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

[yeahmagnets]

[ Jesse scoffs a laugh at the Herbalife dig, shaking his head as he settles more comfortably into the passenger seat. Okay, maybe this guy’s legit after all. There’s something disarming about him. Like he's too earnest to be faking it. It's not what he's used to, but he's not complaining. Jesse watches the road ahead as the Hummer picks up speed, dust kicking up in a low plume behind them. ]

Cali, huh? Makes sense. You got that whole, uh, sunshine-and-smoothies vibe.

[ He says it without malice, a little dry, maybe, but not mean. If anything, it’s his way of acknowledging the contrast. River's all bright energy and golden-hour charm, and Jesse, well, he's all bruises and shadows stuffed into an oversized, zipped-up hoodie. His fingers drum absently on the window ledge, then pause. The question takes him a second longer to answer. ]

I'm from New Mexico. The ABQ. I think I kinda...fell outta the sky? I dunno. One second, I was back there, the next I was waking up in some sketchy hospital tent, balls-deep in debt, being patched up by some robot-thing. Not entirely convinced this isn't just a super bad trip, honestly. [ He glances over, like he's checking to see if River’s still picking up what he's putting down. ] You crash land here, too, or just take a wrong exit off the 405?

never be sorry, he is a dweebus

[healbuff]

[River blinks again, confused at the wording of her question.]

Y...es. Yes. I am generally accustomed to being called by my birth name. That's like. Normal. I think?

[wow you got him thinking, this is a deep philosophical question

he shakes his head out of that.]

But yeah, nice to meet you Wanda, all things considered. Could be at a worse time, but here we are.

[Wanda looks like she's seen better days and it's not the prison uniform that has him concerned, but the burn marks.]

Uh. Those haven't been checked yet right? The burns I mean.

[He unlocks his door and opens it up, pausing to assess how she reacts before he moves out.]

Can I see?

[A beat. He might as well let her know even if it makes him sound more suspicious (but his internal intent continues to be straightforward).]

I'm a doctor. I know, I know, too young, but it's not a joke.

[carmesi]

( wanda very faintly hears him ask you okay? before her vision goes dark, and she feels herself go limp. it's a good thing that he's reacted when he did, because now at least she won't be toppling over and hurting herself.

—but, peter shouldn't be too worried (even if it is worrisome that she's fainted), because she's breathing steadily, isn't convulsing, and seems to just have been feeling a little faint, pushing herself past her energy reserves.

crashing into him? probably for the best. )

[nadine_he_loves]

[Nadine lets out a sigh of frustration, both at the knock off Roomba she's presented with and at herself. She'd grabbed a gun over that? It feels ridiculous.]

Of all the possibilities that went through my mind, this wasn't one of them. Um, thanks.

[She hadn't been about to go investigating. Though maybe she ought to rethink that approach, she might have missed out on a free knock off Roomba. It would be irresponsible to just leave it out, terrorizing innocent people. And some small, petty part of her decides it deserves to be taken, for startling her.

And she doubts this guy cares if she has any actual claim to it or not.]

Yeah, sure.

[Who's going to come looking for it?]

[mechatheism]

[This still feels impossible--that they would survive the rune and find themselves in this place, and that they would be together. There is no going back, from what he saw through Jayce's eyes in the ruined future. Viktor fully realizes the depths of what Jayce feels for him and what they are to each other, more closely entwined than he could ever imagine. Self-replicating, self-annihilating. Neither able to exist without the other, selfishly choosing each other over and over again, even without realizing it.

(He thinks of the mage, and how he should be angry, knowing he was wholly sabotaged by some other version of himself. Perhaps later, he'll find the energy to be enraged by it. Right now, the only thing that matters is Jayce.)

Viktor does not deserve even this small amount of solace, but he is still selfish. Jayce leans in and rests his head against his chest and it's difficult not to feel a swell of affection.

It lasts only as long as it takes for him to realize how small Jayce seems. How damaged--how it's his fault.]

You must find me monstrous.

[Not only for what he is, now--some unknowable entity--but for the things he's done. He wants to promise that he will not leave again, but to be here, unable to answer for his crimes, is a great injustice.]

[godjr]

[ Jack intended on going to the vending machine himself because he really wanted Oreos, or at least a version of it, whatever they had here. Cookies. He has a sweet tooth that Sam sometimes tried to curb so he would eat 'healthy,' like any good dad would, but he snuck treats where he could. Sam's not here so he can have all the treats he can get.

