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

[wwrench]

( The rain's pissing down in thin sheets, and Wrench doesn't have the good sense to get out of it. He's been sleeping in the car — his car now, he supposes, though there's nothing much about the 1974 Volkswagen Type 1 he'd care to lay specific claim to. Still, over the course of the last three days he's found it a lot harder to close his eyes in the middle of a bustling city. People are people whether rural or urban, but the concentration of so many bodies packed on top of each other means that Wrench can't go more than five minutes without running into someone. He's used to being the only person he can rely on, but the shit he encounters in the woods doesn't often surprise him. He knows how to deal with all manner of wild animals acting on instinct. People are chaotic and irrational, and that's what makes them the most dangerous beasts of all.

So, he's out wandering instead of sleeping, green slug bug parked haphazardly up the block. When Wrench notices shadows moving inside the windows of an office building he's wandering past, it validates something. People just can't help themselves, can they? They see shit, and they have to have it. Desire is more trouble than it's worth.

With nowhere to be and no plans to sleep any time soon, Wrench spares the time to observe. The man inside seems increasingly frantic, and it's not too long before he's able to see why: the water on the floor is rising.

He's not sure he believes in karmic justice; people largely get what they get, and that fact isn't much changed by how much or how little they deserve it. But Wrench is ostensibly glad to see the face on the other side of that glass doesn't exactly have an air of innocence to it. The busted-up nose and mess of healing cuts and bruises give a pretty good indication of just what kind of man this is, he thinks. Even more so when the stranger pulls out a gun and cocks it toward the glass. Wrench watches the pane absorb the shock of impact without giving.

He's witnessed even more death than he's been direct party to, and that number is frankly staggering. Wrench's conscience would forgive him if he didn't intervene. But as he watches the man desperately search for something unseen, preparing to immerse himself in the rising tide, he reaches out a fist and bangs on the glass instead. There's something about the frantic desperation toward an unseen source that piques his curiosity.)

[terrorisms]

( The bitch of it is, the glass is completely soundproof. Maybe there's some irony to be found in the fact that Frank can't hear his audience member try to flag him down, to heckle him through the window — or maybe not. There's a real possibility he wouldn't have looked up anyway, fixated as he is on flinging desks to the side and moving shit out of the way in a desperate attempt to get to the body that keeps floading just out of reach, moving with the churning current, her curly hair fanned out around her face, strands plastered to her forehead.

It's made even more absurd by the fact that she's dead. She's obviously dead, she's dead. Even if he could get to her-- what? What's he gonna do, give her mouth to mouth? Resuscitate a corpse? But it doesn't matter, the only thing that he can think, the only thing compelling him, is the notion that he can't leave his baby girl's body to sink and bloat in this shithole building, that he needs to hold it, clutch her to his chest and carry her out somehow, push her hair back away from her face, tie it back like he used to do a thousand times before, braid it maybe before he puts her in the ground where she belongs.

Wrench gets to watch him dive, plunging himself into the water for long seconds before resurfacing, shaking the wet out of his face like a dog, frantic, the weapon strapped to his back a useless weighted hindrance that keeps slamming against his thighs but it doesn't matter. Nothing matters but getting to her.

Nothing.

Not even saving himself anymore. Not even drowning. Only her. )

[wwrench]

( Distance proves a useful vantage point. Not just from shielding Wrench against the emotional toll of the man's desperate plight, but also in illuminating more of the situation. His size alone convinces most people that he's more formidable up close, and Wrench certainly has the breadth and the reach to make good on that. But for a man whose very existence puts him on the fringes of most situations, he's learned his greatest weapon is his ability to observe.

The man plunges under and Wrench watches him churn against those depths, reaching for nothing in particular. His grip extends past floating bits of paper and an errant stapler and he shoves everything out of the way with equal negligence. As Wrench waits for him to resurface, he watches the water rise... and then watches it fall. He steps to the left, peering further past the plate glass into the room. When the man breaks the surface again, Wrench has positioned himself in his line of sight.

He waves his arms and gives the glass a hard kick. It may not make a sound, but it does something better: the force of his boot against the pane of glass causes a fractional movement that sends a ripple across the water's surface toward the stranger. Wrench waves his hands again. )

Someone's fucking with you. Water's rising and falling.

( He demonstrates, raising his arm with the rising tide and then dropping it again. Wrench isn't counting on much understanding from the other man, but he's involved now, and he figures the best way to break whatever spell the stranger's gripped by is to focus on the anomaly. )

[terrorisms]

( The water ripples; Frank's eyes track it immediately, because he's searching the water already. Searching for her, searching for the tendrils of hair, searching for the body that keeps slipping out of his grasp before he can reach it. That pattern of rolling synchronistic waves carries his eyes up, up, up to the glass beyond. To the figure standing on the other side of it.

The closest thing to sign language Frank knows is military hand signals. It doesn't exactly lead to a wide variety of conversation, and it doesn't really translate here — but the round of charades stills him. The water ebbs and flows, pushing and pulling at his waist even as his body stands stock still, no longer a churning force to send it moving around him.

Which means the movement is coming from something else. The back and forth pressure is coming from changing water levels. Stopping for even a second to think makes that clear.

But there's a part of him, an irrational and feral part, that does not want to care about this. That part glances down, distressed, in denial, searching through the brackish waters filled with debris and detritus of former office life, looking for her. He wants-

Christ. He just wants-

The soundproof glass muffles the animalistic snarl that escapes his lips to reverberate around the room. He slams his fist into the locked door, not because it'll accomplish even a hint of getting him out, but because he needs the outlet. Twice more it escapes him, knuckles pounding on unforgiving wood until they crack and split, his mouth twisted with the rage of it all.

And then it dies down, and two or three seconds of utter stillness passes before he drags that hand over his face.

The water inches up his sternum., and for a second, he thinks about letting it take him. Drowning in it, letting his body wash up beside hers — but hers isn't here. It isn't real. It can't be, he knows, not just because he remembers seeing them put her to rest back home, but because the corpse here still had all her face intact. That's a pretty lie; it's wrong.

Dying here just means dying in a world completely separate from his kids, from his wife. He doesn't really believe in an after anymore, but there's a comfort in the thought of going into the ground beside them. He needs to get his shit together.

He peels his hand away, and settles his eyes on Wrench again. It's a long look, and there's no real attempt to communicate in it. There's no help me, there's no who are you. It's simpler than that. It's just a point of connection — two people alive, making eye contact, aware of the present moment, living it together. Wrench on the outside looking in, Frank with water sloshing around his soaked clothes, trying to drag him under. Just two people, the end. Wrench is a witness to this stupid god damn moment of vulnerability and idiocy and lethal danger, and Frank's resigned to letting that be the case, too tired on every fundamental level to care.

And then he breaks eye contact, and begins what feels like a fruitless search for some kind of key, some kind of escape hatch, some kind of card or remote or something that might trigger the locking mechanism on the door. )