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
This is exactly why I hitched a ride.
( she glances at his car, the one she remembers, then back at them.
henryk helped her once before, so maybe she just ought to return the favor. )
Wait here.
( and wanda will walk, all five feet six inches of foolish courage, towards the guys raring to go for a fight, unlikely to pay heed to anything henryk might have to say. they seem a touch confused by her so openly approaching them; the fact that she's a 'missy' (as they repeat nervously, glancing up and down her bare legs) forces them to lower their guard. one of her hands reaches for the shoulder of the leader of the trio, fingers moving imperceptibly should one not be paying attention, sinews of red absorbed onto skin. a haze of red covers the leader's eyes, and he's turning to his crew of gentlemen—
yeah, whatever, we're outta here.
not even a glance back at neither at henryk nor at wanda.
she turns back to him, another shrug. now they're even, even if he may not have been keeping score. )
Just needed to talk nicely to them.
no subject
Well, I didn't think that far ahead.
[ He doesn't know what she's about to do until she starts walking up to the men, eyes widening as he takes a step closer. ]
Wanda, wait—
[ He's ready for it, the inevitable fight. One thought and he'll shove those men across the parking lot, or yank their car door and slam it in to their faces. But before anything happens, she's touching the leader. Erik doesn't see much of what happens, but he notes the flash of red on the man's eyes, enough to stop him in his tracks, stunned silent.
It's not until the group leaves that Erik's eyes go from them to Wanda, a frown on his features. ]
What did you do?
[ He's confused, but mostly (and genuinely) curious. ]
no subject
I talked nicely to them, about how it's better to not pick a fight, that you're very scary. It works, most of the time. ( motioning towards the group that's just left, she adds, ) It worked this time.
( it really isn't much of a strategy, though, as far as breaking up fights is concerned. he's giving her this look, though, that she's taking as wariness. her heartbeat's in her ears, and she feels some amount of — not shame, exactly, but worry, the base of her neck warming up, and it's not because of the hot weather.
which is why she doesn't approach him further, raising her hands up to her middle, wanda's unconscious way of showing she's harmless.
maybe she wasn't as subtle as she thought she was, and maybe that was a risk she shouldn't have taken, either.
she points to her left. )
I'm... going to go this way...
no subject
[ Or anything other than talking, even from the distance Erik didn't really notice her saying anything to the man. He also seriously doubts that he would not talk back, no matter what she'd said. Even if she'd threatened him somehow. He had been hardly reasonable up until that point.
She seems almost scared now, though maybe that's not the best word for it— worried about Erik's reaction, maybe? Not that it's much of a reaction. He's just curious, and now leaning towards confused when she raises her hands like that. He makes no move to get closer, just in case. ]
Are you telling me that because you want me to join you or to leave you alone?
[ He's fine with either option. But something bears pointing out first. ]
Whatever it is you can do, Wanda, it's not going to scare me. You don't have to worry about me. [ Or fear his reaction, for that matter. ]
no subject
it comes to mind that his being able to notice that she did something speaks to the fact that he might not be unfamiliar to things like this.
regardless of the case, it is the latter that makes her pause, leaving his question to go unanswered. whatever it is you can do, it's not going to scare me. how often she's heard the opposite of it, felt helpless by how others see her, fear her.
hands come down to her sides, relenting. )
I just — wanted to help.
( and clearly her trying to spin lies isn't very effective. swallowing hard, she takes a breath, and revels in the fact that he sounds sincere when he says she doesn't have to worry about him. )
It scares others when they learn about what I am. What I can do. It makes them... uncomfortable.
( will he not be uncomfortable, too? )
no subject
Just wanting to help, but people getting scared. Fearing what they are. Twisting it into anger and discrimination, aimed in the form of violence against his people.
He can only imagine the things she must have been put through, if this is her reaction to him figuring out she has powers. ]
Where I'm from, humans fear me and my own kind. We're still often at risk simply for existing. [ Maybe that will change with time, all the more so now after Raven's actions. He doesn't know that. But he does know that no matter what happens, they will still be afraid of him. ]
I won't be uncomfortable, I promise you that.
no subject
one thing is for sure: there are strange people in this place, aren't there?
but henryk's words seem to do something to build upon a bridge for wanda to step on, for she draws closer to him, even if hesitation is still a steady expression on her face. )
I wouldn't call myself anything but human. ( so, that's different, between them, ) But my people were at war for a long time. We — were desperate, so... My brother and I, we—
( she stops herself here.
her face twists for a moment, expression pinched, and then she's wrapping her arms around her. )
I can suggest things to others with my mind.