He frowns when everything goes suddenly dark. He can see better than average humans in the dark but not crystal clear, a result of his father's power, but it's still disconcerting. He is getting used to that when someone grabs for him, he hears them speaking, and Jack reaches out to steady him. In fact, what he does is grip Eddie by the shirt and pull him up before he can fall over, settling him on his feet again. ]

I am fine, yes. I didn't expect that. It's not a very nice motel, is it?

[ Jack has been to multiple motels by now, and none of them are good. What he hasn't seen is a very good hotel yet, that's far too fancy for them, but he prefers the bunker to anywhere else. But he's stuck here now. ]

[kingsroads]

[ There's something here. Something in the shadows, watching them. Strange knows it's there, he knows it's there and it's waiting. The darkness doesn't scare him. He's lived in darkness before, surrounded by shadows for what felt like years but what he knows was only a month or so. This is different from that fairy's darkness. But it's similar enough that he's hesitant.

And if he's hesitant, the young woman certainly must be terrified. At least, that's what Strange is interpreting her hesitation as. When he hears the door unlock, he throws it open and reaches in, attempting to take Gwen's hand and hopefully pull her out of here.

She doesn't know what to do, he's making the decision for the both of them. ]

Move! We should get out of here before we have to do this all again!

[servusfidelis]

Then let us hope the situation is illuminated shortly.

[Ha, ha. Good one. The jokes put Lawrence at ease and earns a small chuckle. It's a relief to be in friendly company, regardless of if Monts used the correct title. He's too polite to try and correct her, especially since it's dark: who can tell the difference between a priest or a monsignor or a cardinal when they can't see a foot in front of their face?]

I'd like that very much. Thank you. [And he just kind of assumes they're out of luck on tea, much as he'd prefer that to the plain water, rip.] I am Lawrence-- er, Cardinal Lawrence, rather. [Now he feels bad that that might come across as correcting her, but he's just going to keep going through the interaction.] What is your name, my child?

[kingsroads]

A different genre could work...here, do you have anyone in particular you're looking for? Wring out some of that water in your coat on the floor and I can attempt to scry and see if they've been brought to this world with us.

[ After all, it's entirely possible that multiple people from the same place showed up here. It's not like either of them know how this place works, after all. Why not give it a chance? ]

[healbuff]

[There's many ways River can retort. "If text is suddenly appearing that means it can do other shit." Instead, he imagines his friend, the medium, gently chiding him for being uselessly crass and he channels her by responding to the more important question.

He taps his forehead to indicate something else.]

Can you read minds? Or talk to other people? Telepathy. I can't do that, but if you can, we have a chance to probe a head outside and call for help.

[carcajous]

[ Yeah, by the time they get to talking about checking anything, Logan's already appeared at the driver's side window. He raps on it with his knuckles. Inside, they're—

Okay, there's two of them. They look like kids, and normally he'd clock those pointy elf ears as a mutation, but out here, who the hell knows? They're obviously not human, though, and something about that makes him take a little more interest.

That, and the fact that they don't have a goddamn clue what they're doing behind the wheel. He doesn't need more than two seconds of looking to figure that one out. He's also got just enough patience to wait out those two seconds before he knocks again, harder. Listen, he's trying to help, or else he'd have taken off. He can hear them, by the way. Apparently, they can't hear him.

Fuck it. He wrenches open the driver's door altogether with a sharp metallic squawk. Now there's definitely no missing him. ] You gonna sit there shouting or you wanna get off this road some time before sunrise?

[onychinus]

That looked like more than a peek.

[ it's a simple statement. but, sylus does little to appear any more or less intimidating. it seems like it's not even really on his radar. ] If it wasn't me, I'd say you would have probably gotten away with it.

[ an observation, but practice and skill was difficult to ignore. just like how one could only have this sort of reaction if they were that confident. that, and that she was probably proficient enough at reading between the lines to know he wasn't the type who would seek out the authorities.

still, he does cock his head slightly towards her. is he expecting her to explain herself, or is he just interested in getting a move on? either way, he doesn't exactly provide anymore insight into what he's thinking. ]

Sealed In

[godjr]

[ What might snap Benny out of it is a very loud pounding against the door. Not just like someone hitting it with their fists, but it is a clang that sounds more like an entire car is slamming into it. The room shakes, the floor shakes, the door shakes, but it somehow stays still despite the sort of angelic power behind his kicks that could have knocked the entire building down. Unfortunately, the door holds, and Jack's confused face can be seen in the window. He looks barely old enough to drink and not unlikely to have the sort of punch that would shake walls, but he tries again and it stays up.

