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.
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thediadem) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
diademlogs2025-06-08 10:11 am
no subject
wanda turns towards her now, looking her up and down for a moment. )
Hm, well, there's the basics... ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise. Some people put onions on it, or relish.
( she glances now past anne, towards the area of the grill, where a table has been propped up for the condiments in question. )
Do you want me to show you? I'm not sure what they have here, actually.
no subject
Mustard ain't bad. But I ain't seen any.
[ probably because the bright yellow processed mustard did not register as such. ]
[ as for showing her, anne hesitates long enough that it could be taken as declining the offer, but then she abruptly nods, once, before climbing to her feet without any further preamble. ]
Show me then.
no subject
Sure, uh.
( uh.
getting up herself (and hoping her chair isn't taken), she walks back with anne towards the grilling station, to the table with the condiments. she points down at the bright yellow bottle, then picks it up to show her that it's, well, the american's version of mustard. )
This one's the mustard. You can try a bit first to see if you like it.
no subject
[ she'd been right about the condiment section existing and right about recognizing very few of them. there were some similarities, she supposes, but she reaches for the mustard bottle when the woman holds it out and takes it with a mildly puzzled look on her face. ]
S'bright. Looks more like paint.
[ instead of putting it on her hot dog, however, she puts a little on her pinky finger then licks at it. ]
Guess it kinda tastes like it.
no subject
( the one she's familiar with a little more gritty, has some of the mustard seeds affecting the texture, giving it all a darker hue overall. thankfully, the woman does go ahead and try it out before slathering it on her hot dog.
a bit hesitantly, she takes the bottle back, and offers, )
Let me show you how they put it on the hot dog. That way you don't end up with too much, but also with not too little.
( and, should anne agree, wanda will squish out the wiggly lines onto the dog, the way she's always done and seen it been done. )
no subject
[ the mustard goes on, squiggly lines and all, and it is probably for the best anne hadn't attempted it herself first. it might have been more condiment than meat. ]
[ she takes a bite immediately and chews it somewhat thoughtfully, a few bread crumbs dropping down her shirt and onto the ground. ]
Better. Still kinda weird. Looks like a smooth sausage but I ain't had one like this before.
no subject
( wanda isn't particularly keen on those either. as a #europeangirly just like anne, there's a lot to be said about this kind of food.
a light shrug, though, because at the very least the eating situation is 'better'. )
A grilled sausage would be much better. They do use those for hot dogs, sometimes. More expensive, though... ( she looks about, squinting against the sun's glare, as if she'd be able to find more appetizing meat being grilled.
alas.
she turns back to the woman. ) I'm Wanda, by the way.
no subject
[ she is definitely running on a different understanding of the word. mass produced meat?? don't know her. ]
[ anne holds out her hand for the mustard as she takes another bite, without actually using her words to ask for it. ]
[ there's a pause, when wanda introduces herself. part of her is used to being more recognized, but she can't say she minds it. she's never chased fame the way other pirates did. it just happened upon her and grew as the years went by, perhaps in partial connection to her existence as a Woman. ]
Anne.
no subject
Hey.
( anne.
wanda knows so little about pirates. )
The reason a lot of people like hot dogs is because you can put whatever you want on it, other than mustard. ( she motions towards the table of condiments— ) So, just experiment.
( not that she's a connoisseur...
anyway, presenting a general sense of outward awkwardness, wanda fumbles with her hands a moment before motioning, now, towards the chairs they were occupying. she'll just head back there. )
I'll see you around, I guess.