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
no subject
[ he doesn't think he can sway jack's opinion. he's just— to put it mildly— being a little bitch. he angles his head to look at jack where he sits, shifting to lean on the arm nearest so he doesn't have to crane his neck so far. he has the same slinky look about him as he did when he got up close and personal to whisper in sam's ear, but at least jack isn't asking stupid questions. ]
I'm just trying to understand why you would choose her over Sam.
[ castiel considers this for a very long moment, brow creasing, like he's trying to decide whether or not that's right. then he blurts out, ]
Maybe I'm jealous.
no subject
[ It wasn't a case of Jack going one or the other with them both in front of him. He was already settled with Rowena and he was very serious about his promise, as he is most things. Sam understood that so he just stays close to them. Jack can protect them both this way, and they both know too they can pray to him if they get into any trouble. If Sam was there first, Jack would be with him, it was that simple. It never occurred to him to get his own room.
Jack looks genuinely startled at that, his eyes widening slightly, and then his eyebrows furrow, confused. ]
Jealous of ... what?
no subject
he hopes sam is right to trust her.
his eyes slide back in jack's direction. ]
You get a choice.
[ of who to stay with. to stay with someone. not that he imagines he and sam would make good roommates, but he would have liked to have a choice. he may have a family, but he hasn't had a home in years. he lifts his free hand, then drops it again. half-heartedly waving away his own confession before he takes the last drink and drains his glass. ]
It doesn't matter. It's not like I need a place to sleep.
no subject
[ It surprises him, genuinely, but then it doesn't, because it makes sense. Jack hates being alone and he was so grateful when he met Rowena and knew he didn't have to be. They've always been a unit and Castiel valued his family too. He must miss them, especially given how he feels about his choice with Lucifer. That is a big open gap for him. ]
I would have invited you to stay nearby too, but I didn't think you would be comfortable with either of us. Rowena because of your past, me because you don't know me. It's been painful for me, being without you, but I know you never asked for this.
[ This being Jack and everything he represents. It has been hard without him. Jack got so used to unconditional love and acceptance and it's not easy for him to be faced with someone he loves with no recognition in their eyes. But he's found value in what they've built so far. They've had this entire conversation and it hasn't been as painful as the first one. Although Castiel is drunk so he may not mean much of what he's saying. ]
You don't need to sleep to decide to have a home. We had the bunker. You could get a room nearby.
no subject
[ jack isn't his family. not yet. and rowena, he can't imagine for him that she'll ever be. they can't really have a home here, anyway. it'd be a pale imitation, and that's not even breaching the subject of dean's absence. where is home, without him? if dean were gone, earth wouldn't be home anymore, either.
it's not a new thought.
it's not even anything entirely shocking, considering his position.
castiel pushes himself up from the bed, one hand braced to lever himself off of the mattress. he slouches over the bar while pouring himself another drink. ]
no subject
You're dead now. In my time. I thought I'd never see you again. The Shadow likes me okay in the Empty but they really don't like you.
[ So it's unlikely they would let Jack and Castiel be together in the Empty. They're all supposed to be asleep there, Jack was only awake and aware because the Shadow allowed Billie in there to talk with him. He knows that what he has to look forward is endless emptiness. Not a place to rest with his father. Not even Heaven truly has that, outside of an exception like the Winchesters. ]
I don't know what I'm doing. I want to be here for you, but it feels like I'm making things worse.
no subject
but up until now jack has been implying that castiel survived the ordeal.
so to say he's a shocked about jack's admission might be a little bit of an understatement. he slops alcohol across the bartop and his hand still holding onto the glass, twisting back around to face jack with an expression that's not a little hunted. ]
I'm what? I thought you said— What happened?
[ is this making things worse? ]
no subject
[ It's not as straight forward as someone killing him, there are layers. Jack sighs and rubs his hands on his jeans, looking up at Castiel from where he's still sitting. ]
You died before I was born. I brought you back, I woke you up in the Empty, and the Shadow let you go, but it was angry. When I went to Heaven, it hunted me down, and you offered yourself in exchange for me. The Empty said it would come for you when you didn't expect it, when you were happy. You told me not to tell Dean and Sam, and I never did.
