diademooc | TEST DRIVE ∞ May 2025

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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

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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

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

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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.

Main Navigation ::: ⇅ Top

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

FLUXDRIFT

[Considering his last sandbox adventure and their favourite mode of transportation being giant metal balls (seriously, who was the set designer?), this could be going worse. Sure, he woke up with the doctor marveling that he has his head considering it was “attached by a thread,” and now he's in insurmountable debt (probably, Wade only sort of half-head the number), but when's that been new?]

Hey, this thing got one of those ejaculation seats?

[Wade's not looking at the guy to see the squint directed at him, and it'd be hard to see through their mask anyway; his head's in the driver-side window and he's nodding to himself about the interior. Sure, we're going back to the Lion-King soundtrack on cassette days if it looked like she hadn't already been gutted, but this baby has the smell of real industrial-grade polyester. And he's pretty sure that's blood on the mat. Gives her character. You know whats better than dated infotainment? None at all. Just the road, and screeching metal, and zero dials to blame on distracting yourself with. You mean ejection?

A pause.] Yeah, that.

[Not that, but you can't be picky when it comes to forcible loans. At least the guy's never heard of APR. Uh, no—] No worries, I'll make it one later.

[He's still got that idea floating around somewhere, 'cause what else is there to do? There's a lot of road and he's a singular protagonist trying to hold interest alone. In a car. With two hands. It's a winning combination.

Once he's on the road, he's pretty sure that Yom motherfucker switched out one of his tires between Wade's “Thanks for the loaner” and “see you never, sucker!” Otherwise, what's the reason it explodes? His beautiful, sweet baby he's already named Dandy swerves through the dust, coming to a pathetic, slumping stop at the end of a very long dusty streak. She gives an angry rattle, like this is somehow his fault.]

Fuck! Seriously? Girl, you know I'd never disrespect you like this!

[Okay, it's not like he's in a hurry, but he's gotta keep the narrative thread moving here. And with nothing in the car besides Bea in her sheathe beside him, he hasn't got a flare to fart on.

When the next unfortunate soul drives by and slows down enough, they might see a half-covered masked man waving what looks like a pair of blood-red pants in the air — and his bare, scarred up legs airing out in the wind.

All he needs is one sucker to stop, then it's free four wheels until.... well, until the next needle drop.

Man. She is a cute one, though. All yellow and... yellow. All right, so he takes one wheel. It'll probably fit. If anyone slows down, he'll start waving a gloved hand at them.] Hey, I promise I'm actually in trouble and I am not planning to kill you and take all your valuables! Scout's honour!

THE BLOCKS: POWER OUTAGE

[Wade has about as much hesitance to further dig himself into debt that he does about cutting his own hand off for a joke, so he grabs himself a room at Saint Margery's. And honestly? It's not bad. The whole four dingy walls with the distinct smell of fire and MSG right outside the window are doing it for him.

It's like home.

And, okay, to be honest, the blackout is also like home when you have a blind roommate who can't use Google to pay an electricity bill. That doesn't mean he's gonna just sit here and deal with it.

So when you return to your room, you might see a man dressed entirely in red trying to break into your window, except his sword gets stuck on the windowsill. ] Hey, can you -- I'm just gonna duck down, can you just — yeah, push the hilt down a little so I can just wiggle in here — guess those breakfast sandwiches really go right to your hips, huh?

[Yes, this is so much more difficult than just breaking the door down. But where's the fun in that? Besides, if there's AC on in there, he wants to keep the airflow contained.]

FRINGES: QUAD 3: THE QUADDENING

[There's not a lot of rules for mercs, but one of the first and foremost is the most obvious: when you're thrust onto a new universe (ooh, or are we going full multiverse here? What's the plural of multiverse? Multiversii?), you carve out a nest. We're talking, like, full turtle. A place to sleep, four walls and, if you're lucky, two doors — one for in and one for out — and grub.

Which means money. You can escape the multiverse but you're always gonna find yourself in a capitalistic hellscape. Just the way the world(s) work.

So Wade's out here not on a mission or because another old lady's lost her cat in a... a building that suspiciously looks like an abandoned Kinko's, but because there's a payday on the other end of this.

Theoretically.

