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

[tirejacked]

[Ah. Well, that explains a lot.

On the one hand, it's reassuring that she gets the memo so fast, even without the benefit of him spelling it out to her. He watches her face, mostly, in case she speaks again. Deviates only to catch on to what she's doing with her phone. Smart girl.

Thumb's up, and then she's gone. If he gets the right angle on the window, he can see her disappearing around the right corner of the building. From then on...it's the waiting game. Somehow doesn't make him feel all that much better for having to do it. He's trying not to dwell on it, but there's a certain level of vulnerability (of trust) involved in putting your life in someone's hands. Historically, it hasn't worked out very well for him in the past. Safe to say, he's not having a great time, right now.

He makes himself busy fighting his way to the exit in the meantime. If she pulls through, he's going to want out asap. If she doesn't—well. He'll have to explore other options. Might as well start there. The water's creeping up to chest-level, by now, but the constant choppiness means the worst of it's already starting to try and break over his head, especially as he comes up against the door. If nothing else it keeps him busy enough that he hardly has the time to spare to wonder how she's doing. But then he hears it: the buzz of the alarm as it disengages. The click of a lock.

Well, what d'you know.

Unfortunately, the door is unlocked, but it swings inward. The combined water pressure won't make that easy very. But without the heavy-duty deadbolts or soundproof forcefields or whatever the fuck engaged that had been keeping him in before, he takes another swing at kicking it out. Takes a deep breath and grabs for a handhold on the rafters, gets as much leverage as he can, and swings both his boots onto the far end of the door with a loud bang.

Once. Twice. On the third, something gives. Creaks and bends and breaks just enough that the weight and the pressure of the water is enough to finish the job. The water wants out, and there's a lot of it. The door finally gives, and it does so dramatically. Like a cork in a bottle of champagne.

Hopefully Wanda isn't standing too close when it happens, or she'll have to put her reflexes to work. First to dodge the door, and the initial burst of the water, and also the guy she'd been trying to bust out. In his defense, it's pretty hard to see much of anything until the initial rush of water clears. And he'd had boots on the door when it'd broken free. (The current did most of the rest.) Suffice to say, he doesn't quite manage to nail the landing with any amount of grace.

All this to say: think fast, bud.]

[carmesi]

( when she hears the creaking amidst everything else, she figures her best course of action is to move away from the door; through the glass, she can see what the guy is doing, and while she would highly recommend against it—

well.

the rush of water does make her stumble a little on her feet, though she manages to somehow get back on her feet, a lot wetter than she originally arrived, but isn't quite ready for the guy to fail to nail his landing and instead come rushing past along with the water. she trips over him over him, but purposely grips onto his arms as they glide with the current of the water. they manage to reach a stop, against a concrete pillar, and wanda fails to find a grip with her boots despite her best efforts. )

—are you okay?

( she finds a face: dark brows, dark hair. he seems alright, all things considered. )

We should really get out of here.

( wanda doesn't know what it is, but something feels off. very off. )

[tirejacked]

[If it works it works, right? Sometimes the best way out is just through. It's a messy exit, though. The door blows out beneath him, and he braces himself to duck and roll when he hits the pavement. And there's a moment in the disorienting crash before he remembers to tense up when it twigs that someone's gone and grabbed onto him. (Some long-rusted reflex, holdover from back when he did have someone there to catch him.)

All in all, not his finest moment.

He does seem...alright, all things considered. Does need a second to shake his head and clear his lungs, but otherwise he's up and moving and not drowned, so really that's good enough. Unlike the rest of him, his tone manages to be remarkably dry. (American, by way of Jersey, by way of Gotham. There's a little Bowery bent to it that he doesn't bother trying to soften.)]

Yeah, I think I've had enough playing in the puddles for one day.

[Now that he can hear her, she doesn't sound at all like he'd expected. But that's egg on his face, really, for assuming. He braces back against the pillar before levering himself to his feet. Even has the good grace to offer her a hand, should she need it. It is kind of his fault she ended up in the drink at all.

