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TEST DRIVE ∞ May 2025
Test Drive ∞ May 2025
The First Collision
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.
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:
TDM threads can be canon if characters are accepted. Top-levels made to the TDM should be open to all.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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:
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
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.
> 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.
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.
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.
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.
Main Navigation ::: ⇅
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no subject
He's been on the receiving end of others being defensive (and been defensive himself) to know what that sounds like and it's enough to make him reflect on how aggressive or sassy he had sounded. Which then, naturally, a faint wrinkle forms between his brow...which only continues to grow deeper as she continues to speak.
Everything she's saying is being translated correctly so he understands it but maybe it's the absurdity of the last several hours catching up with him or the speed at which she speaks - but regardless when she's done there's a pause. ]
I'll take your word for it. So if the test didn't teach you, then I take it you didn't read the manual this came with either?
no subject
—And then it hits her, the agony of the fact none of that is there and he really expected her to like, read that? Lottie looks at him, her own brows furrowed (deeply, then minute, like she's aware of how mean she might look when he's doing her a favor). It's hard to get a genuine read on her, what she's feeling, right up until she laughs.
It's a weird little haha, coupled with a look of vague disbelief. ]
What, like— [ A pause, as she thumbs at her hair. ] did you read your manual?
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And when she starts to laugh, well. That also results him in being very confused and furrowing his brow even deeper than it had before. ]
Yes? That's the point of a manual. Why is that funny?
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No, it's not— [ Fuck. She coughs into her hand and clarifies, like she meant this all along: ] I would never think that's funny. I just—
[ She wishes she could just. Smooth out that wrinkle on his face. Make his brows less taut so she can play this off smoother, more polite and cool like she meant to. ]
—um, couldn't find one in my car..
no subject
He shouldn't have to worry about someone he's just met on the side of the road. In fact, it was probably a bad idea to. That would make focusing on paying off his debt and getting out of here that much more difficult.
Unfortunately for Lottie he communicates none of that, remaining as furrowed-browed as before albeit looking a little less confused. A moment passes. Then another. And then he just sighs. ]
Do you want me to teach you then?
no subject
She's basically starting at zero which is why she's so surprised when he offers to— help (after that sigh, oh, that sigh, she visibly winces at the sound like it stings). There's a beat where she shifts her weight from one foot to the other, thinking it over.
No— thinking him, over. Would it be so bad to have someone.. Teach her? As humiliating as it is, admitting by proxy she knows nothing? What if she looks stupid? What if he thinks she looks stupid?? ]
R.. Really?? [ She sounds hopeful. Then when she wonders how desperate it sounds, she tries to taper it down. ] Like, for real?
no subject
He catches the wince and wonders again, for the second time, if he's coming across too harshly. It would be easier to drive off of and leave her to her now-oil filled car if she were an asshole. But then she goes and sounds hopeful and, well. It's not her fault that her car didn't come with a manual. Nor is it her fault that he's in a worse mood than usual thanks to the series of events leading up to this. ]
I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it.
[ He heads off towards his car and is back moments later with his own manual. They aren't the same models, but he'd gone through enough cars before settling on this one to know that the variations under the hood were slight. ]
It's probably easier to start with what you don't know or want to know.
no subject
She's absolutely trying to lean over his shoulder to see what the manual looks like, only having a little bit of height on him from the impractical heels she still has on. ]
All of my problems are going away!
[ Because of— ..Hm. Nameless car vagabond? No. Carman? Manualdude? Forget his (very reasonable) question of asking where she wants to start, she completely bypasses that to ask something Extremely Important™. ]
What's your name, anyway?
no subject
As for her expressing it, he doesn't have any strong feelings against it. Sure he briefly shuts his eyes, but it isn't out of irritation it's just because it had been a little close to his ear and well, he just hadn't been expecting it, okay? If there's anything he might have any kind of strong feeling towards it's the light touch on his shoulder. His shoulders tense at her touch but he doesn't brush it off, having already realized that this is likely just the person she is and outside of this interaction it's unlikely he'll interact with her again.
Briefly his gaze flickers down to those ankle-breaking heels before back to his manual. As long as she doesn't hug him this is probably fine. And it's also probably fine that he tells her his name. He'd weighed the options of coming up with an alias. This place screamed the kind of place it would be easy to get a hold of fake papers but he had ultimately decided it would be more trouble than it would be worth. Especially when Yom Crook already, somehow, had his name in his ledger. ]
Cassian. And you?
no subject
—Not that she's particularly excited about the idea of learning, either. But, maybe this won't be so bad? So far this guy seems know-it-all-y, sure, but nice. Prepared. He's the only person actually here with her, dirtying his hands so her still manicured ones can only be slightly smudged. That has to count for something!! So it's with little hesitation that she gives him: ]
I'm Lottie!
[ The woman he, luckily, can't google. The one who is, going oh at finally figuring out an answer to his question. In fact, it's said in a normal volume, this time. ]
And I want to know all the important things about my car.
no subject
But, he reasons, so long as he treats this as nothing more than a completely different galaxy, he isn't that far from home. He just has to find a way off this planet first. And teach Lottie everything important about her car apparently. ]
That's not - [ He lets out another breath through his nose, apparently trying to show some level of restraint and not sigh again. Somehow he manages to wrangle his exasperation into place. ] Right.
[ After one quick check that the oil levels in her car are acceptable he brings the hood down, spreading the manual out on top of it. Before launching into his very fly by the seat of his pants lesson he casts one more look at the hulking thing and back towards her. ]
Is there a reason you picked this one? [ From the looks of things it's a medical vehicle. ] Were you a doctor or a medic?
no subject
It's painful, and there are times where she's finding her nails more interesting than his explanations but she stays. Gets distracted by his voice for a little bit and then his bangs. She's rubbing at her eyes (carefully, as there's still precious mascara and eyeliner dotting her lids) when he turns back. Looks at the dirty, ugly, little thing she chose after he's finished. ]
Oh, yeah, no..
