diademooc | TEST DRIVE ∞ May 2025

Entry tags:

TEST DRIVE ∞ May 2025

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

ON THE ROAD

[ Erik grips the steering wheel hard, gaze focused on the endless road ahead, but not quite seeing what lies beyond him.

He's still absorbing the information given to him. Not much, admittedly, and not nearly enough for him to fully understand what's going on. For an illusion created purposefully by someone truly powerful, it seems a little too complex and far too farfetched for him to see what anyone could gain from it. The other option is to believe he's somehow been taken to another planet. Another reality? That's somehow even more unrealistic than anything else he could imagine.

He expects at any moment to wake up in his own small, old cabin in the middle of the woods with a strong headache, thus rendering all of this a wild, complex dream that he has somehow concocted. Dreams always seem real when you're in them, after all. But then, him thinking that this might be a dream is probably proof that it's definitely not a dream.

Fuck, his head hurts now. That's probably another sign that this is all real.

He spots something different in the distance— a car pulled over to the edge of the road, someone standing just outside it. He debates just driving by, but instead he slows down, pulls up behind them and steps outside. ]

Car trouble?

PANORAMA

[ It's not long before Erik becomes painfully aware of how real all of this, however wild and incomprehensible. The notion of alternate realities is a tad too far for a man who's only come to learn of diverging timelines and the possibility of time travel, but Erik has never been the sort to be stumped.

Besides, he's a man of priorities, and right now survival is at the top of that list. Having the car is a good start, and it's where he sleeps for the first few days, visiting the supermarket for all the free samples he can get— and simply scooping a couple of other essentials into his pocket as needed. He's modest and discrete enough to be able to do it without drawing any attention to himself. If someone sees him, he may level them with a heavy gaze, somewhere between threatening and genuinely concerned that he's about to be told on.

Not that getting arrested would be a first for him, but still.

He knows this isn't a long term solution, though, and after a couple of days he decides to find a way to earn some much needed funds. A warehouse job is simple enough work, menial tasks that he can handle and will keep him just under the radar, so he applies for one of those. Throughout the shifts he keeps mostly to himself, not giving even his coworkers much attention though it is clear he's watching them constantly.

After a couple of shifts, he can finally pay for a room at one of the cheapest motels, a slight improvement after sleeping in the car for his first nights. Electricity is rare and fickle but that's the least of his concerns, really. He can still shower, even if the water's cold, and a bed is still better than the cramped space in his back seat.

He expects no one to come barging in, but a knock on the door is just as surprising. He pulls it open only to find no one there, then pokes his head out into the hallway to see someone just a few feet away. ]

Yes?

FRINGES

[ Coming out here is quite possibly a very bad idea, but Erik's lacking in ideas when it comes to figuring out what's happening here. It's a distant hope to learn any more about his current circumstances, but he's still going to try. Maybe a clue, or someone who might know more than what he's been told so far.

That's not what he finds when he reaches the flooded building, but that only serves as further encouragement for him to step inside. The moment that door locks behind him, he knows he's made a mistake.

But it's not until he tries to use his powers and nothing budges that he realizes he's made a grave mistake. He gasps audibly when he puts all his energy to it and nothing happens, panting as the seriousness of the situation dawns on him. He looks around, refuses to panic. Eyes fix on the words flashing on the screen.

Code. A code— it has to be here somewhere. Erik is not well-versed with computers, especially as they're not a common thing in his own time, so he starts searching through what papers and folders he can find, trying to see if there's anything underwater that might help.

A face takes shape, and he freezes in a panic, eyes wide. He mutters something, tries to chase after the face of a woman he hasn't seen in thirty years— but she vanishes just when he's an inch from being able to touch. He gasps, pain stabbing through his chest, only to make his insides twist painfully when the face of his mother is replaced with Shaw's.

His face goes white, by now the task at hand entirely forgotten. Shock and grief give way to anger, and he screams as he punches through the water, forcing that face to vanish. Part of the structure inside gives way, metal beams bending and pulled apart from their place, but the building doesn't collapse. There's just a lot of threatening noise and probably some pieces of the ceiling coming apart and falling in the process.

