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.

Main Navigation ::: ⇅ Top

Comments

free samples

[frostfist]

[ Hard to miss someone juggling half a dozen tiny cups in their hands, especially in a place where most other patrons tend to knock back their samples and go about their merry way. He watches her for a moment as she snakes around to the various tables before ducking away to where a nearby employee works on dismantling boxes, a bored expression clear as day on their face.

It's another few minutes before he refinds her again, this time with a few more additions to her already full hands, and despite her quiet command he doesn't in fact move out of the way. Instead he raises both hands. In one of them is a piece of cardboard, torn at one end. ]

You sure don't want something to carry them on? I figure putting them on some kind of tray [ literally just a piece of cardboard, but beggars can't be choosers ] might be easier than [ he nods towards her arms ] what you're doing now.

[ Also: she might be able to pick up more samples like this. ]

[longtooth]

[ The stranger doesn't move, and while that's an annoyance, Fern isn't going to go so far as to shove him out of the way. It's not like she has the free hands to do so in any case, and so instead her eyes flick to what he's holding (she doesn't actually know what it is; cardboard is new to her) as he explains.

It's not a bad idea, and while she still eyes him with some suspicion — as if this might be some sort of ploy to steal her samples from her — after a beat she nods, and once he holds the cardboard piece flat, she starts to balance some of the cups on the makeshift tray. ]

Hold it steady.

[ She sounds doubtful that he'll actually be able to manage this. ]

[frostfist]

[ Wow, who does she think he is, some petty thief? No, way worse, not that she has any inkling of that.

But for the time being, he plays the perfect part of obedient helper, lowering his hands so he can pinch the cardboard on either end and hold it out in a makeshift tray position. His hands are steady as she sets her samples down, one by one, and the corrugated double layer means there's no awkward dip the more weight gets added.

Once they're all on: ]

See? If you'd like, you could probably fit a few more cups on there.

[ Assuming the sample handlers haven't caught onto her little plan yet. ]

[longtooth]

[ To this stranger's credit, he holds it steady even as she places cup after cup on. That does take a steady hand, and Fern's relieved that she hasn't entrusted her samples to someone who was going to send them all tragically falling to the floor.

At his suggestion, her eyes do flash with the promise of more food for a brief moment, but quickly dim as she shakes her head. ]

I suspect I've used up their good will by now. I'll clear a path for you. Carry that outside and we can eat there.

[ It seems only fair to give him one or two of the samples in exchange for his help, and she turns before he can say anything else, striding through the crowd with a glare on her face to ensure people make way. ]

[frostfist]

[ Demoted to pack mule....But honestly there are worse fates and he had offered to begin with, so there's no noise of protest as he follows behind her as they make their way out of the store. If they get a few weird looks between now and the door....well, again, it's not anything he hasn't gone through before.

Once they do make it outside, he glances around. Left, then right. ]

Should we find someplace to sit?

[ Not that he isn't perfectly content to pull double duty as a table, but it'd be easier for them both if he didn't. ]

[longtooth]

[ They most likely do get looks, but Fern is used to that and doesn't pay it any mind. It's possible that she won't be allowed back in there if they're truly bothered by her appearance, but then she'll simply find another store. Usually there will at least be one or two merchants in any town or city-state willing to trade to shifters.

Though she'd almost forgotten what it was like to earn those looks, shielded as she'd been after traveling with two nobles for so long. That, and people in Barovia hadn't seemed to care what she was so long as it wasn't a werewolf.

She shakes that all off as they make it outside, where there's at least a mild breeze to cool her down after being in that store, packed in by bodies. She turns to the man as he suggests they sit, then nods toward the curb.

She seems perfectly content to just sit on the ground. ]

This should do.

[frostfist]

[ Apparently the place they're going to sit is....the ground. Okay. Cool. He actually doesn't have any complaints about that, having made very good friends with the dirt throughout his life. It simply makes him wonder about the kind of life she's lived, if her immediate instinct is to plop right down.

