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

[vestments]

I don't have one, ( he answers, response doing nothing to elaborate on how marc got here in the first place, until a beat later, and he's gesturing towards a motorbike. it's not white — getting it repainted is stunningly high on marc's list of priorities — and it's not the sleek sportsbike he'd owned at home. it's clunky and old-fashioned, built more for touring than speed, and entirely in contrast to marc, bright orange.

there is room for a passenger, even if comfort would be a challenge, even if the closest it gets to practicality — and in that, it does suit marc — is a small top box at the rear of the bike, perfect for storage of small items like... meds. like maybe a lunch. like not much more than that. ) But we can take mine if you'd prefer.

( marc assumes no, and he's still assuming no as his fingers curl around bob's keys. it's only now that marc realises that, at some point, he'd lost his jacket. at the rear of the building? probably, that'd been strange and unsettling in ways he doesn't encounter often.

it's fine. he can buy another one. ) You nearly drowned. ( firm, not unkind, but also not gentle. ) You're not driving.

[didthedishes]

[ Had Marc not pointed out his sick (fluorescent) ride, how he had gotten here probably would have been his next question. And because of the world he's come from, asking he had flown here probably would have been the first thing on his modes of transport list.

And while Marc doesn't think it's a nice colour, apparently Bob does. ]

Oh. Cool ride.

[ As for the matter of taking it - considering how hard it's raining and how little space there is in the top box, it may not be the best option. ]

Yeah. I guess I did. [ There's a look of discomfort that passes over his face. ] But uh, I don't mind driving. It's not that I don't trust you. I just have a thing about...driving.

[ The reality is that the car accident as a child had left him with a fear of being anyone's passenger. It feels embarrassing to say aloud, especially to a stranger. ]

But, uh, we could probably fit that into the back of the van. There aren't many seats back there.

[vestments]

( marc inhales a breath when bob mentions driving, his mouth twitching and his brow furrowing, just for a moment. for marc, it is closer to a lack of trust — not in bob, per se, more in himself. marc likes, needs control. he's uncomfortable without it, and he doesn't know bob to want to willingly, freely give it over to him.

but for bob's sake — and not that it's a thought that occurs to marc — it's for the best if bob does drive. it's not that marc's a bad driver, quite the contrary, he's very good at driving, but there'd been a reason jean-paul had never allowed marc to pilot: he's reckless. he's careless. he doesn't deliberately try to be dangerous, but he drives in much the same way he fights — without care beyond the result.

(how many vehicles has marc destroyed? ruined? written-off? it's perhaps best not to ask that question.)

still, as unreasonable as he can be, as much as his reluctance is palpable, marc's fingers uncurl from the cold, wet metal of the keys, and he leaves them in bob's hands, the action punctuated by a brusque, ) Fine, ( and a dismissive wave of his hand as if to say 'whatever'.

—despite the shadows, despite the way they seem to have crept closer.

(hmm.)
(good thing he's proven to be like poison food to anything that's tried to slip into his mind in recent years. shame he assumes he can't say the same about bob, and so—) )

Better hurry then.

( and he's striding over to his bike, sweeping out the kickstand with a pointed kick, formerly bright white chelsea boots marked and splattered with dirt and rainwater. )

[didthedishes]

[ How acutely Bob can tell when someone is bothered by something he's done is astounding. It may as well be a power in and of itself. In the grand scheme of things though, it isn't a particularly useful one. Not when it only serves to put him on pins and needles to the point where it can reduce him to being nothing more than a meek doormat.

It's easy to sense here and not just because he can clearly see it on Marc's face, causing him to immediately break out into a bit of a sweat, heat curling up the back of his neck and the tip of his ears. There's no way for him to know that Marc isn't annoyed with him. Even if he could, he'd still find a way to feel about it, probably. Sadly, all of that, topped off with the blunt response is enough to make Bob flinch, his gaze immediately shooting downwards towards the keys that are now held firmly in his hand.

He misses the way the shadows crawl, moving not just from the door of the facility they'd just left, but from the shadows cast from their respective vehicles. It's only when he hears Marc move towards his bike that he seems to snap out of it, nearly tripping over his feet to open the back of the van for him before hurrying over to the other side. His hands over over the bike uselessly looking nervously towards Marc and then the bike. ]

On the count of three? I guess?