Helping him snap out of it at the moment might be the most urgent course of action. ]

[ Rogue's banging at the window, watching in horror as the man who seems to be trapped inside starts punching at the water. She can't blame him; if their roles had been reversed, she would have panicked, turned feral, been absolutely terrified about being locked in somewhere.

Even seeing someone in this situation is enough to bring up enough unpleasant memories of her own about being locked in her cell that it's hard not to freeze. Instead, she funnels it into beating harder at the window, faintly surprised that it doesn't crack and break under her fists. Regular glass would.

This too reminds her of her cell walls.

He doesn't seem to hear her, though, that much is clear after about a minute. And that part is different. She'd been able to hear all too much from her cell.

Pieces of ceiling coming down in the building make her pause mid-bang and she resorts to waving her hands, hoping the motion will catch his attention. ]

[ At the moment it's not even the thought of being trapped that's making him lash out. He's searching the water frantically— not for clues, not for codes, but for the next face that he might recognize, good or bad. Seeing Shaw's face again is the worst possible memory to resurface and it almost makes him sick to his stomach.

So he moves his hands through the water, apparently not ignoring the way it's rising higher, up to his knees and past them now. Eyes wide, he's entirely unaware of the woman banging on the windows just outside, and it's not until he turns a little more that he spots the movement.

He expects it to be another reflection, another ghost from his past. It's almost a relief when he realises he can't recognise her; enough to help him snap out of it a little. He takes deep, heavy breaths, and eventually he moves closer to the window, again holding a hand out to the locks, pouring all his focus into trying to get it open.

It's to no avail, though. He can clearly sense the metal, but it's not responding to him. Undoubtedly because none of them are meant to have a quick way out of here. ]

Can't you open it?

[ He asks, but he can't hear her either, so she probably can't hear him. He yanks on the handle, gesturing for her to try too. ]

[ She can't hear a word he's saying but she can read his lips. Reaching for the handle on her side, Rogue gives it a tug, and when it doesn't budge, a second, harder one.

Nothing.

Shaking her head, she quickly adds: ] It won't open. [ Even though she doesn't expect him to be able to hear her either. Then points at the glass, shaking her head. ] It won't break either. [ But that doesn't mean she's not going to try to shatter it. If her fists didn't work, maybe if she can find something to throw at it, that will.

Rogue holds up a gloved finger -- wait a second -- so that, hopefully, when she turns and wades back into the water, he doesn't think she's bailing and leaving him there. She ends up with a broken piece of one of the emergency signs, a shard that's rough around the edges but that she can throw her weight behind to try to get through the window. Trudging back, water splashing everywhere, she holds it up. ]

Stand back. [ It won't work, will just bounce uselessly off the window, but she's going to swing with as much force as she can muster. ]

Edited 2025-05-16 20:48 (UTC)

[ That's not going to work. It's the first thought to cross his mind. He's already tried to break the glass with his abilities, and nothing budges. He shakes his head, but it doesn't serve to stop her, and while he steps aside, he doesn't actually count on it actually working.

He's unsurprised when it bounces back, the glass not even budging, as though it was a wall instead. He presses his hands to the glass after, checking to see that the woman on the other side hasn't been injured. His hands slam on the surface but she'll only see it, not hear it, but once he can see she's doin alright, he points to the screen. ]

The code! We need the code!

[ But where does he even input that code? He doesn't know, but finding it should probably be priority. Better than panicking about the situation, and he's never been the sort.

So he turns back into the room instead, and starts going through what files he can still reach above the water, fishing others from beneath the surface in hopes of finding something even remotely resembling a clue. ]

erik lehnsherr — xmcu

Fringes

no subject

no subject

no subject

panorama

no subject

no subject

no subject

ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏᴀᴅ

no subject

no subject

no subject

fringes

no subject

no subject

no subject

panorama

no subject

no subject

no subject

on the road

no subject

no subject

fringes.