Rest and Relaxation: Aquafir Resort

[voidtreckermods]

Attention Voidtreckers. You are all in need of rest and relaxation. Shortly arriving in World#5562102024. Please see your Safety Control Aparatus for further information. Don't forget your suncoins and all Voidtreckers must wear their SCA.

As the train rattles out of the void they will see a large dome almost floating in space with brightly coloured signs directing traffic to the correct entrances. It lowers into what can be only described as a voidcraft carpark, where crafts of different shapes and sizes have settled before them. Their SCAs will beep as the doors open, and there will be a map of the site that will lead them to a grand manor, the height and length of many great castles of different worlds.

Inside the lobby is a help desk, and whether they ask at it or figure it out, there are a multiple of peculiar metal pillars with holographic screens right at the front of the entrance, with the words 'WELCOME. NEWCOMERS, PLEASE REGISTER' visible on their screens, as well as spoken.

These are the registration points, and putting on their colour-coded bands and registering them and their SCA will initiate a quick biometric scan, and a screen to approve them.

"Welcome to Aquafir, please enjoy your stay! Map data has been downloaded to your SCA."
And just what can they find and get up to? Bring up your SCA's brochure and maps, and discover all of the facilities waiting for you.

---

[ Welcome to Aquafir ]

---

A TL;DR notes version of event/prompts: (click to show)

---

EVENT BASICS: The OOC post. Event runs for Merriment 22 to the evening of M24 (August 12th- August 17th). Voidtreckers are taken to a dome-shaped resort planet to stay at Aquafir. The train will be staying with them, so characters can go back there/stay there as they please.

Everyone must wear the bands given to them that signify their ages. Yellows for ages 0-12, Green for 13-17, Black for 18+. Everyone has 30 suncoins to spend.

The amusements are as follows:

MANOR: In the East Wing are spas, manicure/pedicures, hot baths, hookah lounges, a bar to smoke at. In the West Wing is a bingo hall and casino, as well as intimacy rooms. These can be pillow cuddle rooms, places to dress up in animal costumes, and also rooms for sexual encounters. The latter rooms can only be accessed by people with black bands, as well as the casinos.

CABINS, EATERIES: The cabins are near to the manor. Voidtreckers are assigned rooms based on their train-cabins. Ideas of cabin interiors can be found here! Make adjustments as you please. There are eateries such as hog roasts (all types of meat), a Pizza Palace, and a fancy cable car ride around the compound. You can also have meal kits, to cook for yourself.

PLAY ZONE: Split into four zones: yellow tag is a giant fun house with multiple ballpits to get lost inside; green tag are obstacle courses, imagine Ninja Warrior; black band has a proper fitness gym, as well as its own arcade. Everyone gets ball pits.

There's also access to an arcade everyone can visit, and there's the Dance Dungeon, a VR experience where you dance to defeat monsters. Sounds like practice for some folks on the train.

SWIMMING PARK: Found in the west There's indoor and outdoor pools, large twisting slides and also deck chairs for lounging on. There's shallow kiddy pools, and also some fake 'caverns' that lead deeper underground into spots where you can suit up, put on a breathing mask (no oxygen tank necessary) and ear plugs for decompression sickness (or handy press-on clips, if you don't have ears) and go for a dip.

EVERYTHING ELSE: To the east is a large forest with amusements inside, an art tent near it (free to use, with sketching, painting, and sculpture work available), as well as a fishing lake (boats can be rented for 1 suncoin). There's hills for picnics and also small platforms for lounging on, or for using their telescopes at night for stargazing.

SHOPS: Given this is more of a holiday park, what can be bought is limited. There will be tourist t-shirts, shorts and sundresses with the name 'Aquafir' on them somewhere, as well as swimwear. There's sunhats, teddy bears, some food and/or alcohol hampers suitable for different species. A better list can be found here.

---

PAMPERING: THE MANOR. A sizeable establishment, there is plenty to be found inside the main establishment of Aquafir. Separated by an East and West Wing, the manor provides a few forms of relaxation and entertainment separated from the main attractions.

○ In the East Wing are the spas and baths: massage beds, manicure and pedicure services, facials, skincare therapy; mudbaths, saunas, hot baths and tanning salons, and even ice and lava pools. ...for particular species that like to visit, you see.

• There are also smoking rooms, by a few meanings. Some are simple relaxation rooms where people can take in soul and mind healing scents, close their eyes and let their emotional and mental traumas slip away. Or, there's an enviromental bar for sitting down for your standard smoke, and yes, drinks are available.

