Mingle ∞ Log
No Lifeguard on Duty
Summary
What's going on?
An
unexpected heat wave in mid-June, coupled with the cycling shutdown of all air conditioning units in motels across the Blocks, has made the summer unbearable. Meanwhile, the ever-eager
storm chaser,
Felix Bjurstrom, has uncovered a
fancy resort with a pool in a diffusion zone only 1 hour out from Panorama. Lucky, right? Well...kind of. It's got some quirks.
When is this happening?
June 10 - 30
What should I know?
- This area is one of many diffusion zones that appear throughout the planet.
- A storm chaser is someone dedicated to studying the cosmic phenomenon in the Diadem. Felix is a pioneer in his field.
- A winding highway filled with old empty barrels will take you to the zone.
- Characters can travel with a friend to save on gas! Parking's limited, so it might not be a bad idea.
- At any given time, there's max several dozen visitors. Most work long hours, some are traveling through the diffusion zones, and others prefer not to risk the drive or waste precious gas, so it won't draw a huge crowd (but there's still a crowd!).
- This is a mingle rather than an event. Plot-heavy elements will be minor. The game's first proper event will be posted in July!
What does my character know?
- Having lost his phone, Felix will spread the word using good old-fashioned printed posters that he's put up around Panorama. A young woman is seen helping him. They appear to be close. Some say that's his daughter.
- Though the timing is impossible to predict accurately, Felix believes that due to this zone's unusual proximity to an anchor point, it has a high chance of persisting for 2-3 weeks.
- Directions are printed on the posters, though characters are also free to stumble across the zone by accident.
∞ Links ∞
Introduction
The resort looks like your typical upscale vacation spot: a beautiful pool, lovely cabins, and plenty of pool chairs. The sky is
perpetually nighttime and there are
two moons. One moon is smaller than its sister and glows purple. The other looks like the Earth's moon. The weather is
pleasantly warm. In fact, conditions are almost
too perfect.
Other
fluxdrifts are here, too, and you might come across them, all of whom are taking advantage of the pool. They'll converse superficially with you and will come and go randomly. You'll want to keep a close eye on your belongings. Other than cooling off, this isn't a bad place to start making connections. Life in the Diadem is better when you've got allies if not friends.
Just outside the resort is a
spacious parking lot, designed for visitors. Nobody's following parking rules so put your car anywhere it fits. If you get blocked in, well, that's a problem for when you leave.
At the end of June, the diffusion zone will flicker and morph into an unremarkable overgrown park, long abandoned to the decades.
Prompts
As you wander around, you discover deactivated androids in many of the poolside huts. These androids cannot be mistaken for any organic species: their chassis is metal, and their heads are shiny. Circuits and wires are visible. But each is dressed distinctly human in a way that borders on disturbing. You spot lipstick drawn on some of the metal faces, as though they're playing dress up...or as if they don't realize they aren't human. One android is frozen in place with a diary clutched in its hands. Another has a hairbrush for its nonexistent hair.
Something seems to have destroyed them—perhaps a powerful EMP wave that knocked them all out. All except one.
The Bartender
The poolside bar is at the eastern end of the resort. There are plenty of seats. A few are occupied by deactivated androids. The bartender is also an android and appears to be the only functional one in this place. He speaks with a modulated voice and has a neutral accent. He exhibits the following behaviors if you sit at his bar:
- Icebreaker. Whether you're alone or with a companion, he'll try to get you all to be friends, asking random self-generated icebreaker questions. He'll be visibly disappointed if you don't play along.
- Bartending. While cheerful, he can't make the correct drink: it's always too strong, incredibly weak, added salt instead of sugar, messed up the ice. He's obviously doing his best, but it's just not working. The harder he tries, the worse he performs until it becomes a comedy of errors with stuff falling over, ice dumped in your lap, champagne corks flying, and any number of slapstick mishaps. You can help him out by mixing the drink yourself.
If you're nice to him, he'll introduce himself as Thomas Lustras. He's happy to
tell you about his son. Strange, you think, but who says androids can't have paternal instincts? Yet, when the android takes out his wallet to show you a photo of his son—named Edward Lustras—the picture is that of a
human child, roughly 5 years old, in the arms of his
human father.
