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The Diadem ([personal profile] thediadem) wrote in [community profile] diademooc2025-05-15 08:42 am
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TEST DRIVE ∞ May 2025

Test Drive ∞ May 2025
The First Collision
©
Jump ⇅ :: ArrivalPanoramaFringesInvite 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
SettingTakenReservesApplications ::: ⇅ 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

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
©
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


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.
summonbeasts: (013)

Maria Renard | Castlevania Nocturne

[personal profile] summonbeasts 2025-05-19 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
NEW DRIVER;
[You see that car lurching along the road? Maybe you blow past it without a backwards look or maybe you slow down just to enjoy the spectacle until the driver finally manages to get the car they've been abusing onto the side of the road.

The exclamation comes as the driver's side door opens.]


BLOODY HELL!

[The blonde that pops out begins rooting around in the car itself with the anger and vitriol of someone who has had a long, bad day. Her hair is tangled but apparently decent enough to get her hand through as she pushes her hair out of her face and huffs, her expression wickedly angry right now.]

That can't be how you normally work. Where is that manual?!


SEALED IN;
[Maria typically likes to think she's a touch more clever than Richter. In this moment though she realizes that perhaps she ought to give him a load more credit, teasingly or not. She knew from simple word of mouth around that medicine was in short supply. Things weren't quite so advanced in her time of course but she has no trouble recognizing signs on the sides of crates.

When she steps in to retrieve the crates it's with the best of intentions. The instant she hears something buzz though she whips around, water buoying up and drenching her further as she tenses. The teenager is quick to summon a little ball of light just above one fingertip, hands held poised as if she's ready to do some sort of spell or such.

Then the water keeps moving. In fact it begins churning, far more than her now still form could produce, and her attention snaps down to it as it surges up to knee level suddenly. Once the computer lights up her attention snaps back to it.

"Release code required for exit."

Maria's expression goes from tight determination to immediate confusion.]


Code?


WILDCARD;
[Feel free to drop any prompt you like here! PMs and PPs @ [plurk.com profile] goodluckstarfighter welcome for any plotting you might desire.]
exarched: (pic#17858802)

new driver

[personal profile] exarched 2025-05-21 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ He does move past at first--these vehicles don't seem to be in the best condition and he has been having a bit of a bumping ride himself--but upon looking in the rear-view mirror and seeing the car go off to the side...well, G'raha isn't one to simply walk away from someone in need. (Whether or not that is welcomed is an entirely different story.)

Turning his own rickety vehicle around is a mini-trail in and of itself, but G'raha does manage to come back up along the highway just in time to hear the other driver have something of a Time(tm).

She looks...rightfully upset and he knows that question isn't directed to him in particular, but...

He tentatively pokes his head out the window. ]


...Might I be of some assistance?
summonbeasts: (014)

1/2

[personal profile] summonbeasts 2025-05-21 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
[Maria really doesn't mean to level That Look out at the poor man but boy oh boy is she pretty much done with the day. After everything that's happened to her over the last so many months she's fairly done with any other problems. She's supposed to be helping the revolution in France, not fiddling with machinery she doesn't even understand.!

So G'raha gets a look that could sear flesh from bone if it had actual power to it beyond simply it's intensity.]
summonbeasts: (007)

2/2

[personal profile] summonbeasts 2025-05-21 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
[Then it seems the act of meeting someone else's gaze is enough to make the look entirely drop. The teenager has one knee up on the passenger seat as she reaches for the glovebox.

She hesitates a moment before she huffs out a breath. A slightly less dark look is leveled at her glovebox now as she roots in it.]


Unless you can teach me how to drive this thing then no.
exarched: (pic#17858866)

[personal profile] exarched 2025-05-21 06:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ Oh yes indeed, G'raha has been on the receiving end of such scalding looks of abject wrath and destruction before. He can practically feel the fire prickling the skin of his arms and, for a moment, he wonders if she might have already met Alisaie. Or mayhaps she would prefer to tackle this herself.

But the moment passes and G'raha can feel himself releasing a small breath as well. He tests a tentative smile as he kills the engine in his own car which, after looking at hers, appears to be in somewhat better condition. ]


I do have some experience with similar technology.

[ Albeit...more magical engines than gasoline, but...close enough. (Surely.) Details, etc.

He steps out of his jeep and shuts the door behind him, keeping a respectable distance. ]


Yours does seem to have some, ah...unique additions.

[ Are those meant to be spike on the front? To rear-end other cars?

...Is that why she chose it? ]
summonbeasts: (005)

[personal profile] summonbeasts 2025-05-21 09:13 pm (UTC)(link)
[Maria answers that last question straight off the bat when she finally comes out of the passenger side of her car with book in hand. Mostly so she can walk around that car of hers to take a look at the front.

She pauses there, brows raised, looking just as surprised as poor G'raha.]


To be honest I didn't notice. I simply took what was offered.

[She looks back to G'raha now with only one brow cocked upward in evident curiosity.]

Did you get a choice in machines?
exarched: (pic#17854007)

[personal profile] exarched 2025-05-22 12:42 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, she hadn't intended to get something that looked a bit like a murder machine, but...he's not sure if that's a good sign. It draws more questions to him that it was available at the scrapyard and that this Yom Cook fellow deigned to force one upon this young woman.

To think he had been getting all worked up over some stickers he hastily had to scratch off. ]


Is that so? Hm...I had my choice of three.

