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
Yeah, alright.
[ He taps the bar and turns back to the android behind it. ]
Hey, final answer? Broccoli.
[”Excellent!”, the bartender replies, about as excited as an even-toned robot can be. ”Then perhaps you would like to assign a vegetable to your companion.”
He really wouldn’t. He turns to Strange with a doubtful expression, and focuses like this is the hardest question he’s ever been asked. He eats as few vegetables as he can get away with, and he knows nothing about this man, so finally, he simply plucks one out of the air: ]
Uhh...Celery. You cool with that?
no subject
So as Eddie assigns him celery, Strange shrugs in response, ]
Honestly, vegetables are something I do not have strong opinions on. Celery it is.
[ The bartender-robot nods, pleased with the answer. And before it can ask them another ice breaker, Strange barrels on with, ]
You know, I think both of us would like a cocktail. There was some odd blue thing I saw someone else drinking. Perhaps two of those?
[ Distract the robot before they both get roped into icebreakers that might be a smidge more embarrassing—at least, Strange thinks this is a fine idea. ]
no subject
Mr. Thomas Lustras opens his mouth to ask yet another icebreaker, just barely getting out something about nicknames before Strange cuts him off with a drink request. ]
Yeah, I mean, I’ll drink a weird blue thing. Can’t be worse than some of the watered down shit I’ve had before.
[ The bartender’s programming to ask inane and ridiculous icebreakers is overridden immediately by the request and with a quip of “of course!”, he happily goes about his actual job.
Or tries to, at least. The moment the android so much as touches a glass, all chaos erupts. He chats happily as he grabs the wrong alcohol, dumps a full spoonful of salt into it, and breaks the glass by mixing too vigorously. Eddie revels in all of it. He snorts and watches as ice literally goes flying, and the bartender slips backwards on a piece in a full on Three Stooges move.
As the bartender picks himself up off the floor and begins his second attempt, Eddie turns to his companion. ]
Okay, so, uh…how about you let me get this one? I did some time as a bartender back home. I can probably figure it out.
[ He was a barback and given that he wasn’t legal at the time, he was only allowed to serve what was canned and bottled and sometimes what was on tap when the owner wan’t looking. But Strange doesn’t need to know the finer details. ]
Or at least end up with something that doesn't have broken glass in it.
no subject
Instead, he quickly interjects, ]
I believe there is someone at the other end of the bar anyway. You should serve them, let this young man here take over for the two of us. It certainly won't be any problem!
[ There is absolutely nobody at the other end of the bar, but Strange is delivering that suggestion with absolute certainty in his voice. ]
no subject
Yeah, yeah, just—just there. That guy. He’s kind of short. Hidden by the bar. Yeah, he’s been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes. Better go deal with him.
[ As the bartender-bot wanders onward toward literally nobody, icebreakers at the ready, Eddie dashes back to Strange, grinning a Cheshire grin. He rubs his hands together, wiggles his fingers, and begins grabbing for two glasses and ingredients. ]
Alright, let’s rock and roll. I've always wanted to try this.
[ Which does bring his bartender story into question, but he seems so confident that one might forgive it entirely. He works like a wizard brewing a potion—a dash of this, a dash of that, holds the glass up tot he light to check that the blue color is correct. The end product might be a little strong, but not bad. Better than whatever the bartender was brewing up. Eddie slides a glass of bright blue something to Strange and holds up his own, grinning. ]
Shall we?
no subject
Be my guest. Whatever you make will certainly be better than what the bartender makes.
[ 100% less glass! It should not be a problem and yet here we are.
Strange lounges slightly, watching Eddie as he makes whatever he's making. When Eddie slides the glass over to Strange, he raises it as a toast before toasting, ]
To new experiences, [ as he takes a little sip. And hey! Not bad! Strange's face brightens a bit before he takes a bigger sip. ]
no subject
It’s clear that he’s done a halfway decent job and seeing Strange go in for a second sip, he flashes a grin, gives a dramatic flourish of his hand, and dips into a slight bow before he finally tests his own glass. Then he pulls back to stare at it, eyes wide. ]
Oh, shit, that turned out good, actually.
[ And then he dives back in for a second, much larger sip. He’ll never be able to recreate it, but maybe he missed his calling as an actual bartender. He shoots a sidelong glance toward the android-bartender, still at the opposite end of the bar asking icebreakers to no one. It seems like he’s glitching out a bit. ]
What do you think? Is he even notice if I pilfer his job for the evening? You're not gonna end up with glass in your drink, plus--I have way better questions.
no subject
Personally, I wouldn't mind if you took on the job of bartender. Something that cannot poison me is a low bar to clear and yet, our bartender is having a terrible job clearing it.
[ Strange scrunches up his nose slightly before sighing, ]
Though I suppose I will take a few of your questions as well.