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

3

[longtooth]

[ This isn't even the first time that Fern has been trapped somewhere that's slowly flooding. The look of this place couldn't be any different, but she still recalls in full detail how she'd woken up in the water-logged cells of Castle Ravenloft.

Locked doors and passwords are also nothing new to her, but where to find the code that's needed is less clear. She's already been searching, even managed to use a pulled-apart paper clip to break into a locked file cabinet. She's got the binders she found within it in her arms and is sloshing through the water, back toward the main room of the first floor (filled with desks and those glowing boxes she can't make heads or tails of), when she realizes she's not alone.

Everything about the man screams wizard, including that light spell he's maintaining. Fern tenses, an uneasy feeling sliding over her as he addresses her. Perhaps the offer he makes is meant to set her at ease that they're not fighting over the same thing, but she instead finds it suspicious.

Still, they both need to get out of here. As much as he looks like yet another one of Strahd's lackeys, she can't exactly refuse the help in this situation. ]

... If we can find our way out of here, we can share them.

[ She doesn't want to owe anyone anything. With that, she wades over to the nearest desk and slams the pile of binders down on it. ]

Help me look.

[elriche]

I doubt that'll be a problem. [ Stephen glances toward the "QUARANTINE" warning on the nearby monitor. ] Takes a little bit more of a... robust prison to hold me.

[ Like this planet — this whole universe, in fact. He needs to know what happened to the Infinity Stones – to Ultron, Zola, Killmonger. It unsettles him that even now, the Watcher hasn't managed to reach him – that this particular timeline might be beyond his sight, and what dire implications that might have for everyone dragged into it.

For him, it's a different incarceration he needs to get back to. One with purpose, with penance. He has none of that here.

He turns to appraise the young woman nearby. Demihuman of some kind – alien, maybe. ]

There are some antibiotics in that cabinet, but you should check the labels first – azithromycin and rifampicin will get you a quick buck, but if you need the stronger stuff, you should be grabbing carbapenems and tetracyclines. [ The corner of his mouth quirks up. ] Dr. Stephen Strange. Though my license is a bit out of date.

[longtooth]

[ A thick eyebrow raises at the man's assertion. Fern had tried to force her way out of here to no avail. While it's true that she doesn't have any magical resources at her disposal, she's previously come across doors that are impossible to open even with the assistance of two or three magical compatriots.

She isn't going to assume this stranger can get them out just because he says as much.

She flings open the cover of one of the binders and starts to page through it, looking for the code that was mentioned. He continues to talk, rattling off words that sound fake to her. What is an antibiotic, anyway? It gets worse from there, and when he explains that he's a doctor of sorts, her head snaps up from staring at all the so-far useless words on the pages. ]

A doctor? I thought—

[ She tilts her chin, eyeing the light source that he's created, which twinkles above his outstretched hand.

Then again, Adrian is both a medic and a warlock, so should she really be so surprised?

She could grab the supplies eventually. It's not like she isn't in need of extra coin and medical supplies are always good to have on hand. Even if nothing of what he just said made a single bit of sense to her. She isn't going to prioritize that, though. She knows all too well that greed will lead nowhere good, even if she is adept at breaking into places and looting them when needed. ]

None of that matters if we drown in here. Help or stay quiet.

[ With that, she goes back to flipping through the laminated pages of the binder. ]

[elriche]

[ Stephen's eyes narrow and follow the woman as she appraises him and then... dismisses him? Orders him? He's not sure if he feels irritation or humor from the presumption. Maybe it's the idea of urgency that he's not used to. ]

I've got a water breathing spell on call – no one's drowning today. [ It's both a reassurance and a statement of fact, as he glances from the binder in her hands back to the one floating an inch above his palm. He flips the page. ] Anything interesting, or...

