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
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[ not nearly as much as he would have liked, or wanted to. he can't begrudge jack his happiness, but conversely he can't help but feel a little jealous for these things he never thought to ask for, thinking he never could have had them anyway. a life together, or some approximation of one. castiel can scarcely imagine it.
jack was dying. but now he's here. he had powers, lost them, found them again. it should be shocking, but none of it is, of course.
despite it all, castiel smiles. ]
We didn't exactly start out on good terms, either.
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[ He assumes that they spent plenty of time doing all of that. Hunter business, Team Free Will business, ending monsters and Apocalypses and the nightmares they had to deal with. Jack remembers that time with Dean because it was so rare that he got to experience a quiet, pleasant interaction with him. They did get to have their dinners and that time with Mrs. Butters, and Jack's makeshift birthday cake that Dean did for him, so there were bright spots among the darkness. It was just mostly overshadowed by all the chaos.
Jack stares at Castiel, fully invested. ]
You didn't? You haven't really told me much about the past. I know you and Heaven weren't always on the best terms because of your loyalty to the Winchesters.
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[ that's putting it lightly.
castiel squints into his cocktail. jack has said it again and again, but he can't believe how little he knows, how little he's been told. most of it, he understands, but this? there was nothing uniquely shameful in their meeting; in their first two years. except, perhaps, dean's time in hell, but how could jack not know? everyone knows. heaven, hell—
perhaps he doesn't.
he may as well assume he knows nothing, not even the obvious. ]
Me and Heaven? Jack...
[ there's no venom in it. he just wonders if jack never thought about it— because this, at least, should be more than obvious. ]
When Dean and I met, Heaven was my home.
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[ Jack already mentioned that he was dying so that was just the next step on that road. He isn't going to talk about how Castiel gave up his future for Jack. He wouldn't understand that now, since he isn't his father. Jack liked Heaven, and the Garden, but he knows that the Empty is all he can expect now. ]
But your relationship with the angels now, it's very bad, Castiel. You told me I shouldn't trust them, and you were right.
[ They tried to kill him and then they used him when he was soulless. His power was exactly what they needed. Jack doesn't blame them for his actions, it was still his choice to do as they asked, but he knows not to trust them again. ]
How did you meet my fathers ... the Winchesters, I mean.
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[ not now. not anymore. maybe they were never worth the faith they inspired, but if there was ever any chance, he snatched it away with his ambitions. foolish angel, thinking he could be a better father than the god almighty. an absent father was still better than whatever he turned out to be.
castiel touches his fingertips to the glass. after a moment, he looks to jack. ]
I was tasked with raising Dean from Hell. I led a garrison down into the pit and brought him back. I, um. I met Sam later.
[ they weren't exactly on the best of terms either, but it's not his place to tell jack about the demon blood. ]
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They were strangers to you once. Why did your loyalties change?
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[ it's so strange thinking back to that time. another universe, twice removed from this one. the world was falling to pieces, but it still feels simpler than the complicated space he inhabits now. like looking back on a childhood, everything he remembers is filtered through the pink-tinted lens of nostalgia. and grief. for all his potential. his hopes, and his dreams. ]
I was cut off from Heaven. I wasn't happy about it, either. But Dean and I became friends anyway.
[ castiel twists the stem of the glass between his fingers. when jack sips his drink, he catches sight of the expression he makes. he must have a sense of taste, he thinks. ]
I wanted... I wanted him to like me.
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I want everyone to like me.
[ He can't fathom feeling differently about it. He's been eager to please since the moment he was born. He was always seeking for some kind of kindness or guidance. He was looking for Castiel and he found Sam, but it's the same drive he's always had, only layered through a few years now. He wanted the hunters to like him, the angels to like him, the local kids to like him. ]
He does like you. He loves you. You're family. That matters the most to them.
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[ it's only a failing if everyone hates you because you keep screwing up, but that feels like an unnecessary addition, so he doesn't say it aloud.
something twists tight in his gut at jack's words, a hard yank just south of his liver. it leaves him vaguely queasy, but it's a familiar enough feeling that he can shrug it off with another drink. ]
I know. But things are... complicated.
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[ Chuck wiped out every living soul on the planet leaving only them alive on purpose, as a punishment. Jack hasn't fully dealt with the grief of that, considering he cared for the other hunters he saved from the Apocalypse, and because Castiel himself is gone now. But he was focused on the end goal. Killing Chuck. Then maybe everything else could be set right, somehow.
Jack's an observant person so his head tilts curiously, staring directly at Castiel's face as if searching for something in particular. ]
Because of what happened with Lucifer? I can see why that would be a problem. But it sounds like you felt it was the only thing you could do.
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useless. ]
Would you believe that releasing Lucifer from the cage weighs comparatively light on my list of sins?