( that's the very least of her powers, truth be told, but it'll quickly explain why she was able to make the thugs so easily scatter with but a suggestion.
more importantly still, )
...you don't consider yourself human?
no subject
She doesn't quite put it into words, but the only thing he can think of is that they let themselves be experimented on. He doesn't know how to feel about that, the thought itself touching on old trauma for him, but this isn't about his experience, or his story. He tries to set that aside.
Her description of her abilities doesn't concern him in the least. He seems almost familiar with the concept, if anything (because he is), and he smiles faintly. That definitely explains that strange interaction, then. ]
I've met two telepaths before. One of them is even here.
[ Because Charles isn't secretive about his powers, so Erik has no reason to hide that detail. ]
At our core, we are humans, but we've chosen to set ourselves apart from that definition. We've chosen the name mutants because of a mutation in our genetic code which has granted each of us our unique abilities. In my world, we are a new stage in human evolution.
[ But no, he doesn't consider himself human, and humans wouldn't want him to either. No love lost there. ]
no subject
the way he continues talking, using the word 'mutant', makes mention of the term 'genetic code', has wanda's brows cinching for a moment. she's heard someone else talk about that before, not exactly in these terms, but in a way that feels familiar...
oh. )
Are you familiar with Charles?
( professor charles xavier, but wanda doesn't have reason to hold that kind of reverence for the police english man she had shared some samples with some weeks back. at this stage, wanda doesn't know that he's a telepath either, having locked herself away from any kind of mental intrusion, not wanting to deal with the noise of the crowded cityscape. )
He spoke about genetics and being a mutant...
( —about abilities— )
What can you do?
no subject
He doesn't have the helmet here. He doesn't want it here, either. He's also determined to do better, even if he still has his own doubts about that.
But with Wanda, he doesn't hold such concerns, for how little he knows of her. Just how fearful she seemed to be about admitting to her own abilities tells him so much of what she must have gone through already, he can't help but want to reassure her that this is fine, and she's not going to make him uncomfortable.
His eyebrows lift at that, and he smiles faintly. Seems unavoidable that people would draw connections between them, being who they are. ]
Yes. We come from the same place, and roughly the same time.
[ Just a few months between them, nothing that Erik considers significant enough to make much of a difference. ]
I can create and control magnetic fields, as well as manipulate metal to my will. So we all have different abilities, as you can see.
no subject
though, when henryk speaks of what he can do, her eyes shift to the knife that is deep in the tire, then back at him. something clicks into place for her. )
Back then, when I was turning—
( on her motorcycle and nearly lost her balance trying to keep control of the thing while turning, and there had been a sudden rebalancing that boosted her confidence. green eyes widen momentarily in bright understanding, and it's not really necessary for her to complete that statement. )
I am sure that kind of ability comes handy here if you ran out of gas.
( then, there's a light frown on her expression. )
...I want to ask you to keep it to yourself, what I've shared with you. I don't want a repeat of my bad experiences in the past. People don't trust me much when they know what I can do.
( the logic is a little skewed, but she's still young and trying to figure this all out. )
no subject
Mostly, yes. I've found that my ability isn't always as reliable outside of Panorama.
[ He doesn't lose it entirely, so it can still come in handy more often than not, but— it's like it glitches, sometimes. Goes haywire, does something it's not supposed to. It's hard to explain. But yes, if he catches himself in a tough spot, it can be literally life-saving in a place like this.
Her request is met with a more serious expression from him, eyebrows knitting together faintly. ]
You know that that's their problem, not yours. [ And really, it's pretty fucking telling when someone judges her based solely on her powers. There's a word for that, one he won't say out loud. ] But if that's what you want, then of course I won't tell anyone else.
[ It's hardly his place to do so. He just doesn't believe that she should have to hide. ]
no subject
some other time, though. )
I know — I know that I can't control if others fear me. ( control, something she feels she's lacked for a long time. but the fact alone that others could fear her make her feel some kind of way about her powers, about how perhaps she will be seen in a different light by others should she expose them to it.
her hands push into tight fists at his agreeing. ) ...yeah. I guess that I'm just trying to figure it out.
