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

[elriche]

Sure. [ Stephen narrows his eyes – not out of suspicion, but quiet bewilderment. It baffles him – the idea that someone would shun an opportunity to see the future and all the possibilities it holds. Even now, the Eye of Agamotto hangs around his neck, the same heavy weight, but sealed from him – silent. Its whispers unknown.

He cants his head. ] As requested, I'll make a small exception for tiki bar history – mid-20th century. So you don't have much to worry about – except that piña colada, which you probably want to drink before it melts.

[cryptsleeper]

For whenever I return home, I don't want to have information anyone else does and seem even more cynical than I might otherwise be about this new revolution.

[Alucard's thought is mostly with Maria. She cares for the matter deeply, and even if the dhampir has seen too many come and go to have real faith in change, it's unkind to say these things out loud.]

It is heartening to know humanity makes it that far. And is apparently bored enough to make overly complicated alcohol.

[elriche]

They've got a guillotine assembly line and you're worried about your friends thinking you're cynical? [ Stephen lets out a dry laugh, less mocking than disbelieving. He takes a sip of his drink, considers the guy's words, takes note of his Twilight-style canines and how they complement his pale complexion but decides not to comment on any of that – yet. ] And yeah – turns out civilization keeps on chugging along – and chugging tropical drinks.

[ Unless a single man intervenes, as blind as he is driven. Unless he twists the timeline into a shape from which it can't recover, unless he unmakes it, dismantles it, turns a hundred, million, billion civilizations to dust.

But hopefully this guy won't be there for it – hell, might not even be there for Napoleon, if his timeline's as divergent as some of the others. Stephen breathes in, and drinks, and keeps all this to himself. ]

[cryptsleeper]

Do you want to tear apart the honest idealism of a teenage girl who's just been through the wringer and genuinely believes in what such an event and governing body is presenting itself as?

[Alucard's tone is very dry, making it clear what his perspective is in all of this. He has his feelings about how a revolution like this will end. He is keeping that to himself and away from Maria's ears. She's just done a patricide and seen her mother become a vampire. There is no need to be rude about this one last thing that is important to her.]

If I want to go back in time a little bit before this tiki-thing, what drink would you recommend exploring instead?

[elriche]

[ Stephen keeps sipping on his tropical martini through the man's earnest explanation, a little glad to have a reason to not immediately answer. Dark stuff. Lots to unpack. He tries to form a response that doesn't involve a dry comment about eating cake (or whether the guy's been enjoying all the bloody necks), when–

The subject shifts back to drinks. Stephen's expression lights up. Oh no– ]

That's a great question. [ He straightens, waves a hand, and two liquor bottles spark to existence on the countertop alongside an empty cocktail glass, pre-chilled, identical to the one already in his hand. He points at one bottle, then the other. ] Classic martini – two parts gin, one part vermouth. [ He waves his hand, and the gin bottle transforms into a different spirit. ] Or you could do vodka, but – personally? [ He flicks two fingers, and the bottle reverts. ] See if you dig the juniper first. And, [ he finally adds, as he flourishes his palm and procures a heretofore nonexistent jar of olives, ] you can't forget the garnish.

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard will in fact take the welcome detour into less complicated alcohols here. Bartending as magic is something he'll accepted - that is normal enough to his eyes - and the simplicity of this drink is very welcome.]

Juniper isn't uncommon in my experience, but mostly it is applied in the realm of preservation for meats. I'll take the juniper version first out of gentle curiosity.

[The garnish though. That tracks.]

And I see that the added salt element carries through here as well. Fascinating.

[Before doing anything else though, the dhampir pauses long enough to find a glass of water. Palette reset.]

Should I give thorough tasting notes as well?

[elriche]

If you want, [ Stephen replies, a little – okay, very – smug about helping a guy from the late eighteenth-century enjoy a classic cocktail. ] But yeah – that's it. The balance. A few basic flavors, before simple syrup got to be the bartender's sin of choice, although– [ the corner of his mouth angles up as he gestures a "cheers" with his very yellow, very tropical version of a martini, ] sometimes you gotta have some fun.

[ He takes another sip. Considers something for a second. Finally decides, okay, let's rip off the band-aid– ]

So, [ he starts, keeping his tone as light as he can, ] you're the kind of vampire who can still enjoy a good drink?

[cryptsleeper]

Oh, I'm the kind of vampire that can go out in the sunlight and doesn't need blood.

[With that smug little delivery, Alucard takes a sip of the gin-forward martini first, considering it carefully. The balance is solid, the olive a welcome bit of brine-y goodness, and the juniper is welcome. He pauses long enough to let the taste linger on his tongue before reaching for the vodka version.]

Dhampir, if we must be technical.