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TEST DRIVE ∞ May 2025
Test Drive ∞ May 2025
The First Collision
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.
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:
TDM threads can be canon if characters are accepted. Top-levels made to the TDM should be open to all.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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:
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
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.
> 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.
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.
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.
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.
Main Navigation ::: ⇅
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the other guy
He realizes, as soon as he registers who is howling at them, that it won't do much to stop her. Which - would be a different problem if he'd been alone - but there's Viktor, who Jayce isn't even sure will even defend himself right now - ]
Stop!
[ His own voice is a grainy shout. He's going to get between them, or make an attempt - considering both of them have inhuman reflexes and he's got a busted leg. Maybe this configuration seems strange to her, Jayce defending the much taller, much stronger person in this equation - and also because said person tried to forcibly assimilate them all very recently. But there's a kind of wild anger and fear in his expression right now, unprepared as he is to finally face her like this. ]
no subject
The realization snowballs. First, that the driver must recognize them. Second, that he recognizes the driver. Third, that she is barreling out of the vehicle apparently with the intent to do harm. He knows her. How can he not, after everything?]
Powder--
[Viktor will not let Jayce put himself between the two of them. He's the one who can offer protection, now, but even so, Viktor knows he deserves whatever Jinx wants to do to him. It was foolish, perhaps, to believe that his atrocities from home would not follow him here, in some way. Jayce steps out in front of him and Viktor reaches for his arm, hoping to pull him out of the way.]
Jayce, don't!
no subject
Her flinch is more full-bodied than it was the last time he said that name, starting with one foot twisting, shuddering up her spine and jerking her head to the side. She jolts as though in dismissal of it. It's her anger worsening the reaction.
Her hand moves as if to draw a gun. A bomb.
She has neither. Empty hands twitching. She's a ranged-fighter before a fist-fighter.
Her attention shifts back forth between Viktor and Jayce, calculating, threat-assessing. She doesn't want to get in close to either of them. Doesn't trust what they're capabilities are.
So she let's anger lead and fixates on Jayce--her recognition of him coming through clearer.] You're with him? [It's not like she knew Jayce enough after the disaster of the commune, but he was fighting Viktor with them, wasn't he?] Was it a lie? Was it all a lie? Did you betray us? [She's quickly trying to put together a puzzle amongst all her trauma of the commune events and then her arrival to the fight and the hexgate but she's missing too many pieces from key people.
There's too much she doesn't know.] You and him against us--we had no chance to save Vander-- [If she doesn't have all the right info she'll just make up a story until she can have something make sense in her head.]
no subject
A large hand wraps around his arm and Jayce's body stiffens, muscles tense, readying to forcibly pull himself free. He takes a step forward to do so, then stops himself, torn between glancing back at Viktor and unhinged woman in front of them: the terrorist responsible for so many deaths, a monster in his mind - and here, a skinny girl with a bad haircut, one who had been near catatonic last he'd heard. ]
I don't - [ even know who Vander is. Barely does. His expression twists and then falls, struggling to rise to her level of rage, but he won't move unless one of them forces to. ] We're not against anyone - look, you don't understand...
no subject
He makes no further move to approach, only stands between them.]
Jayce ended it. [With a little help, of course, but he kept his promise.] It's not him you should be angry with.
[The only thing he can do is take responsibility. On some level, he understands his own corruption--that he wasn't necessarily in his right mind, the moment he left the laboratory in Piltover--but that's no real excuse. It will not bring back the lives he took, or heal the wounds he caused.
Viktor bows his head, his arms slack, deferential. If she wants to harm him, now, he will not stop her.]
I cannot ask you to forgive me.
no subject
The thing is she barely knows why she should direct all of her rage at Viktor. The tincan fortune cookie helped Vander, at one point. She made him see through the mind of the beast.
Don't. Touch. My Daughter.
Viktor did that. He gave them their father back and--
It's not him you should be angry with.
She doesn't know how it all went to hell. She's just assumed that something else riled Vander up again, just like before, and they couldn't pull him out of it. Too much blood, maybe. Too much chaos. His mind fell back into the beast.
The only piece that clues into Viktor's lasting detrimental involvement were the similarities of change across Vander's final form with those strange white metal people.