( what she's doing, how she wants to go about it.
she takes an emboldened step, though, metaphorically. )
I trust you, though, Henryk.
( lmao, henryk. )
no subject
(Granted, for different reasons, but still.)
While she's not a mutant, it's close enough that Erik follows the same logic, and applies the same way of thinking. She wants him to keep it a secret, then he will.
He does look a little surprised at the last words, soon followed by a flat smile, and a deep sigh. ]
In that case, then you should know... that's not my real name. [ It's going to be fun explaining this to her. ] I'm Erik. Erik Lehnsherr.
no subject
there was a reason he introduced himself as henryk, in the same way that wanda had a reason to want to hide the fact that she is a telepath. because of that, she cannot fault him for doing so. )
For what it's worth, you're a good liar. Are you keeping your identity secret? I wouldn't want to ruin that for you.
( it seemed genuine, when he introduced himself. it feels genuine now, too, when he finally introduces himself with his real name.
so, perhaps it's worth turning to a new page.
she offers her hand, for a handshake. )
Wanda Maximoff. It's good meeting you, Erik.
no subject
I was, but... not anymore. There's no point for it here.
[ He's about to go on to explain why he was doing that when she introduces herself. It takes him a moment to reach out to take her hand. Recognition is clear on his face. ]
I've met a Maximoff. Mutant. [ He clarifies, then after a moment adds with some reticence. ] He's a speedster.
no subject
they are still holding hands, halfway through the handshake, and it's almost the only thing that keeps wanda anchored onto something solid, to feel his presence amidst her own careening thoughts. that he's met a maximoff, perhaps it's a common name, where erik is from, and a mutant, but—
but a speedster.
like a secret she's spilling, much deeper and darker than what she's admitted about her powers, she mutters, )
I had a brother. He was ... fast.
( a speedster, perhaps, if one were to name him as such. she swallows hard, then draws her hand away, hands immediately curling and pushing onto her middle, a tremor of emotion she's trying to maintain balanced. would pietro pretend to be a mutant, if he was here, because he thought it funny or found the moniker cool?
the thought alone, the delusion, pushes forward in the form of a monosyllabic question. )
Here?
no subject
He had a feeling. He can't explain it, or make sense of it, but something both compelled him and left him reticent to share that small detail, and now he knows that feeling was right. It's too much of a coincidence, he thinks— he's almost afraid to share the full name, now. ]
No. In my world, he— broke me out of prison, actually.
[ So now she knows that bit more about him. Not that it matters right now. ]
Wanda, I'm sorry... [ She had a brother. He knows that that means. ] What was his name?
no subject
I was in a prison right before coming here. Even if I'm not a mutant like you, I guess it's just...
( for a moment, she thinks she can divert the subject. there's no real cohesion to what she's trying to come to a conclusion, so she lets the words die in her mouth as she pushes her hands into the pockets of her shorts.
the admission alone would explain the blue uniform he had seen her in, attempting to get comfortable on a motorcycle.
despite everything, she steels herself, shoulders straight and expression dull as she tries her utmost to be stalwart in remembering her brother. erik seems kind enough in wanting to learn a little bit more about this very important person to her. )
Pietro. We were twins.
( pietro and wanda. he was fast, and she is, and remains, 'weird'. things made more sense back then. )
Turns out bullets are faster than how fast he could run.
no subject
But the parallels between Wanda's brother and Peter are eerie, at best. At worst, definitely not a coincidence.
He decides not to tell her Peter's first name. She looks upset enough as it is, and seen as neither of them are here, there is absolutely no reason to cause her that much distress. He reaches out, slow enough for her to move away if she wants— if she doesn't, he'll place his hand on her shoulder, the touch light but present. ]
I'm so sorry, Wanda. [ It's a uniquely cruel kind of pain, to lose someone so important in a way so violent. Erik, unfortunately, knows that all too well. ]
no subject
she glances at his arm, spots part of a tattoo, numbers, but doesn't think much of it, right now— )
Yeah.
( instead, wanda sniffles, shaking her head and waiting until he draws his hand back. )
...maybe we can go into the resort together?
( appreciative, she is. she'd like to be in his company for a moment longer, unless he was thinking of leaving. )