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
Was this little snot giving him the cold shoulder? WELL THAT WAS RICH considering he was the dipshit who needed a ride! Kaine glares, boring holes in the back of An Zhe's head... before he had to admit that the angry look was a lot more effective when the person could see him glaring.
So he gives up and sighs instead. Flicks the door unlock button, to the sound of an audible click!]
Get in.
no subject
He looked back at Kaine, eyes flicking down to the door handle.
Debating… considering…
Wordlessly, An Zhe opened the door and took a seat.]]
no subject
He grunts, friendly as ever,]
Buckle your seatbelt or I'm not being held responsible if you end up flying out the windshield.
[Foot on the accelerator again, off we gooo]
no subject
Vroom vroom!
It was a minute or two after Kaine really got on the road that An Zhe spoke up again.]]
Thank you.
no subject
[It comes out reflexively. Hearing it still felt weird. He wasn't doing anything worthy of thanks, he was just going somewhere independently and this kid was benefiting from it. It wasn't a good deed. He hadn't done anything.
Another stretch of silence followed.]
You find somewhere t'stay yet?
no subject
Eventually he turned to look out the window, watching all the unfamiliar scenery rush past.
He was still doing that when Kaine spoke up, and he left his chin resting on his hand.]]
Mm. One of the motel rooms, when they’re available.
no subject
Good.
[The last thing he needed to hear was about how this kid found someone who oh-so-generously took him in and definitely wouldn’t extort anything shady out of him later once he was in a position where he was forced to rely on them.
Kid seriously needed to get self sufficient, fast, Being able to drive his own rig was only part of it. His whole vibe just gave off the impression of a weird, hapless, distant but beautiful child that could really attract just the worst kind of people.
Again, none of Kaine’s business.]
no subject
[[The whole thing had just really brought home how lucky he had been during his travels before. There really hadn't been many times where An Zhe had been uncertain about where he would sleep. He'd been doing just fine so far though, so he imagined that would only continue.
For now the biggest uncertainty was whether or not Kaine actually wanted to talk. It had seemed like no, but now...? Maybe? Yes??]]
Were you able to find a place too?
no subject
[Said with the same vibe as saying none of your business. Kaine wasn’t the one you had to be worried about, kid. He already spent years living on the dirty streets, in sleazy motels, sewers.
But, maybe even he wasn’t immune to the effects of dead air, so after a beat of awkward silence, he adds,]
I’m used t’shit like that.
no subject
The quiet of... more talking?
The wildly confusing flip flopping was the same as before. This was just who he was, An Zhe supposed.]]
To... staying in different places?
no subject
He lets out a darkly amused grunt. What he meant was living like shit!!!! but yeah let’s go with that.]
That’s a generous way of puttin’ it. Sure. Lots’a different places.
no subject
An Zhe turned a considering look at him then.]]
Not good ones, then.
no subject
Not really, no.
[There’s a tint of something in his voice - bitterness maybe, but perhaps too obvious an answer. More honestly, it was closer to sadness. Lost years, ugly years. Back when he hated himself even more than he did now, which was saying something.
He really didn’t mean to be so revealing with that answer.]
no subject
[[The quiet admission instead of Kaine's usual loud huffing stirred an understanding that An Zhe felt in his bones rather than something put in to words. These were emotions that were beyond him, but he could feel their weight all the same.
He did not know which words were the right ones to say. He had a feeling that none of them were.]]
I hope you're able to find nicer ones from now on.
no subject
Sure, if I suddenly come into a pile of jools.
[Safety, luxury, comfort, as far as he was concerned, was all easily obtainable - as long as you had the money. That’s all it was at the end of the day. What little he had ever encountered of a sense of home, even that had been thanks to buying out a penthouse hotel suite for an extended period of time.
And that, ultimately, had been fleeting. Nice, but… not necessary. And not realistic, either.]
This whole world’s a shitshow. I’d be surprised if there’s anything outside the Sanctum that isn’t run down already.
no subject
Mmm...
[[He tapped his fingertips lightly against his mouth in thought. He was fairly sure they were flipping between two pages here, but that was alright. They seemed to go hand in hand anyway.]]
Run down isn't so bad but... hopefully dryer then, at the very least.
no subject
Yeah, being damp's the fuckin' worst.
[Especially when you were cloaked in the stench of the city... Brought back too many memories of literally living in the sewer. Down in the dark with the refuse, when he was truly detestable. He might only be playing at a facsimile of being a real person, but there was a certain standard of living he'd gotten used to. Not Living In Literal Garbage.]