MINGLE ∞ LOG — June 2025

[thediadem]

Mingle ∞ Log

No Lifeguard on Duty

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Jump ⇅ :: Intro — Prompts — NPC Interaction

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 ∞

Travel — Map — Setting

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.

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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.

Questions? Ask here

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Comments

lucina ( fire emblem: awakening )

[tolight]

( cr meme comment here — you can also reach me via PM/plurk to chat.
i love writing specific starters! so if none of these speak to you, let me know and i would be more than happy to get us started. )

ice breaker.

[tolight]

[ She’s not sure what she should have expected when posters went up around Panorama speaking of a resort; but the people nearby are excited at the thought of having a pool in this heat, and that's enough to have her drive through the winding highways. It’s a little overwhelming if she were to be honest — but nothing about it seems dangerous. So after a cursory lap around the grounds, Lucina takes a seat at the bar. It’s what most others that aren’t by the water seem to be doing.

That said... she's not wearing a swim suit. In fact, she’s still armored. Her Falchion is still sheathed at her side, which is all extremely normal resort wear (you don’t want to see what she would wear at a resort, anyway). Not that the bartender seems to mind when he approaches her to ask her what she’d like to drink — he manages to convince her to pick something non-alcoholic and too-sweet — or when he begins to chat as he makes her her drink.

What's on your bucket list this year?

She blinks. Then frowns. ] — Pardon? Why is the list written on a bucket? [ Doesn’t that make it hard to write? Don’t you want like, a pen and paper… She catches the eye of someone nearby, confusion clear on her face. ]

[littlemushroom]

[[An Zhe simply blinked back at her, confusion also on his face. He'd tap his fingers against his glass in thought, but he can't quite bring himself to do so-- the water he had asked for was very, very hot.]]

Perhaps... it is in the bucket?

[[That doesn't make sense either.]]

[tolight]

[ Hot water in a summer resort.... An Zhe no.... ]

In the bucket... [ She repeats, silence falling between the two of them as she considers that possibility. ] Perhaps if one had a lot of lists, and could not carry all of it. [ And the bucket was their only option. This hyper-specific scenario definitely happens to everyone and anyone. ]

Though I can't recall ever having to keep that many lists. [ Which makes answering this question from this very nice bartender man (robot?) very difficult. The frown seems to only grow. Thomas seems to be pleased that the question is being answered with enough gravity ( as opposed to also being confused that this conversation is immediately going places ). ] Have you?

[godjr]

It is a colloquial term, it is what people do when they write down a list of what they would like to do before they die.

[ Luckily for once, Jack knows what something is and isn't the one asking! Jack just sort of appears behind Lucina rather than being next to her, he has a tendency to startle people by moving quietly. He has a very open and gentle expression though and blue eyes are curious and warm. He takes a chair next to her and watches the android.

He is not really dressed for a pool with jeans and a white t-shirt, with the ends of the jeans covered in water from putting his feet in the pool. He is barefoot currently, he doesn't remember where he put his shoes but he set up a spot with Rowena when he first arrived. He observes the android go about making a drink. ]

I've never seen a real robot before.

[tolight]

[ Her savior comes from her blind spot.

Which is ... disconcerting. They might be at a resort, but it's not like Lucina knows what that is. Whoops. So she immediately reaches for the hilt of the sword, body tensing when the voice seems to come out of nowhere.

&dmash; But oh, he's only answering her question. The tension disappears just as quickly as it arrived, hand not quite making it to the Falchion before the movement is aborted, and it returns to her lap. A list of what they would like to do before they die — why it's called a bucket list is still completely beyond her, but the question makes more sense in hindsight. ]

... I see. [ To his explanation, as well as the commentary. A robot, an android — she's heard the term used by a few of the others while wandering around. She eventually returns to watching him move — just as fluid and human as anyone else, despite looking like anything but — before she opens her mouth again. ]

Are they mythical? Where you're from? [ The same way pegasi and wyverns are mythical for other people, as she's learned. ]

[catharses]

[ This resort isn't quite like what he was used to on Penacony, but compared to everything since his arrival? This feels outright luxurious and the change in scenery is a welcome one as he approaches the bar. Sunday seats himself gracefully with a polite nod of greeting to who's sitting next to him on one side and then turns to find a familiar face looking back at him on the other, to which his own expression brightens slightly from its neutral state before.

Even better since after his order is taken for a glass of wine it seems there's a queue of drinks before his based on the other patrons seated around the bar the bartender has to attend to first. The multitasking doesn't end there since Thomas's question causes Sunday to pause. Lucina's question is a relief, actually, since it means he can avoid answering the bartender. ]

I think he's referring to the practice of making a list of things you want to do or see at some point in your life. I'm not sure I know why it's called that, however.