○ And then there's a hookah lounge for visitors, with a few recreational drugs that can be ordered from a menu, depending on your colour band and what your biology can handle. Don't worry about the second-hand smoke knocking you out when you enter: faint see-through curtains cover around the different seating areas, ensuring a minimum of the smoke escapes, as well as draping beads that help contain it. Because some stones can just do that/

• In the West Wing is a different type of indulgence... gambling, and bingo. Only bingo is available to all colour-bands, while the gambling floor is for black band holders. Lighted in the proper aesthetics and musical numbers, the chance to win more suncoins is available to the daring. Card games, slot machines, and every other 'just legal' form of entertainment can be found around. Will you try your luck?

And don't worry, there's prizes in bingo, too. Tickets can be bought for a suncoin, and a whole array of prizes, from giant teddy bears to sports equipment can be won.

○ Beyond the gambling and bingo rooms are the Intimacy Rooms. These can be rooms for hanging out, with lush seating areas and sound systems, and access to minibars available for a suncoin and the right band (soft drinks for yellow, alcohol for black). A couple come with animal outfits, for whatever reason. Likely fun, given the face make-up kits and the reminder warning them that this is a room for yellow tag activities, and there's even a couple of rooms stuffed with pillows too, like this. Also, a ballpit room.

• But not every room is just for friendly cuddling. There are black banded rooms designed for sexual encounters, with rooms offering a range of experiences for couples (or more)! This ranges from protection and a private space to more intense experiences. The helpful staff will talk anyone through the services offered and are there to make sure everything is completely consensual and fun.

Each of these intimacy rooms have a price to use- a sun coin per person for an hour. Each of the zones require an arm band to be scanned before you can enter so adults can enjoy their more adult fun knowing that the kids are safely lost in a ball pit somewhere else!

REST AND FOOD: CABIN GROUNDS

---

○ Exiting the manor brings you out onto a multitude of paths and choices to pick. Don't worry, for you always have a map on your SCA. But the closest to reach are the cabin lodges. Sitting in rows but not too close together, they allow privacy, but also next-door neighbours. The interior is comfortable, with Voidtreckers arranged in rooms by their train cabins and cabinmates. And for those who share in a double room still do, having a space entirely to themselves.

For less than human species, there are accomodations that may be useful for them resting up, and whatever they need to move around. Disabilities are also accounted for.

○ While there is a cafeteria in the hotel itself, or the opportunity to pick up free cooking boxes, there are also a whole array of eateries that can be found around the compound. From hog (and alien meat) roasts, to pizza buffets, and the unmissable cable car restaurant that leads guests around the whole compound with stunning views, there is plenty of delicious food to be shared with good company.




ENTERTAINMENT: PLAY ZONE

---

Welcome to the Play Zone, home of fantasy and fun! This hub is split into four zones by colour tag, and there's plenty to be found if one explores. Chirpy music plays the most sugary tunes from the main 'courtyard' of this cutesy kingdom town, where one can approach the bubbly-labelled Sweet Tavern, the drinks it serves with names such as 'Sugar Rush' and 'Pink Power'. The food is predominantly sweet based with ice cream, waffles and milkshakes. There's also a stand serving different types of cotton floss! For all kinds of mouths and teeths.

But what about inside the castle itself? There are four draw bridges from the courtyard leading to the four zones that correspond to your colour bands. And they are...

○ The yellow zone leads to a plethora of rooms down its many corridors, with most of them containing - ball pits. So many ballpits, with all the trimmings one can hope to come with them. It's strange though, you will find that it's easy to get in, but once you are in ... it's much harder to find the exit. Whereabouts are you in the ballpit? Wasn't the slide over here? When did it turn jungle-themed!?

This is surely to be the kind of fun to keep the kids occupied for hours.

○ The green zone has more teen-themed adventures. Including trampolining, a foam based obstacle course and of course drop slides. There's also a chill out zone with video games, bean bags and places just to lie down and ride out that sugar crash or snuggle with friends.

○ The black zone also has a ball pool as well as a gym with exercise equipment and some video games for those who see gym equipment as an insult to their concept of fun.

○ Topping it off, the fourth drawbridge leads to an arcade. A whole host of different games can be found here. Some will be familliar and some not. Some are single player, some team games and some are multiplayer on the merit that you need eight arms to play it.

○ Connected to the arcade is the Dance Dungeon. Fight monsters, discover secret passageways and disarm traps all through the power of dance! Level up, be ready for new songs to drop and keep on dancing all the way to the final boss.

A mix between an escape room and a dance mat this game can get addictive. Using simple VR technology teams are transported into many different story lines where saving the day requires some killer dance moves!

It's a lot of fun and open to everyone, though yellow banded guests will need a chaperone!