That's annoying. What's the point in having all this angel strength if it can't help him open a door when he saw someone standing on the other side, maybe in trouble? Jack doesn't like that. He frowns and kicks it one more time, the floor quaking, and shakes his head. No use. ]

Hello?

[ This time he knocks almost politely on the window rather than trying to slam it down, waving a hand at Benny on the other side. He's tried to say hello a few times and it doesn't seem to be working, so Jack disappears for a moment before reappearing with some paper he found. He doesn't know sign language and he's never played charades so he wouldn't be much good in this situation.

He waves and then writes 'HELLO I'M JACK' onto it, showing it in the window for him. 'ARE YOU OK?' ]

falskd

[servusfidelis]

[Lawrence is likewise about to reply with something Polite Yet Strongly Worded when this gentleman starts SMOKING? SIZZLING? How does a normal world and normal human priest react to this, other than having a brief and panicked memory of having gone to the cinema and watched The Exorcist in the 70s. Surely there is some mistake, he hopes in vain, but that man is hissing like a cat and smoking like a summer barbecue.

They're making a bit of a scene. A couple of locals are backing away and staring at the two of them. Lawrence, rooted to the spot like a deer in the headlights, instinctively does the opposite of what he's asked-- he clutches his pectoral cross tightly, as if the Holy Ghost will give him an answer. Or Father Karras' boxing abilities.]

I-- I will not!

[He did not sign up for this. He wants to go home and pass out on his couch, but here he is: facing down some creature of the night in a goddamn supermarket. Lawrence glances down to the cross held fast in his hand, then to Laszlo, and takes a tentative step backwards.]

I did not mean to hurt you. [A beat.] I didn't even know it could hurt you. We can... [Seriously, it's not his job to exorcise (?) or stake (???) this guy, right?] ...we can simply walk away, and leave one another in peace.

[mississippis]

[ She silently muddles through what the Professor’s said and she works on getting the bike into the back of the van with his help.

Logan. Sent back. Fifty years. To the Professor’s time?

Rogue doesn’t have a clue about what she’d been being brought back to in her world, doesn’t realize they were going to ask her to use her powers to take Kitty’s and then take over keeping Logan in the past. Wouldn’t even know that that’s something Kitty could do.

But the man in front of her seems to think that what she’s said is enough to link her to the Logan he knows, and, frankly, she’s having enough trouble wrapping her mind around the time travel portion without jumping into trying to understand the multiverse too. So she’ll take it.

Once she’s settled in the passenger seat, seatbelt clicked into place — that sudden stop in Logan’s pickup when she’d been 17 and he’d been thrown through the windshield had stuck with her — she thinks maybe it’s worth asking more about. But he beats her to it with a question. ]

Oh. Right. [ It’s been so long since she’s had a real conversation, the one about leasing the motorcycle aside, that offering her name hadn’t even occurred to her. ] Rogue. I go by Rogue. Been awhile since anyone’s cared what my name is.

[kingsroads]

[ Blissfully unaware of the commotion down the hall and Marc's distracted moment, Strange is perfectly happy to keep yammering on. Because a surgeon! That sounds like it would be damned useful. He had plenty of things to do in the peninsula, but if he managed to craft together a spell to mend wounds or staunch bleeding...perhaps the war could have ended quicker.

He'd have liked that. Everything lasted a bit too long in the end. ]

It's a pity your surgeon isn't here. I'd love to pick his brain about certain things. I have a theory that one's upbringing relates just as much to one's style of magic as one's personality and learning. For instance, I ran an estate, so my magic is more jack of all trades than a specialized scholar.

[ And he was desperate for attention, so his magic is a bit showy. But that's a thought that has only crossed Strange's mind once or twice—he'd prefer not to dwell on it. ]

[motiontocompel]

[ It's something like a flashing sensation that gathers his attention, a pulsing like a strong heartbeat or a metronome that syncs up to a fist pounding from the other side. He can't hear it, but if his eyes aren't entirely deceiving him (again), there is someone there on the other side.

