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

[kidproof]

[ It's been a while since Joel's seen any signs of life, be it an animal, or even an insect. He doesn't pay too much attention to his surroundings beyond the hunt for resources or a pit stop for the night when the bed of the truck won't due.

This truck being here after everything only made this whole thing feel more surreal so when he sees a busted Jeep he questions his own eyes for a second before slowing the truck down to a whining stop.

Joel has his pistol close by, like always, but when he sees the kid with the jack and a look on her face that would turn Medusa to stone he can't just continue by against his own better judgment. ]

The jeep's old, you gotta clinch when you turn or you'll strip those nuts.

[valle]

( The screech of the truck brakes are like nails on a chalkboard to her hearing, but it doesn't show on her face. Only that careful stoicism, that hard wariness that suggests she doesn't trust his intentions immediately, but she isn't looking to fly off the handle about it. Just- watching, expectant, calm, prepared for some bullshit — which, fortunately, never comes.

The older man — he looks like he must be close to Logan's age, or at least, how old Logan had been when she knew him — offers only some sage advice about her truly poor tire changing form.

Her eyes drop down to the tire iron, then to the tire, then back to the man himself.

As much as it pains her to admit this: )

...I don't actually know what any of that means.

( How do you clinch when you turn, and what exactly does it mean to strip a nut? Isn't stripping it what she wants to do? As in, strip it off the... thing, so she can get the tire off? Seems like the most common sense interpretation to her, but fuck if she knows. )

[kidproof]

Okay.

[ It's said on the wings of an exhale as Joel puts the old truck into park and turns the engine off. The low rumble growl of the metallic beast dies out to a purr and eventually nothing as he exits the vehicle and makes his way around the truck bed length-wise to appeal to the defensiveness she's exhibiting. Something all young girls should be touting on a stretch of road like this one, if he's being honest. ]

Can I take a look?

[ Obviously he can see just fine, with one hand on his hip he holds the other out in front of him. ]

That's french for gimme the jack.

[valle]

( It takes her only a few seconds of dedicated appraisal to decide she could probably kill this man if she needed to. The odds that he's a real threat to her seem fairly low, but never zero — looks can be deceiving. She doesn't know whether or not he's human, whether there are things he can do that she can't anticipate. She does know that if he attacked her, or if he pulled a gun on her, she'd be fine. She could sink claws into his chest and her wounds would close and that would be the end of it.

But he's going around his truck the long way, and he seems... tired. Faintly annoyed, even, which is familiar — and a little absurd, considering he's the one who decided to stop and help her.

That's French for gimme the jack — there's an expression all teenagers are capable of making, whether they were raised as children or as weapons. It's this half-amused, half-annoyed, that's funny but also that was stupid not-smile that just barely hits their lips, most often wielded in the face of a dad joke.

As it turns out, even Laura's face is not immune to the natural human evolution of judgmental teenagers in the face of dad humor. Who knew?

Silently, she offers the jack over... but she's staying to watch. Hovering, so she can learn something whether or not he intends to explain the process. )

[kidproof]

[ Some things are timeless and on the flip of that, some things happen with time. The gruff grunt as Joel squats onto his haunches is one of them. These days he can't get away with too much activity without some kind of protest from his body. Popping joints, unbidden groans, the price of getting to a certain age world-ending outbreak or not.

The jack is in good shape, which is a start, but looking at the spare she rolled over he can already tell it's not gonna get her far. ]

The thing about spares is that they're not meant for long-term travel.

[ First and foremost. Joel starts on the nuts, pushing the jack in as far as it'll go and levying the weight distribution with a knee to get the more stubborn and stripped ones off. ]

I dunno have far you have left to go but unless you grab a real tire off a real car you can bet all this donut'll do is giving you a headache.

[valle]

( She feels a little bit guilty, watching him work. It's clear he's not as spry as maybe he once was; the popping of a knee here or there, a quiet sound of effort when he puts his weight into the twisting of the wrench... she could be doing this part. She's strong, stronger than any girl her age or stature should be. It wouldn't take her much, probably, to be doing this instead.