I cannot ask you to forgive me.
She staggers back a few steps, pushing the palm of one hand up into the short fringe of hair, breathing irregular. For a moment it looks like she might just stop, as Jayce shouted for. Maybe even collapse.
And then with one agonized shout and a streak of super speed she is right before him, pounding on him with enraged fists that would pummel a normal man but have little affect other than for Jinx to finally vent her emotions until she tires herself out or Jayce pulls her away.]
no subject
He can't watch this, Viktor just standing there taking the hits. It doesn't matter that he thinks he deserves it - what little embers of his rage toward Jinx flare for a split second, how many lives did she destroy, just to be able to walk free -
This isn't a second chance, but it shouldn't have to be a punishment either - a flicker of something anguished and bone weary slips through that sliver of connection that remains between him and Viktor, nothing but smoke from coals left. ]
Enough!
[ He pushes past Viktor, the word a strangled plea as he tries to grab her shoulder and pull her off of him. ]
no subject
Viktor will let her do what she needs, even as he feels Jayce's distress in the periphery of his mind. Still, he's entirely inert, unresponsive to Jinx's onslaught and equally motionless when Jayce tries to physically separate them. He takes an involuntary step backward, almost surprised.
The last thing he wants is for Jinx to turn her ire on Jayce. He tries to move between them again, this time using his arms to hold them both at bay, as far away from each other as he can.]
Do whatever you want to me. [Even if Jayce will certainly object to that statement.] Just...don't hurt him.
no subject
Will it make the nightmares better, or worse?
She can't do anything she wants to Viktor; she doesn't have the means. So she squirrels away from the blocking arm just so she can shove at Jayce but not enough to do any lasting harm--see, she didn't hurt him, he's fine. She may as well have hissed don't touch me at him with the action even though he was no longer in fact touching her.
And then she dances out of reach of both of them, hands up, fingers twitching, grinning viciously at Jayce before it flattens down into something darker. Dangerous.
Her anger isn't gone, it's just sharpened. It's just a brewing tea kettle; it could be taken off the heat, or it could sound off. Time will tell.
She stares down Viktor.] What. Did you do. To Vander? [Because she may not want to know but her beating on him ineffectively does nothing if she doesn't even know why he should be guilt, why he deserves anything, especially when he just stares at her like a stoic statue.
Except... stoic with a personal attachment. She files that away.]
no subject
Only the sudden force of her shove surprises him - even having seen how fast she is, and how hard her fists wailed against Viktor's metal form. He staggers back, catching himself on his good leg and moving to charge back in - then stops, setting his foot back down. The shift from menacing grin to threat has his blood running cold.
He doesn't move again - remaining a hostile spectator, albeit one with slumped shoulders and the sudden inability to make eye contact with anything but the dirt on the side of the road. ]
no subject
And Jinx deserves to know the truth. He doesn't have to imagine the chaos of it all, fighting for her life with no explanation of how or why--he saw it through the eyes of his automatons. Viktor holds Jayce at bay. There's nothing that can be discerned from his face, but his shoulders sag and his body language is that of someone thoroughly defeated.]
I took his mind. [Like he did with so many others.] I thought it was necessary, it was--what I needed to do.
[To survive, after Jayce nearly killed him. To achieve his goal--to evolve, and there is no denying that Warwick's regenerative power is what allowed him to do it, as the Doctor said. He'd been so sure of himself. So close to his goal, only to realize at the last moment that nothing was as he thought.]
When you fought him, Powder, that was--it wasn't your father any more.
[He'd burned Vander away.]
no subject
No, that's not true. She can think of plenty of uses to use minds for, some more treacherous than the last.
She doesn't know what Viktor thought taking minds was for. Specifically, Vander's.
But right now she isn't that cultivated logic; she's rattled emotion.
Viktor brought Vander to clarity just for him to die again. How many times should one kid have to kill her parents? At least this time it wasn't Jinx that pulled the trigger, but she may as well have. Almost wished she had.
Maybe there's a cruel joke to be made in there, somewhere.] Stop calling me-- [The spat out words are swallowed down and she pivots on one foot, scratching small rocks on asphalt, turning her back to them, one hand thrown up as though in aggravated dismissal.] You should've never brought him back. [As though there had always been some other intention to Viktor's help.
