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

salutes!

[reverso]

[Well, in the grand scheme on things, Kimiko's vehicle is infinitely more practical than Verso's when it comes to actually hauling something other than a single person around, and maybe he should have given that some thought before committing to his choice, but that's neither here nor there.

Verso's brow rises incrementally as he watches this take place. A problem with her vehicle, he assumes? Some button that Isn't Doing The Thing. Well. That brow rises a bit farther once he sees how tiny this stranger really is; not so much because of her frame itself, but for how she is utterly dwarfed by the SUV.]

Er...

[He suspects he'll not receive vocal instruction, else he would've received some prior. Still, it doesn't matter too much — help's help, all the same, and give him a moment to parse her meaning. How good is he at charades? Middling to passing, depending.]

You want to ride with? Well, that might be exciting, but it'd also be a terrible idea.

[Yeah, middling.]

[pse]

[ Kimiko waves a hand and softly shakes her head, visually doubling down on how much of a no her answer is to that suggestion.

Holding up a finger ("wait a moment"), she rounds around to the passenger side, gets the sticky door open after a tug or two, and spends a few moments rooting around in the glove compartment. Several little slips of folded up paper fall to the floor, onto the seat, even tumble out into the dirt. After nearly two minutes of this, it's clear she can't find what she's looking for. She pre-wrote a lot, but nothing for this particular situation. With a little stub of a pencil, she braces an empty piece of paper (torn out of a hand-sized notebook) against the side of the vehicle, writes awkwardly all across its surface.

Finally, she can communicate with Verso!

With gusto, and a middle schooler's sloppy penmanship, this is what she hands him:

Put your bike in the back.
I can help you if you can't lift it.
Do you need a ride?

You don't have a helmet.
You should get a safer vehicle.

Hi, I'm Kimiko. And then a smiley face. It isn't even sideways! ]

[reverso]

[Okay, well, he was wrong, but at least it's good to know she has enough sense not to trust him at the helm of a very fast vehicle he doesn't know how to operate fully yet.

Verso is the very essence of casual patience, though, as she disappears 'round to the passenger side, watching with a measure of curiosity. The flutter of papers is not surprising, as he suspects he's not the only blockheaded fool who can't figure out her intent through an unscripted round of charades, but he can't quite puzzle out what she's looking for.

Ultimately, it doesn't seem to matter. A sheet of paper, a pencil, and a bit of scribbling later, and Verso is taking the paper and reading it over.]

Ah. [Ah! like it should have been obvious.] I'd appreciate the help. I'll move the bike, but there should be no problem lifting it on my end.

[Awkwardly... dismounts the bike now, continuing:]

I wouldn't mind a ride until I get a better handle on this thing. And you're acting like cracking my head open is all that bad. [Wry. Ha... she's probably right. Crook never mentioned a helmet, though. Go figure. Anyway. What else?] Hello, Kimiko. I'm Verso. And in your debt.

[pse]

[ Fortunately, opening the hatchback manually is easier than trying to use the button on the dashboard. Rounding the back, Kimiko opens everything up for him—including getting the backseat down—and waves for him to move his bike inside.

While he's doing that, she writes on the opposite side of her latest piece of paper. It's held up rather than held out as she hears the hatchback slam shut again.

Hello, Verrso!

Obviously, no comment on the debt. This city doesn't seem easy to live in and favours are useful to have. ]

[reverso]

[Oh, ample space, indeed. Maybe he did make a poor choice.

Ah, well.

The bike now nicely tucked away, he glances aside to read the new greeting. Verso can't help but chuckle at the spelling.]

Just the one "r".

[It's a correction, but from his tone and expression, a rather lighthearted and unconcerned one. He isn't rude enough to be bothered by it when she's doing him such a favor — even if that favor will be expected in turn.]

[pse]

[ Kimiko quickly pulls the note back, frowns down at it, lightly stabs through one of the rs with the tip of her pencil, and then holds it back up.

Hello, Ve▮rso!

