TEST DRIVE ∞ May 2025

[thediadem]

Test Drive ∞ May 2025

The First Collision

©

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

⇅ Top

Panorama

Explore & Settle In

Conditions: Warm spring temperatures, light showers

After 2 hours on the road, you find civilization. The largest of the strongholds, Panorama is where the economy thrives. Massive power plants glowing red make it visible from a distance. The city is divided into three districts. For now, you can access the Pavilion and the Blocks. Don't worry about the Sanctum; they're not letting you in.

You only need to know two things about Panorama: 1) it's big, the size of a modern metropolis, and you'll need your car to get around; 2) anything goes as long as you don't pick a fight with the wrong person. Street smarts will get you far. Despite its geographical size, the population isn't huge. With roughly a million people in a city designed for over twice that number, Panorama is far from deserted, but nor is it overcrowded. It's a good thing. Resources are limited as it is.

The Pavilion: Free Samples

©

Like any large city, Panorama features a couple of supermarkets. The stock's not as consistent as a proper supermarket. On occasion, shelves can remain cleaned out for a week or two. Regardless, the long tradition of free samples remains. If you're not already shopping, you'll notice the crowded parking lot and clusters of lines inside.

Try samples, push through the crowds as you shop, or give yourself a five-finger discount. If you're cautious, you can pocket a few small items without consequences. The Pavillion doesn't have the infrastructure for surveillance; unless someone sees you, you won't be caught. Steal from the store or pilfer someone's wallet. Maybe you even make a new friend if you bump into another fluxdrift. Or, start a fight with somebody who cut you off in the cheese line. Don't make too much of a ruckus, or you'll be thrown out.

As you look around, you'll see posters advertising temporary positions for the cash register or graveyard shifts in the warehouse. Seems they might've lost several employees recently (how'd that happen?), which is good for you! It's just a 6-week position, but it'll get you on your feet. The city has temporary positions like this all over. Permanent ones are harder to come by when you're new.

Samples include: steamed cabbage dumplings, synthetic cherry juice, cheddar cheese, and chocolate-covered alien eggs (it's crunchy and weirdly tasty). They're served in the usual throwaway paper cups with little toothpicks.

The Blocks: Power Outage

©

Power's finicky in Panorama, especially in the Blocks. Saint Margery's Hospital, located in the same area, has priority for power so the first to go are the motels. Maybe you've been in your room for a couple of weeks, maybe you just got here—and by the way, every motel desk is happy to put the fee on your tab if you don't have the money upfront—but all the motels on the east side are in a blackout, leaving only the west side motels up and running.

What do you do? You have three choices:

• Risk leaving your room and head to the other side where there's power. Knock on some doors and negotiate with another to share the room. They might shut the door in your face, ask for a favor in return, or be nice enough to help you with no strings attached. There's no guarantee your unattended room will be untouched, though, and you'll be on the hook for any damages an intruder causes.
• Sit in the dark and deal. It's not the worst idea, but the TV's down, the vending machines are powered down, and with the entire place plunged into darkness, you risk getting robbed. If you struggle with defending yourself, you might want to find some trustworthy company. You can also sneak out of there and let them take your leftover pizza. It's not like you've got a ton of valuables, right? Plus, clobbering someone in the face with a frying pan sounds great until you realize you've gotta do something with the body. And what if this person's got a friend waiting?
• Get in your car and drive (or grab a friend for a road trip). If you scroll the Forum, you might notice reports on diffusion zones southward. Besides, these motels are hardly your forever home. The city can only provide so much. Why not go for a ride and see what you can find out there?

OPTIONAL PROMPTS: clean up on aisle 3 (what is that goo?); a knock at your door but no one's there; you hear screaming or a commotion down the hall

⇅ Top

©

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.

Main Navigation ::: ⇅ Top

Comments

[carcajous]

[ For a minute or two, Logan's quiet. They've had a lot of conversations by Logan's time. He spent a while thinking Charles was dead, and he hasn't forgotten it. How it felt, knowing he'd never see him again. Until he did. And even with the world collapsing around them, Charles was still there for all of them. He knows it'll take time, but hell, time's never been a problem for him. If there's anything he has too much of, it's time.