Capitalism is a curse but at least it's a consistent one, and if Wade's got the lion's share of meds then they're gonna have to pay out the ass for them. Look, it's their fault he's lost Arthur, so they're gonna have to pay him back somehow.

Once he sees them through a window, he's already wiggling his way in, dropping in to a couple of inches of water. Like any good escape room, the place locks down the moment he's in, which — you know, of fucking course.]

Quarantine? So you're going to take out your prejudices on a guy who's suffering, huh? That's fucked up. [If this place thinks he's not about to rob it blind —

Which... after he shuffles through work desks and drawers and finds a whole Jack Torrence amount of papers which read “you're ugly” and “you look like what gonorrhea has regrets about,” Wade starts pocketing pens and his biggest find -- a gold Sharpie -- out of spite. But the next one he squints at through his mask, bringing it up to his face, he's starting to think this might be targeted.

You're the bottom crab in the bucket of the world's shittiest car salesmen. The dead one that keeps getting stepped on, with gooey crab guts everywhere.

Yeah. Really targeted.] Not really the motivational calendar I would've gone for myself —

[He starts as the water starts seeping into his boots, and considering he'd been barely splashing through it half an hour ago, that's. Huh. This place springing a leak or something?

Oh, shit! An egg-shaped Post-It! Oh, he is so taking this.

And so it goes that the water surges up next time Wade finds another Targeted note, something like “super dick? More like super shit!” which, whoa, hey, targeted is one thing, but why are we getting personal? But then he finds something awesome, like a yellow duck stapler, and it sinks back down.

You know the kind of thought you have when you're looking at a passing train? Wade has that, between the rising water looking mighty deadly, and a shadow passing by the window. Maybe someone else's first reaction would be to ask for help.

Wade's first instinct is to pretend he's drowning, but in a Little John three-inches-of-water way, splashing and calling out for help as his head slams against the window. Oh nooo, he's gonna drown! Right in front of you! Do you really want this red-masked idiot to be the main topic of your next therapy appointment?]

Edited 2025-05-15 21:41 (UTC)

[ A mile back, skies were clear. Now the clouds are dumping water by the buckets. He's soaked through in a second, ends up swerving around a flooded section of the road, water so deep even he's not sure he can ride through without spinning out.

Yeah, he came to check out the notice posted. Not that he trusts it; doesn't mean he won't go see what's going on, either. A building, looks like, lights on but nobody around. He's pretty sure, at least, until he steps closer and a shadow moves through a row of blocky computers. Old. The kinda shit you'd find in libraries thirty years ago. The water's not high enough to drown them yet, but it looks like it's rising, and there's a figure he can't quite make out far in the back.

He tugs on the handle. It doesn't budge. Won't even creak under his strength.

Don't see that every day.

His hand presses against the glass. He's not breaking it down yet. Experience tells him there's a good chance whoever's inside might need to be kept inside. Out here, who the hell can say.

Instead, he knocks, pounding twice in the door. ] Hey! Who's in there?

[Look, he was only going on guesses by the shadows passing by the window being a hero, but honestly? It'd be equally as fun if someone wanted to watch him drown, too. And he'd be happy to oblige! What else was there to do for fun around here? (Okay, maybe he's gotta keep those egg Post Its dry, though --)

But that hey? You think he hasn't been hearing twenty years of that hey? He knows exactly who that is. Undeniable. Of course that fucker's here with him.

There's two decisions in his mental droplist:

1. He goes, hey, Logan, it's me! Your bestie! Your favourite roommate who isn't blind! And they have a cool, dramatic reunion, even though they're rehashing at least the cinematic ending of their last movie.

Or,

2. He pretends to drown harder.

Yeah, that's the one he's going for. Hell, it's barely even a choice! Wade wades through the water until he's pressed up to the glass of the window, banging on it as he "struggles" with the rising water. And honestly, some of it does get in his mouth and he starts choking a little, which helps, what with the coughing and the holding his throat and half yelling a "help!" which dies at the end.

Look, if you're gonna fool the theatre kid, you gotta go hard.]

Deadpool | XMCU

quaddening, but also wildcard bc you can't stop me.

it's true, I can't

fluxdrift

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fluxdrift

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the blocks

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the blocks

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fluxdrift

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the blocks: power outage

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fringes quaddening

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quaddening!!!

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quaddening

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power outage

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sighs....fluxdrift

Power Outage