Likely someone who isn't well-off, or at the very least had been accustomed to roughing it at some point in her life. ]

Alright then.

[ His maneuvering is a little bit more deliberate than hers as he lowers himself to the curb, mainly because he is still holding on to their tiny buffet. Once he's stable though, he offers her cups back to her, holding the tray out for her perusal. ]

Free sample?

[longtooth]

[ None of those assumptions would be wrong on his part, not that Fern is giving any context for her choices thus far. She does note that he doesn't make much of a fuss about her choice, however. In fact, he's gone along with everything thus far with little in the way of protest or complaint.

He's even letting her have first pick. He's so considerate that it's almost suspicious.

Fern peruses the samples and snatches up the cup with the juice in it first. She takes a gulp, expecting some sort of fresh-squeezed fruit juice. Instead, the taste is odd, far too sweet and like nothing she's ever had before. (Read: heavily processed.)

She can't quite stop herself from making a face, but she swallows it down all the same. ]

... Ugh. I have no idea what that was, but it didn't taste like any fruit I know.

[ It's unlikely it was poisoned, but she has come across some deeply cursed food in Barovia before. She wasn't expecting anything like that at a market, but maybe she should have been more surmising. Maybe she should have realized that free food was too good to be true. ]

[frostfist]

[ He can't help the rise in his curiosity at her reaction to the tiny cup of juice: disdain instead of appreciation, criticism instead of compliments. He hadn't tried any of it himself, but it had looked enough like Fonta - and been advertised similarly - that he can't help but wonder if the taste was similar too. In which case—he thinks he'd also dislike it. ]

That bad, huh? Maybe I should consider staying away from it too.

[ But if that's no good....with a hum, he lowers his gaze to his makeshift tray, eyes trailing across the various cups until: ]

What about something salty? This one [ with a nod towards the outermost cup on the left ] seems like it might have...sausages of some kind?

[ He's really trying to sound confident about his choices, but there's no denying the upward lilt of his voice in question and the slight furrow to his brow as he squints at the cup. Outwardly they look like sausages but inwardly who knows what could be inside them? They could be stuffed with sweet cream for all he knows. Just like the oblong slightly sweet bread that had secretly had some sort of processed meat inside (spoilers: a corn dog). ]

[longtooth]

Your taste might differ from mine.

[ Fern shrugs, though if the man doesn't want to try the juice based simply on her assessment of it, then that's fine. It's not like she grabbed a second one, so he'd have to go back into the store to try it.

Sausages she's familiar with, though. Then again, she was also familiar with juice, so there's no telling what she'll get. There's some sort of comfort in realizing this stranger is just as perplexed by the food as her, though. She feels a little less out of her depth as a result; they're sorting this out together.

She picks up the cup he pointed out and peers into it. These look decent enough, but before she eats them, she glances up and locks gazes with her fellow taste-tester. ]

Fine, but you try the next one.

[ She picks up one of the sausages between her clawed fingers and pops it in her mouth, chewing down with pointed fangs to pierce through the meat. Imagine her surprise when it does taste like sausage of some kind. It's not bad at all.

She makes a noise of approval as she chews, nodding to the stranger. That one might be worth actually shelling out money to get some more as an easy ration. Still not quite done chewing, she reports: ] There's no telling what meat they used for that, but beggars can't be choosers.

[frostfist]

[ Easily and without hesitation: ]

Deal.

[ A lot of confidence for a guy who doesn't know what half these samples are meant to be. But all things considered, surely none of them can be worse than Sigewinne's milksures. (Famous last words.)

He watches her sample the sausages - a good pick, judging from both her expression and words - and then turns his attention back to their little assortment of cups, pursing his lips in thought until he comes to a decision. I don't actually remember if I wrote him putting the tray down, but let's presume he put the tray down onto the curb between them so that he now has a hand free to pick up the cup with an oblong stuffed dough wrapper, crimped at the edges. ]

I think I've heard of these before. Dumplings. They're common in Liyue.

