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

●●● wildcard ;

[avo]

[ ooc: anything that doesn't fit the above? feel free to leave here! any custom starters can also go here too. hit me up to plot something out if you want! i'm here to wild out. ]

wildcard

[motiontocompel]

Tensions are high and things are beginning to escalate. Although Foggy is not one to press the issue, once in a while a situation comes along where he can't quite let go. When his wallet had gone missing during work, it had sucked, yeah; it was a part of him, containing the few things from home that meant something more than what this place can offer.

But the watch? The watch his father had given him when he'd graduated? It wasn't something Foggy could abide by losing, wasn't something he could find himself giving up so easily.

"It's cheap and it barely keeps time," Foggy reasons, but he's still unclasping his watch as he's held up at pipe-point by a thug and his two friends. "But— But I've got a little cash and you can totally have it, if you— Oh. Both. Okay, you want both now. Well, that's disingenuous, even for a couple of theives—"

The shuffle and yelp Foggy lets out is simply a reaction to the threat being made against him, but he finds he's a bit more testy these days (and for good reason). Plunging his hand into his pocket, he digs for the cash. "Fine, fine," he tells the men, louder than necessary. "Go ahead and rob me. But karma's a real bitch, you know."

Hadn't he just seen someone running around in a mask? Where's a vigilante when you need one?

omg bestieeeee!!!

[avo]

You rang?

"Drop the watch and the cash, and maybe you can keep your limbs."

Something small (a chunk of debris?) pings off the barrel of the first thug's gun, sending up sparks and genuine shock when a ~mysterious someone decides to crash their party. The voice is low and a little gravely, and oh-so-familiar if you live in New York City and opened a social media app even once. He may not be dressed in his usual attire here, but the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, or more commonly 'Daredevil' these days, has become a fairly recognizable character who defends those who cannot, especially when the police ... often don't.

It's hard to know whether there's a need for vigilantes in a world already past the debate about the 'rule of law', what with most taking the law into their own hands ... but Matt will do what he can for the people he cares about. Especially when said person is ... was? his best friend.

Matt, dressed like he could be a thug's competition, in a ratty old jacket, and an equally ratty scarf covering the top half of his face, steps in between Foggy and the thugs. He looks resolute, and maybe just a little silly. His opening line could probably use some work.

"I really hope we have an understanding here."

[motiontocompel]

Foggy jumps at the noise — surprised as much by the sudden contact with the weapon as the grumbling voice threatening nearby. For a second — just one — he thinks he must be dreaming or hallucinating or just plain out of his mind, but lo and behold, the man in the half-mask has come to his rescue. A familiar shape in a less familiar package. He almost calls out, barely resisting the urge, to call his friend's name into existence out of excitement and astonishment.

"Hey, what the—?" One of the muggers starts, but the other grabs onto his friend's shoulder and gives a pull, starting his retreat.

"Yo, it's not worth it, dude," he says, but he's already pumping his knees and hauling ass in the opposite direction. Those left — one sporting homemade brass knuckles and the other still holding the gun — don't seem so certain of their brilliant plan and everything is thrown like caltrops in Foggy and Matt's direction, littering them with change and that old, beat-up watch. And then off they go, furiously arguing with each other about who ultimately failed.

Foggy watches them go, heart hammering, chest tight from the adrenaline and— everything else. Beneath his shirt — a raggedy, holey polo from his day job in a god-awful orange that he's glad Matt can't see — every scar itches. Beneath the itch is a burn, searing like hot tendrils reaching into his chest and seizing tight around his heart.

Is this real? It feels real, but Foggy doesn't trust a damn thing until he can put his arms around it and know for himself. "I didn't— Have you—?" A million questions and he reaches out to take Matt's elbow, not the least bit tentative in checking to see if he's solid and present. "How did I miss you're here?" He almost sounds broken, voice stacked with worry and wonder, hope and devastation. "Is it really you?"

[avo]

Matt is almost disappointed that the confrontation doesn't end with fists being thrown, and knuckles getting bruised.

Almost.

He tampers down the echoed adrenaline in his chest from anticipation, and watches the trio of thugs disappear, leaving all of their loot — and Foggy's belongings — behind. This all seemed so much easier in his head: he'd fight off the guys to a satisfying conclusion, there'd be a calm, casual moment of reunion, and ... and then what? They'd go back to the way things had always been? Foggy would forgive Matt for the umpteenth time for disappearing off the grid without a trace?

