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
It leaves her quiet for a time. 'They never taught me how to fight like a normal person because I don't need to', with the apology that's left unsaid. Gently, as encouragingly as she can make it— ]
... Is it something you'd like to learn? Ah — perhaps not to fight others, but for self-defense. I've found at least knowing the basics goes a long way in the heat of the moment. [ Just so he gets the choice between blocking a punch and turning someone into nothing. ]
no subject
Still he appreciates her response isn't immediately to fear him or get taken aback by his admittance of violence. He doesn't like to be different. And then her offer makes his eyes widen slightly and he considers. It's not a question of what he wants, it rarely is, but what he feels can be safe for others. Jack thinks he could keep it together. He should be able to do this. ]
Yes! [ Maybe if he can fight people hand to hand, he can handle them without bursting anyone into atoms. ] I would very much like that. I'm a good learner, I'd take it seriously and work hard.
[ The attempts with Bobby were fine but he was powerless then. And he was dying, but Jack still tried. ] I wouldn't be a bother.
no subject
[ Maybe it's a little presumptuous to say so, considering she doesn't know anything about the man. But there's a confident to her words that makes it clear that it's no platitude. He may be a stranger, but he wants to protect — people, himself. That's all she really needs to know that he'll take it as seriously as he needs.
So. ] My name is Lucina. I'm currently staying in Panorama, and train every morning at a lot in the Lodges... though if there's another location that's convenient, all we need is space to move around.
no subject
I'm Jack. I can go there! I work nights because I don't really sleep.
[ Jack used to sometimes, an aftereffect of being half-human, but he's no longer human enough for that. He has the Grace of two archangels in him now. It makes him a perfect graveyard shift worker. ]
I do have super strength so I will keep it under control. I don't actually know the limit to it yet as I haven't found one.
[ Jack thinks he might want to try someday for a building and see what happens, that is probably the limit and then he can know for sure, but he can lift cars and trucks, these cabanas for certain. ]
I'll be so careful, I promise, Lucina.
[ He doesn't want her to be concerned about her new pupil accidentally knocking her across a park. ]
no subject
Then, a shrug. As if nothing happened— ] We'll figure something out, I'm sure. [ Is her lack of concern concerning? Probably. But she doesn't want to worry him. She's not really concerned for her own well-being — her sense of self-preservation has eroded over the years, anyway. It's more the overwhelming honesty that's giving her pause, the familiar-unfamiliar of admissions that come out just as easily as his name.
He's like Morgan, she realizes, and the reminder of home nets her a pang in the chest. ]
I'm hardier than I look. [ He could knock her across a part and she'll probably be fine. She's lived through worse. Lucina tries for light and ends up sounding a little too fond. ] Gods know I've broken my fair share of training dummies. [ It's not lifting cars and trucks, but it's still something. ]
no subject
You look very strong.
[ She looks tough, like she can fight, like she's the warrior she proclaims to be. He can tell in her stance and the way she carries herself. ]
You don't have to worry about ever hurting me at least, all my wounds heal right away.
[ Knives, guns, concussive strikes, he shrugs them off. Dean one time shot him multiple times just to get his attention, knowing it wouldn't hurt for more than a few seconds. He did just go through a great deal of pain when he blew himself into bits, but he was reformed. ]
I've always wanted to learn how to be good at fighting, I figured if I did, I wouldn't have to use my powers.
no subject
But for all the part of a cool, composed teacher she's trying to be, the earnest compliment still burns at the tip of her ears. There's denial at the tip of her tongue, but that also kind of... defeats the purpose of offering him to teach, in a way. Guess she's going to have to live with it. ]
That's kind of you to say. [ Lucina pauses. Super strength, the ability to hurt someone with his mind, the inability to stay hurt... the more that's being revealed, the more she's curious. ] Though, ah, if you don't mind me asking — and I assure you this will have no bearing on my offer — what... are you, exactly? [ It's not even that not-quite-humans aren't strangers to her, it's just. You know, not this particular type. Not the Thomases, or the Jacks. ]
no subject
[ Jack has met people here who have never heard of one. It's a little surprising to him, given that angels have such a huge presence on his earth, to the point where he could be anywhere on the planet and the majority of humans would understand angel right away. He never got to introduce himself this way so it feels good, to just be what he is. ]
We're beings of celestial energy and light that don't usually exist on this physical plane. Angels typically have to possess the bodies of normal people in able to be on Earth, but I was born in a vessel.