Shocked into action, he blinks several times and realizes the man opposite him is twisting an imaginary lock. He nods, emphatic, mouthing several words before holding up a finger — one second — and struggling to wade away. Soaked now from the churn, teeth threatening to chatter, he digs for something dry or something that writes wet and finally comes across a sharpie.

Coming back to the window, he writes backwards in large, capital letters against the glass so that the imposing figure on the other side doesn't need to translate the words. Arguing with the water and the ink-based markers causes him to have to pass over the letters more than once, but eventually he gets the whole message out, scratching it into the glass with the damn thing clasped in his fist like a toddler just learning to write. ]

LOCK OUT BACK
COPY THE CODE
[ Beneath, he spreads the binder open, pressing it against the window and holding it there. The symbols are complicated and he isn't so sure he'd be able to remember the right order. Hovering above it, just over his own writing, he mouths please.

He doesn't know who this person is, but they're looking like they're about Foggy's only choice at the moment. And he most certainly doesn't want to die here. ]

[smilefornow]

"Ah, is it that obvious?"

Of course it is. He knows it is. But that's what you say. Arthur is keenly aware of all the proper idioms and phrases that are imperative to communication. They're very important, where he comes from.

At least it seems as though she isn't going to attack. Good. That's good. He'd prefer not to get beaten up, and she certainly looks like she could snap him in two. And he'd held his own in the death fights! Barely.

"You know, the funny thing is, I'm really quite good with machines. Usually. I was nine or ten the last time I saw a functional car. I may as well be trying to tame a dragon."

[cryptsleeper]

I could think of someone, but I don't know if there's a chance they would be here.

[Said as he's walking over to get his coat all the same.]

How do you imagine the attempt might backfire, given the components needed?

[argumentiste]

[ Though she would swear up and down that she doesn't appreciate her brother sometimes, there is a quiet acknowledgement that she does appreciate how he can be more level-headed in alarming situations like this. And the fact that he's here with her is more of a comforting balm than she would ever admit to him aloud. Especially after everything they had gone through together with the other Scions and the Warrior of Light. But she won't be acknowledging that right now. Right now she's the very opposite of grateful. ]

Oh, I'm sorry. [ She's so offended. Livid in fact. ] Was I meant to see through the fields of wheat and fog?

[ She releases her grip on his lapel to gesture wildly out towards the crumpled hood. ]

I don't see how they're alive. This thing is huge and we were driving so fast. That force alone -

[ And it's just at that moment that she hears the wrench of metal behind her. A shiver races up her spine and she turns, wide eye and open mouthed at the man (definitely not a creature) that she has to assume they had run over.






And proceeds to scream, grab the crystal hanging from the rearview mirror and shooting a jolt of lightning out towards him. ]

By the Twelve - don't tell me it's another Ascian!!

[flyoctofly]

There's something about Samus that drew Eight's attention when she entered the store. Or maybe before. It might have been her height. He'd seen human bones in the Shellendorf Institute, marveled at their size alongside a throng of Inkfish. Now here he was fighting his way through humans, all of whom seemed to be at least a little taller than him. And when everyone's a little taller than you, you start to feel like a clownfish in a pachinko machine.

Or maybe it's what she's wearing. A jacket over a jumpsuit is definitely the most unusual outfit he's seen so far today. One of the Freshest too, the saturated jewel-tone blues contrasting the yellow of her hair without overpowering either. It's a powerful look, and the jacket doesn't detract from it a bit.

He watches her indirectly as she evaluates him. Not going to be the last time today someone will do that, he suspects. He watches her with curiosity as she pulls out the cigarettes and trades it for his prize. Ah, it's that kind of world. Did he do this kind of trading back in the Octarian army? Or did the Octolings in his unit share the little forbidden treasures they found without strings? He wishes he could remember.

She hands him the umbrella, and he smiles, slight but sincere. "Thank you," he says, looking her in the eyes.

Her eyes-

That's it!

It's the look. That look. The look like a shark's tooth or a stonefish spine. He'd seen it in Agent 3's eyes that day in the Deepsea Metro when they broke the blender and when they were fighting through their sanitation and maybe, when he tries to fill in the holes of his memory with his imagination, even as they marched into the ring with DJ Octavio.

And knowing Agent 3 saved his life once.