Maybe the day will come when he finds in himself what Charles sees. For now, it's enough that one of them does.

He cracks open a half-fizzed bottle of his own. He's outta beer, so. These will do. ]

What, all of 'em? [ His arm hangs over the backrest as he considers. ] The kids came up with that, for one. Started calling you guys the X-Men. [ This was all so fucking long ago. An entire lifetime. ] When I showed up, I wasn't alone. There was a girl—Rogue. I was giving her a ride. She didn't say it, but she must've been a runway.

[ They all kinda were, in a way. ]

You took her in, too. You took a lot of us in. Convinced me to stick around. And, uh— [ He huffs. ] Not everybody on the team was happy about that.

[thetruefocus]

[ As Logan talks, Charles takes the opportunity to eat some of the sandwich. He is hungry but manages to keep himself in check so as not to scarf it all down in one go. He's been living off samples, although he hasn't been here long enough to actually feel long-lasting hunger. He nods his head about the team name, thinking back to when they first began. The hero part stopped after that initial situation, and it was only a school for a time. ]

Mmm, we hadn't come up with a team name yet, in my time. Raven was the one who gave us our individual codenames.

[ And thus were Professor X, Magneto, and Mystique born. She'd been happy then, so thrilled to be around other mutants and feeling a part of something. She'd been unhappy in London for some time, waiting around for him to finish his PhD and finding no easy purpose for herself, until then. Charles had been blind to how much of her light was dampened until they found the others and she was full of light once more. ]

Until the first time I went into Cerebro, I had no idea how many of us there were in the world. But I still didn't expect what I saw in your minds, how many students we have in the future.

[ It's thrilling, for certain. To see all those young and happy faces, living their lives, learning how to use their powers and finding strength together as friends and family. He used to live in that giant house alone and found it empty and cold because of it, until Raven, and to know it is filled now with other people makes him deeply happy. The Apocalyptic future that Logan came from, that was horrifying, but the times he saw between them those decades before, it was beautiful. ]

Because you're a bit rough around the edges? You wouldn't be the first person I dealt with that didn't play well with others to begin with.

[ Charles is not going to say out loud he's thinking about Erik, but he certainly is. It's not a comparison having anything to do with who Logan is, but rather what he remembers of handling someone who was uncomfortable working with a team or anyone else at all. Technically Alex was that way too, he'd been intentionally locking himself away for years. Being a mutant was being an outsider. Some people reflected that in other ways too. ]

But you mean something specific.

[carcajous]

[ That's where those came from, huh? Funny. He remembers Charles mentioning something about that offhand, but not Raven, specifically. Mystique. She's important to Charles. But she's also done too much shit for him to trust her. At least, the version he knows. Suppose it could be different now if what Charles says is true. That they stopped her. That she picked another road.

For a second, Logan's head is elsewhere—back in that room with Cerebro for the first time. Until then, he hadn't realized, either. Sure, he knew mutants were here and there. Hiding in plain sight like he was if they were lucky. Chased off into the shadows if they weren't. But he'd figured they were all on their own, making their way through a world that didn't trust them, that they couldn't trust in return. The school was already the first place he'd seen so many mutants together. Cerebro was—shit, it was something else. And yeah. For a few brief moments, he could see what the Professor meant. About not being alone.

He taps his fingers idly. Nah, he wouldn't be the first. Wasn't the last, either. But—

He shakes his head. Scott's a complicated subject, alive or dead. ] It doesn't matter anymore. He was our first soldier down. Years before the war. I thought I lost you, too. [ He hesitates. He's not exactly sure what Charles saw in his head. ] Listen, whatever the others felt about me, you saw something else. I stayed because of you. That's not gonna change. Let me do what I do best and handle the bullshit in this place, alright? Until you figure things out.

