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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thediadem) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
diademlogs2025-06-08 10:11 am
no subject
Perhaps... it is in the bucket?
[[That doesn't make sense either.]]
no subject
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?
no subject
No... [[An Ze kept more lists than An Zhe ever had, but even then. Not enough lists for a bucket. Lu Feng didn't either, but he did go through many pages in his journal. Hm. Hmmm!]]
Though perhaps if you had many journals you had filled. You could put those in a bucket? If you had a lot of them, could they become a list?
[[That. Sounded odd though. Thomas was no help, only glad that the ice that he was not putting in An Zhe's glass was being broken so thoroughly.]]
no subject
Which, speaking of: the thought of having so many journals that it needs a bucket to be carried around makes the jock in Lucina shrivel up a little. The rest of her is keeping a very brave and neutral face through it. Thoughtful, almost. Surely there would be a purpose to carrying all those lists ...!
So Lucina nods. ] I suppose if they need to be referenced at a moment's notice, that could be convenient. [ Someone please tell these two about a book cart, or something. Anyway this explanation checks out, so she's accepting it to be true. ] For some kind of research, or tactical plays.
... Still, I can't help but think there must be a better way to do carry all of these things than a bucket.
no subject
I agree. [[Carrying around an already established collection like that would be awfully cumbersome, like carrying a water bucket the long way. That had been very bad, actually. An Zhe frowned slightly, even if it had been his idea.]]
Maybe it's actually a list of things to collect in the bucket? To pick up new things.
no subject
It's the best one yet. ] You may be right. Perhaps it's for those who are fond of collecting specific items, and the bucket is more of a ... metaphorical bucket. [ So close. ] And the goal is to grow the collection with each passing year.
no subject
[[That does seem more practical than a real bucket for a yearly activity. Probably. An Zhe honestly wasn’t sure. Humans were such interesting creatures.
Accepting that this was the conclusion they had come to, he gave a little nod and then looked at Lucina a bit thoughtfully.]]
Is there something you would want to collect every year?
[[Thomas, meanwhile, was wiping down glasses and nodding very enthusiastically! This was not correct but what a nice conversation it had become! Yes!!!]]
no subject
But either way — that's a good question. Except... ]
I'm afraid nothing comes to mind. [ She kind of wishes she did, though. The concept of a bucket list sounds lovely, even if she's never really had much to collect before— before.
But that seems a little much to admit to a very nice stranger. So while looking away, at nothing in particular— ] How about yourself? [ Thomas is looking over to An Zhe now. The conversation can't die yet, it just started getting good...!! ]
no subject
I’ve never considered it.
[[It was a quiet admission. Year after year. An unfathomable concept for a life that was only meant to flourish for One. It was not a thing that humans would say. They lived such long lives, what would they want? What would An Zhe want to hold on to as a human now that he had more time? What would he want to share with Him?
The silence between the three of them stretched long enough that Thomas was beginning to show signs of becoming disheartened. Oh no. That had not gone the way it should have.
But then, even softer than before:]]
… Snowflakes.
[[He gave his own fingers a squeeze.]]
It would be nice. To be able to collect snowflakes.
no subject
Snowflakes? [ She repeats, almost dumbly at first, like she didn't expect the answer ( she didn't ). Owain would have liked to collect swords, she thinks. Severa may have started a hair clip collection already. Gerome already has a small collection of masks. But all those things have a use, practical in their own way. A snowflake— ]
... That's a lovely thought. [ She blurts it out before she's consciously made up her mind. But now that it's out — it's true, isn't it? In a hypothetical scenario where anything could be collected, snowflakes would be a lovely thing to collect.
She looks up, towards the sky. There's not a cloud in sight. She's got a hint of a smile when she looks back over to An Zhe. ] If that's the case, perhaps I'd like to collect stars. [ They're harder to see here, at least in the city. The realization had been disappointing enough that her thoughts lingered on it for a little longer than she'd normally allow. ] ... Though I would not want to take them from the sky. [ Hm, ]
no subject
An Zhe dropped his gaze when he felt hers, a shy ghost of his own smile touching his mouth.]]
Mmm. Those would have been my second choice. [[He'd already had one before, though it was not the same.]] I wouldn't want to them either...
But at least they come to visit every night.
no subject
It's a comforting thought; that no matter what happens, they'll still be there. She'll see them on clear nights, but they won't be gone when the clouds are in front of them.
None of that is here or there, though. Thomas, having done his job, is attending to another patron nearby. ] That they do. Perhaps that's enough of a collection, in itself.
... Ah, my name is Lucina, by the way. It's a pleasure.
no subject
Mhm. There are more than enough for us all to share, too.
[[Especially if there were so many more skies than An Zhe had ever thought of before. Were they all connected somehow? Maybe the stars here were the same ones Lu Feng could see, just at a different angle? A different time?]]
It's nice to meet you, Lucina. [[He offered up a slightly more obvious smile for her.]] I'm An Zhe. Have you... been here long?
no subject
An Zhe. [ She repeats the name for good measure, smiling in exchange. ] Not long, no. I believe it's been a little over a month at this point... [ There's a little pause. It's already been a month, huh? Her gaze flits away from his face for a moment.
Back to him. ] How about yourself?