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
jason voorhees.
It's also how he ends up at the scene when he drives between two bumpers, crushing a neatly trimmed bush as he does only to stop short from running over two bodies in the chaos. His eyes go between the shaggy-haired kid and the looming giant of a man stalking forward, radiating murder out of his pores. He can see the issue: the truck locked between the van and another car, but the real problem's also whoever decided to park sideways to begin with six hours ago. Maybe if it wasn't a kid, if it really was just two assholes about to take a swipe at each other, Logan would've ridden around and not looked back. Instead, he's already dismounting, brushing past the small crowd gathering for the show.
Goddamn it.
The knife flashes. Logan grabs the man's wrist, yanking him back down before he can scramble up the van, too. ] He'll move his car for a minute so you can get out. [ His attention lands squarely on the boy up on the roof. ] Right?
[ There's only one right answer here, by the way. Also an answer that needs to come quick 'cause he can tell when a man's itching for a fight. As much as Logan's never backed down from one, he didn't come here to waste his time starting shit with a stranger. ]
no subject
As he scrambles onto the roof, his pursuer grabs for his ankle and Eddie only manages to jump back just in time to avoid being pulled right down. He hears the thud of a body against steel as someone pulls the man down, away from the van. Eddie inches hesitantly to the edge of the roof again to peer down at the scene, eyes wide and fearful.
He wasn’t planning on moving if he could avoid it, but it’s clear that this isn’t really a question. It’s a demand. The man is struggling in Logan’s grip, ready to lunge for Eddie the next chance he gets. ]
Uh—yeah? Right. Of course.
[ He makes a show of fishing his keys out of his pocket, jingling them to be sure the angry man can see exactly what he’s doing. He inches toward the front end of the car, the furthest from the angry motorist that he can get, slips off the hood, and ducks into the van. The engine roars to life and the car creeps forward, crushing yet another neatly trimmed bush beneath its weight, but affording Mr. Voorhees just enough room to exit the premises.
Eddie cracks the door and calls out: ]
Your chariot awaits.
[ The door slams immediately after and the doors lock, as if he fully expects the man to come after him anyway, but he doesn’t. Instead, he angrily pulls away from Logan’s grip, swearing and grumbling and snapping at the gawking bystanders, but he heads directly to his truck. When he tears out of the lot, unconcerned for the bystanders that leap out of his way, he takes it upon himself to sideswipe Eddie’s bumper in a move that can only be purposeful.
When the roar of his engine disappears, only then does Eddie emerge. It’s clear that he’s been holding back some anxiety, as he takes a moment to crouch, hands on his knees, and catch the breath he didn’t even realize he’d lost. ]
Jesus Christ…
no subject
Then Road Rage seems to think twice about taking a swing when he realizes he can't escape of Logan's grasp. Logan lets go only when the kid's safely inside the van, door shut tight. The fact that there's space being made gets everyone to cool off.
Mostly.
The truck bump the van as it tears out of the lot, nearly mows down some hapless woman with her mangy dog. Logan scoffs. Same kinda people everywhere, huh? At least nobody's been stabbed. He'll take it.
He wanders over. There's dirt and bits of shrub on the concrete. He doesn't check out the damage to the van, yet. Figures there's something more important than that first—though he'll give him a hand with the bumper if he needs. ]
You okay, kid?
no subject
[ Eddie heaves a deep breath and forces himself back upright, pushing all that wild hair out of his eyes. He watches almost in a daze as Road Rage’s truck disappears, literally in a cloud of dust, and only then does he blink, come back to earth, and seem to full comprehend Logan’s words. ]
Oh. Yeah, yeah, I’m cool. Thanks, uh…
[ He peeks over his shoulder at his shoddy parking job, shrubs flattened beneath the front wheels of the van while the stiff branches leaving tiny scrapes in the paint. He knows the vehicle is too solid to be damaged by shrubbery though, but he snorts when he spots the dented bumper. ]
Probably a good thing I didn’t try to convince him he blocked me in, huh?
no subject
Next time, pick your battles.
[ Maybe not the ones that involve somebody twice your size. But he's not Summers, so that's about all the lecture coming from him.
He offers the boy a hand up. ]