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.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thediadem) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
diademlogs2025-06-08 10:11 am
no subject
I suppose it hardly matters at this point. These beings have been ... shut down, but for long, I can only begin to wonder.
[ Alphinaud accepts the offered book and begins thumbing through its pages at random, pausing to skim a paragraph here and a note there. It certainly is legible, and there are a fair few entries written haphazardly throughout, but as the other man has said ... it's not the most illuminating read either.
That's disappointing. ]
If we are to believe that this zone is a captured moment in time, I would think it seemed a paradise to them still. A place suitable for parties and all other forms of overindulgence.
[ The atmosphere very vaguely reminds him of Eulmore in the days when Lord Vauthry still ruled with a cruel and twisted fist. The rich became richer, and those left begging for scraps could only dream of one day being a part of it all. ]
Alas, it does not answer the question of how they came to be this way, and whether it could happen to us too.
no subject
[ If these androids are made that way, and from what he can tell of their nuts and bolts they probably are, one could have wiped them all out. It's possible. Jack's only seen it in the movies though. He himself has enough electric energy that he could cause a surge, but he doesn't know how to use any of it. He has no idea if he could take out a huge portion of the city's power, nor would he ever attempt to do so. It would cause too much harm. Whatever was done here, it would have had to be powerful.
Jack's met several people here who have never driven a car before let alone know what technology is, which is why he explains himself rather than forcing Alphinaud to ask him to clarify. He's had to apologize and explain what a television is several times now, it's best to get ahead of his own rambling. ]
Why would you think it would happen to us? They say these are temporary zones.
no subject
[ Alphinaud nods, appreciating the explanation of this 'electromagnetic pulse'. Different worlds, different technologies — yes, it does stand to reason that his being in such a foreign world would mean that he'll have quite a bit to learn about.
But ever the scholar, he is hardly put off by the prospect.
Instead, he continues to thumb through the diary until he's exhausted it of any real answers. He shuts it softly and offers it back to the other boy. ]
Oh, I've hardly any conclusive evidence to support any of my theories, so at the moment they are simply that: theories. But a zone in temporary stasis is no less real than a permanent one, I should think. It's simply a matter of its length of existence.
[ He lifts a hand to rest at his chin, thoughtful. ]
And this journal appears to reveal that this space had been very real once for those that occupied it. There is nothing to say that the world we're currently in might not one day diminish. Or perhaps it's possible that we might become lost in one of these temporary zones. I simply hold no answers at present, not without learning more.
[ And after all that, it could very well be that he's simply overthinking things too. It wouldn't be the first time; it's something of a personal flaw of his. ]
no subject
Jack honestly is not equipped for reality bending conversations but he's willing to give it a shot. He has a tendency to accept what is right in front of him and react accordingly. He's curious and likes wondering about things, so it's just a shift in perspective, to aim that at the bigger picture right now. He mirrors Alphinaud by resting his hand against his chin too, pondering, before dropping it realizing he's doing it again. ]
It's all possible. It's different from probable. The people from this world claim the storms come and go, but it does seem possible we could get lost in these. If it happens frequently, how would people know? They say people disappear here too. I have two jobs, I ask a lot of questions.
[ Jack is very polite about it so people don't seem to mind too much as long as he stops at a reasonable point. He has been to another world before although it was more a different timeline than anything else. ]
All worlds I think eventually die. Unless God decides otherwise.
no subject
Truly — it is what he would do, and he feels a sense of kinship in that. ]
It's good to ask a lot of questions. Beneficial, even, I find. One cannot hope to truly understand the world around them, and find one's purpose, without an inquiring mind.
[ Before he can speak to more on that, curious also to know what other questions had been asked, the conversation pivots.
And now Alphinaud is more curious about where he's from. ]
It seems universal that the gods should have so much power over the life and death of stars and their peoples. But as to whether all worlds eventually die ... I should hope they could be saved before such things came to pass. Is your world in danger of perishing?
no subject
[ It wouldn't seem that way as Jack seems very polite and respectful, his manners are impeccable outside of being forthright and too honest at times. He means more that he can just pepper people with questions until it's no longer socially acceptable to do it, and he doesn't read body language or social cues to stop easily. It's why he has so much fun with Thomas the android though. They can just chat away awkwardly at each other for hours.
Alphinaud seems very inquisitive like him and he likes that. There's something very approachable about him, and that he's thoughtful. Jack warms up easily to people and he does now, nodding. ]
Yes my world was on the verge of ending before I was brought here. I'm concerned because I was important to the plan to save everyone, but now I'm here.
no subject
And what ... might your world be called?
[ Important to the plan to save everyone, he says, and he cannot help but think of his friend, the Warrior of Light. Could this man be something similar? Could his path be a reflection of his Star, his world one of the others?
Either way, it is a very strange coincidence that their world-ending circumstances could be so similar, and it surely cannot be, now he can't help but wonder. ]
no subject
[ It was very childish and destructive, and Jack is sad that his grandfather got to the point where this was what he wanted. He wishes that he could have reached him somehow, as his family, but he only saw Jack as a threat to him, never as his blood. Chuck did manage to kill everyone and destroy other planets before them, but they had hope there was a way to fix it once he was dead. Jack was essential then.
His tone is grave, and his eyes and expression are sad, weighted. Burdened. It was what he was built for, created for. His fate was coming to a head but now he is somewhere else. ]
I'm afraid for it with me here, but I have proof that time is potentially not working the same way there as it is here. My fathers are both out of time, from before mine. I think that means it hasn't ended yet, until I return. If we're lucky.
[ Jack has to believe that because if he's here and that isn't how it worked, it means that he's failed and everyone is dead forever. ]