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

[godjr]

"Federal Bureau of Investigation. They are a law enforcement agency for the United States of America." Jack answers very factually and flatly. "They can get into places and ask questions and no one thinks twice about it, it's very helpful." Especially when you're technically doing unlawful things while hiding behind a fake badge. For a greater cause!

"I don't have anything else for a resume. I'm told that in human jobs you're supposed to have one that says where you've worked before, but I don't know if that's necessary on another planet." And he also can't list 'monster hunter' or 'god killer' on it, probably. That would not help him get the grocery clerk job, what do they care about gods?

[flyoctofly]

Eight...has no idea where America is. But he thinks he knows what he's talking about. His people have something like that...

"Oh. I see."

...except the NSS is supposed to operate in more or less total secrecy so he can't actually elaborate. He wasn't really officially inducted anyway.

"Well, there are some jobs that take anyone who can...did you say 'human jobs?'"

Isn't he a human? Eight hasn't really processed that humans, a species he thought were extinct, are just out and walking around. Now he has a feeling very much like someone just popped up out of nowhere and lobbed a burst bomb at his face.

[godjr]

"Oh." Jack forgets not to use the word human when referring to things, as if he's not one. "Yes, human jobs. The jobs that humans like me take on." He is a terrible liar and the flat way he says it isn't exactly reassuring. He decided that he should pretend to be a normal person here because in the past the angels and demons tried to use him, so it seemed smarter to avoid getting under any divine attention. But now he has to at least attempt to be normal. Whatever that means.

"Like us?" He takes a better look at Eight and then pauses, tilting his head curiously. Oh he's very short and he has tentacles on his head. "You don't look human." Maybe that is human though in another universe. He shouldn't just judge someone based on their tentacles. "I like your hair."

[flyoctofly]

...Uh?

OK, it's possible that humans are just this odd as a matter of course. Eight doesn't want to be prejudiced against a species he's only just met. But also...this man is very strange by Inkfish standards too. And bad at cover-ups by anyone's standards.

But Eight really hates accusing anyone of lying. That kind of interpersonal conflict doesn't at all come naturally to him. So let's talk about the easy part first.

"Uh, right. Because I'm not human. I'm an Octoling. And...thanks." He brushes the tip of his tentacle away from his face just a bit bashfully. It immediately moves itself back to its position on his forehead.

...So, uh, you know what Octolings don't say? They don't say they take "Octoling jobs." They just say "jobs." As far as Eight can tell, there's two options: this man is only pretending to be human. Or...

"You don't mean that they only give jobs to humans here, right?"

[godjr]

"Oh. That's nice. I've never met an Octoling. You're not going to eat people, right? I'm not supposed to let anyone eat people." He doesn't look like a typical monster and Jack himself is a monster so he wouldn't use such a loaded question. But if his new friend is one then he'll have to be a hunter at him, and he really hopes not. He also expects Eight to tell the truth about whether he's a bad guy, rather than jumping to conclusions.

"Oh, I hope not. That would be discrimination and that's bad." Jack knows that much. In that situation, he wonders if being half human would be good enough, because he does need a job and money. He needs to get rid of his debt and set up somewhere in case his family comes here.

"I'm only half human," he admits, giving his secret right away. "But I thought maybe it would be smart to pretend otherwise, in case there are people who don't like that." But if Eight isn't pretending to be human, it should be okay.

cw: cannibalism mention

[flyoctofly]

"What? No, of course not!"

Well, not human people. Human society is completely new to Eight, but this is a good clue to it's inner workings: there's not a good way to bring up all the takoyaki and fried squid rings that come up in the day to day life of an Inkfish. It's already pretty morbid in the context of a world dominated by octopus and squids, but here it's apparently punishable by death.

That also probably means he's not going to eat human meat on accident either. Honestly, Eight is a little relieved to not have to deal with it for awhile.

"I...kind of thought you might be lying, yeah." He has to admit: this is much easier than having to make the accusation. "And I don't know enough about humans yet to tell half-humans by sight. If I were you, I'd practice more. Um...if I can ask? What's the other half?"

Not a sea creature, certainly.

[godjr]

"Oh good, I'm glad. You seem nice, I wouldn't want to fight you, but it's my job to if you're hurting people." Jack's family has ingrained in him the things that matter. He may have been on a much higher mission before he came here, but the important things are always underlined, like protecting people and stopping monsters (other than himself). He also can't be trusted to fight safely. He could blow up a building accidentally. It's better this way.

"I'm very bad at lying." Such an understatement. Jack also hates when other people lie but he almost never manages to catch them in it, because he trusts others bindly. At the question he nods, he can be asked. "I'm half-angel." From his experience most people know what an angel is, they're pretty famous creatures on his earth.

[flyoctofly]

Eight nods. "I'm...glad to hear that. I don't want to fight you either."

This guy seems...naive is probably the word. Actually, he kind of reminds Eight of when he first tried to ingratiate himself in Squid society, totally unsure what was expected of him or how to perform it. A life of fighting just doesn't prepare you at all to live in a city. Even Jack being able to speak the language and having his memory, two things Eight didn't have back then, doesn't seem to be making it easier for him.

Eight decides to leave the admission of being bad at lying exactly where it sits. But the other thing...

"What's an angel?"

[godjr]

Naive is probably the word. He's had some hard times in his short lifespan and gone through a lot of bad experiences, dying three times, but he still looks at the world through untainted eyes despite reasons otherwise. He is doing a little better about not trusting everyone all the time. That was a key part of his education. He is glad they're on the same page about not fighting. He hates fighting people. He's never ended up with the bloodlust that Dean sometimes has, the need to be a hunter and kill the enemy.