OUTDOORS: SWIMMING AND NATURE

---

You could lose yourself for days inside the Play Zone, but hopefully you don't. For there's more to explore, from the Shopping Cabins littered around, the Art Tents where everyone of different skill level can join in with painting, pottery and more; the Lakes are wide and beautiful, ready for fishing or taking a boat on, and still, even more...

○ There's the nature walks, a large dense forest with trails and even an adventure playground for those with yellow bands- though it has a more exhilarating area for the older kids. For everyone else there is a more challenging woodland scramble course.

○ But going farther in will lead you into what's known as the Jungle Jog, where everything becomes more green than brown, and there's no telling where your feet will touch. It's humid, wet, and all that's available here is to get lost, though there are teleport points. ... if you can tell that they are by the green moss growing over each of the metal poles. But don't worry, they'll still work.

Waterfalls can be found, old rickety (in appearance) bridges, a cliff to climb, and even for those who venture far and deep enough, a cave...with a ballpit inside. The perfect recreation of everything to be found in any realistic jungle setting. This area is for all though those with green and yellow armbands will need chaperones. A black-banded guest can supervise up to three green banded guests in this area though yellow banded guests will need an adult each!

• For those who aren't into jungles however, there's the Swim Palace, and do we have pools for you. The centrepiece of this is not just a piece, but pieces. There's a outdoor pool complete with fountain and five lane slide. This is surrounded by a terrace that holds small splash zones and spots where you can lay out on deck chairs. Twice a day the area comes alive as enthusiastic hosts lead whoever is around in Aqua Disco!

There's plenty to do inside too from the large family pool that hosts floating courses or smaller inflatables. The wave machine happens often and is always a lot of fun. Upstairs hosts a kid pool and a basic swimming pool for learner swimmers.

For adults who would rather swim without all this chaos there is a black-band only pool with lanes for serious swimming. Or perhaps water polo is your thing? Plenty of games to be played in the sports pool on the third floor. Above that are the slides, from twisters to straight drops and everything in between each lands in a specially designated landing zones. Finally on the top most floor there is a quiet pool that remains open even after dark, for moonlight swimming.

• There's also cavern entrances around the Swim Palace, which lead down into underwater walkways, as well as spaces for deep-diving. If you cast your gaze above in the free-swimming areas, you will see the ground floor swimming pools, the hazy sight of swimmers above. But this is for the people who want a more sea-like experience, with masks for one's nose and mouths, to allow them to breathe despite the lack of oxygen.

NIGHTTIME: A MOONLIT NIGHT

---

There's no forced sleeping schedules here in Aquafir. When the night comes, so do the stars, as well as a shift in entertainment. Visit the many eateries around the compound, gather around and make a firepit close to the cabin lodges. Or, if you're still looking for some fun and excitement...

○ Inside the manor's courtyard, it becomes a fun show. The central stage is active from early evening with a kid friendly mini disco (open to all, get those action dances ready) followed by family friendly entertainment. Guests will find the first night there is a magician, the second a talent show that all are welcome to join in, and the third night is a musical show about a magical squirrel. The night ends with a more serious disco and of course, karaoke.

○ For those wanting more intense entertainment there is an underground nightclub for black banded guests, and also a specially designed green band only nightclub, serving soft drinks and allowing the teens to let off some steam.

○ There's also no missing the countless bike and walk paths around, and the few hills dotted around. The hills are perfect for stargazing at night, and there's even a few nearby platforms for observing the stars through telescopes at night. And it's your lucky holiday - you don't have to pay to use them!

Comments

[jingyeets]

He shudders at the mention of chili spice, imagining the worst possible conclusions where bit is on the level of what Wei Wuxian considers a bit, and his mouth burns in memory. The scent of the grilled fruit is what pulled him over, along with the vegetables, but the fruits are more varied than he readily knows. Kitchen duty has been somewhat instructive, but only somewhat.

"Which one do you recommend?" He ends up asking, standing there in his tied off sarong (halter dress style, not that he knows the terminology for it), his headribbon all that keeps his hair back off his face. He didn't bring his haircrown out, and so he's (scandalously) living the loose hair life, especially now that it's dried from his swimming earlier on.

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea laughed at the shudder. Clearly someone had had a bad experience with spice before. "Relax," he said. "I know not everyone has my tolerance for spicy food, so I hold back a bit when cooking for others. Or at least warn people if what I'm making is my level of spicy."

"But for grilled fruit, I'd go for honey and cinnamon. I like chili spice just fine in a lot of things, but not with fruit."

[jingyeets]

"Spice isn't the worst, just not at levels that make you feel like you're trying to swallow the sun." Not his fault for being raised in a clan that tried avoiding spices entirely, with bland fare filling but also... bland.

He shuffled closer, looking at the grilled fruit.