The driver's license in the same wallet confirms that Thomas is (was?) a real person. The picture on the license matches the human male in the photo. A half-scorched business card states that Thomas was a consultant at Outer Rim Resettlements. Thomas believes he's on a company retreat and wistfully declares he's eager to return home to his son.
Maybe don't look too closely. After all, this place will soon disappear. And so will he.
The Grill
It's not a vacation without a grill! Not a grillable item is in sight, though, so you'll have to rely on what you can bring out of Panorama. Some of the visiting drifters will pitch in to share, unloading hotdogs (some synthetic, others authentic, and some far past expiry), burger patties (same) and buns, and "kebabs" made of blocky frozen vegetable squares. The squares vaguely resemble corn, mushrooms, and pineapple. The texture is passable, like a flavor-infused block of tofu.
Fire up the grill and take turns grilling. You'll also have to manage the propane. The grill's also prone to sputtering out, requiring regular minor repairs to get it back up and going. Any loose bolts or screws can be taken out of the dead androids to replace the rusty ones in the grill. You're unsure if you should feel uncomfortable doing that or what, but it is a solution.
Parking Woes
Like any crowded event, the parking lot can get chaotic, and the lawlessness of the diffusion zones doesn't help. While some are happy to help barbecue, others are more interested in picking fights over who got to the parking space first. It won't take much for a fistfight to break out, and a knife fight isn't out of the question, either, though nobody'll be killed (this time).
You can let the troublemakers beat each other, or you can try to intervene if somebody who doesn't deserve it is getting harassed. Just avoid causing too much of a scene. Breaking noses is acceptable; gutting someone head to toe is not. There are Enforcers visiting the zone, and if you interfere with their nice pool time, they won't hesitate to haul away everybody involved and make you sit in jail for a few days.
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diademlogs2025-06-08 10:11 am
the grill
And the smell does direct her elsewhere, to something far more appetizing. The scent of grilling meat causes her stomach to turn with hunger, and she can't help but go take a look.
She finds an older man there in an odd piece of swimwear, though he looks perfectly at ease. As if he's done this any number of times before. Her eyes shift from him to the skewers roasting on the grill. Without much preamble, she asks him: ] Where did you find that? [ It seems she's not exactly the best at striking up casual conversation.
Fern, for her part, is still fully-clothed. But that doesn't hide her ears or her other animal-like features. She's already felt the stares from people, but most simply look for a few moments and then move on with their lives, so that's something. ]
no subject
He doesn't look surprised or thrown off by her unique appearance. Felix has been around the block and then some over the decades. He lost his shock when he was green in his first few summers. He turns the skewer and gestures for her to pick up a plate if she wants. ]
We provide for our own, when we can. People chip in, and when you've got connections, an empty grill becomes a full one! The Panorama can be a tough place, but it's got its soft parts.
[ Felix is friends (wearily, on many parts) with many people and they tolerate a lot from the older man. Including getting guilted into some of their hard-earned food showing up for strangers. It all works out.]
Give it a try. They're a bit strange, but you get used to that.
[ He pulls a skewer off and offers it to her.]
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The lack of staring or comments is appreciated, and she quietly listens to his response, her expression turning more thoughtful as he speaks of "we." We provide for our own, but that's something she would expect from a smaller community — not an entire city. ]
... That makes sense. [ It apparently doesn't matter where you go, there will be those who want to help others. Even in Barovia such a thing was true, though such people were in short supply. But she thinks of the patrons of the Bluewater Inn, of Kasimir, of Emil. ]
Oh. [ The skewer is on her plate before she can even think to make some sort of paltry offer to pay him. Then again, if these were gifts from others, maybe it's fine. She carefully picks up the skewer with her free hand and takes a bite.
As he warned her, the taste is not quite what she might have expected. She chews slowly, but her confused frown clears up as she gets more used to the flavor. ]
It isn't bad. [ She isn't picky. ] I'm surprised you would call it strange. Are you not used to the food here? [ Maybe it's wrong to assume that, but he speaks as if he's been here a long time. ]
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[ In this case, the food. The other chasers can sometimes get convinced by him when they get the rare good time option, and there are plenty of people here who are have been around for years and want to enjoy the quiet themselves. He brought some of this himself. It's not a perfect community but the kind who show up for one of these things with minimal ability to plunder, they're invested. ]
Perceptive question, friend!
[ He smiles and takes the finished food off to the side for other people who might want to snag them. It'll all be gone within a half hour and he can get started on the rest.]