[vestments]

( marc catches the flinch, notices the way that bob stays still until marc's at his bike, and marc inhales a breath, slow and steady. it's not an unusual reaction to him, to moon knight, but it's unnecessary here. his fingers curl around the handlebars of the bike, and he squeezes tightly, knuckles turning white beneath his gloves as he hears the doors of the van swing open, hears the crunching of gravel underfoot as bob hurries towards him.

it shouldn't be the darkness, marc's at home in shadows, but this feels wrong, unsettling and enticing all at once. it's probably just him, letting his emotions — ugly — get in the way of things. but bob's not the enemy, bob hasn't done anything other than be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and so marc should— be softer? he's never been good at that. even reese gets marc blunt, and though she might not see all of his edges, though he'd made a point not to allow her to see the worst of him, she got to see enough. he supposes the difference is, reese gave (gives?) it back. for all her youth, she pushes whenever he's being too himself, and he knows that.

bob gets neither an apology nor an explanation. instead, marc lingers, a beat too long, creeping shadows momentarily forgotten as he's aware of bob in his periphery, only acknowledging him with the slightest cant of his head, enough to see his shoes, his pants; catches the flicker of movement that's bob's hands not seeming to know where to settle, but not meeting his gaze until he speaks.

this time, marc doesn't say anything, he just grunts, rocking the bike back once and then forward, the kickstand getting pushed — finally — back all the way, movement punctuated by a clunk, the sharp sound dulled only a touch by wet. the bike's clunky and heavy, but one man can push it, it'll just be the lifting it into the van that'll be awkward, and—

right.
on three. )

—Just push it up from the back.

( it's not quite agreement with 'on three', but the lack of disagreement serves as an implicit 'yeah, fine'. )

[didthedishes]

[ Had Bob had any access to Marc's thoughts and gotten wind of his debate about being softer for his sake, it probably would have further added to his guilt. Despite the eldritch-level horror waiting in the wings for him to slip, he wasn't a delicate thing to be babied. Sure, he'd resigned himself to some degree to being a caretaker for his friends, but the desire to be useful, to not screw something up so royally that someone else - his friends - would have to sweep in and do damage control - is still there.

But maybe that's on him to just learn how to roll with the punches even when he feels at his worst. To bite back even if it's with blunt teeth or just simply accept that this is how people are and not take it to heart. Unfortunately nearly drowning does nothing to help him in this moment.

Fortunately, giving him a task that is easy enough to accomplish is something he can do. With their combined efforts the bike moves towards the back of his van and perhaps with far more ease than Marc might have anticipated. But then suddenly Bob's efforts halt as he finally notices the shadows. They curl and twist out of the closed building and he's quick to nudge Marc. Dread creeps up his spine. ]

Hey - is that - that's not supposed to do that, right?

[vestments]

( it is with more ease, but it's not weird enough — or more to the point, it's not uniquely weird enough — for marc to think of it as exceptional. given the progression of his life, let alone the last WHO KNOWS how many days, marc notices it but does little else with the thought. if it's important, he'll cross that bridge when he gets to it.

—especially since bob nudges him, forcing his attention back around to the building. a little tartly, he thinks that water's not supposed to rise up into the sky of its own volition either, but those are earth rules not wherever (or whatever) this is rules, so who's to say? the thought's not quite visible in his expression — that appears much closer to consideration, a quick weighing up of options. despite the discomfort, there is still the temptation to see what it makes of him, and marc takes two steps towards the darkness before being cut short by the quick, sudden recollection that he doesn't remember entering the code into the panel, doesn't remember slicing his hand on — something.

the way they creep forward, curl and wisp, imply something living, something with thought. it's steady, thankfully not worryingly fast, but if they're not swift enough—.

(it's more in strange's wheelhouse. wong's. someone with book smarts and a history of working with the unknown.)

(if he was alone—.)

abruptly, he careens back around, hand reaching out to grab bob's sleeve. it's a shove — not hard, not unkind, just impetus — that precipitates his (eventual) answer, ) Like I said, we need to go before it gets weird. ( the quiet addition that follows is more to himself than meant conversationally, but it's audible nonetheless. ) Might be a warning. Might think of us as food.

( a beat, a touch louder, more firm, and— ) —You wanted to drive, then drive.

( marc will... just climb in the back. )

[didthedishes]

[ Bob may have dropped out of high school with his middle school years patchy at best, but he knew enough to know that water simply didn't move like that. It wasn't supposed to act like it had a mind of its own, nor give you the distinct feeling that it was watching you. Which means this definitely isn't water and it's something else.

For a moment he can't rip his gaze away for fear of what it could morph into. He tells himself it could be anything. It doesn't have to be the thing that he fears the most because he's present and here and his hands haven't been engulfed by shadow - but what if it had changed? What if something about arriving here had morphed the way his powers worked?

Marc's shove is enough to snap his gaze back towards him. His mind follows shortly after. ]

Yeah. Yup - driving. Heard that.

[ And without thinking he heaves the bike the rest of the way into the trunk all on his own, slams the door shut before scurrying towards the driver's seat. It's only once Marc is in the van that he starts the engine. ]

Do you remember the way back?