Still, he's not in as big a rush. Not just yet. Far as he knows, the worst of it is behind them, and his sense of relative self preservation has always been a little skewed, he'll to admit that. He did come here for a reason. So—]

Ought to be a couple crates that washed out with me. Could be salvagable.

[The meds.  Azithromycin, doxycycline, amoxicillin.  Antibiotics.  Hot commodity in a place like this. But behind them, past them, the last water retreats oddly. Rises.]

[carmesi]

( wanda could also say that he sounds nothing like what she expects him to, but his accent is familiar, almost comforting to her. definitely american, so that's something she knows, at least. he offers her his hand to get up and she takes it, feeling the brace of muscles taut to pull her up.

but figures, the guy who kicked the door to get out would definitely be strong.

perhaps, too, bullheaded, when he starts talking about crates, about things that could be salvageable in all this water. wanda knows, of course, that it's the medicine.

she glances past them, around the room. nothing's really floating anymore, and the water that had that toppled them over like dolls seems to be receding. upwards. she isn't particularly optimistic about that, so she frowns, and moves over towards a crate; suppose they are doing this. )

Let's hurry, then.

( wanda would always call pietro out for stealing, for doing things that would get him in trouble. especially after he got his powers and he felt unstoppable. but it's always there, under her skin, understanding that scarcity makes for desperation, and maybe this is worth some risk. her hands on the top of the crate, she grips onto the side, and measures her options; red pulses under her hands, driving screws off the metal crates' top, and with some effort, she manages to curl it towards her, the metal groaning under the exertion.

her logic is that it's easier to get things out in small packages than to get the whole crate out.

she glances up at him. )

Will this be enough?

extremely sorry for the wait it was a Week

[tirejacked]

[Look, they might as well get something useful for all their trouble. Because it's been a lot of trouble. And honestly—there are worlds where he wouldn't bother. Worlds where the cargo was something else. He's got a mercenary enough attitude of certain things, he knows when to cut his losses. But in the grand scheme of survival, under food, and shelter...medicine ranks. He'd learned that early. Back before Bruce, when his mother—(when Catherine)—had been too sick from her illness and too poor and too alone to keep up the chemo and had turned to the cheaper, easier stuff to take the edge off while she died. Easier to get heroin in Crime Alley than healthcare.

This place isn't the same, necessarily. But it has enough familiar rhythms for him to recognize it. So. Back to basics. Worth sticking around at least until the water decides to make itself a problem again.

This time, he notices the flare of red under her hands when she grabs for the crate. Clocks the way the screws twist themselves out of the way under her grip. He blinks, his focus narrowing. But once he gets the gist, he seems—

...Mostly unfazed, apparently. Perks of growing up as a child vigilante. B didn't like metas in Gotham, but Jason's met Superman. He did his short stint in the Teen Titans. He can hang.

So, first things first. He ducks in beside her to frown at the bags, picks one up to tear it open and inspect the goods.]

It'll have to be. For now, anyway. We'll see how much is left if we get room for round two.

[Odds are either the elements or the (metaphorical) vultures will get there first. He'd initially planned on scoping the place out, bringing his bike along from where he'd stashed it (high and dry, out of sight and out of the floodwater) once he'd had the lay of the land and loading up with enough product to make it worth his while. Kind of went out the window, given the circumstances.

Though— He twists the cap from the first bottle he can find to check that it's all still dry inside and worth the trouble. His eyes are down on the bottle, but his attention hasn't left her. While he does, and conversationally—]

Nice trick.