[ G'raha admits, now feeling that he may have been privileged in that option. He glances over to large red "Jeep", as the lettering on the back designates. It look a bit dusty and one of the doors is the wrong color, but-- ]

The others were in considerably worse condition, so I went with what seemed to be the least maintenance.

[ Then again, maybe it was all a ploy to get him to select the more expensive loan? Hrm...his left ear flicks in slight annoyance.

But his vehicle isn't of concern now. He looks back to her and nods his head towards the manual. ]


What is the trouble you were having?
summonbeasts: (002)

[personal profile] summonbeasts 2025-05-22 02:41 am (UTC)(link)
[Maria turns her gaze to G'raha's dusty "Jeep" and sounds just a hint displeased.]

How unsurprising.

[Of course she didn't get a choice and others did. She's not bitter about it but she can't quite claim to be happy either.

Looking back to the manual she huffs.]


I can't seem to find a good way to operate the pedal that makes it go.

[She double checks the manual.]

The gas?
exarched: (pic#17853886)

[personal profile] exarched 2025-05-22 05:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ His sympathetic half-smile likely will not do much, but he flashes one all the same. It's all rather a lot to have to take in and make use of at one go, getting the proverbial short-end of the stick doesn't make it any easier. That she calls them "machines" generically rather than "vehicle" or "car" or even "mount" is something to note as well.

At least her question is one he feels relatively confident about. ]


Yes, of course.

[ He moves closer to her car, but doesn't enter--it's her space, put upon her though it may be. Kneeling a bit down by the open door, he flattens out his hand to mimic the angle of the pedal itself and moves it back and forth as he explains. ]

The one on the right? You doubtlessly have noticed the amount of pressure you apply will accelerate your vehicle, but you do not actually have to keep your foot pressing down on it to keep your car in motion. Just a bit will do. And you can apply more as need be should the terrain change, or ease off when going downhill. 'Tis actually surprising how little is needed. The engine takes care of the hard work.
summonbeasts: (005)

[personal profile] summonbeasts 2025-05-23 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
[The sympathetic gesture certainly doesn't hurt. She doesn't look half as tense and angry as she did at the very least and that's progress?

She does follow him as he moves near the machine and at the very least she is an attentive listener. She follows the movement of his hand with her gaze.]


Is it better to ease into the pedal to begin with then? The manual did say to apply pressure but not exactly how much.

[She thumbs through said manual a moment with a healthy frown on her lips.]

It wasn't much help to be honest.
exarched: (pic#17854007)

[personal profile] exarched 2025-05-25 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
[ That is most definitely progress, one of which he is thankful for. She appears to be an attentive listener as well and G'raha hopes that he is instructing clearly enough. He really hasn't taught anyone how to drive before, having only learned by circumstance and necessity himself.

He supposes it's not that different for her, now, is it?

G'raha nods an affirmative at her question. ]


Yes, easing into it will allow you considerably more control.

[ The manual gets a look from him as well, somewhat bemused. As much as he loves books, this...well, she's right. These offer minimal guidance at best. ]

It does seem like these were penned for people who are more familiar with the mechanics involved. Practical application may be a better teacher than written word in this case.

[ If she would like to give it a try...? ]

If I may ask, are such machines uncommon on your star?
decussate: (001)

sealed in

[personal profile] decussate 2025-05-22 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ The Knave likes to take her time, observing from the "audience" while the young and eager rush in. Some would find the practice frustrating, but in this case, she would say the benefits are self-evident. She watches from a large window as some sort of commotion starts up inside; even she's surprised at the elaborate totality of the trap sprung on the girl that's entered. How strange that the contents of the building are precious enough to warrant such a security system, yet disposable enough to risk sacrificing in a flood. It only makes her curious to crack the building's deeper secrets.

As she watches, the water shows no signs of stopping. The Knave is rather calm about it, seeing as she's not the one at risk of drowning, but she isn't above offering help if needed. Why, she'll even politely stand there in the window until the girl notices her — if the girl in fact needs her help. If a child wants to be strong and independent, then let no one say the Knave discouraged it. ]
summonbeasts: (070)

[personal profile] summonbeasts 2025-05-23 11:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[For a moment Maria doesn't quite pick up on The Knave's kind gesture of being viewable. Her attention is on the notion of a code and while she does want to search for it she might as well try to batter down the glass, yes?

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

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

What she does note is the water level. It's mostly stopped for now and Maria wonders if that means it's stopped for good or it means to keep rising.]
decussate: (003)

[personal profile] decussate 2025-05-24 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
[ The people of this world do have some interesting abilities. The golden birds that suddenly appear are unexpected and dazzling, their light multiplied against the water's reflection. Their failure to break the glass is convincing enough that The Knave feels no need to make her own attempt.

Maria's eye contact followed by zero begging for help is admirable. The Knave does like to encourage self-help. Then again, she may not strike the most welcoming figure standing calmly outside the window. She may even look a tad villainous — a misrepresentation for once unintentional.

Oh, very well. The Knave runs her eyes over the room once more. She comes from the sort of silly and convenient world where puzzles always have an answer, and the keys are never too far from the lock. Thus, the random little papers with numbers scrawled on them around the room catch her attention. Perhaps one or all of them is the code...

Silken threads that flash crimson in the light touch down from the ceiling and stick delicately to the numbered papers visible to her. Then all together, the threads retract to suspend the papers at Maria's eye level like leaves caught in spider webs. Just a suggestion that Maria is free to take or ignore. ]