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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diademlogs2025-06-08 10:11 am
shroom forager
Eight didn't think much of the pile of clothes. Someone probably wanted to swim and didn't want their gear getting wet. A little weird that it's hidden but...no, on second thought that's probably smart. Resources are scarce, someone may see the opportunity and steal them.
...Eight's been in the same outfit for more than two days in a row, he understands the temptation. Anyway, wouldn't the head make it too dry for mushrooms? Not that Eight knows much about fungi, but this soil should be fried?
Eight squats down to get a better look at the plant, putting his hand right next to it to stabilize himself as he leans forward. Maybe there's a leak in the pools plumbing and it's soaking the dirt? Should he tell someone about that? Who would that even be?
no subject
This really wasn’t the best soil for mushrooms either. It wasn’t nearly as moist as Eight was worried about, and there wasn’t a single bug around to go around doing its business. That made it safe, sure, but not as nutritious as An Zhe had been hoping for. Still, it was better than nothing, and it was waaaay nicer than the absolutely dusty patches outside the diffusion zone. Beggars could not be choosers, after all.
The mushroom gave a very slight wiggle when Eight’s hand came close. If he were close enough to see it, it was as if the little thing was suddenly tensing up and holding its breath. Metaphorically, anyway.
Somehow, An Zhe had not expected anyone to take notice of him. It was going to take him a moment to figure out who this was, but maybe it’d be better not to stick around that long. He subtley gathered a bit of his hyphae under himself, getting himself ready just in case.
no subject
Or...do they? Does he even know enough about mushrooms to make that call? He can sort of guess that no, they probably don't except...they spore? But that wouldn't be just a twitch? Eight realizes now that all he really knows is what they taste like.
...Can he make it do it again?
Curiosity gets the better of him, and he gently pokes the little mushroom in the cap.
no subject
This mushroom, however, was leaping away from Eight's poke as if it had been spring loaded. Then it was on the move, looking more like a warm marshmallow than a mushroom as An Zhe rolled around to the other side of the fern.
no subject
He watches this happen, eyes so wide his mask is in danger of vanishing into his eyelids. Is this part of the diffusion zone? There's no connection he can think of between pool-loving robots and walking mushrooms but maybe that's a failure of his own imagination more than anything about the zone.
Of course, sitting there and trying to puzzle it out on his own won't help. He needs more clues. Stealth that doesn't involve hiding and waiting for an ambush doesn't come naturally to Octolings, so his approach to peer behind the fern is noisier than he intends...
no subject
The mushroom turned dramatically in a motion that looked like it was staring Eight down. It would have been, if it had eyes. It did not.
no subject
The stare down lasts for a few long moments as Eight considers his options. He tilts his head to the side, blinks twice, and then...
"Hello?" he whispers.
Yeah, he just doesn't have any other ideas.
no subject
Just trust him, bro.They 'sounded' quite familiar as well! In fact, this was someone An Zhe knew!
Someone that understood shifting very well, too, leaving An Zhe with a decision to make. It wasn't one he was ready for at this exact second, so he just bobbed his little mushroom cap for now. Hello.
no subject
...The next right choice may call for some strategizing. How do you talk to a mushroom...?
Eight hesitates for a moment, and then slowly, patiently, reaches his hand down, palm up, to see if the little mushroom hops into it.
no subject
Why not?
So the little mushroom rolled over, flop-hopping into that waiting palm. There you go, Eight. An Mushroom.
no subject
He cups it in his hands gently, and lifts it to his eye level, speaking quietly in case it overwhelmed the little mushroom.
"Did you come in with the pool?"
no subject
Uuuup he went! A ghost-like white thread carefully reached out to hold on to one of Eight’s fingers, just in case anything startling took place. A quiet voice was not that, so thank you.
The mushroom gave a negative shake of its cap. Not a pool shroom. How unfortunate would that have been, when the pool was full of poison?