She should get back in her car that doesn't have enough character yet to really be called hers. Drive away.
She glares back over her shoulder at Jayce. You ended it too late and how'd it feel? there on her tongue, vitriolic. She scoffs. She says none of these things; not right now, anyway. She's tired and she hadn't managed to expel all the adrenaline from the battle out while she was cruising down the highway.] And? Now what, Councilman?
no subject
He hasn't had hope of returning to Piltover. It's better that they don't. Maybe it was naive to think none of the harm they caused back home would follow them here to the outskirts of the universe.
You never should have brought him back, for a brief, disorienting second, he forgets she means Vander.
She turns to leave and Jayce wants to slip his hand to Viktor's. They are who they are. There's nothing he could learn that he wouldn't forgive now, no weight he wouldn't try to bear with him (but even he knows that they can't hold each other up if they're both sinking).
She snaps at Jayce before he can do more than brush his fingers against Viktor's arm, his thoughts a flurry of anger and aimless regret. The latter wins out. ]
... you go your way, we'll go ours. [ He finally lifts his gaze to hold hers, eyes narrowed but lacking heat. ] We don't have to see each other again.
[ He's not going to bother continuing to convince her that Viktor won't hurt anyone. He doubts she cares. Jayce cares that she doesn't hurt anyone else ever again - but maybe she's done too. Maybe she's just as tired as they are. ]
no subject
He knows Powder's heart, through her father's memories. That will have to be punishment enough.
Jayce is right, that they should go their separate ways, even if he still wants to atone. Even if he has no idea how to do that--how he might heal the harm he's caused.]
Jinx. [He knows her heart, but he can respect her wishes, if only because it's what she wants to hear. Viktor can capitulate that much.] You do not have to accept my apology. I'm not asking for your forgiveness. But...I'm sorry.
[Perhaps, someday, he'll be able to explain everything to her. For now, he knows that he does not deserve her time. If this is, in fact, the last time they speak to each other, though, he wants her to know that much.]
no subject
That's how her own apology to Caitlyn was, about the mother that Jinx murdered. 'I didn't know' and 'it probably wouldn't have made a difference but'
But.
What good is an apology, even if he means it?
It's rage and pain that cracks across her expression, tears pricking at her eyes as she's close to howling, screaming, sobbing. It's there, tainted and tinted by the Shimmer.
It's Powder's mind, small and tucked away as Viktor sees it. Tucked away and shielded by Jinx. Her voice breaks. The barest slip of raw emotion. The barest acknowledgement that she heard Viktor at all as she continues to address Jayce--having written him off entirely before.
Viktor is no hindrance to her future--she knows that much, even now.
Jayce is.] That easy? I'm not going to find my face on wanted posters all over--what is it? Panorama?
no subject
Slowly: ]
We're no one here. Go, start over. Don't hurt anyone else. [ a pause, like an admission ]
We won't either.
[ There's no point in chasing each other around, causing more damage in their wake. If she decides to cause trouble again - at least it won't be with hextech this time. And the enforcers here are used to dealing with people like them, so, he won't need to put up any posters himself. ]
no subject
It isn't as though her hands are clean, either, but it seems cruel to remind her of it. Face to face again, he's struck just as he was the first time by how young she is. How slight.]
You deserve a second chance, Jinx. [A fresh start, unburdened by the traumas of their home.] We won't interfere.
[He can promise that much.]
exit stage right
(She might care about him, though. About what she had a hand in creating.
Maybe.
But she's very good at making up excuses.)] No, I don't. [She doesn't deserve a second chance; she knows that much.] But I'm taking one, anyway. [She slides one hesitant foot behind her. For as quick as she can be, this motion is precise. Slow. Like if she starts to leave, this will all be a trick and they'll shoot her in the back.
It's something she would've done at one point in her life. Violence, the clearest message of them all.
When no attack comes, she dips away from the scene, hopping back into the driver's seat and slamming the door as hard as she can before the little station wagon putters off in less of a tear than how she arrived. It's only when she's almost out of sight that her speed picks up again and she's off.]