[ Which Charles will. He knows that. But in the meantime, Logan's good at. This. Scraping things together so they can all see another day. And he's okay with being that guy—for Charles, for all of them. In a way, it's what he needs to be. That's what he's trying to say, maybe. That Charles doesn't need to believe in himself at this moment or tomorrow or, hell, even ten years from now. Logan's still not going anywhere. ]

[thetruefocus]

[ Charles's love for Raven is pure and endless. She was his constant companion for most of his life, treasured in his heart from childhood. But he had given up on her, and he's thankful that Logan reminded him that he should not have, that you don't give up on the people you love. It led to them finding one another again, albeit briefly, given that they separated regardless of sharing that moment. But he understands that the two people he loved most in the world became the villains of their story. He struggles to see it that way, but he gets it.

Until Cerebro, Charles had only his studies to theorize what mutations could be out there. He didn't know how many were alive in his time, but he is not surprised to hear that the number has grown as the population rises and the natural genetic mutations continue. They may still have to hide at times from the world, but they found each other. It is that he has hope for, that which Charles is holding onto. But it isn't here.

Charles struggles with the offer, but in the end, he lets people make their own choices. Hank stayed with him for all those years out of love and loyalty, and he allowed that, so he can't very well refuse that to another. He might not know Logan the way he is known, but he is still one of his people. One of his beloved students, even if he was older when he found them.]

Alright, alright. I accept.

[ Charles sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose, willing his headache away. At a point he has to respect that Logan's knowledge and ability to survive is simply greater than his. ]

I suppose you are now the teacher.

[ Charles smiles faintly at him, weary. He's finished his sandwich and drink, which told a clearer story about how he's struggled in even the short time he's been here. He would do this for someone else, he has to get used to allowing it the other way around. And Logan at least he knows and trusts. ]

The X-Men were created originally to be soldiers, but I had hoped they wouldn't always have to be.

[ They worked for the government due to the situation they were in. He understands that they continued their hero work for good reasons, but it doesn't mean he wanted his students to be in danger. Or that one soldier had to be down at all. ]

[carcajous]

[ He huffs around the lip of his bottle. ] I wouldn't go that far.

[ Nah, he's nobody teacher. Though they never did stop tryna make him sub and babysit—before it all went to shit.

Logan flips the jagged metal cap, then turns it back the other way. Part of him wants to say it was their choice; the other part of him understands it's nowhere near that simple. Truth is, he doesn't know Scott well, much less what Scott might've wanted for himself or didn't want. Never got the chance to. And now? Beats the hell out of him, where it leaves them. Logan knows what choice he made, but he's different. He's not—y'know, he's good at what he's good at. That'll never change. ]

Lot of us did it so others wouldn't have to. The kids still got to be kids. For a while.

[ Not as much as they deserved, but he thinks—no, he's sure—that without Charles, they wouldn't have gotten that chance in the first place.

A beat passes. Then he gathers up the empty wrapper and chucks it into the trash. He's got Charles here, safe. It's something. It's more than he thought he'd have.

He's also gotta get to work, so. They're gonna have to revisit this little talk another time. Logan slides off his chair. ] Take the bed, I won't be back 'til sunup. If you need me, just— [ he wiggles his hand by his head. ] —do your thing. Or call me.

[ Whichever works. ]

let's wrap here :D do something at the mingle

[thetruefocus]

[ The kids being kids, at least for a time, that is a good thing to hear. When it began they were taking soldiers where they could, it was far from a perfect plan, but defeating Shaw was always supposed to only be step one. The dream was bigger than what was happening with the CIA or what happened on the beach. If Logan hadn't showed up at his door, he doesn't know how he would have come out of his depression to become the man they all knew him as. Luckily he doesn't have to figure that out, it happened, and now here they are. ]

I don't know if I'll be able to sleep, it is quite loud here.

[ And Logan's mind isn't the most restful place for him to hide either, so he wouldn't bother to try. It's fine. Charles can rest in the best way he can and take some of the weight off his shoulders that Logan is intentionally offering him. The voices are constant, everywhere around them now, and without Logan there, he'll be swept away by them again.

Every day it will get a little easier. All he can do is survive it for now. ]

But I will. Thank you, Logan.