[ He pauses. For a second, between outlined points of corporate contingency, printed neatly on the page:

Their powers are not meant for man. Half a man, living half a life. This isn't love, this is–

He snaps the binder shut. Somehow, the water's up to his knees. ]

[longtooth]

[ Fern is familiar with such a spell, but she also knows that it will only last so long. He could reapply it, but just how long do they want to remain trapped in a building filled with water? In theory, the water would burst out eventually, freeing them, but she isn't going to take any such thing for granted.

No, they've been given a puzzle to solve. In her experience, nothing is going to work for them unless they play along.

As if to make her point, the water that had only been halfway up her calf suddenly surges up, throwing her off-balance. She grabs for the edge of the desk to steady herself and shoots the wizard a sharp look, watching as he slams the binder closed. So much for having everything under control. ]

What is it? Did you find something?

[ Does this mean they're closer or further away from finding the right answer? ]

[elriche]

No. [ The answer is short, as is the sound of the binder as he drops it on the desk.

The edges of the room darken. The water rises, slowly churns. Glowing orbs populate under the tide, peer out from beneath the surface. Black tendrils writhe in the dark, emanating from where Stephen's robes meet the surface of the water. ]

Follow me. We're leaving. [ Stephen raises one hand, flicks his wrist forward. The water parts and displaces toward the walls of the room, then creates a path down the hallway in front of them. He marches forward, boots squelching on wet carpet.

No sign of the tendrils in the water, or the glowing eyes. Even so, as Stephen proceeds toward the building's entrance, it feels like they're not alone. ]

[longtooth]

[ As immediately as his answer comes, Fern finds it hard to believe him. If he didn't find something, why did he close the binder so abruptly? Why is he now stalking off when he'd seemed entirely unconcerned just moments before, rattling off the different medical supplies she could sell, and for how much? ]

What? [ She doesn't much appreciate the way that he's ordering her around, either. Quite full of himself, this one, as if he didn't end up trapped in this place the same as her.

But all that aside, something is wrong, and it's that more than anything else that spurs her to follow him. The orbs of light in the water, the inky strands that seem to be extending from him. It's like his magic is seeping out between the seams.

Nonetheless, he does show that he isn't all talk by creating a path for them. Fern steps after, a binder still clutched in her arms, but the feeling of something else here with them does give her pause. She looks over her shoulder, into the water that now flanks them, and sees a ghostly face.

Unbidden, a gasp rips out of her as she realizes who she's looking at — Ireena, her red hair a stark contrast to her too-pale face. Her eyes have lost all their light; her body has lost all its blood. The sight roots Fern to the spot, and the water around them starts to churn, threatening to press back against the wizard's spell. ]

[elriche]

[ No idea how anyone could conclude this man is full of himself – as he proceeds down his self-made corridor through the now waist-deep water, fully assuming the demihuman (whose name he doesn't even know yet) will faithfully follow despite zero explanation preceding him. At her understandable exclamation, Stephen doesn't even look back, just keeps pressing forward, waves a hand, rips a waterlogged door off its hinges and thrusts it into the displaced water along the hallway's wall. ]

We're being toyed with, [ he grates out over his shoulder. ] Some kind of psychic interference – don't think we'll get much of use out of these books with it trained on us. As far as the medicine, I've got a collation rune to gather–

[ She gasps – deep and abrupt. Stephen's hairs go straight along the back of his neck – or are they the tiny spines of pinprick feathers, dark as night.

He whirls around, snaps like a flock of ravens from one spot in the hall to apparate next to her. His arm whips up, fingers spindled like a bat's, to shield the girl. A runed circle appears on the outer side of his giant leathery wing, highlighting veins within its membrane with a soft orange glow.

He pauses. Slowly lowers his wing – now human, as it passes under a ribbon of shadow. The runed circle still turns slowly near his hand. He grits his teeth. ]

What did I tell you.

[longtooth]

[ Most of what he says is lost on Fern as she's shocked into place, staring at the mirage in the water. Her stomach clenches as every ounce of guilt that's built up since that day in the coffin-maker's attic weighs on her — not so unlike a dam on the brink of breaking.

