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

[positivelyroomy]

It was certainly easier to avoid the elements back home; now he’s prone to all of it and a brat about it. This pool and Thomas's questionable cocktails have done a lot of heavy lifting in nourishing Martin's good mood. Running into Jack seems like a fortunate addition to his pleasant day. The poor kid is gonna need to sunbathe outside of this pocket paradise to dry out his jeans, though.

Honestly, Martin is going to start keeping tabs on things he’s actually done – besides killing. It isn’t like he can judge; hardships came for everyone. But not here, right now. And that’s good. He openly grins at the kicking, shaking his head and doing his own little splashing about. Definitely not as boring as showering.

“I didn’t get much pool time myself, either. Do you plan on staying here for a few days?” he probes, idly kicking his legs to and fro beneath the surface. The compliment makes him duck his head and look away, but it seems well-received. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to genuinely relax… But no. No, I haven’t been to one of these places before myself.”

“When I was little, before my dad left, we’d visit the coast in the summer. Went to a few lakes, but nothing as posh as this.” Those memories are hazy at best. And that’s okay. He shifts, back straightening as an intrusive thought occurs to him. “Do you dare me to jump in like this?” It is an act of solidarity, Jack. Wet clothes for all.

[godjr]

Jack is an open book. Most of his interactions with others are with people who already know what he is, or those brief times with strangers on the job or the ill-advised attempt to make friends Kansas that one time. And after spending so much time in the Empty with only Billie and the Shadow to talk to, he didn't get better at socializing. He does like it though. He likes sitting next to someone kind who is enjoying the pool water too.

"I don't think so. My family came here with me and they'll probably want to go back to our current home. I have two jobs now too, so I can help provide." Jack is proud of that. He went on hunting trips with the others but now he gets to truly give back to the family funds rather than use theirs. He's a good worker and his bosses so far appreciate his can-do spirit.

He showed up alone but Sam is here now and that changes everything for him. It does help soothe some of the pain of Castiel's indifference.

He listens to Martin talk about his past very intently. "We only traveled for work. I did think that if I lived through my destiny, I'd want to see more of the world. Like lakes or the ocean." The ocean would be great. He could go on a boat, maybe even sail one.

He widens his eyes at the question and smiles. "If you do I will. We can both be daring."

[positivelyroomy]

He’s been busy doing plenty of things, but not so far as getting multiple jobs. It turns out that being an archival assistant is a job that you can never quit, even after getting in a relationship with the Archivist. Half of his time is spent poking around investigating and researching, and the half of that half is making sure John doesn’t get himself hurt.

Martin needs to find a job that will keep the loansharks at bay, for that reason. Sure, he hasn’t seen any solid proof that his paranoia has factual backing, he’s not going to write it off. Taking a cinderblock swim in the Yawning Sea is not part of his aspirations for their new life. It would be nice to find a flat to live in, too…

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and get a random lakeside camp whenever this shifts next?” They in fact, do not. “I wouldn’t trust swimming in the water, but it could still be nice.” Lakes had who knows what in them! Oceans even moreso. An actual sunny beach would be wonderful though. Hm.

It’s difficult for a sentimentalist like him to not find that rather sweet. What a nice guy, really. “Yeah? Well I can’t back down now,” he eases; but he’s all smiles hopping off the side into the pool. It’s deep enough that his head fully sticks out. Jack should be fine.

Wait. He’d totally tripped over one of the things Jack had said about his family before he started thinking about giant space squid. Whenever Jack is not drowning and facing him, he shoots him a curious glance.“What was that about traveling for work?”

[godjr]

Jack doesn't know when the loan will be paid off as he's never had to think about finances before. But he's chipping away at it and Sam is better than he is at balancing it for everyone. Jack just brings the money, hands it over, and assumes they'll make it work eventually. It would be quite funny for anyone to try to shake him down for money or anything else, but he wants to do the right thing by the people who gave him the motorcycle. It would be rude to just take it.

"Maybe! The people here say anything is possible." Good or bad, something will happen. Jack isn't sure what to make of such randomness but he'll react as it goes. And protect where he needs to. He knows there is an ocean somewhere so maybe he can see it someday. Jack isn't ultimately afraid of many things. He would likely go into the water anyway.

Jack slips into the water and it feels refreshing if a little weight-heavy as his clothes get pulled down. But he smiles, his head still safely sticking out so he can't drown. He doesn't know if he can drown but it's best not to test that theory. He walks around, amused by the way that the water ripples around him, how slow everything feels when burdened by water.

"Oh. Yes. My family, we go on missions together, to protect people from monsters. It's secret in our world that they exist, but those of us who know are there to help. We're called hunters. We have to go all over the United States."