[ Possibly telling on himself that he doesn't have one himself at the same time though he's heard the term from many a guest. As he casts a glance at Thomas, he's reminded of the Intellitrons visiting Penacony. But: Sunday's pretty sure if he ordered a drink from an Intellitron bartender they wouldn't be aggressively shaking the still corked bottle like Thomas is doing right now. The motion seems rather like what one would do to make a bottle of something carbonated explode and Sunday's looking on with considerable wariness. Thomas, however, seems unconcerned and cheerfully promises the drink will be right up if they wouldn't mind answering the question. ]

[tolight]

[ The familiar face is enough to brighten her expression as it goes from confused to ... a little less so. Maybe a hint of recognition, a nod in place of a proper greeting. It'd be rude to interrupt the conversation they're supposed to be having, after all. Thomas is eagerly waiting their answer!

Which, with the explanation and everything, she can actually answer now ( she mouths silent 'thank-you' )... Or not. It's looking like she should wait, considering how quickly the bottle is being shaken at this point — oh, the bottle is a blur now. She's pretty sure you shouldn't do that with drinks. But she's not the bartender, so maybe he's on to something ( he's not; rip Sunday's wine ).

She shoots Sunday a look. It's returned right back to mild concern™ as she does, but there's an expectant look ( posture? ) to Thomas that feels like she shouldn't disappoint. So Lucina clears her throat, and— ]

I suppose... I'd like to see the ocean. [ Can she even get to the ocean? No idea. It's just the first thing that popped into her head. Thomas is pleased with the answer, too, though he notes that the beach is right on the other side of the buildings of the resort ( there is no ocean on the other side of the buildings ).

She looks to Sunday. ] And yourself?

[diplomatiste]

A fair question, truth be told.

[ Says the teenager who has probably just been through this exact circumstance only moments ago, perplexed by a number of the colloquialisms used in this world.

He, too, had considered acquiring a physical bucket though not so much to write on it but to collect something within it.

Thankfully he'd avoided all such embarrassments and remains actually bucketless. ]

I've since learned it's a metaphor used to describe a collection of one's wishes.

[tolight]

[ The world would be a nicer place if there weren't so many metaphors, said the person who's terrible at realizing they're metaphors to begin with. ]

Ah. [ Thanks for also letting her remain bucketless, your kindness is is much appreciated. There's a little sigh — more relieved than annoyed — as the puzzle pieces click together. Her shoulders loosen when she turns to smile back at him. ]

I see. Thank you. [ She's polite enough to say it outloud, of course. ] If that's the case ... I can't say I have a collection, but I would wish for my family to stay safe for the remainder of the year. [ So close. Not quite. ] Do you have a wish as well?

ice broken.

[tolight]

[ Eventually, she’s freed from the interrogation when Thomas begins servicing the rest of the patrons at the bar. She finishes her drink without complaint. But instead of asking for another one, or leaving altogether, Lucina stays in her seat. She’s watching the singular bartender as he goes about his business with her brows knit together, as if she’s trying to make sense of it all.

( She’s seen his photos — he’s not exactly shy about the love for his son, and she’s at least had the propriety to smile and nod while he gushed about how bright Edward was for a five year old. But how he looked in the photo is not at all how he looks now, and she has no idea what to make of that. )

Watching him for however long ( minutes, maybe close to half an hour ) doesn’t yield her any more answers than it did when she was speaking to him. So Lucina leans her head whoever is sitting next to her, eyes still on Thomas, whether or not she recognizes them. Her voice is pitched low, just barely above the chatter of the room so make sure she doesn’t offend him. He is very kind, just— ]

What is he? [ Local girl has never seen an android in her life, help. At this point she’s wondering if he’s supposed to look like the photos, and she’s just seeing things... again. She hopes not, the first time was kind of rough. ]

[exarched]

[ She isn't the only one who has been watching their resident bartender with keen interest. After spending some time with the less active replicas stored throughout the resort, seeing one so up and "lively" is equal parts refreshing as it is curious.His own knowledge with such creations is varied, albeit limited, and the manner of this particular creations origin is entirely unknown.

With his own drink in hand (after a substantial wait and several retries on dear Thomas' part), G'raha steps away to allow a few other patrons to make their orders. Yet G'raha doesn't drink, not right away, instead merely watching for a moment as he cradles his glass as he takes a seat in the next unoccupied space he can find.