But she doesn't know him. Doesn't know how he'd take the offer. Has learned through experience that getting her head bitten off by grouchy old men isn't exactly a confetti parade, even if it does strike up something aching and sad and fond and bittersweet in the pit of her chest. The loss is old, but it still twinges even now, years later.

Donut; she didn't even know that's what they were called. Not a very good sign for her first foray into car ownership. )

Don't know where I'm going. ( She admits after a beat, and she's not entirely sure why she's letting herself be so honest with a stranger. It's probably not smart, but... if this man is putting real effort into the changing of a tire, he can't hurt her. Not really. Even if he follows her to nowhere. ) The man said there was a city. I haven't seen people in a long time. Will it get me that far?

( Civilization, she means. A real one. New people. A functioning city, not just a band of rebels or a horde of two-bit washed-up villains that never got their time in the sun, all converging together to form a coalition. She hasn't seen functional human life since the TVA ripped her out of Canada and torched her universe. )

[kidproof]

[ Despite his age, he gets by okay, being a head taller than most and dense. Growing up in Texas, work ethic was the first real lesson a young man got taught, and that lesson was more than bone deep. The protest from his old bones doesn't bother him as he sets to remove the nuts and get a better look at the tire once he pulls it off the axis for the swap. ]

That makes two of us.

[ Yeah, the city, supposedly in this direction but Joel didn't trust his word any more than he would anyone else's. He's already made a few stops for provisions and recon, and to take a leak. If he didn't make it to the city by sundown he'd hit the shoulder for a siesta. ]

Probably not, but I can get this on for you and follow you to a line of cars I saw a bit further back. Might be a good tire that fits the dimensions there, and I reckon you can swap it and get more mileage that way.

[valle]

That's really kind of you.

( The observation, while delivered somewhat tonelessly, is meant sincerely. She's guarded, even her appreciation is held close to the chest — but she can't entirely quash the wariness that comes with meeting a helpful stranger. Might as well just get it out of the way and bluntly ask: )

You're not trying to pull one over on me, right? I don't have any money, or anything to give you. I'm already in debt for this piece of shit car.

( He seems really nice, is all, despite his rough exterior. It would suck if he turned out to be some kind of bandit asshole with an ulterior motive. )

[kidproof]

Not trying to be kind.

[ Joel wouldn't get any sleep knowing he left some young girl on the road with no fuckin' idea how to handle a donut or how to change a tire. It was his own self-preservation playing the hand, and he'd stick by that. ]

What I want is you to not be on the side of the fuckin' highway. So, you and me can be square once I get you to a tire that's a proper fit. You've got the jeep, you don't have to follow me, but believe me that little piece ain't gonna get you very far.

[valle]

( His response, believe it or not, is actually the most reassuring possibility of anything he could've said. The sharpness of it, the reprimand thinly veiling something better underneath... it reminds her of someone. It takes concentrated effort not to smile, but she manages — her mouth stays straight, but the amusement finds its way to her eyes anyway.

The best men, she's learned, are the ones that want everyone around them to believe they're an asshole, and yet can't seem to keep themselves from begrudgingly helping. Like someone's twisting their arm about it, except there's nobody actually twisting.

She develops a few theories about this man named Joel over the course of this explanation, and she's pretty confident she's right about at least a few of them. )

Okay. ( She says simply, maybe a suspiciously easy agreement considering her wariness from a second ago. ) I'll follow you.

[kidproof]

Alright.

[ The atta girl is in the way that he gets off his haunches and pivots back to the truck without so much as a grunt. The only sign he's ready to pull out is the engine roaring to life and his elbow being pushed out the window.

Joel takes a glance back at the mirror to make sure she's following and heads back in the direction of the old parking lot he remembered from before. Less store lot and more bumper-to-bumper abandonment. He pulls off to the shoulder and cuts the engine and when he steps out onto the skirt the gravel crunches under his boots. He eyes the cars, moving from one to check the baldness of them, to the next. Eventually, he settles on an old Bronco. ]

You have enough gas?