He's never met anyone who doesn't know what an angel is, but this new friend seems to be from a different species himself. And they're in a different universe. His eyes widen a little.

"We're a species of creatures who were created to serve God." Jack himself was not born for that purpose, more the opposite, but he knows that's where the angels began and that some of them still believe in strongly. "We have a variety of supernatural powers because of how we were designed."

[flyoctofly]

OK, Eight knows the word god, he's familiar with the concept, but...this man is saying that not only do gods exist, they create creatures to serve them by coming down and interact with mortals...? It would be a hard pill to swallow, even if Eight came from a religious society.

There's also the possibility that Jack might be a bit...well, delusional. Maybe someone at some point took advantage of him at some point and fed him a story that he wholeheartedly believed or maybe this is all in his head.

Or...maybe it's all real. Everyone here seems to be from different worlds with different situations, why can't it be real? Eight quietly considers all of this for a few moments and then asks the question that will lead to the answer.

"Powers...like what?"

[godjr]

"There's a lot of them." A whole long list, especially with archangel power on top of it, but Jack considers. He doesn't want to scare his new friend, that would be a very bad idea. "I can heal and teleport and move things with my mind and I'm very, very strong." He feels like those are easy ones that could still be intimidating but emphasis on the ones that aren't right away lethal. Talking about controlling electricity and the earth and fire seems like a bad idea, also because he's still not even good at it.

Jack's eyes light up to a white glow and he disappears, flying in the blink of an eye to a distance away but still visible, waving. "Watch this!" He says from over there cheerfully and bends over to pick up a nearby car, lifting it carefully and then setting it back down. He doesn't want to dent it so he makes certain it is safe before he's gone in a blink again and then reappears on the other side of Eight.

"See. But I'm a good guy, me and my family save the world."

[flyoctofly]

Eight's seen a lot, even at 19 years old. He lives in a society full of different kinds of creatures, each with different skills and strengths.

He's never seen anything like that, not from any sea creature he's ever met or heard of. He's pretty sure an angelfish could never-

He worries his lip with the flat part of his upper left fang.

"Wh- what are you saving the world from?"

[godjr]

Jack should really remember not to show off to people because it always goes poorly. He even knows that his powers can scare people but he keeps hoping that it'll be something cool instead of scary to someone. He's pretty sure people dream of becoming superheroes except for those who are born that way and then wish they could be normal. The grass is greener and all that.

"From monsters." Monsters can mean anything, Jack is technically a monster, so he clarifies. "Um, creatures that try to eat people or kill them. There are a lot of them in my world, and they hunt ordinary civilians as prey. So we stop them, we protect the innocent."

And he likes to think that's a noble option. As long as he's trying to do good, it has to count for something. He's noticeably less enthused now that he can see he might have done the wrong thing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

[flyoctofly]

"No no, it's...it's fine. I was just surprised. I've never seen anything like that before."

Eight doesn't think of himself as having "powers." His abilities are just things he can do, just like sharks can bite through wood, crabs can wear multiple pairs of shoes at once, and humans can...reach high shelves, he supposes. If that's what these angels can do, than that's just how it is, right?

...If they weren't protecting people, they'd probably be at the very top of the food chain.

"Where I'm from, we have swarms of Salmonids who devour everything in their path, but...we just have ink weapons and slop suits to fight them off."

[godjr]

"I'm not supposed to show off, it scares people. Also I was supposed to pretend to be normal, but I'm bad at it."

Blatantly obvious given that he spent about 5 minutes trying before giving up with Eight. Jack just isn't good at deception and he's so different of a person that he doesn't know what normal people are like to begin with. His attempts at pretending have always led to him seeming more alien and unusual to others. Well, Eight doesn't seem more than startled, or like he wants Jack to go away, so maybe it's okay after all.

"Salmonids, they're monsters? And you fight them so you're like a Salmonid hunter." That frames it in a way he can connect to, and Jack is always looking to connect. "What is an ink weapon? Does the ink kill them?"

[flyoctofly]

"Fish monsters, yeah. They attack us relentlessly, but...I don't know if that makes them monsters. Sometimes I think we might just be in their way."

It's something Eight's always wrestled with. Sure they swarm and devour, but they also use tools, and build complicated transportation, and...maybe they like music too? They never change course when they see squads of Inkfish with weapons on the horizon, even when they have the whole ocean to do it. Is it mindless instinct that drives them on strict paths or do they like scrapping with squids and octopus enough to seek it out?

...That might be a little too philosophical for Jack, actually. Best to let him lead the questions. Speaking of...

Eight shouldn't have left his brush tied to the back of his bike. It'd be so much easier to demonstrate. Instead, he reaches behind him, feeling for the little gland under his clothes. When he pulls his hand back around, His fingers are covered in a bright, thick substance, which he holds up to show Jack.

"My body produces this ink that I can drain into a tank and use as ammo or to swim through. Every Inkfish can do it back home, but here...I think I'm the only one. I think...normal is relative here. Or maybe...nonexistent? I don't really know."

[godjr]

That is an interesting approach and one that Jack does understand. "I feel that way too sometimes, about the monsters we hunt. They do try to hurt people so we have to act, but that doesn't mean every single one of them is evil. Some of them could just be people like us." And his fathers understand that too, they have friends that are the same species or type of creature that they hunt, but it can be a pretty black and white situation.

Jack hates killing anything, even when it's necessary. It never feels good. Protecting people feels good, but the death itself, there's a weight to it. Especially people he's killed who didn't deserve it.

Jack leans forward so he can see the bright substance, fascinated by it. He finds people so interesting, and that Eight can do something he's never heard of before, it's very cool. "I know that it can be a lot, to be the only one. Maybe one of your friends is here. We could look for them."