[He means it. He's not not impressed. And definitely not not interested.]

no worries!! we're on the weekend at least

[carmesi]

( the rest of the top of the crate gets pulled off with ease, now, and wanda drops it to the floor with a clatter. it's probably for the best that jason hardly reacts in awe or wonderment about what she's done here, which gives her the confidence to think that this isn't weird to him or that she'll have a hundred questions tossed her way.

wanda has a crossbody bag around her, and pulls it up and off herself, handing it over to the other once he starts inspecting the goods. her bag is empty, and they can fill it up with as much as they need, besides their pockets, if it comes down to it. it's a little damn, but it'll do. )

Yeah.

( she replies, less conversationally, but mostly because she doesn't know how to react too well to compliments from relative strangers.

the shadows loom ever closer, and wanda frowns, because she feels something encroaching around them, and she doesn't think she wants to be around for it. )

Can we leave the pleasantries for later?

♡

[tirejacked]

[Yeah. It's blase enough, ticks his appraisal of her discomfort over to mildly amused. Give yourself a little credit, Red. A little ironic—]

Just being polite.

[Look, it was cool. It was useful. He can respect it. His test case of the pills is dry, so he caps the bottle to follow her lead and load up on the cargo before they bug out. Most of his usual arsenal had gone conspicuously missing upon his arrival, so he's got plenty of room in his pockets for stashing the goods. It's not ideal, but it'll do. (Like he said. It'll have to.)

It's like him, really, to push his luck a little longer than he should. But she's getting antsy, and at this point, even he can feel the shift in the air. Something not-quite-right, there. He gives the sky a look, watching the odd waterspout that's still draining upward. Unnerving, sure, but not immediately a danger. Doesn't account for the unease.

Maybe better to regroup somewhere else.]

D'you need a ride?

[It's an offer. If she needs an out. He can drop her off somewhere—he owes her that much, at least, for springing him.]

[carmesi]

( ooc: sorry for the delay! it was my turn to have a trying week lmao. if you'd rather wrap this up quick, or shelf this and jump into something new in the mingle, i'm good either way! )

Yeah.

( her answer is short and to the point, not because she holds anything against him, but rather because that pinprick of something bad approaching is starting to overwhelm her. her eyes shift towards him and then back to the task at hand, of getting as much medication as they can in their pockets and bags.

she wouldn't mind a ride.

when the surrounding darkness starts to become too much, what feels like seconds later, wanda is the first to head for the door out of this place, wanting nothing more but to breathe some fresh air, outside of this facility.

thankfully, nothing really deters them from making their heroic escape.

wanda's boots shuffle on the gravel, feeling an overwhelmed sense of tired, half her clothes wet, her skin damp. she turns to the guy who is not looking any drier himself. )

You okay? ( and, to the point— ) Let's leave.

[tirejacked]

(everything happens so much. 🙃 no sweat bud, that works for me!  He can drop her off and then up and disappear like a sneaky jerk and I'll catch her on the mingle for smth fresh.)

[She looks uneasy, and even he’s starting to feel it. The type of tense in the air you get a feel for when you’ve been around it enough. The dangerous kind.  The water has drained away, but the sky hasn’t cleared or it. If anything, it’s starting to darken on the edges. And darken. And darken.

Not a moment too soon, he notices her backing away. Okay, yeah, they’ve pressed their luck enough. Good call. He follows her lead, then keeps going, waving her forward to where he’s stashed his bike. High and dry, just a little out of the way so as to be out of sight and out of the flooding.]

Think I’ll live. [There’s a sardonic edge to it that isn’t just because of the state of them. He doesn’t dwell on it. ] C’mon, Red, let’s get the hell out of Dodge.

[carmesi]

( ooc: let's aim for that!! i'm excited for them to meet in more "normal" circumstances. )

( she isn't very sure about the nickname he's given her, how it might relate to the red of her powers that he saw, but she's not about to let show that it bothers her. she does like the color, so...

wanda follows after him, hurrying up over the small hill and doing her best so that her boots don't slip on the loose gravel. she was expecting a car, truth be told, but figures that a bike does match him, for what little she's known him for. she waits for him to get on before jumping in behind him. )

I left mine in the next ramp.

( she really appreciates having a ride— )