pointing at both of them. Apparently both of them will need to be searched before the group can make a decision. ]

i'm here again

[godjr]

[ Jack hasn't been there long. He took awhile to pick his motorcycle and crashed it a few times on his way to the city, but made it in the end, and camped out on a powerless motel bed with free samples for a time. He's not sure what to make of any of this. It seems likely Chuck exiled him here. They were about to fight him for the last time, it was all leading somewhere and Jack's plan was to end it or die trying, and then he was here. Nothing else really makes sense.

He's worried, of course. What about Sam and Dean without him there to protect them from his grandfather? But he isn't able to control his portal creating and he'll need to practice and get stronger before he can try to force his way home. He got a job at the bowling alley, thinking it would be somewhere with a pool table that Dean might go looking for. Jack has asked around about his family but his descriptions of them aren't helpful and the name Sam is pretty common.

He senses something. It niggles him. He's walking back from the alley and he feels a fluttering in his heart. Lucifer had the ability to find people he wanted and teleport to them without needing to be prayed to, perhaps this is an archangel ability that he's never pressed on too much or experienced. Either way, it leads him to the garage, and he follows his instincts, confused but curious.

Jack looks around, uncertain why he's there, but he swings around when he hears Sam's voice and then it makes sense. His relief is immediate. His stomach flips in the best way.]

Sam! You're here! That's what it was telling me.

[pagings]

[ for better or for worse, she supposes she could always come back, go shopping for more. the uh is interesting, and for a moment karen suddenly doesn't know if this is going to get very awkward, very quickly, or if there's something logan doesn't want to say aloud. her brow furrows a little, confused, and she's about to say something- that she'll figure it out, that it's fine, that-

but then he's pulling out his wallet, and Karen feels... guilty, in a way. even when she knows it was exactly what she'd been wondering, or that she'd assume would be what would happen. he looks to her again, and it feels a little like he's watching her for something. like he's trying to see, or find, something there.

her head tilts a little, looking at him curiously, and then he says buy me a beer and Karen flashes him another smile. ]

Thank you. [ she says, and then laughs - a little sheepishly. ] Once I find some cash, I will buy you a beer. I think I can manage that.

[ it's another moment that she also realizes he is still looking at her, and her smile turns vaguely questioning. but then he holds his hand out, and she does hand the pizza over to him, following him to the cashier counter. ]

Anything else? [ she says as she lays the items on the counter in front of the still-not-paying-attention cashier. ] You're buying.

[ so yes- in case logan is looking, she is still smiling. ]

garage;

[tataille]

[ The heat in the garage is that thick, baked in kinda heat that clings to your clothes and settles in your lungs. Benny breathes it in, that smell, and it sticks to the back of his throat alongside the scent of old rubber, scorched oil, rusted steel. It ain't all that different from a boatyard, really, just less salt and more dust. Similar bones, same stubborn machinery begging for a firm hand and a little sweet talkin'.

The door groans open behind him, hinges protesting, and Benny steps into the low, humming light like a ghost out of storm fog. There’s dried mud at the cuffs of his jeans, grit on his jacket, and something darker smeared along the heel of one palm, like maybe the last conversation he had didn’t end in a handshake. There's a lot of rough folks out there in the streets at night, and most of them aren't so friendly.

He doesn't expect much of a welcome, and he doesn't get one, which is fine by him.

We're closed.

Benny leans against the doorframe, arms crossed loose across his chest, soaked through from the road and still a little twitchy from, y'know - life. ]

Not lookin' for a full-service tune-up, chief. Just a fuse... or maybe an exorcism, considering the noise my engine’s makin' right now.

did they send him to prison for impersonating a catboy

[faithfall]

[ Adrian curls a hand in front of his mouth and clears his throat, clearly fighting off a laugh. ] My goodness, what horrors you must have witnessed. Perhaps I can recommend that they offer you leave for mental anguish?

[ He lowers his hand so that he can place it over his heart. Very, very seriously, he continues: ] If there's anything I can do to ease your burdens, do inform me.

[mechatheism]

[The confidence with which Jayce initiates the embrace and even go so far as to kiss him is a rush of pain and relief all at once. Brought back to reality, everything feels more raw, and the advantage of this body--its dulled emotions--matters little when said emotions are so severely acute.

He cannot ask for forgiveness, not when he knows Jayce has already given it, unconditionally. He doesn't know how to move forward from here, only knows how to wrap his arms around Jayce's waist, keeping him close as if that's going to make everything hurt less.]

I don't deserve you.

[He says, as if that's going to somehow dissuade Jayce. The one thing he's always been best at is helping others believe in his impossible dream. Viktor desperately wants to believe it it now, even if that dream has been reduced to simple survival. He tilts his head, presses it into the curve of Jayce's shoulder.]

Wherever you go, I will follow.

panorama c':

[kitetsu]

[ was it more predictable that usopp would be out spreading the legend of the great captain to the new world, or that he'd find trouble along the way?

since the scrapyard, zoro hadn't been actively looking for his crewmates, instead keeping an ear to the ground for any signs. better for them if they hadn't been dragged into this, but he liked the idea of them being here and separated even less. that he'd caught the few snatches of conversation at all was a fluke, the few standout words enough to pull his attention from the stand menu he'd been looking over.

not like he hadn't heard usopp talk enough in the brief time they'd known each other.

it wasn't difficult to tell just what was happening, enough that he could confidently step in. slipping an arm loosely between the two, as close as he ever got to peaceful mediation, zoro leveled the vendor with a steady look. ]

It's fine. I've got this one.

[summonbeasts]

[For a moment Maria doesn't quite pick up on The Knave's kind gesture of being viewable. Her attention is on the notion of a code and while she does want to search for it she might as well try to batter down the glass, yes?

So instead the girl begins summoning. At first it's simply one, two, three golden creatures -- birds if one pays attention before they zip into the windows. They appear from golden circles and dash into the glass with sharp, ringing cries. It doesn't take long to see they're doing little of course and that leads to Maria spotting The Knave.

Her brow is mightily furrowed. This glass is far stronger than any she's ever run across and the confusion shows once her gaze meets The Knaves. And yet even when she does make eye contact Maria's first impulse doesn't seem to be to ask for help. At least at first.

What she does note is the water level. It's mostly stopped for now and Maria wonders if that means it's stopped for good or it means to keep rising.]