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.

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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

[kingsroads]

Fortunately, it was just my stomach.

[ Which ouch, still hurts a bit? It's been years since he's been punched like that and again, ouch. Truly, he's done nothing to deserve this (you hit that man's car with your own).

Jonathan straightens up a little and looks over at Lucina with a smile. It's very much the smile of a man who'd like to reclaim his dignity but isn't exactly sure if he'll manage to make it or not. Still, he's doing his best! ]

Thank you for getting me out of that scrap, by the way. My name is Jonathan Strange—it is a pleasure to meet you.

[tolight]

Ah — Lucina. [ It's easy enough to return the smile with one of her own, faint but very much there. Warm enough to indicate that his dignity is not at risk, at least not in her eyes. She's had the (mis)fortune of catching Inigo get slapped by the countless women he tried to woo. This is nothing in comparison.

( She doesn't realize that Jonathan brought this upon himself. ) ] I'm just glad you're alright.

[ It's fine. All's well ends well. It really could have been worse. Still, there's a little pause before— ] Have you just arrived at the resort? [ If he's going to go in, she might stick around for a little longer. Just in case he's not as fine as he's saying he is ( or in case the guy comes back with reinforcements ). ]

[kingsroads]

I was planning on leaving for a bit, [ Strange admits. He looks over at his car, the other man's car, and then very quickly realizes that it might be a good idea to just hang around for a bit. After all, if he is by himself, then there is a non-zero chance that man would come back and immediately start something up again.

He's thinking the same thing as Lucina: best to stick around for a bit. ]

But that was mostly because I know next to nothing about this place. People keep talking like a resort is something I'm supposed to know, but this is far different from the beaches of Brighton. Perhaps you are more familiar with this sort of thing?

[ Please tell him you know what a pool is. Pretty pretty please? ]

[tolight]

[ She follows his gaze to stare at the two cars. If they're going to stay, maybe they should move Jonathan's care to somewhere else... just in case. You can never be too safe.

Unfortunately, she shakes her head. ] It's my first time ever seeing one, I'm afraid. [ She's got a sword at her hip, this is practically the blind leading the blind. ] Though those inside were kind enough to explain that those looking to relax would go here. [ Not that there's anything particularly relaxing about a complete lack of animals, or perfectly manicured flora, or the metallic human bodies everywhere. The thought makes her brows furrow. ]

... There is alcohol, I suppose. [ THAT'S... ALL SHE CAN REALLY SAY. ]

[kingsroads]

[ Strange raises an eyebrow at 'relax,' equally skeptical of the idea of relaxation. He can see how the pool could be relaxing, but it is far too small! You could only have women or men in there and he certainly doesn't want to do something as uncouth and embarrassing as 'go swimming with a lady.'

We're working on getting those Regency morals updated to the modern era but it's going to be a while. Besides, Lucina's right about the androids: those certainly aren't relaxing. ]

It does make one wonder what sort of place this is where something like that, [ said with a vague gesture at the resort, ] is relaxing. I'd hate to see what this realm feels are normal, day-to-day sort of activities.

[tolight]

[ Excited for Jonathan in about a year's time when he manages to go to a pool with women and also drives correctly. That's character development, baby.

Except she's right there with him; maybe not down to the letter ( she's from an army, she's not going to blink twice at a naked person ), but the general strokes of it. Lucina's nodding before she can really catch herself doing so. ] It is rather strange, isn't it? [ The ... artificiality of it all. The lengths in which people are going to get there. Phones and cars are marvels in their own right, but she's starting to wonder if it also makes things more complicated. ]

— Though the stars are rather nice. [ She tilts her head up; the one nice thing about this place is the perpetual night, the stars peeking out once one gets far enough away from the lights at the resort. ] ... Perhaps we could stay out here? Just closer to the edge of the lot.

[kingsroads]

[ As Lucina mentions staying outside, Jonathan's demeanor shifts a little. It's obvious that he's most comfortable being outside, being in the darkness. Just the suggestion of staying outside in the perpetual night makes his mood shift from 'hesitant' to 'enjoying all this.' ]

That sounds like a marvelous idea, [ he nods. ] The darkness and stars do not bother me. In fact, part of me wishes it could be darker.

[ But that's just because somebody's cursed as hell and has recently spent time in canon trapped in a curse of eternal night. He's used to darkness. Less time with things like 'the sun,' please. ]

It's a damn shame these diffusion zones change the area so entirely. I'd love to try and study the stars—but if all this is to vanish in the end, it seems fruitless to have a go at it.

[ But something in Jonathan's tone of voice implies that he's gonna try anyway. ]

[tolight]

[ There's a little flicker of confusion at him wanting it to be darker. A brief glance towards him as she considers asking why, before ultimately deciding against it. It'd be rude to pry. Maybe he finds the headlights from the cars alarming, like she did at first... Yeah, that must be it.

So she moves on. His comment has her return her gaze back at the sky, eyes narrowing as they adjust to the darkness above them. There's a little hum as she considers it — outside of using them to navigate, or the occasional quiet night, she hasn't really had a reason to look up at the sky before. Studying them is a new concept.

It sounds nice, though. A beat of silence as she considers how she wants to word it, but eventually— ] Or it could be an opportunity to study something no one else has studied before. [ She's going out on a limb, here; she's not really one for research or for taking notes, but discovery always seemed to excite Laurent. ]

Ah. If you'd be amenable, of course. I'm afraid I won't be much help, but ... I'd love to learn.

[kingsroads]

[ Poor Lucina is going to eventually learn that Jonathan Strange is the world's worst teacher. She is also going to eventually learn that Jonathan Strange doesn't have any conception of his own failings. The mention that she'd love to learn causes his expression to brighten, eyes shining with excitement. ]

I'll admit, my astronomy is poor. But that has not ever stopped me before! And besides, I know enough of the constellations back home to compare mine to these—oh, and you can tell me of your stars as well.

[ The more he talks about this, the more jazzed Jonathan is becoming. Astronomy! It sounds perfect! It's something to do, to learn, to figure out more about this place! Does he have any practical applications for it, no, not really, not in the slightest, but who cares! It sounds great! ]

If we can find constants in these diffusion zones, perhaps that is a new avenue to explore!

[tolight]

[ The enthusiasm is infectious — and if nothing else, the fact that he seems to have forgotten all about the punch is encouraging. A few uninterrupted hours of stargazing is going to be way more relaxing than what the resort — or the parking lot — had for them. ]

I would be happy to share what I know. [ Which isn't a ton, to be clear. After a certain point, the only constellations they talked about were the ones they had made up in the late hours of the night; the rest had been lost to time. And it's not as though she was swimming in opportunities to ask about the stars, back in the past, so—

None of that is here or there. She tilts her head towards the side opposite of the resort. ] Shall we move to the edge of the lot? I reckon we would be able to see the stars better out there.

[kingsroads]

Moving to the lot seems like a fantastic idea. And I believe you are right—we shall be able to see the stars better, [ Jonathan says, with a nod. Coincidentally, he's thinking the same thing: moving to the edge of the lot would be nice, relaxing, and end up dealing with fewer people.

He gestures for Lucina to follow him as he starts to walk towards the edge. ]

Honestly, I think we'll have a more relaxing time than grappling with those idiots in the parking lot.

[ baby girl, you started the fight.

Still, Jonathan Strange seems perfectly content to just make his way out there, look at the stars, and enjoy some yammering about astronomy. A perfect evening! ]