[ Not that the word means anything here. He takes it and knocks the whole thing into his mouth, cheeks puffing out hamster-like as he chews and swallows. Now it's his turn to nod approvingly. ]

Pretty good too. Not a flavor I'm used to but that's half the fun in trying new things.

[longtooth]

[ The fact that he agrees to Fern's terms without any sort of whining or protest earns him an ounce of respect, at least. He isn't asking her to do anything he wouldn't also do himself, and that counts for something.

(And yes, he totally put the tray down.)

Fern's eyes follow the cup as he picks it up, and she has to admit that it looks like a fairly safe choice, all things considered. Then again, there had been those meat pie pastries offered to Alden and Adrian that they had suffered for eating, so one can never be too sure. ]

Liyue? [ She repeats the place-name awkwardly. It's not one she knows.

All in one bite, is it? Then he's no coward. Fern nods, relieved to find that there are at least two decent food items from the variety of samples.

There are more to try, though, and after a beat of hesitation, she grabs for the one that supposedly has some kind of alien egg. She picks it up, holding it between her fingers for a few moments in quiet consideration.

... ]

Do you know what an "alien" is? [ She's never heard of such a thing. ]

[frostfist]

[ Whether or not she asks for an explanation (she doesn't), he offers up one anyway. ]

One of the nations where I'm from. I've never been, but I hear the tea there is quite good. And much of its cuisine as well.

[ Not that he would know; save for the occasional contraband that gets confiscated by Meropide's tight security and the even rarer gift brought to him by a friend, it's not often he has much opportunity to sample wares from other nations.

But—aliens, is it? He purses his lips, a knuckle rising to his chin as he mulls over the various definitions he's read. ]

In most cases, it simply means foreign. So something you've never seen before, or someone from a different country.

[ Literal aliens from space though? He has no idea what those are. ]

[longtooth]

[ Good tea and good food. It doesn't sound like a bad place from that small description, but even this man hasn't traveled there. Not that that's particularly surprising to hear. There are many parts of Faerûn that Fern has never been to either.

She sets that aside for now, continuing to stare at the mysterious egg as the man gives his interpretation of the word. ]

... A foreign egg. That doesn't exactly narrow it down.

[ But its coating is starting to melt against her fingers, which is slightly alarming. With a frown, Fern brings the small egg close to her nose to give it a few testing sniffs, then follows up with a brief lick. It's... ]

Chocolate?

[ Baffling. She's never heard of a chocolate egg before. Did some strange foreign animal truly lay this? ]

[frostfist]

[ He's right there with her, watching with furrowed brows as she selects her cup and inspects the oblong shape inside. Enlightenment is not within reach for either of them, even after Fern takes a bite. If only they had Easter in the Genshin universe. Alas! ]

Chocolate...?

[ Yes, he knows what chocolate is, occasionally partakes of it himself, but it seems so odd to make it into the shape of an egg and then call it alien. ]

I'm not sure anything about chocolate should be alien.....

[ Who is naming these products? He watches Fern carefully. ]

Is it good at least?

[longtooth]

[ Fern is also familiar with chocolate, though it tends to be a rare treat rather than something she would expect to find as a free sample in a market. Perhaps it's easier to produce here?

Either way, she wouldn't expect chocolate to surround an egg of all things.

At least he's just confused as she is, though that means that the only option here is to just pop the small egg in her mouth and bite down.

And it's... crunchy? Her eyes widen in alarm for a few seconds, but then her expression becomes something more thoughtful as she continues to chew. ] ... Yes, actually. More like a dessert than any egg I've eaten before. [ Which is strange, but not necessarily bad.

They could keep at this until they eat the treat in every single cup (and they will), but it finally occurs to Fern that she should ask something first. ]

... What's your name? [ Food-sampling partner. ]

[frostfist]

[ goodbye captcha ]