[valle]

( That air of subtle amusement follows her the entire walk back to her driver's seat; it plays about her eyes as she glances at his elbow, at his figure posted up in the truck window. It's just... hard not to be fond of a grumpy old asshole doing a kind thing while adamantly insisting he's not.

She follows him just like she said she would, trailing a polite but competent five or ten yards behind his truck. When he parks, she pulls up nearby, leaving enough space for either of them to maneuver around the wayward disappointment of a tire.

He walks. She trails a step or so behind and to the left, out of the way but keeping pace, hands in her pockets, mouth politely shut until he breaks the silence. )

Got a quarter of a tank, I think? I'm not really sure how many miles that translates to. We didn't really... have a lot of functional cars anymore, where I came from.

( She's lucky they taught her to drive in Child Soldier Weapon Torture School, or she'd be royally fucked right now. )

[kidproof]

Yeah, Joel's not unaware of the 'vibes,' but he's also blatantly refusing to acknowledge them. He's got his eyes trained on the rows of cars like they might as well be communicating with him.

The concept of paperweight vehicles wasn't far from routine for him either, as evidenced by how normal he seemed while taking a look at what was available, checking for flaws in the structural integrity.

He slams the side of his boot into the tire on the bronco with more air, and with the right walls on it. He digs into his backpack for a hose he pulled out of another deserted vehicle miles back and pops the gas cap, so he can siphon straight into a plastic jug that used to hold water or juice, still dusty from travel. When he speaks, it's with his teeth still around the house and once he starts collecting the gas the spit of disdain is what punctuates the vowels of the first word. ]

You go ahead and get started pullin' this wheel off, and I'll split the take on the gas. Dumbass at the car shop wasn't exactly concise about the length of the trip to the city.

[valle]

( She can do that — it's as good a time as any to practice what she just learned from him, right? Fresh on the mind. She goes about pulling out those same tools from earlier — the jack, the tire iron. She's a fast learner, and there isn't much uncertainty in her this time.

At some point a few minutes into the process, half paying attention to what she's doing and half watching him siphon gas, she finally speaks up. )

How'd you learn to do that?

( Changing a tire is one thing, but sucking gas out of a tank with a hose probably isn't average every day normal guy stuff, right? Or maybe it is, she doesn't exactly have the best grasp on what the normal human experience looks like. )

[kidproof]

A little bit of common sense and a lot of bit of necessity.

[ It's not the whole truth, but it's enough of an answer to pass muster, and Joel rolls his eyes at the inquiry despite the slow trickle of gas syphoning out into the jugs for the two of them.

He was being charitable, but this wasteland was still dry in too many ways for him to be comfortable leaving broken cars lying without old habits kicking back in. No signs of cordyceps didn't bring him the same amount of comfort as being prepared did. ]

And you're quick on the uptake, reckon for the same reasons.

[valle]

( Quick on the uptake earns a smile — small, but appreciative. Necessity... he's not wrong. She's done a lot in the name of survival, both before and after she left the facility. Both before and after she arrived in the Void, too.

Rather than confirming or denying, she decides to finally acknowledge the elephant in the room — or, rather, the elephant on the highway: the fact that they still haven't introduced themselves.

She offers first, calmly, kindly: )

I'm Laura.

( Safe enough, she thinks, to give him her real name. He's been nothing but helpful, behind his veneer of general crabbiness. )

[kidproof]

Joel.

[ He says it as the tank he's siphoning bottoms out into the container, and he walks around to put it into an old canteen and split the far between the two of them. Now they've got debt for some lemon cars and their traversing some brave new world without cordyceps, qzs, or firelies, and Joel doesn't consider any of it much of a win. He knew enough to know the next ugly was right around the corner. ]

That should get you a fair bit further, but I wouldn't count on another parking lot like this one.

[valle]

Hi, Joel.

( She says simply, softly, a greeting that sounds both calm and kind. It sounds like it means something a little deeper than just hi. It sounds like thank you and it sounds like this was important to me and it sounds like you're a good man. Condensed into two gentle words, because men like she suspects he is don't tend to like hearing those longer ones out loud. )

What about you? Are you gonna be able to make it there?

( Because they can split it. She won't leave him stranded, not after he's done all this for her. )