When his friend reaches out to touch him, Matt breathes out, fingers twitching as though his whole body just wants to turn around and give the other man the tightest hug he can muster. Truth be told, his solitude had been ... well, lonely. A no-brainer, to be sure, but he didn't think his heart would war so much with his brain on this one.

When he finally does turn to face Foggy, it's with a half-quirked smile, the familiar one that Foggy had seen a thousand times.

"Hey, Foggy." This shouldn't hurt so much, seeing Foggy hurting like this. "Yeah. It's really me."

[motiontocompel]

It's really him.

Foggy grabs onto Matt and pulls him into a tight hug, holding on as if for dear life. His grip is strong, but only because the efforts of the medical team when he arrived. His lack of medical debt is practically a miracle in of itself, even if he was forced to take a car as an alternate form of debt.

He wonders if Matt's simply got incredible timing, or if he's been out here aware of Foggy's presence but hiding his own. It wouldn't be the first time, would it? But he forces himself to set aside the thought and simply squeezes his best friend a second time before pulling back to get a good look.

"Good thing you came along," he notes, letting go to dip down and grab his joolies and watch. He checks the dial, glad to see the crystal isn't broken, and slips the watch onto his wrist. "But I can't say I'm glad we're both here." Panorama itself is a bit more like home than the outskirts where Foggy had started his journey, but he still doesn't feel particularly comfortable here. And is it any wonder why? He's already had his wallet stolen and now he's nearly been mugged.

He glances the direction the thugs went and then taps Matt's elbow, gesturing to show he's intending to go the other way.

"Did they give you a car, too?" He can't imagine Matt driving, but then again, it's not like he couldn't; in the outskirts he would have gone miles without coming to another car. "And a buttload of debt?"

[avo]

It's sudden, the way Foggy moves in so swiftly, pulling him in for a bone-crushing embrace — but Matt lets him. Hell, he even allows himself to sink into it, arms going around to hug his best friend back.

Maybe he's surprised by the reception. Outright anger or a cold shoulder wouldn't be undeserved, after all, with how he'd left things. But Matt allows himself this moment of selfishness, greedily taking in Foggy's warmth and good-naturedness like he's Matt's personal beacon of light.

And in a lot of ways, he kinda is.

Because while the thugs head down one way, and Matt follows the sound of their trailing steps with a brief head-tilt, Foggy's touch prompting him to accompany him in the opposite direction is what he needs to avoid another fist-fight and possible trip back to Yom Crook and the medical team. They're not worth it — but Foggy is.

"They did, yeah. Obviously it's been a little bit of a challenge to get it going, but I've got some extra tech built into it to help." He shrugs, adding with mild amusement, "— which means a buttload-and-a-half of extra debt to pay it off."

cw: Daredevil: Born Again spoilers

[motiontocompel]

When Foggy had arrived, he had awoken in pain, but not on the other side, which seemed important enough to be personally acknowledged, especially when they had given Foggy the choice: Take on a car, or take on the medical debt from repairing the damage done by Benjamin Poindexter (and probably also debt for a much-needed car later).

It felt weird, of course. Like some kind of trick. But Foggy had seen no other choice, and they'd done a fine enough job putting him back together, anyway, sealing up those wounds and repairing the damage more efficiently than the doctors at Metro General could have. Internally, he's still healing — probably at 75% — but the gnarly scars that remain have the appearance of years of healing all on their own. Thankfully, Foggy's hidden most of them with the stupid polo shirt, so no one's had a chance to ask him to relive that moment outside Josie's.

As he turns a corner, he eyes Matt. "So you've had enough time here to—" He swipes for the ratty scarf that's his friend's makeshift mask, but doesn't try all that hard. "—do this, but you haven't noticed me hocking samples at the Pavillion?" Foggy's bafflement is half-accusatory, but the other half is certainly more like relief than he's letting on.

"Jesus, Matt, I know we live in some strange times, but I was just about the last person anyone expected to get pulled into some kind of— whatever this is," Foggy admits, some of his tension unwinding as they move further from the scene. "Myself included."