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

[exarched]

[ Catching these ne'er-do-well off their game would give them a distinct advantage, especially if they can act quickly enough before they cause too much trouble. He is glad to see his new companion is of similar mind. Equally, he can recognize an incantation when he sees one and the opportunity to view any new type of magic is one will gladly take.

The hand that appears gets a wide look of awe from G'raha. Magnificent! Made of some sort of unaspected aether? It looks almost ghostly, but clearly coalesced enough that it has form to hold and manipulate objects.

A perfectly executed prank. G'raha covers his mouth to stifle any laughter and the mirth in his gaze is clear, even in the dim light. Considering the unnecessary "quest" he sent his very dear friend on so long ago in Mor Dhona...yes, he thinks that there is something to this angle.

He nods. They are not partners in crime. ]

"Fuck no, fuck Tilda!"

[ G'raha peers back down the stairs. While the crooks argue, a gentle green glow swirls around in his palm, accompanied by a light breeze. For the bit, he blows on it, sending the small ball of wind tumbling down the stairs. Once it hits the floor, a whoosh of wind flies about their feet, sending the curtails of their coats and pants up. ]

"The hell was--"

"See! I told ya! There's something here."

"You idiot, you broke open the window! Of course there's gonna be a breeze."

[faithfall]

[ Adrian watches, intrigued. The closest comparison he can make is Alden's magic, but even that looks completely different from what he sees before him now. No gesture or incantation, no focus to be seen... He's more than a bit curious himself, though the question will have to remain for when they're finished with the buglers.

Adrian digs around in his pocket, producing a scratchy piece of fabric. Fleece, to be exact. No incantation this time, just one hand hovering above the fleece, fingers moving as if he's puppeting a tiny marionette.

A voice fills the entryway, rasping and distorted enough to disguise Adrian's own precise accent, but intelligible none the less: ] Davey... Davey... Justice is coming for you, Davey... You thought you could kill and steal without consequence?

"What the... Tilda?"

"Shit Davey, what the fuck... I told you. I told you there was no sense killin' 'er."

"W--well what's she gonna do? Just a ghost now, ain't ya boss? You want a cut? Buzz off."

[ Boss? Adrian mouths at his companion. Hopefully there aren't more of them to come.

It seems parlor tricks won't be enough, however, as the two begin to make their way toward the stairs.

Adrian leans in, pitching his voice as quiet as possible while still carefully ensuring that he doesn't touch the other man. ] I can scare them more directly, but it will only last a minute. Can you ensure that they're handled before the time is up?

[ Whether "handled" is ensuring that they run away or end up being knocked out, he'll leave it up to his companion. ]

[exarched]

[ There is something to throwing one's voice--a trick that G'raha had employed earlier on when he had been "gently coercing" the Warrior of Light around Eorzea, doing little fetch quests for him--and another thing entirely to actually manifesting it from elsewhere.

Again, fascinating, as is this man's technique. What is it about this piece of fabric that ties into the spell? Is it already enchanted? Blessed? A piece of something mythical or woven from threads of a special type of aether? Twelve, he has so many questions and is confident there will be time for it afterwards. These burglars, arguing amongst themselves, seem less of a threat and more of a nuisance until they mention that they have gone so far as to kill off one of their colleagues. Hm.

G'raha leans in when he sees the movement, his ears perking up so that he can hear his partner-in-crime's words more clearly. "Handle them"? To the question, he nods. ]

Yes.

[ With a more serious expression, G'raha refocuses his gaze on "Davey". Should they deal with him, the others are likely to follow. Yes, he has an idea. ]

I will follow your head.

[faithfall]

[ Adrian nods, tucking the fleece back into his pocket. He can't hold a fear spell for more than a minute, but something tells him that his faith in his new friend won't be misplaced. ] Perhaps... avert your eyes, briefly.

[ He shifts back as quietly as he can, then moves to stand. He has to have a good line of sight on them if this is going to work. The men catch sight of the movement, professionals that they are, but it's his turn in the combat order so it sucks to be them. ]

I pray... show them your judgement, Raphael.

[ There's no gesture this time. Magic burns through him, heavy in the air. A halo like a golden eye appears behind his head for a brief moment before it's gone again. The men's eyes go glassy, then wide with fear, seeing something that only they can see. They don't take a single step forward, but neither do they retreat. 'Davey' fumbles for a weapon, but there isn't much that Adrian can do about that while holding his spell. Behind him, the other thief falls to his knees in supplication. I didn't, I swear! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I don't want to die.

Adrian doesn't look away, his own golden eye glowing faintly in the darkness, but he shakes his head for the benefit of his companion. No one will die from this spell... though he knows very well why they feel as if they will. Raphael's judgement is rarely kind. ]

[exarched]

[ Avert your eyes? Even briefly, that's the last thing G'raha wants to do. Everything this man has done thus far has been wondrous! But curious as he is, he does as he is asked out of respect alone.

Oh how he wishes he hadn't. G'raha can see a reflection of some sort of warm light on the floor, feel the shift in the aether around them, but he cannot interpret the nature of this spell until he gauges the reactions of the criminals. G'raha frowns slightly, peeking between the stokes of the railing.

They are...terrified. Absolutely terrified.

G'raha spares a glance at his accomplice, catching the gentle glow. He interprets the shake of his head as one should, but--goodness. To create illusions that only a few can see is a powerful ability indeed. ]

I fear my contribution will be considerably less impressive.

[ He says quietly as he moves to stand as well. G'raha considers for a moment--they are frozen in place, almost afraid to move. Mayhaps all they need is a little more incentive. He should not have left his staff in his room, but alas. The spell will be less refined, but as long as he can control it enough to reach its intended destination, then all should be well.

G'raha pulls back, concentrating as a swirl of aether spins around him like a personal whirlwind. A glow of purple at his feet and warm orange at his hand. It only takes a few seconds before he turns to throw that orange orb out like a pitcher, sending it flying above the row of wide eyes. An explosion of fire lights the entire area like daylight and he shouts in his most commanding "Exarch" voice-- ]

Leave! Or face your doom!

[ Whatever has manifested in their minds has become an inferno. A series of shouts and scrambles quickly follows as the other two make a run for it. Davey stumbles backwards, raising his gun like he is going to shoot the empty space before muttering fuck! fuck! under his breath and follows his companions.

A few embers fall to the ground as the light dissipates, threatening the integrity of the already dilapidated motel. G'raha makes his way quickly down the stairs to snuff them out. ]

[faithfall]

I doubt that. [ Adrian replies, disbelief clear in his voice. That he must keep line of sight on these ruffians is nearly torturous because he can't watch the man beside him work his own magic. Even Alden, with the gifts he was born to, was forced to use his spell focus and rely on enhancing recognizable spells. He imagines that he can feel the shift and change in the weave, though perhaps it's only the breeze that stirs with the spell.

It's almost a fireball spell, but not the same at all. Fascinating. He can't even be sure that the words are necessary in the casting, though they are quite impressive, reverberating off the walls. All of it is spectacle, and none of it is lethal. Adrian can't help but appreciate that.

The men run, fleeing as fast as their feet will carry them, and Adrian lets go of his own spell with a slow exhale. Pain radiates from the mark on his back, but he's well accustomed to ignoring it now. He rushes down to help snuff out the last of the fire in a largely mundane fashion, using mage hand to help with any out-of-reach embers and an old cloak hung up by the door to smother the threat of flame. ]

Good show, my friend. [ He says, unable to help a quiet laugh. ] That should make them think twice about assaulting any other establishments tonight. I'm Adrian, by the way. A pleasure to meet you, even in these circumstances, Mister...?