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The Diadem ([personal profile] thediadem) wrote in [community profile] diademlogs2025-06-08 10:11 am
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MINGLE ∞ LOG — June 2025

Mingle ∞ Log
No Lifeguard on Duty
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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.

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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
opticular: (jPVpdpz)

[personal profile] opticular 2025-06-17 08:33 pm (UTC)(link)
No need to pay me back for it. We help each other.

[ That's what community is about, isn't it? Helping without asking anything in return. And Scott, while having this conversation, realizes that's what they need. The world here likes saddling them with debts and things on their tab. Sometimes, it's nice to get a helping hand just because one needs it, eases the load this realm has placed upon their shoulders, even just a little. ]

I do this a lot back home. I even teach a class about it, so if you want to learn, I can also teach you while I fix your car, if ever it comes down to it. [ His smile widens. ] This way, you'd be able to do it yourself and you won't feel as if you need me next time. [ It's a good way for her not to feel like she's indebted to him. ]
heritors: (pic#11383923)

[personal profile] heritors 2025-06-18 09:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ That's the thing, though — she's been the provider for so long, the role being reversed isn't easy to stomach. His alternative is better in some ways, but worse in others; it's still time out of his day, after all, to repair a car and to teach her. Even if she will have to learn somewhere, even if she doesn't have the funds to give. It's easier to shoulder others' burdens than it is to ease her own.

For a moment, it looks as though she's going to insist otherwise ( surely there has to be something— ). But there's a beat, and she manages a nod. She'll let the matter lie for now; but it's not something she plans to keep this way. She'll find a way to repay him. ]


I would be happy to learn. [ Lucina pauses. Blinks. Her eyes widen briefly, before— ]

Ah, now that you mention it... there's a friend, [ surely it's okay to call him that? ] who recently mentioned having trouble starting up his motorcycle. Would it be alright if he contacted you as well?
opticular: (zvDjNht)

[personal profile] opticular 2025-06-18 10:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The mention of a friend needing motorcycle repairs piques Scott's interest and makes him smile a bit broader. It's not as if he doesn't get anything out of teaching and repairing for free. Knowing he's making people's lives a bit easier when they're all struggling to survive in this harsh planet is already something for him. This, and it keeps him from thinking of home, of the people he left behind. Keeps him busy. ]

Sure, no problem. He could give me a call. I own a motorcycle back home so I know it more intimately than a car, to be honest.

[ But he can repair any mode of transportation, even the X-Jet. Realizing, though, that he hasn't really introduced himself yet, Scott extends a friendly hand. ]

Scott, by the way. [ A beat. ] Scott Summers.
heritors: (pic#7343752)

[personal profile] heritors 2025-06-19 11:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ah, where are her manners. Terrible showing on her part on all fronts, honestly, considering all she's gotten out of this is help for her and Wriothesley without anything to give. At least she has the propriety to keep enough of a poker face, the tiniest bit of solace over the fact that the man — Scott — looks genuinely happy to help. ]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Scott. [ She takes his hand and gives it a firm shake before letting go. ] My name is Lucina. [ And politeness or otherwise — it is a pleasure. It's written on her face, the lines of her body. It doesn't take much for her to know that he's a good, kind man.

— But really. One more time, for good measure, after an inhale: ]
I really will have to find a way to repay you somehow. I still have much to learn, but ... if there's anything I could help with at all— [ You know. Just say the word. ]
opticular: (qsYVsh9)

[personal profile] opticular 2025-06-22 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Nice to meet you too, Lucina. Pleasure's all mine.

[ Scott responds with the calm and friendliness one might expect from a seasoned leader, someone who's used to meeting people and encouraging them to be their best self. It also probably shows on his firm handshake, having done it so many times meeting new recruits.

His smile turns a bit lopsided when she insists to do something for him. As someone who's independent and capable as he is, Scott isn't used to accepting favors from people. Usually he's the one fixing stuff, solving things, etc. Still, he's not about to turn down someone's kind offer. ]


I'd let you know. Frankly, I'd rather teach you more stuff before you offer me anything. We're all trying to survive in this place. The least I can do is help.
heritors: commission, dnt. (pic#17786349)

[personal profile] heritors 2025-06-25 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
[ And there's the little huff of relief once he accepts. The feeling's absolutely mutual on both sides. A strange little dichotomy where she understands the importance of community, wants nothing more than to be able to help — as she has always done, as a leader or otherwise — but finds it difficult to receive it for herself.

She's never been good at feeling helpless. But she's also not exactly in a position to be picky about the fact that he seems to be indulging her more than accepting her help. ]
I suppose there's some logic in that. Once I'm more knowledgeable, I would be able to help others in turn.

Still, I would not want you to think I'm taking your kindness for granted. As you said yourself, we're all trying to survive in this place. [ She's throwing his words back at him, but somehow there's not a hint of smugness in it. ] Your time and expertise is just as valuable as gold.
opticular: (ZCqo4pG)

[personal profile] opticular 2025-06-26 03:13 pm (UTC)(link)
I guess so. I do understand where you're coming from.

[ Scott can see why his own skills will have the same weight as gold in this place, considering how they're in the middle of nowhere in a planet they know little of, but he's also a generous man. He won't hesitate helping whenever he can, something he has always done back at the school.

With a broader smile, this time, he adds, ]


If anything, I don't think you're taking advantage of my kindness. [ He glances briefly at Thomas, then at the resort around them, before returning to Lucina. ] This place could need more of it.
heritors: commission, dnt. (pic#17923303)

[personal profile] heritors 2025-06-28 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ That's cue enough for her gaze to wander again — people watching is a new hobby for her, coincidentally timed with her arrival here. Chatter's been keeping the place lively, but it's not so loud that it's disruptive. The grill's being manned by someone different now, a sizeable plate of raw foods by their side. She can see the tongs being waved around wildly as they're engaged in an animated conversation with another.

It reminds her of home. ]


All the more reason for this to go both ways, no? [ He's not asking for repayment, she's offering it. Insisting on it at this point. ] — If nothing else, at least as a favor for you to call on in the future.
opticular: (10)

[personal profile] opticular 2025-06-30 04:13 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Since Scott could tell this is swiftly going in circles, he decides he should really just accept her offer. ]

Alright, I'll remember to take note of this favor should the time come.

[ He still doesn't think he'd be needing a favor, but he's opening his options. There may come a time when he'd be in need of someone's help, and he won't mind turning to Lucina should he need it. ]

Thank you for your kindness, Lucina.