At the sound of the very question of his own mind vocalized, he looks up and around, red eyes finally settling on a blue-haired woman. ]

...A fair question.

[ He acknowledges her with a quick smile, though his attention is back on Thomas just as quickly. ]

One I have been asking myself. Have you seen the others?

[tolight]

Briefly, yes. [ They had been uncomfortable to look at, to say the least. She's used to death; corpses stopped bothering her a long time ago, for better or for worse. But these aren't corpses in the traditional sense, their faces completely devoid of expression as they try to masquerade as something they're not.

Lucina glances back towards the direction of the cabins, as if she can see them again by just turning around ( she can't ). There's a little furrow of her brows by the time she turns around, facing G'raha once more. ]

I wasn't sure what to make of it at first. Now ... [ Her eyes flit over to Thomas again, who's apologizing profusely at another patron for making a drink ... without the drink. There's just ice in the cup and nothing else. ] I'm afraid I'm at even more of a loss. Do you think it's possible he's not aware of his current form?

dueling grandpas fighting for the same prompt

[unsunder]

A machine.

[ Says a voice somewhere off to the side. Emet-Selch has taken up post near the end of the bar, having discovered that "Thomas" tends to get distracted before he makes it all the way down to him, so he's left mostly free of silly icebreaker questions.

Not free of flying ice cubes whenever the android trips over his own feet, though. ]

Or were you hoping for a more detailed answer?

[tolight]

[ A machine, like a car or a cash register. But also ... with a child, apparently. Somehow capable of emotions and communication, making drinks ( albeit poorly ) for those who visit. She's not sure what to make of that.

So she frowns. Her eyes have wandered back to Thomas as he begins fumbling around for his wallet again, ready to show another unsuspecting patron the photographs of Edward. ] I'm not ... certain.

He acts as though he is a man. Is that normal?

[opticular]

Some type of robot.

[ Scott supplies as an answer while he sits a chair apart from her at the bar. He has just finished a good lap in the pool, his hair still a bit wet, as well as his torso that's only covered by an open shirt. He's nursing a bottle of beer in his hand, the very mild kind, since he doesn't do alcohol so he'd be able to stay alert.

With a small smile, his gaze follows her and then back towards Thomas when he speaks again. ]

Never seen one before? [ To be fair, technology isn't this advanced yet from when he's from. But he has seen robots in factories and companies. They're not unheard of. ]

[tolight]

[ She mouths the word under her breath; she's heard both of them floating around between the patrons here, all of which seem far more comfortable with the concept than she is. It's not exactly a surprise she doesn't know — she learned what a car is barely a few weeks ago. There isn't a lot of shame as she learns, or when he asks the question. Just a nod. ]

No. I admit, I hadn't fathomed such a ... thing could exist. [ She returns to watching Thomas salt the bottom of a margarita glass, perfectly serious. It's not like she's ever had a margarita before — as far as she knows, this is something he's actually doing correctly. ] But watching him now...

Have you seen the photographs he carries?

[virtuose]

[She was wary when she first approached the android, unsure what to make of him. He isn't quite a Nevron—which made her suspicious to begin with—and neither was he human. Her initial observations, watching as he served the patrons that approached the bar, put him somewhere in-between, maybe even some kind of metallic gestral. Though Maelle wasn't quite sure what to make of it, a part of her thought that Gustave would have a field day if he hadn't interacted with the android just yet.

When he came back to speak with her, she humored him, up until he procured a picture of his son. Her brow creased, looking back and forth between the picture and the android holding out to her. Considering her own upbringing and eventual relationship with Gustave and Emma, she isn't one to talk, instead remaining cordial as he regaled her about Edward. Surely he can't be the same person as the one that was holding the child in the picture...

It's soon after he leaves that she hears a familiar voice, turning to find Lucina having settled close by.]

I'm not sure myself. [She sneaks another glance at Thomas, taking a sip of the Shirley Temple that was offered to her when she said she was underage.] He doesn't quite look like anything from my world. Seems like there's a lot of them though.

[So many of them were scattered around, and she's yet to investigate them, filing it as something to do at a later time.]

[tolight]

[ It is nice to see a familiar face here, despite it all; the fact that there are familiar faces to see is a blessing in itself. Maelle's already gotten a smile and a nod, pleasantries exchanged. How she's been, if the city has been treating her well, et cetera.

Back to the conversation at hand, though— ]

There were the ones in the huts, yes. They were cool to the touch, like that of metal. [ And not a corpse. Which... the distinction feels important to make in her head, but maybe not out loud. ] I've never seen anything like it either.

I thought he was armored at first, but... [ She shakes her head. ] He moves far too fluidly for that to be the case.

the end ( of the month ).