[ Though Jack's body is not really human either. It heals instantly, it can fluidly relate holy power through it, and he can't burn up from using all of it. Other angels have different issues with vessels that simply don't apply for him. There is no pride in Jack for what he is, no joy in his voice to explain it. He hates what he is. ]
no subject
But possession, vessels — she's familiar with the gist of it. None of it was a good thing, at least in the context she came across it. Perhaps it means something that Jack's aware of it. That he's kind, and gentle, despite the connotation those words carry. ]
When you say celestial ... is that akin to a deity in your world?
no subject
Yes, they were created by the Almighty God, the deity of our world. He calls himself Chuck and he's a bad person, although I don't think he always was, he's just been alive a very long time.
[ Jack is pretty forgiving and open-minded. He may plan on killing his grandfather because he has to, but he believes that it's impossible he was always cruel and violent. His family claimed otherwise, that at some point he wasn't so bad. Jack wishes it didn't have to end that way. He wishes he got to know his biological family better, before they were all dead or enemies. ]
He's my grandfather.
no subject
Case in point. The parallels aren't exactly comforting. There's a little furrow of her brows that finally slip past what she was hoping would stay a mask, a shift of her body in the seat as she remembers to keep her shoulders loose. ]
When you say he's a bad person... [ It's a question disguised as a statement; her grandfather waged a war regardless of the effects it had on their people. Morgan's grandfather actively sought to revive something that would destroy the world. It's a spectrum of bad, one only made more complicated once family is involved. ]
no subject
[ It's past the point of no return. Jack is genuinely sad about it. His father Lucifer told him very bad things about God, as did others, but no one seemed to think he would go this extreme. He did create the planet and he loved it once, and he used to love humanity the most, he thought of them as his perfect creations. But they didn't turn out the way he wanted, so he first abandoned the earth, and then came back angry. ]
He's already killed most of them. It's my job to kill him and try to bring back everyone before probably dying myself. It's my destiny, it was in his Death Book, the story of his life and death.
[ Jack doesn't know for certain, he doesn't know what his Death Book says, they didn't go looking for it. He wonders if it showed the other times he died before whenever it's permanent. He seems pretty accepting of this fate, and he sees no way around it. It's him or the world. He's proud, actually, that he could serve such a great purpose, after a few years of being lost and uncertain about what he was. ]
I guess you could say I'm on borrowed time right now.
no subject
It feels inappropriate to laugh — not that she feels like laughing, just ... there's a small tilt of her head, before her gaze drops to the lap of some stranger across the bar. She's quiet for a time. ]
My father once told me that there's nothing stronger than the bonds we share with those around us. [ Slowly, carefully. ] That they have the power to defy very threads of fate. [ She didn't believe it. Couldn't believe it, not with the things she saw; she had seen it come to pass, after all. Down to the very last letter despite her best efforts.
( — But that was wrong too, wasn't it? She's seen both now. A world where destiny came to pass, then another where they were able to change destiny itself. Bonds transcending fate, just as Chrom had said. )
She exhales. The weight on Jack's shoulder must be immense. Realistically, there's nothing she can do here — who knows if teaching him how to throw a punch will do anything against a god? But when she looks up, her eyes are soft. There's a smile playing at her lips, the earlier tension all but gone. ] But I digress; thank you for your honesty.
We'll do what we can while we're here. And if you need require with anything else — just say the word.
I think this is a natural wrap, I have a new event TL for him if you see it! :D
[ But Jack doesn't think that they can. Some things are out of their hands. His destiny is one of them. Castiel's dead now, at least his version, and Sam and Dean are just humans in the end. They need him to finish it, and that's what he's going to do. He truly has accepted his place in the world. In a way, it's the only time that Jack has felt balanced. His purpose was clear. Now he's here and none of it is clear again. ]
I appreciate it, I really do. And the same goes for you. People always say it's good to have an angel on your side, and that's what I am.