She turns to leave. He hesitates. What would he even ask of her anyway? Maybe it's better to just let her get on with her day, find connections elsewhere.

"Wait."

He tucks the umbrella under his arm. Deep breaths, Eight. You're doing this.

"...You're an Elite. Among humans, I mean. I can tell."

[healbuff]

Not the first time I've been told that, or at least something akin to it. But hey, nothing wrong with smoothies.

[So much protein you can fit in one! And though he says that, it's all in jest. He listens to Jesse's tale and then shakes his head at his question.]

I crash landed too. Hell of a migraine. Had to make sure I didn't get a concussion, but I trust my senses. Unfortunately, shit's real and it's gonna keep being real.

[River carefully passes a car to enter a free space to his left.]

And you're not tripping, trust me. I've seen trips and I can safely say you're sober. Now whether that's a good thing or not, that's up to you.

wildcard variation i'm your sister

[argumentiste]

[ The irony of being plunged into darkness albeit in a strange world is not lost on Alisaie. The difference being is that this darkness isn't permanent. They're quickly assured that this is quite normal and that it's truly just a matter of time until it comes back. Until then, there's nothing to be done.

Well. Maybe not nothing. The Leveilleur twins have never been the idle sort. Restlessness and curiosity had been nestled in their DNA so it stands to reason that they're in agreement that instead of sitting in the dark they should find shelter elsewhere. ]

I'm not sure we'll be able to afford another room. I have to imagine that anything with light is going to be busy. We can't be the only ones with the same idea.

[ She pats down her cargo pant pocket only to sigh. ]

For the - I left something in our room. We should head back before going anywhere else.

[godjr]

[ Jack has been taking his time making a decision and that is mostly because he thinks it is practical to get a car, but he really, really wants to get a motorcycle instead. It's a fight between common sense and the excitement of a youth who never got to have a vehicle before, and he wants to maybe get a long coat and sunglasses and pretend he's in the Matrix. None of the cars really appeal to him either, nothing is the Impala.

He is broke out of his consideration by a woman waving at him and he lifts his hand in a return wave. ]

Hello. Bonjour!

[ Jack's never spoken French before but now he can say he has, and it sounds very pretty. He turns his attention to the two cars that she's looking at and gives them a serious once-over. It is an important question and he wants to give his new friend a good answer. ]

I like the colorful one too. [ He admits. ] I don't think they'd give you a car that wouldn't work on the road.

[ Jack doesn't know if they would or not, it just doesn't seem very logical to him. How can they get their loan back if the car doesn't work at all? They can't go make the money if they can't drive it back and forth. He's never done a loan before so this is all very new to him. His quizzical brow furrows. ]

But the only thing I'd say is having a trunk or a nice backseat can be very helpful if you plan on driving other people.

[ The Impala can carry all four of them easily within it when they need to go on missions together. He doesn't think his family would fit in her colorful car because Dean is tall and Sam is very tall and he's not sure he would fit in it at all. Maybe hunched over. Not that she's so tall though, she's a reasonable height, but still. ]

You've never seen a car before?

[punctually]

[ peter feels her go limp against him and the low buzz of panic promptly filters in. is she... oh, shit— ]

Hey. Hey. [ he shakes her a little, gently, half expecting her to answer but a bigger part of him knowing he probably won't get one. his other arm wraps around her to hold her more securely as he glances around them, but like he'd seen earlier, there's nothing as far as he can see. ] Fuck. Shit.

[ okay. okay. this is fine. he can work with this. first things first, he checks if she's still breathing, which she thankfully still is. that's good. he thinks briefly about going back towards the scrapyard to find yom crook and the medbots, but the thought of getting saddled with more debt makes him hesitate. they'd probably put it on her tab and that's nothing she needs right now. squinting in the opposite direction towards where the city should be, he breathes out harshly and scoops wanda up in his arms, walking around the truck to the passenger side. it's a two hour drive, but if he floors it, maybe he can cut it down a little.

he manages to maneuver her carefully into the seat, making sure to buckle her in securely before taking off his jacket, flipping it inside out and tucking it around her shoulders. it's not a blanket, but it'll do. next, her bike gets tied down in the back, held in place by some straps and crates keeping it upright. not the best, but again, it'll have to do. from there, all that's left is to continue on down the road and hope she'll wake up during the trip, or he can get her some medical attention. ]