[ That was a hard secret to keep because Jack knew how much it would hurt them, but for all he knew, they would both be mortal and dead by the time that Castiel died again. The two of them had long life spans, there was no knowing when it would be, which is what Castiel said too. It's the only secret that Jack really did keep that whole time, and part of it was because of his guilt, that Castiel did that for him. ]
I don't know what happened. You and Dean were fighting Billie, and I think you might have called the Shadow to you somehow. You weren't happy but maybe it came for you anyway. It took both of you to the Empty. Dean didn't give me a lot of details, you know how he is.
[ Not the person most likely to share. Jack also didn't ask. ]
Chuck killed everyone. All our friends and allies, all the other lives in Heaven and Hell and on Earth. He left only the three of us alive, so we would suffer too before the end. So your loss, while terrible, was one of many. It only happened a day or so before I came here.
[ That amount of pain and grief, it was overwhelming, and Jack hadn't begun to unpack any of it. ]
no subject
[ it has him in something of a daze. so much information to take in, and it's not even the whole story. he hopes, he hopes that won't be his life in the future. he would rather die now, he thinks, though he immediately feels guilty for the thought. he loves his family. loves sam and dean and claire, too, even if she isn't really in his life any longer. he can imagine himself in the position as jack explains it. certainly he would make any sort of deal necessary to save the three of them from the fate that jack describes.
the rest is just, beyond his ability to absorb in any meaningful way. he understands the words, but he's become so used to constant timers ticking down, spelling the end times soon! soon! soon! that it hardly makes an impact any longer.
still holding both the bottle and his glass, he turns back around and pours himself a drink. he's surprised to find his hands are shaking, but the already growing puddle disguises the mess he makes. ]
no subject
[ Which isn't new for Jack so he says it in a sort of world weary way, like it's expected at this point. He trusts that Castiel wouldn't, but he clearly has been by other people before. He did trust Billie, there was logic in her plan, and he never questioned what would happen afterward, and who would fill the God-sized hole left behind. Jack is very bad at asking questions or thinking past what he's told, he's still working on that. ]
She still wanted me, she took me back out of the Empty, but Dean stopped her. Her next conflict with Dean and you was what led you to be taken from us. Dean and I really believed in her, but Sam already suspected she was hiding things.
cn: suicidal thoughts
he picks his head up from staring down into his drink and nods as though to confirm to jack that his explanation has landed, before he turns back to the bar to pour himself another few fingers. if the empty is where angels go where they die, then the being presiding over it should be strong enough to swallow up an angel and a reaper. and if he called it on purpose... ]
If I'm gonna die, it'd be good if it were for Dean, right? Maybe I was happy.
[ not likely an admission he'd make sober. he turns halfway with the tumbler raised to his lips, eyes lidded and a little glassy. he's always wanted his death to mean something. it's why chuck bringing him back again and again was so galling, like a record skipping, ruining the rhythm and the melody. he thinks he's probably more useful dead than he is alive. ]
CN: suicidal thoughts lol
[ Perhaps Jack should tell him no definitely that he shouldn't want that or it would be terrible, but he is the wrong person for it. Jack is very like his father in that he's ready to die for his loved ones without thinking about it. He was turned into a bomb ready to explode for his family, and he didn't have any regrets about it outside of he didn't fulfill his obligation. He burned his soul out for them, he was ready to sacrifice his life to Dean to end it in retribution.
Jack wants to live but he also isn't afraid to die. A part of him does think it's better if he dies, for everyone. He is too dangerous to stay alive and while his family loved him, they suffered for him, and he stressed them out. His very existence makes every day more complicated. Sam and Castiel weren't ready to accept his death to take out Chuck, but Jack was glad to get a reason to make amends for Mary. ]
I was thinking if I survived destroying Chuck, I could go get you. I'd have the power. The Shadow does like me, enough to maybe plead my case.
no subject
[ he takes a drink, leaning heavily against the bar, his bent knee presses against the glass, and he tries to think about what it would be like to be dead for good.
it's hard to imagine. he doesn't remember all the times he died.
then he sighs and sags, resting his head against his hand and staring morosely into his drink. ]
I miss him.
no subject
[ That is an ideal sort of situation for Jack if nothing else was possible. Then neither of them would have to be alone for all eternity. It would feel right to be together, him and his father, both accepting their fates and finding something better than the average Empty experience. He's allowed to hope for it, naive as it may be.