[tolight]

[ Wandering back around to this particular part of the Fringes is pure happenstance — the resort is lovely, pristine and idyllic in all the ways she often wished for back at home. But it doesn’t take long before she turns restless ( too pristine, too idyllic ), and her pool day ends up just that — a day. There’s a rhythm she’s trying to establish while she gets acclimated: work in Panorama, venture out to the Fringes to scavenge for supplies, understand the ins-and-outs of the world she’s landed herself in. Lucina’s never done well with the ephemeral.

So the ever changing Fringes means that she clocks the empty barrels only after the resort comes into view, and she finds herself climbing out of her car at the far edge of the parking lot when—

The horizon flickers. Then… disappears. ]

Oh. [ On an exhale. In its place is a park that has been left to its own devices far too long, lush and rough around the edges. She scans the area, from one end to the other, a frown crossing her features as she realizes that the resort is well and truly gone. At the end of her survey is another individual with a vehicle of their own, who presumably saw the same thing. Hello. At speaking volume— ] … I suppose we were warned of this.

[positivelyroomy]

[ Martin had been parked long enough to get his things together and sunglasses lowered when it happened. At first, he thought the flickering of the resort had just been a trick of the eye – it had been right after his field of vision blurred with the change of lens. He blinked again, in confusion, and immediately groans a groan of true and utter manchildmisery. Lucina is parked a ways away, but can probablydefinitely hear it. ]

I’m so tired of sweating! [ The sigh is a whole body experience. A deeply sullen moment passes where he throws his beach(?? generous)towel back on his passenger seat and turns to stare at the park. The resigned nod. ] Seems about right. Just my luck.

[ He seems to accept his fate, giving a little wave. ]

I really was hoping for water. Or air-con. Or anywhere that might not have sneaky snakes hiding in the weeds?

wildcard-ish

[faithfall]

[ Having visited the 'diffusion zone' with Fern a few times by now, Adrian feels confident enough to make the trip on his own, one last time before it disappears. It's been one long, sticky heatwave, which he's spent mostly roasting alive in high collars, full sleeves, and gloves. He'd been thrilled to find the place mostly empty when he arrived, allowing him to set his clothes aside neatly and go swimming alone, just once.

Hair pinned up to keep it well away from the water, outfitted in an appropriate swimsuit, he'd waded into the shallows and... well. Time is short.

When Lucina rolls up, she'll find what looks like a disembodied torso just kind of standing there. In reality, he's buried up to the waist in earth that seems to have just re-formed around his body, while the rest of him is still soaking wet, with no pool in sight.

He will probably be struggling to get out of this situation in just a second but at the moment he's still staring into the middle distance and processing his grief. ]

wildcard.

[tolight]

( obligatory wildcard option! again, i'm happy to start us off if you give me a vague premise — i'm considering a general June catch-all for the non-resort stuff as well, so if you wanna do something there lmk! )

save his ass plz lucina

[kingsroads]

[ In Strange's defense, he didn't mean to have his shitty little truck rear-end the equally shitty sedan that was parked behind him. He was trying to go forwards! He hasn't entirely figured out stick shift yet! But rear-end that car he did, and the shitty little sedan is now sporting a very large dent in it's front bumper.

And Jonathan Strange is certainly not helping his cause by getting into an argument with the shitty sedan's owner, a surprisingly burly guy for such a tiny car. ]

As far as I can see, it is your fault for parking so close to me! If I had a little more space, I could have easily driven off. [ No he couldn't have, but Strange is an eternal arrogant optimist. ] Really, I am not the one at fault here. I—

[ Any more protests are cut off as the car's owner swings a punch right at Strange's gut. It hits and the magician doubles up, letting out a groan of pain at the impact.

Little help here, Lucina? This guy absolutely looks like he's going to get his ass kicked in the next five minutes. ]

nandor.

[tolight]

[ She hasn't been here long — the plan was never to stay for very long, doubly so when she realized there wasn't any work to do. But one thing led to another, and she ended up seated at the bar with an offer for a drink. Some questions. An occasional conversation with the few familiar faces she has come to know over the weeks, talking about everything and nothing in particular. Mostly about Thomas, considering how strange everything about him is.

It's not the only strange thing though.

There's a man that has been standing at the edge of the bar with a brush in his hand. He hasn't moved from the spot in some time. Said spot is also right beside her seat, and she can feel him watching her every move. A part of her, ever-vigilant and on edge, wants to draw her sword.

So, after a good ten minutes of silence between the two of them, Lucina finally looks up. ] ... Can I help you?