[ and isn't that the joke? honestly. what kind of life has he led, that he can say such a thing? ]
Thomas, why don't you just bring the bottle? —The vodka, not the pickle juice.
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[ Jack is innocent in many ways but he's perceptive. He can see Castiel's grief and guilt hovering on top of him, pushing down his spirit. When he met him, Castiel's focus became Jack, so it could be having a specific purpose let him move past some of what haunted him. Or maybe he just got very good at letting the past stay that way in order to keep sane.
The bartender brings over the vodka and sets it down. It's a little too intense for Jack but if Castiel is drinking it, so is he. He mirrors people a lot, his fathers especially. ]
There's nothing you can do that would stop the people who love you from caring.
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dean was right, he thinks. he's not sure he's ever been alive. wasn't everything he did, in the end, to escape the painful inevitabilities of this life? he's tried so hard to chase the ideal, it never occurred to him there might be merit in accepting the flaws he was so long ago presented with. heaven was broken, but did he need to try to teach them free will? what did he think was going to happen? or was he just trying to assert his superiority? castiel, the better angel.
he doesn't know anymore.
castiel pours four fingers of vodka into the empty glass, filling it to the rim, and leaves the bottle standing between them. he won't stop jack from drinking. he imagines it won't affect him, anyway. ]
Sometimes I think they should have.
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He couldn't be perfect. He thinks he is wired to fail. He'll never be human enough or good enough. And he lives with that now. He cannot get drunk so he takes a bit of the vodka. He makes the same face he did with the bartender's wrong drink, but holds onto it anyway. This is one of those bonding moments, he thinks, where he can have a drink with his father being more honest about himself, and they can bond in a new way. That's his naive hope at least. ]
I've felt the same way all of my life. [ All threeish years of it. ] I tried really hard to be worthy. I think trying to do good has to count for something. What else can we do, if we're forced to live?
cw talk of suicide \ suicidal ideation
[ of course, he has no idea what jack has done in these past three years of life, so he can say no more to absolve him. and he can't blame sam and dean for their distrust, either, or himself his own. jack is a problem. he's a much more powerful creature than they've ever had to face, and how can you raise something with love while also fearing it? he can only imagine his own failures. and sam and dean, well, they're only human. they were never prepared for this. they didn't ask for it; none of them did.
castiel takes a pause and swallows down half of his drink. he can feel it humming at the edges of his mind, eating at the corners. barely a buzz, but a change. he's been weakened since coming here. maybe he's been weakening for a long time. ]
Who says we're forced to live? I think I've just been... too afraid to die.
[ amara was right. she was right about everything. ]
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[ Jack is feared by everyone who met him. He believes that his family loves him despite this, and they learned how to use him to their advantage sometimes, but they do fear him, and they should. He wouldn't say otherwise. He's too dangerous. He's as much a monster as anyone else they've fought, and Jack believes that even now. His soul might be back and he is trying to die for the cause, but it doesn't change that he was born this way.
Meeting Lucifer did help though. The two of them are night and day. For a time he wanted to give Lucifer a chance, and he did, but he knows him now. It doesn't absolve him of his choices, but he is not destined to be Lucifer. ]
I am. I keep being brought back. I like living but I'm too dangerous.
[ Yet here he is, forced to keep living again, in a new world where he can create violence and chaos if he's not careful. He's never heard Castiel say something like that though, glancing over to him. ]
The Empty is not a place anyone wants to go to. It's natural for you to not want to go there. I think it's cruel that my grandfather would do that to his angels.
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it's pointless to dwell, but he's always been good at it. ]
...God?
[ is he trying to punish you too? castiel thinks. ]
That isn't why.
[ he doesn't know what the empty is. he's not sure he wants to. he's not sure it matters, either, because what difference does it make? he feels the way he feels regardless. castiel shakes his head. ]
And it wasn't really my point. I betrayed Dean. I betrayed them both. I used Sam against Dean, which might as well be the greatest sin of all. And there was no reason for it. I was hurting them because I thought they had hurt me. When, really, all they wanted was for me to do the right thing.
[ castiel swallows and his licks his lips, his throat dry again.
this is why things are complicated. this is why things will always be complicated. ]
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[ The first death was difficult. Painful, confusing, scary. The very end of it was peaceful in its acceptance and him simply letting go, but he wasn't sorry when they brought him back to Heaven. It felt like he could be there for their love, and he was glad they wanted him there. But that led them down the path that brought a lot of regrets. ]
The second time was the Grim Reaper so she could use me, the third time was also her but she did it as a trade with Sam. Neither of you could let me go, even when it was my choice.
[ This isn't unusual for the Winchesters. They've sometimes tried to let each other stay dead, but it never lasts. Eventually they keep fighting for each other and it's a cycle that Jack is now sucked into. He loves Sam and Castiel so deeply, and he understands why they love him too much to accept his choices, but it also means it has to start all over again each time.
