thediadem: (Default)
The Diadem ([personal profile] thediadem) wrote in [community profile] diademlogs2025-06-08 10:11 am
Entry tags:

MINGLE ∞ LOG — June 2025

Mingle ∞ Log
No Lifeguard on Duty
©
Jump ⇅ :: IntroPromptsNPC 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 ∞
TravelMapSetting
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.
Questions? Ask here
diplomatiste: (05)

android dreams ;

[personal profile] diplomatiste 2025-06-15 07:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's the commotion of the droid's protests that catches Alphinaud's attention: the repeated request that Clint please request a drink that the droid might make for him rather than pilfer wholesale the bottles from the racks, as there is a protocol for this, he can make a rather mean Shirley Temple, and would he not rather answer the charming question, 'What's your go-to dance move?' instead?

The droid, while actually incapable of such, appears to be drowning, his comments coming out in a flurry. He clumsily drops a glass, and ice cubes tumble onto the floor accompanied by newly broken glass.

And the teenaged boy with pointed ears and stark-white hair, a perfectly harmless glass of water before him, hides a small muffled breath of a laugh behind his hand and then clears his throat. ]


Are you quite certain you ought to be consuming so much, ser? I believe Thomas is rather concerned.
brandingproblem: (kamikaze crash like a suicide)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-06-17 01:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[The sound of breaking glass gets his attention, because the last thing a bar needs is shards of glass mixed in with the ice, for instance. It's just across the floor, which is still a hazard, but mostly just behind the bar. Like where Clint is.

He frowns lightly and sets the bottles down on the bartop.]


I think he's just concerned that nobody wants to play twenty questions with him. You see a broom anywhere?

[He doesn't need to clean up after a sloppy robot. But it feels like something he ought to do?]
diplomatiste: (14)

[personal profile] diplomatiste 2025-06-18 02:59 pm (UTC)(link)
I —

[ Thomas the android has now since tried to fulfill another visitor's order, ignoring the glass and ice for the moment in favour of his higher directive (that is, serving drinks), but still looking very much flustered for something comprised wholly of metal.

But at least he's left them to their own devices for now — leaves Clint from the barrage of silly questions.

And Alphinaud is very momentarily startled to be asked about a broom, like this may be an unusual request (even though it really isn't), before he scans their surroundings quickly for one. ]


Yes, I see one in the corner at the other end of the bar. [ He gets to his feet, wanting to be helpful. ] I could fetch it if you like.
brandingproblem: (telling me that I'm insane)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-06-19 02:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[Clint flaps a hand at the pointy-eared kid casually.] I got it, thanks.

[Maybe this is what Wanda was starting to refer to. Doing a lot. Implied doing too much. But this is something small. No big deal. All good.

There's a look of consternation set on Clint's face even as he starts sweeping. Is this dumb? God, this must be dumb. This place won't even be here in a couple days or weeks. At least it'll keep others safer, when they iinevitably go for their own drinks? Yeah. That's better. That'll be it.]


You want to indulge the bartender-bot? It feels almost pre-recorded, but... [But there's also a semblance of actual thought and personality and someone in there. Like someone zapped Vision and turned him wildly incompetent.] Feels weird, doesn't it.
diplomatiste: (10)

[personal profile] diplomatiste 2025-06-20 11:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Looking mildly dejected, Alphinaud settles back down in his seat.

Perhaps it's that he's a lot more comfortable giving direction than he is sitting about and not making himself useful, but he quickly recovers with Clint's question and the comments that follow. ]


I'm afraid we've already had quite a lengthy conversation, one that granted me more than one full glass of water, in fact. This is my third.

[ He gestures to his glass. ]

I'd much prefer to avoid a repeat of that. But I agree — I can't help but wonder if Thomas is purposely limited in his responses.
brandingproblem: (Default)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-06-23 06:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Did you want water, or is it just a happy consequence of not getting a drink made wrong or poured all over you?

[Is it a 'reward' for partaking in the nonsense that is chattering with the bartender? Hm...]

See, he seems like a tin can with just as canned answers, but...the story he tells, with the rest of what we can see around here? He's not just a robot, I think. But that implies a lot of things that don't paint a pretty picture.
diplomatiste: (433)

[personal profile] diplomatiste 2025-06-25 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, yes. I'm afraid I'm not overly fond of the taste of alcohol, from what little I've sampled.

[ ... and also because whenever he's been around alcohol, there's usually an adult to take it away, on account of his youth and all. ]

But you bring up a fair point about its quality, for all that Thomas appears to be doing his best. [ His eyes go back to studying the android, fumbling with another drink for another guest, adding one too many sprigs of mint into the glass. ] And a very interesting theory, besides.

[ Please do elaborate, ser. ]

I have my own suspicions but I'd curious to hear yours.
brandingproblem: (telling me that I'm insane)

[personal profile] brandingproblem 2025-06-28 09:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Fair 'nough. Besides, it's the drinks that don't taste like alcohol that are the dangerous ones.

[His sweeping slows enough that he chooses to lean on the broom, eyeballing the bartender.]

All these guys used to be people. Or are people, somewhere out there, who got disconnected from these robot bodies. But Thomas here, something happened to get him caught up in all this, and now some part of his consciousness is stuck, not like a degrading bit of machinery but like...someone who got lobotomized, something like that.

As a theory.
diplomatiste: (11)

[personal profile] diplomatiste 2025-07-02 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
Is that right?

[ Alphinaud blinks, looking as innocent as his sixteen years of life experience would suggest, before he seems to catch the hint and utters an oh of comprehension. ]

Are there many of those? [ Quickly: ] Not that I'm considering sampling any at this moment, of course.

[ He wouldn't be surprised if his saying so happens to materialize any of his other friends, though.

But he has little time to worry over his shoulder when the man's theory, which is grim to be sure but not quite unlike some of his own suspicions, has his expression shifting into pensiveness over his glass of water. ]


I had considered something similar myself — that such beings like Thomas were not always built this way, or built at all. Perhaps there is some essence of the true Thomas that still remains, enough of which that contradicts a machine's working purpose. And if such a thing could exist, I can only wonder if there are more of his number.