Been seeing a good handful of new folks lately, I'm trying to be sensitive to them. Texture can be a real problem, and I don't want anybody spitting it out or getting sick over it. Me, I eat anything I can get my hands on. You get a lot of delicacies here, did you try out the free chocolate egg samples at the market? Some of my favorites. I could munch on them for an entire day.
[ He closes the grill for now until they run out, because it's damn hot and it's already hot out here. He hasn't gotten into the water yet.]
You do get used to it and take the food where you can get it. There's no infinite sources here for variety.
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[ Maybe some would define it as offering good will to others for the sake of the wider community, including food donations such as this. But it could just as easily go the other way. Some would do whatever it took for their own survival, turning to criminal acts as a result. Or at least taking means to protect themselves.
As he starts going on and on, Fern simply listens while gnawing on her skewer. It does give her time to eat it, given that dragging the individual pieces off of the stick with her teeth can be tricky, though her fangs make it a great deal easier. ]
That's quite considerate of you. [ Her tone is one of mild surprise. She isn't used to someone just being kind like this, especially lately, which almost makes her wonder if there's a catch. ] I did try one. I wasn't expecting an egg to be a dessert, but it was good once I got past that.
[ Fern understands taking the food you can get, though. She's certainly been there in her life before. She fans herself as she eats, and while she could wander off now, she can't help but be curious about this man who isn't one of the "new folks" previously mentioned. Idly chatting with someone like this reminds her a little bit of being back at Quara's inn. ]
How long have you been here? ... Assuming you're also a flux-drift.
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[ Or they die, but there's no need to point that out, he figures they both are smart enough to know that. Not everyone survives being here or adapts in time for it. It's a shame but that's the world. No reason to pretend otherwise. He shrugs about being considerate but it is true. He's made himself a community here and he doesn't take it for granted. It's natural to want to look out for others in his point of view, but that's not a popular mindset. ]
Some thirty years or so. I was young at the time, probably around your age. I got started with the storm chasers early on, it was hard not to be fascinated about the world ever changing around. I wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere else, though there are some who get into chasing thinking it'll be a road back to where they come from.
[ There is no proof that it works. Felix knows of people who have disappeared chasing that very dream and maybe it means they got back after all, and maybe it means they're dead or out in the winds of the universe never to be seen again. No real way of knowing.]
People come and go here, don't be surprised if the population changes on you over time, as in flux as these here diffusion zones.
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Thirty years, though. Fern turns her gaze away for a moment at that, literally chewing on that information as she takes another bite from the skewer. She tries to imagine what it would be like to be in this place or Barovia for thirty years and it's frankly impossible to imagine, especially when she's been living one day at a time ever since she arrived in Strahd's realm.
She continues to stare out at nothing when she speaks up. She's looking in the general direction of the pool, but not truly looking at it. ]
... You were never interested in returning to your home, then?
[ No doubt he's been in countless diffusion zones. If there had been a way back, wouldn't he have found it by now? Then again, others had disappeared, but if they did make it home, it's not as if they would be able to confirm that for anyone still here.
But then something else clicks for her. If he's a well-known storm chaser, then— ]
Wait. [ She turns back to him. ] Are you the one who put up those fliers and posted on the... [ She gestures with her free hand to her cloak, where her phone is tucked away in her pocket. ] That... forum?
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No, it wasn't nearly as interesting as here. I had an unremarkable life and this place can be home, if people want to make it one. I have a daughter, she was born and raised here.
[ Of course people don't always want a home here, and Felix is understanding, he can't fix their problem. He can only embrace the life in front of him and hope the chaos doesn't spit him back up into his original world. He doesn't go looking for an escape, he goes out because of curiosity and nothing else.]
That's right, I'm Felix Bjurstrom. [ He salutes her.] Unofficial leader of the Storm Chasers. I put updates on the fliers and forum for people so they know whether to avoid quadrants or specifically go out to see them.
[Like he did with this place. He doesn't usually encourage people to head out without a lot of warnings, so he investigated this place first.]
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At the introduction, Fern gives a nod of acknowledgement, seeming to realize that the least she can do is give her name after asking him all these questions. ] I'm Fern. [ And she doesn't have any special title, and certainly not any that would matter to anyone here in Diadem.
Maybe she should leave it at that and let him be about his business, but in light of what he says, she can't help but ask... ]
If that's the case, why did you send people out to the last one? The building that was flooding...
