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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
exarched: (pic#17854036)

[personal profile] exarched 2025-06-24 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The "me?" certainly says enough in and of itself. G'raha does wait patiently, wondering if this man isn't used to having his opinion proffered? Or mayhaps he feels this experience is outside of his area of expertise to make said opinion worthwhile?

Whatever any minute reservations there may be, he hits several points and G'raha nods readily along with each one. If anything, he looks particularly pleased. ]


Then we are of much the same mind. It was not just curiosity, but the hope that if we are able to discern how these diffusion zones appear that we might, in turn, uncover how one might subsequently leave this place. I am gladdened to hear my own suspicions aren't far off.

[ Said smile widens as he places a hand to his chest and gives a short bow. ]

I am G'raha Tia. 'Tis a pleasure to meet you.
retrievalist: (006)

[personal profile] retrievalist 2025-06-28 03:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Cut him some slack, G'raha, he barely passed high school science.

He eyes G'raha's short bow and then decides he's not doing that and holds out his hand for a handshake instead. ]
Eliot Spencer.

[ It's a bit of a novelty, introducing himself with his real name. He's not quite used to the way that the vast majority of the people here have no idea who he is or what he's known for. ]

You really think it's possible to leave this place? What do you remember about how you got here? Were you doing anything before it happened?
exarched: (pic#17853887)

[personal profile] exarched 2025-07-03 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
[ A handshake it is. Though it isn't his immediate go-to, he's easy to pick up on it and gives the other man's hand what he hopes is an acceptable shake. Despite being a scholar, his own hands show signs of use and wear even at his (presumably) young age. ]

Eliot Spencer.

[ He repeats with a smile, committing it to memory. When he releases Elitot's hand, he nods. ]

I do. Traveling the rift between time and space is something I have become familiar with and it seems that this place does, indeed, draw people in from different stars and different points in time. As for how I arrived...

[ G'raha pauses, trying to recollect. ]

...I wasn't doing anything of particular note. But I do remember tripping on some cables and...presumably waking up here.
retrievalist: (005)

[personal profile] retrievalist 2025-07-05 09:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Eliot does note the calluses. He can't really read anything from G'raha's body— he's got no frame of reference for the way he moves or the way he carries tension in his arms. Academic was easy enough to pick up but... well, it's nice to know that G'raha also knows how to fight with a weapon. Knowing this place, that could be useful.

He nods at G'raha's answer, a little disappointed at the dead end. No real commonalities there then. ]
Last I remember I was in a fight. Figured I'd died or something, but then that wouldn't explain you.

[ He nods again, this time as though he has just reached some conclusion. ] Alright. You say you've travelled between stars before? You tell me what you need and I'll see what I can do. And maybe we'll have a chance of getting out of this place.
exarched: (pic#17899162)

[personal profile] exarched 2025-07-07 09:36 pm (UTC)(link)
In a fight?

[ Interesting. Presumably no connection between their mutual activities, unfortunately, as he can guess as to where Eliot's train of thought had been going. A good one too, and one that G'raha doesn't think needs to be abandoned just yet. There may be larger similarities where a sample pool larger than two would review. ]

Well, either the timing of your arrival was serendipitous or you performed much better in your fight than you expected.

[ Or mayhaps both, if Eliot wants to take the compliment.

Still, Eliot's willingness to aide in the expertise G'raha has only suggested at does make him smile. A network of allies all offering their skills to the greater cause is how they will get this done. And he has faith that they will, even if it may not be an easy road to walk.

Or drive, as the case may be. ]


I have, though it took a particular conduit and great deal of aether--an almost mythical amount, one might say. Such deep pools are not easy to come but, but given the mutable nature of this place...I would not go as far as to say finding something similar in this realm would be impossible.
retrievalist: (008)

[personal profile] retrievalist 2025-07-12 09:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[ They're of the same mind when it comes to gathering allies. Eliot's fine going it alone but he's spent too long with Leverage to not see the benefits of working within a team. It's not like he knows the first thing about... any of this, to be honest. ]

So when you say 'find something similar', do you mean the amount needed or something similar to 'aether'?

[ Eliot pauses. ]

Also what the hell is aether?

[ Based on what G'raha has just said he can kinda guess that it's some kind of energy that they used to power their world jumping. thing. It could be another human/hyur situation, where this is their word for electricity, except you don't really talk about having 'deep pools' of it. ]