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

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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

[thetruefocus]

Charles has been volunteering at the hospital since he truly cannot think of what else to do. The job market is not very useful for him and he doesn't know how to use his particular set of skills to make money yet. There is not a big cry for academia, apparently. People barely seem literate. It didn't turn out to be a brilliant idea given that the voices have started to get to him, and the hospital isn't a place for quiet. But at least he feels like he's accomplishing something.

The wave of loud voices along with the harsh sounds of beeps and people running from one emergency to the next hits him hard. Charles rarely experienced being in a city for long because he knew how difficult it was for him, and that was when he was at full control and power and could handle it. Right now, it's been years since he used them, and he's struggling. It isn't intentional, him spreading his psychic pain, and he doesn't know he's doing it until he hears her speak.

He senses her then and it's a strange shift, since he's only come one other psychic or psychic-adjacent powered individual in his life. "No, I apologize. I didn't know anyone else could feel it."

[magike]

It had been a sensation unlike anything that Rowena had ever felt before. Whilst she'd been around psychics before, their power seemed to pale in comparison to what she felt from him: the emotional pain, the long-distance mental communication. Far more than a simple seer or medium.

"Likely more than myself did."

Unless, for some very strange reason, she'd been the target of it. Or someone seeking another with psychic powers. Though if he were to be believed, he hadn't consciously done it. That was also possible for someone with little control over their power.

"Do I earn a name after that?"

[thetruefocus]

"I'm afraid I've never spent so much time in a city. The overabundance of people here is causing trouble."

Charles used to be in perfect control of his gifts but even then large crowds gave him some struggles. Sorting through the vast majority of minds quickly took effort. But it's been years since he was this open and fragile to the loud voices around him. In his future, he was eventually able to balance his powers far better, able to silence an entire museum and pause everyone inside it. That is decades from now.

He can see her now that they're talking, having followed her voice to where she is astral projecting. He can't tell what she was precisely doing only that it opened her up to his accidental wandering. He's developed two way communication many times before but not quite like this.

"Charles Xavier. I apologize again. I'm not usually so impolite."

[magike]

She walks again down the hall, keeping the conversation going as she looks again at the different rooms. Considering that Rowena had been trying to get a mental map of the hospital rather than look for anything specific she turns that to now finding an empty room.

"Are you in the hospital?"

She doesn't specify whether she's thinking of him as a patient of just here. Rowena supposes that it doesn't really matter, to her.

But she isn't done, still thinking on what he'd said, curious about why he might not have been in a city much but not yet curious enough to ask why.

"What had you been trying to do?"

[thetruefocus]

"Yes, I'm downstairs volunteering. I haven't found out what to do quite yet. There's an empty room two doors down to the right." How does he know that? Well, he has eyes everywhere, and also he knows where she is. While Charles himself does not plan on going up there as talking alone in a room would be strange for either of them, he projects an illusion of himself inside.

He seems like a generally ordinary man in a wheelchair with dark tousled longer hair and vivid sharp blue eyes. But his smile is polite and warm when she comes inside. He continues to do what he's asked to in person, but his mind is with her.

"I'm used to living in less populated areas. The city has become very difficult for my mind to contain." Thus the pain. Voices at all hours, pounding in his ears until he goes a little mad from it. He's barely slept since he arrived, eyes red-rimmed because of it. "I must have accidentally drawn you in."

[magike]

Seeing him in the room hardly surprises her when she's a projection herself, though rather than remain standing Rowena opts to lean against the bed that's in the room. His own projection appears as solid as her own, no one realised she wasn't actually there until they touched her, and she's curious as to whether his image is similar.

"I suspect I may not have felt anything ordinarily."

If she hadn't been casting her spell that psychic element in this moment wouldn't have existed.

"Is it going to be a regular thing?"

[thetruefocus]

"I am not used to people with psychic abilities being around. There was only one other person in my world capable of it, that I know of, otherwise I might have shielded better."

If he thought Emma was around he would have been more cautious, or rather, if they did touch minds, he would have known it was her. This is something he'll eventually learn to handle better, when he meets other telepaths like Jean Grey, and the world of psychics widens up. It's a good lesson though; this is not his world. There may be dozens of people here that can sponge off him accidentally.