[ Why? There's many reasons. It was the least ugly car on the lot. There was a certain irony to the girl who's allergic to everything driving the medical van (been in them, more times than she can count). The desperate need to have maybe-forgotten-about medical supplies stashed somewhere in the car found and for her benefit. ]
Not that doctors are bad! I love doctors.. I'm just not one. I guess I wanted to see if it had stuff in it.. You know, like painkillers, band-aids. Blankets, a drink or something.
[ Alien Benadryl, if she was lucky. ]
..And they [ Yom and crew, she means!! ] were very insistent I pick one, so.
no subject
But even he needs a break. There's a reason he never actively sought teaching out as a viable career choice (amongst many other reasons). ]
And did you?
[ ...Honestly that reasoning is super sound. Meanwhile he had been more concerned with the health of his car that anything else that may have ended up in the trunk would have just been an added bonus. Or not a bonus in his case. Whatever. He could pawn things or trade them. Maybe. But it does lead him to wonder why she'd anticipate needing those things. ]
no subject
[ It's not that his lesson isn't helpful, it's the unfortunate truth that Lottie's attention span is woefully small for an adult. That's the consequence of being chronically online, she's stuck watching everyone's Instagram stories over and over for entertainment. She doesn't have that, though, only Cassian and his too-low car.
Her heads tilts towards it, taking a second to stare at it. She wonders how he can even fit in there before she notices.. Her brows scrunch soft, voice taking an amused shade to it. ]
..Hey, what's with that thing in the back?
[ The big, unnecessary, spoiler she's so curiously pointing at. ]
no subject
That? [ He glances towards his car and the eyesore on the back of it. The lilt of amusement in her voice doesn't go unnoticed and now it's his turn to go on the defensive. ] It's a spoiler.
[ That in itself doesn't explain very much though, does it? Or maybe it does, he doesn't know. ]
It's supposed to help stabilize the car at high speeds.
no subject
Okay.. How fast do you plan on going?
[ The explanation curbs the impending tease, forces her to plant it deep in the pockets of her too-tight jeans. ]
no subject
What does prompt whatever he wants to label this feeling, is the fact that he hears that lilt again in her voice. This feels like he's being set up for some joke. ]
Fast?
[ It's both an answer and a question because he can tell something is up. He just doesn't know where this is going. ]
no subject
I dunno.. [ Here comes the big whammy: ] I think it looks silly.
[ Too big and too annoying to have slapped on top of your car to drive, let alone function properly with. ]
no subject
Despite the fact that Yom Crook and his crew offering to make adjustments to his car free of charge, it still didn't mean he wanted to keep the damn thing. Keeping it had simply come down to the fact that he hadn't trusted they would stay true to their word. And it's not even that he thought it looked cool (it did look kind of stupid). It's that it had been practical in its use and this place seemed exactly like the sort of place where he'd have to drive fast for any number of reasons he's sure he'd eventually find out.
And despite very sound reasoning all he can muster in the moment is - ]
That's - [ His brow furrows again. Apparently he's decided to be defensive. ] It has a purpose. What does it matter if it looks silly?
no subject
She'd probably backpedal and go ooh if he gave her that reasoning, feel a little bad for poking fun but he doesn't. Just furrows his brows and she stares, tries to wriggle the grin stretching her lips down to something nonchalant.
After a pause, Lottie softly shrugs. ]
It doesn't! [ Or does it?? ..Not really. ] So long as you like it, that's all that matters. Right?
no subject
(It was the least he could do, yes, yes!)
All of which is to say his knowledge of Diadem isn't that much deeper than Lottie's and probably will still hit him like a bantha when he inevitably comes face to face with something so, very unique to Diadem.
Or maybe it's already arrived in the form of one, Lottie Person. ]
I can show you. That it has a purpose.
[ It isn't as if he really has anything to prove to someone he's met on the side of the road. It's just a car with a spoiler. But does he? There's probably a version of Cassian who hadn't just spent the last several hours before this harassed and held captive in a jungle by a group of idiots who would have agreed to disagree with her and left it at that.
But this isn't that version of him. Apparently this version of him wants to prove a point. Or at the very least justify it in his mind without having it (and this) haunt him for however long he remains grounded here. That's totally what this is about and it definitely isn't the least bit ridiculous. ]
no subject
(Why can't she be like that? She wrings at her hair, long locks of dyed green curled around nails too long.) ]
Ummm..
[ All of that nonchalant tease seeps right out of her, buried and renewed with curiosity and apprehension. Lottie's never been in a car that went faster than 60.. It's not a no, the way she stares at him, and then the car. No one would offer to do this unless it were safe, right..? And he does know a lot about cars.. He wouldn't put her in danger, right? ]
Sure? [ Holy shit? Is this what it means to live life to the fullest.. Saying yes to things?! ] Like, right now??
no subject
(Though this sudden desire to defend his car's spoiler and by extension his choices deserves to be laughed at.)
He bristles - and then his haunches seem to lower as he watches her body language shift. ]
No, tomorrow. [ It's said as dryly as the look he gives her. A beat. ] Yes, right now. Unless you were in a hurry.
[ Oh good. There's still some sensibility and consideration for others left in him.
He'd seen the flicker of apprehension in her features. For all the bright-eyed sparkling that she'd blasted him seconds before, he'd seen several times over now what it looked like when someone teetered on the edge of something unknown with an equal measure of curiosity and caution. He'd encouraged them before, but this was an entirely different scenario - and one with far less stakes than he was used to being in. ]
no subject