But he is deeply interested in what Castiel has to say about his reasons for being afraid. He's surprised to hear that Castiel used Sam, because that would be near unforgivable for Dean, that he knows for certain. But he knows that Dean does forgive him. ]
I see now why you are struggling. You did the wrong thing. You hurt the people you love. You regret it deeply. Only they can absolve you. I understand. I know that they will though, Castiel. And that you deserve forgiveness.
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[ so, not god. it's interesting but not entirely surprising— though he can't help but feel there's something deeply wrong with all jack's saying. they should have put this to bed a long time ago, this pattern of revivals, every new life a fresh back bent for self-flaggilation. it sounds to him as though jack should have been allowed the peace of death— of heaven. castiel can't help but envy him that, knowing he won't go there when he leaves this life.
where he does go is irrelevant. who wouldn't want to return home, at the end of all things? but he'll never go home again. ]
I'm sorry,
[ castiel offers again, impotently. jack should have never been born into this world. it was always going to be like this, every disenfranchised creature that had been brought to heel vying for this impossible power: for the chance to change the board. he understands. ]
You really should just stay here.
[ it'd be better for everyone. him, too. he should stay away from dean. let him be free of all his ridiculous desires.
he sighs: ]
I deserved to stay dead. Maybe we both did.
[ then he hears a peal of nervous laughter from thomas, who suddenly interjects: ]
Hey, hey, what's your theme song?
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[ Jack won't go back to Heaven which is too bad, it would be nice to see his mother again, but he's accepted that he will have to die and be okay with what that means. He accepted it far better than his fathers did. It is ultimately very sweet that they loved him so much to try to keep him with them, but Jack really understood what he was meant for. ]
I don't know. They seemed to think I really was meant to kill God, that it was possibly the reason I existed as the only one who could. It would be nice to think my existence has a purpose, you know? And me being here means I'm not doing it.
[ Because Jack would otherwise say he was a mistake, probably. He is glad that he existed, obviously he is here and breathing and wants to keep doing that until he fulfills his promise. But if he thought that he was meant for something greater (he is), it would make everything that happened to him on the road there mean something.
Jack frowns though when Castiel says he deserved to stay dead. That upsets him. It's okay for Jack to stay dead, but it doesn't sound right for his father to. And maybe that's why this cycle keeps going from their family. Would he try to get Castiel out of the Empty again if he survives? Is no one allowed to rest? ]
Someday we will both be in the Empty and that will be that. I suppose all the time between now and then is just us trying to see what's left first.
[ There's nothing wrong with that, while they're stuck here. Their fate is still in front of them. Maybe he doesn't have to feel bad about it. He turns his head toward the android. ]
I would like something like the Scooby Doo theme. That would be fun.
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[ but jack is half angel, and they both know what it means to be an angel. castiel will never let go of his duty, even if he's coward enough to want to run from it— to die. he shakes his head, answering thomas under his breath, ]
I used to sing with the other angels. It'd probably sound terrible, now.
Wh-what's one of your favorite comfort foods?
Um... Cheese and nachos.
[ finally, something he can actually answer. ]
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[ Jack had dreams of being normal. For the brief time he was human, he felt useless but that's because he feared not being important enough to his family without his powers. If he'd always been a human being, he could have a normal boring life. His mother would be alive, he would be a human child growing up day by day. ]
I'd like to hear you sing! Were they hymns?
[ Castiel's not talked about singing before. That sounds wonderful. Jack hasn't learned much about being an angel either. They were on bad terms with them. ]
I love breakfast cereal! Sam says the sugary stuff is bad for me, but you let me have it.
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he and his father may not be on good terms, but he doesn't want him gone.
ah, what a terrible mess. ]
They're nothing like human hymns, but... yeah. I guess since we've lost all our leaders, there's probably no one left to conduct them. In Heaven, I mean.
[ and whose fault is that, castiel?
he pours himself another drink. ]
I liked it too.
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I know almost nothing about angels. They wanted me dead for a long time, and then they used me to make more of them. I wish it didn't have to be that way.
[ Jack's archangel side is what all his misery comes from, and it would be gratifying for him if he thought that there were good things about angels too. If he understood the home they were from, what drove them, who they were before things got so complicated. It's lost to him. He doesn't know what happened to the angels he created. God probably destroyed them with everything else.]
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the stem of his glass clasped loosely between his fingers, castiel almost smiles. ]
Despite all our mistakes, I've never stopped believing in what we are. We were created to watch over the Earth, and humanity, and that— that's a cause more worthy than any other.
I've never really wanted to be anything but what I am. I just wish I was better at it.
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DO* it lmao. he can do it. but i cannot type.
I got it!
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cn: alcohol abuse
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