And then there's a sudden flurry of activity, the flap of wings heralding a presence at her side that makes her tense immediately. Her sharp instincts usually allow her to keep track of where anyone else is situated with her in a room at any given time, but things like teleportation throw that all out the window. And if that weren't enough—

He stands in front of her, his mass having grown somehow, his form shifted. Yes, shifted, and while she is familiar with were-ravens now, this is something else. The leather wing brings to mind Strahd and his ilk, and she stumbles back, almost right into the other wall of water opposite from where she'd first seen Ireena.

She's seen Adrian grow angelic wings and levitate above them all. She's seen Taulok morph into any number of different creatures to assist them on their journey. She herself shifts her physical form, but this is still a lot to take in, especially when he's suddenly back to looking human once again. For all the things she's seen in recent days, she doesn't have a word for what she just saw.

She clenches her jaw and stares up at him, pushing down any fear that might be gripping at her heart, telling her to run. He did try to protect her from something that was never truly there to begin with, which maybe counts for something. ]

I don't want to stay here any longer than you. [ The water's rising again, sloshing between them. ] But I don't think this place — and whatever might be watching us — will make it so easy.

[elriche]

[ She doesn't react much to the monsters conjured from flesh – which probably speaks to a certain familiarity with the arcane, the weird, the grotesque. What she did react to was whatever Stephen saw in the water and she didn't – which means this place has its hooks in both of them, especially if whatever it showed her was more worthy of her alarm than him.

Stephen doesn't have much more time to analyze before the walls shift again. He grits his teeth, backs away from the room, down the path through the water he's made. ]

Come on.

[ He marches toward the entrance with sudden urgency, forming eyes on his shoulder every so often to make sure the woman's following him. Faces peer out at him from the darkness despite his attempts to keep his usual pair of eyes fixed forward – known faces, twisted, contorted in agony as they dissolve into inky blackness.

Voices rise in volume – "before you do anything reckless", "Stephen, what's happening"–

The walls are no longer made of waterlogged drywall – instead it's pulsing skin, conjoined mouths and hair, a hundred million billion souls disintegrated, extinguished, deprived of existence, of even death–

They reach the exit – a single red door, glowing along the edges with the quarantine warning. Everything else is skin. Teeth. Bloodshot eyes. ]

Gonna try to find the code, [ Stephen says, level, as if he isn't seeing anything at all. He raises his hands and they glow as a hundred binders in the building begin to clatter and shake. ] Watch out for flying objects.

[longtooth]

[ There's some relief that the man — Dr. Stephen Strange, he called himself — doesn't question why she had been staring into the water at some phantom that Fern suspects only she could see. He simply orders her to follow him again (which she still isn't thrilled about, but there isn't time to argue) as he marches toward the exit (conveniently marked by a glowing red sign).

Does he not question her because he's also seeing things? It seems likely; Fern doubts she alone would be affected by whatever this place is doing. Then if the idea is that they've quietly agreed that they won't question each other about the mirages taunting them from beneath the surface of the water, that works well enough for her.

They make it to the exit without further incident, but it's still completely sealed, so she isn't certain what any of this has accomplished. Not until the doctor triggers another spell of some sort, sending binders flying toward them in a veritable whirlwind. Fern reacts with as much swiftness as before, ducking her head and lifting an arm to shield herself.

Yet not one of them comes close to hitting her. This man may be presumptuous, but he does seem to have good, steady control over his spellwork. Does that have anything to do with what he did before — all that partial shifting? Has he multi-classed or something?

Those questions will have to wait. Thankfully, the spell is over fairly soon, as one of the binders in the spinning tornado starts to glow. The rest fall either onto the water-logged carpet or into the water itself, but the glowing one floats right to her, levitating before her.

Fern glances over at the doctor, her impressed expression brief but genuine, before she flips the binder open. In what seems to be another trick of magic, the code is right there, presented on a silver platter. ]

... Right. [ She snatches the binder out of the air and shoots a glance around. ] But where do we enter it?

[ It's around that point that someone outside the building starts banging on a nearby window and gesturing wildly at them. ]