Jack gets up and moves back over to Castiel, sighing. He puts a hand on his back again, concerned.]
Castiel, you must sit. You're going to fall over again.
[ At least with the pavement gone he won't be as injured, but it still wouldn't be comfortable for either of them. Jack moves away into the bathroom and comes out with a wet towel, offering it over to Castiel so he can wash his face. It doesn't look good. ]
I miss him too. I got a job at the place I thought he would go to if he showed up here, the bowling range because they have a bar and a pool table. I thought maybe I would find him.
no subject
he almost doesn't seem to notice the hand on his back, but he takes the towel when jack offers it. distracted, he wipes his face. it removes some of the blood, but not all. red remains in the creases, caked in the pores of his skin. ]
I thought... I thought I saw him. And I... we...
no subject
Back when I was soulless, Donatello told me that I had to use the morality of someone else as a guide. For him it was what would Mr. Rogers do. For me it was what would the Winchesters do.
[ It obviously didn't stop him from making horrible mistakes but the concept of it was useful. He did think more than once about what they would do, and when he stopped doing that, it's when he messed up. He stopped letting other people guide him and listened to the angels, and look how that went, but that was after Mary. He spun out. ]
Castiel, what would Dean Winchester do? If he was me, right now. What would he say to you, what would he tell you to do? Because I don't think he'd want you to hurt yourself like this.
no subject
I've been doing that for a long time.
[ he takes another drink, swirls it around to wash the blood from his mouth, and looks jack in the eye. ]
Dean wouldn't let me heal him when I beat him bloody. He'd be upset if we'd traded positions, but he's always been like that.
... If he were here I'd probably let him do it just for the exuse to feel him touch me, but that's neither here nor there, is it?
[ he blows out a breath between his lips, being dramatic on purpose, and crosses his arms. ]
Fine.
no subject
[ Jack gets angry when people he loves are in danger and it leads him to be his most threatening and frightening. He crushed Michael's vessel into his eyes bleeding out of their sockets and he could only flinch, he burned Nick from the inside out, each time was about feeling his loved ones were in danger. He would bury anyone who put them that way. Sam and Castiel have their own ways of feeling that, but his anger, his underlining aggression, that's more Dean. He has little bits of all three of them in him.
It's strange to hear it phrased that way. That Castiel wanted an excuse for Dean to touch him. It's different from what he would expect. Jack gives him a speculating look but takes the permission for what it is. It's not a serious wound so it takes a very easy simple touch from him, but Castiel isn't always on the receiving end of that power. And he'll be able to get a sense of it, how strong Jack is, how much it simmers under his fingertips. ]
Take care of yourself the way you would want for Dean. You are no less deserving of love.
no subject
[ castiel mumbles to himself.
and then jack reaches out and touches him.
it'll be the first time he's ever felt jack's power. just a touch. flowing over him all at once, like golden hot sunlight skating the skin on a day so bright it burns your eyes. it's a thing easily grasped in theory, how power scales between ranks of angels. it's an understanding that's been a facet of his daily life since he was created and felt god's soft light on his face, the very thing he was born of. but theory isn't knowledge. the heat that scalds through the cold husk of his body is an entirely new thing. entirely jack.
castiel stumbles only to catch himself on the bar. he quickly pours himself another drink, glancing at jack from out of the corner of his eyes. ]
no subject
He looks back at Castiel and something in him breaks. Sadness clouds over his expression but there's resignation there too. ]
You're afraid of me.
[ It's not a question. It's a statement. ]
no subject
he can't help but at admit to it, even though his fear is galling.
an angel— an angel should never be afraid. ]
I know. I know that things have changed for the better. But there's still a part of me that wants— That wants to go back to how it was before.
[ his voice cracks. he rubs a hand over his face.
ridiculous. he's being ridiculous. ]