[ Yes, she and that doctor got out in one piece, but that was only through some quick thinking and magical know-how. She worries that others might not have been so resourceful. ]
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I was reporting the emergency lights and said to be careful, usually my messages are for chasers so they hadn't reported anything worrisome yet. It's a good lesson though, Fern, for me to remember it's not only the usual crowd who know to be cautious heading out there. Thank you for the rebuke.
[ Felix is too used to working with people who are comfortable in this world. They went by and reported back it wasn't serious. He has categorizations of danger and it has to be pretty bad in order for him to note them in his updates. 'You could get eaten' is sort of an implied aspect of storms that is common for people who have been there ... but not for the every person on the street. ]
I'll make sure to underline being careful when I'm making public posts. Our level of danger to worry about isn't everyone's.
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It wasn't my intention to offend you, only that... it does seem that some of these "zones" are not quite what they appear at first glance.
[ She certainly hadn't known what to expect when first approaching that strange building, and it's only once she got inside that she realized the full extent of the danger. This pool, however, has yet to produce any unexpected threats. It truly is a roll of the dice, it seems.
Either way, it's good that he's taken the note, and Fern nods in acknowledgment of that as she takes another bite of her food. It's only once she's done chewing that she speaks up again. ]
Of course, some of us will go investigate them all the same. What do you make of these places? They don't seem to follow any rhyme or reason.
[ And he's likely seen countless zones by now. Perhaps a pattern has started to form, after all that time? ]
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[ Felix isn't upset, he smiles reassuringly to show her that. It's a fair point and one he just has to remind himself of every once and awhile. He's used to the city knowing what the forum does and what the chasers will be out doing. He forgets sometimes how new other people can be, and that everyone reading it won't guess that it's potentially dangerous. ]
It's cosmic chaos, they don't follow any rhyme or reason. I've had thirty years now and I never know what to expect. Sometimes it's a resort or a bunch of candy showering down, sometimes it's a killer building or creatures. You normally can stay safe if you stick to the city, the quadrants are particularly sensitive to the change in the universe.
[ That's why they'll always hear him say what quadrant to look for in the forum postings or in the poster. The city itself seems mostly protected from whatever is out there, possibly it was designed that way or placed down on the safest spot in the world. It's been too long now to know for certain, at least for him.]
But a lot of people think the only answers we can find is out there. Whether that's an answer as to what we're all doing here, or a way back home for those who want it. Every chaser has their own reason for doing it.
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Well, maybe she could, but it's become habit to poke her nose anywhere interesting. A bad habit instilled by Adrian and the others, maybe.
Felix mirrors her thoughts with what he says next, and it seems she's hardly the only one that feels this way. Soon enough, she might be considered a "storm chaser" as well, odd as that might feel right now.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, though. To feel like a part of something, while unmoored.
She questions him yet again, over the sound of questionable meat sizzling on the grill. ] And what is your reason? [ To spread the word and inform others? Pure curiosity? He seems happy with his life here, so it clearly isn't about going home. ]
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Felix turns over the meat while cooking and it's a personal question that he doesn't mind answering. ]
In a lot of ways, it's purely about discovery. I find it fascinating. I never know what to expect and for me, that's thrilling.
[ So he's a thrill seeker in a way, but he doesn't run into danger the way some other people do. Felix is cautious, he knows what he's capable of. But learning is what he cares about. He may never get the answers to the universe, but it isn't the point for him.]
And eventually it became about looking out for the city and my home here. Warning people or letting them know when something interesting was happening. No one was really doing that before so I figured might as well save a few lives.
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Then again, that might be the case here too. Maybe this Felix is simply resilient enough to withstand that. It's not like there weren't plenty of adventurers back home who were exactly the same, and some might even call Fern one these days, though her trek in Barovia had not been completely by choice. ]
That's quite a noble undertaking. You must be good at it, to have been keeping it up this long. [ She gives a firm nod of acknowledgment. He seems someone who's worth knowing and keeping up with during her time here, however long that might be. A shame, then, that he doesn't have his phone on him so that they could exchange numbers. ]
In that case, I'll continue to look for your messages both on the forum and off of it. And... [ She nods to the skewer in her hand. ] Thank you for the food as well.
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[ Felix laughs and salutes her.]
Any time! If you get hungry later you know where to find me.