"I do not think so, now that I'm aware of how open it is." It's an added amount of pressure that he'll have to deal with, shielding himself on a stronger level in case of other telepaths out there, but he can handle one more thing. Probably. He'll just have a continued terrible headache over it. "You're not a telepath, but you're astral projecting, may I ask how?"

[magike]

"I'm not psychic either."

His phrasing gives Rowena plenty, telling her enough about his worlds and what he was used to, even from just a few short sentences. He called himself a telepath; people with other abilities were familiar, even if other psychics were not, though he wasn't familiar with magic.

"I'm able to astral project because I'm a witch."

Rowena says it as if it should simply answer his question, and in her world, those familiar with magic would find that it did answer their question, though she was already aware of his lack of familiarity with magic.

"Would you prefer me in person?"

[thetruefocus]

"A witch? Fascinating." As far as Charles knows, that isn't a thing in his world. He could be wrong, he doesn't know everything, but he probably would have come across someone else in the astral plane if they did by now. He has no reason to doubt her.

"I'm a mutant. As far as I know in my world, we're the only supernatural entities." There are no Avengers in his world, no gods or demons or creatures. Just the mutants and the humans who hate them. He finds this place so exceptionally interesting, even if it's also driving him crazy to be there. So many unique people with curious backgrounds. He'd rather be home, but at least it isn't boring.

"I can meet you somewhere if you'd like to meet in person."

[magike]

There's a small inclination of no in her expression. She'd end up meeting him in person at some point.

The idea though that mutants were the only other beings in his world both amused and intrigued her.

"Supernatural beings are often fantastic at staying hidden." The smart ones, anyway, given how many foolishly killed in the open. Would God have created a world so different, one with abilities just like his and nothing else? She suspects so, given his seeming amusement in viewing the world after their brief meeting.

"You're born with your capabilities?"

[thetruefocus]

"It's difficult to stay hidden from me." It's not him being arrogant, it's the truth, especially with Cerebro. It's possible that a creature might not be someone he can read the mind of, but he would've heard through other people's minds if there were true bumps in the night. It would be comforting in a way if there were others, if it wasn't basically mutants against the rest, even if his dreams for peace are something he still strives for.

"Yes, our powers begin during puberty. Our genetic makeup is different from humanity, something I studied in laboratories and then in person." Charles has his doctorate in genetics and he's quite the nerd at heart, he loves science and discovery so deeply. Education just became the stronger passion in him once he found his fellow mutants.

"It's become part of evolution, growing in size and variation over the years. I'm told in our future there is a large population of mutants from what I know." It is humbling to know and also incredible. He didn't know of any of his kind until Cerebro, and he already did know it grew by the day, by the year, but the level he's heard of is more than he imagined.

[magike]

It might not be meant to be arrogant, and Rowena can recognise that, but absolute power and certainty often sounds arrogant regardless. She's known enough powerful beings to know that.

"Magic isn't similar. There are many sources of magic, and even those who are not witches can use it."

In her world, anyway. Those who are not witches are far more limited in power, and even witches who bargain for magic can do far less than a natural witch. Working with nature instead of against it helps.

"Though supernatural beings can be genetic. Werewolves having pups, or turning others through a bite."

For example, and very casually said despite how unpleasant aspects of it were.

[thetruefocus]

"Are some witches born with greater potential power at their fingertips, or is it learned?"

Charles is genuinely fascinated! It's a subject he knows nothing about and he loves learning. He finds inherited abilities particularly interesting for the obvious reasons, but he would enjoy to learn more either way. There are a lot of things about this situation that frustrates him, but the occasional glimpse into other lives has been the only real upside.

"Werewolves too. Amazing. So it is both genetic and the bite must cause the change like an infection into the blood stream and modify the DNA." Charles may be showing his nerdy scientist side a little bit, but it's a much better feeling than the pain in his brain at all hours of the day. He'd much rather be distracted by this than that.

[magike]

"Witches who are born witches tend to have the greatest power." As evidenced by Rowena and those in the great covens. Witches who were weaker in power or who learned their magic without being born to it typically didn't join a coven.

"Whilst magic can be learned, those who are not born to it usually can hold less power."

She says it very casually, even if Rowena is in the first camp. A witch born with her magic, with that potential.

"I honestly haven't thought much about how other species breed."

[thetruefocus]

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