Her smile is only slightly akin to a fourth grader hoping for a gold star on their homework. ]

[reverso]

[And this is Verso, man who is friend to the Gestrals, a race who very much acts like eager fourth graders more often than not. So he just leans in and looks at the correction, feigning scrutiny, then straightens and gives a nod of approval.]

Perfect, mon amie.

[She’s friendly, at least, which bodes well. Verso’s at a disadvantage, much more than before, with his bike housed in someone else’s ride. He was fortunate enough to come across someone helpful, and her helpfulness seems sincere, at that.

He motions at her SUV.]

Well, shall we? I promise I’m not terribly boring company, at least as far as traveling companions go.

[pse]

[ Nodding, she leaves the passenger door open for him to climb in as she rounds the other side. There are still little folded pieces of paper she uses when she needs to communicate littered all over the seat; he can brush those off himself.

Once the car is turned over and moving smoothly down the road, she reaches over and flips down the sun visor on his side. Taped over the mirror is another little note:

Where are you headed?

Eventually, she'll run out of forethought notes and then the charades can really begin. ]

[reverso]

[The folded pieces of paper are not carelessly brushed off, but carefully brushed aside, maybe purposeful enough to get a glimpse of what's written on them. Short phrases, it seems, used for the sake of convenience. Kimiko's been doing this for a while, he assumes.

He settles in, blinks as the SUV starts—it's like being in the belly of something alive; a far cry from the gradual way a train drags its massive body across the tracks—and blinks again when the sun visor flips down and stares at him with another question.]

...You do come prepared, don't you?

[A simple question with a simple answer, at least.]

Panorama. I was told that it's a couple of hours away. Hope you're headed in the same direction.

[pse]

[ A nod, a smug little smile when he notes her preparation.

It would be nice if it wasn't needed—if she didn't occasionally have to choose between spending money on paper to write on versus spending it on something entirely frivolous, like a slice of cake or a grenade launcher—but this isn't the time or place to worry about that. She hasn't spoken in nearly twenty years. She isn't about to start now. Sorry, Verso.

A second nod ("yes, I'm heading back to Panorama") and her foot lays a bit heavier on the gas peddle. The little wand on the speedometer ticks forward, forward, forward. The wheels grind gleefully and noisily against the dirt and dust as they pick up speed. Why not? There's no one around for miles, nothing but flat terrain and the occasional dead copse or dried up creek.

Nothing bad is going to happen.

For the most part, Kimiko keeps her eyes on the road. Occasionally, her gaze flicks up to the rearview mirror above her head, which keeps Verso solidly in its reflection. If he sees this, she'll have enough sense to smile politely.

Vibe check time. Is this terribly awkward, or is Verso shining with his new social responsibility? ]

[reverso]

[That's the thing with Verso. Despite his friendly, utterly unbothered demeanor, he often prefers to keep to himself. To not wear his heart on his sleeve, but rather under several layers of impenetrable cloth, instead. But he's aware enough to be attuned to the social temperature, and also wouldn't prefer for it to swing from "comfortable" to "awkward", and realizes that he perhaps should carry on some middling conversation to fend off the sense of ungainliness and boredom. For both of their sakes.

So, after a second meeting of gazes in the rearview mirror, coupled with a pair of polite smiles, he launches off with-]

It's strange, you know. For all the nothingness I'm seeing out this window, it still reminds me a little of where I come from. A sense of... a world that used to be more than what it is now.

[Post-apocalyptic, one might say.]

'Course, maybe Panorama will give me an entirely new impression. I hear it's crowded. Very crowded.

[pse]

[ Bobbing her head in an energetic nod—yes, very crowded!—she peers around the dashboard before tapping the numbers on the odometer. Her SUV was given to her used, with a high amount of miles already on it; she's trying to indicate, by pointing to the highest cluster of numbers she can find, that Panorama has a lot of people.

It, uh, may not come through in translation.

At the edge of a copse several feet away from the road, a coyote is nosing the ground and making its way past the dead trees. The colour of its fur also matches the highly sun-baked, oxidised terrain around them; only the whites of its eyes and the black tips of its ears help it stand out. This will be relevant shortly. ]