"Honey first, then cinnamon? That sounds delicious." He hoped the reality lived up to the scents making his mouth water. He looked back to Lea, gesturing toward the fruit. "Just slather it on or what? Dip it? Drip it?"

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea chuckled. "Yeah, that can happen, especially if you're not used to spicy food," he said. "Spice isn't really a taste, exactly; it's a feeling. There's substances in things like spicy peppers and mustard that trick your mouth into thinking that it's actually being burned, which is why it hurts."

And regarding the grilled fruit, he smiled. "Depends on who you ask, honestly. And somewhat on the kind of fruit you're using; how soft or firm it is, stuff like that. I usually drizzle or sometimes spread it on towards the end to get a nice glaze on the fruit, then sprinkle the cinnamon right at the last minute." He suited actions to words, drizzling a bit of honey on the fruit skewers, which immediately began to caramelize due to the heat.

[jingyeets]

Jingyi perks up at this explanation, which doesn't precisely exist back home. The whole science of hot-spices doesn't exist in that quantified way, so he forms an oh with his lips, then slowly nods his head.

"I had no idea it was that specific. It's really tricking the senses like that? Who knew."

He's fairly sure no one from home does, and kind of wants to tell Wei Wuxian, if only because who else is there to tell besides him and the Sizhui's? Hey, do you know why hot things taste hot? They don't! It's a feeling!

Jingyi leans forward at the drizzled honey, observing it with avid interest. He breathes in, inhaling the scent of the carmelising honey, and bites his lower lip instead of giving in to licking them again or something. It smells delicious! Sweet! Sure, his chicken he prefers savoury, but fruit should be sweetish, and he'd never quite thought of doing this to fruit when it wasn't part of a bun or cake or something else.

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea nodded. "The plants likely developed those substances- capsaicin and piperine- as a way to protect themselves," he said. "But humans are weird compared to most animals and actually like the sensation up to a certain point."

He grinned at Jingyi's obvious anticipation as he watched the fruit skewers carefully to make sure the honey caramelized but didn't burn. "Most people don't think of fruit as something to grill," he said by way of making conversation. "But it makes a really great dessert option for cookouts, especially if marshmallows aren't your thing." No offense to Tidus, but some people liked their desserts to be a bit more than empty calories.

[jingyeets]

"People always try what they're not supposed to, of course we do." More words he didn't know, but he'd try to remember them, if only to ask his seniors if they knew. It made sense, though. Everything was made up of stuff, and so some of the stuff was what made things feel like burning.

Could be a metaphor for all parts of life, if a terrible one.

"I have no idea what marshmallows are, beyond being the white puffy things over there." He gestured flippantly with a hand: he'd absolutely try those later, for the sake of trying them. "I wouldn't think of grilling fruit, but baking them? Or doing the sugar thing, only fully dipped? Candied hawthorn's great, and there's this stuff, called dragon's beard? Thin spun sugar with nuts and stuff inside, it's amazing. Fruits you see in all kinds of cakes and some buns, though lotus paste is even better in those."

His attention continued to split between Lea and the fruit skewers. Behind him, his tailtip starts to flip and flop either direction in continued anticipation.

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea chuckled. "Yeah we do," he said. "Some of us more than others. But then, if everyone just did what they were supposed to do all the time, no one would ever learn or try anything new. No risk, no reward."

"Marshmallows are a kind of candy, so they're basically just sugar. There's a couple other ingredients added and they're cooked in a way that makes them all soft and puffy when they're cool, but they're more sugar than anything else. When you roast them, the outside gets a little crispy and the inside turns all warm gooey. You can't hold them too close to the fire though, cause they can burn pretty easily, and no one likes eating a cinder."

And speaking of not burning food, Lea added a sprinkle of cinnamon to the fruit skewers, let it cook into the honey for a few seconds then removed the skewers from the heat, setting them on the large plate he had ready for them. "There, all done," he announced. "And yeah, I've had both baked and candy or caramel dipped apples before; they're pretty good. Never had candied hawthorn, but spun sugar's a pretty popular snack at fairs and festivals where I'm from, just without the nuts. It's called cotton candy or candy floss, depending on where you are, and sometime has something mixed into the sugar to give it a certain color or flavor."

"I've definitely had cakes and pastries with fruit in them too, though I've never eaten anything with lotus in it before. Though I did hear a story once about people eating lotuses."

[jingyeets]

No risk, no reward being a mentality he agreed with in most cases, Jingyi nodded and said, "Exactly."

No gain without having put oneself on the line to some extent.

Marshmallows sound interesting, but also somewhat lacking in substance. It's a nice run down of similarities in foods between worlds and experiences, leaving him considering all these different possibilities he's not sure he'll ever run into. Or remember, if he's honest.

"Lotus pods are decent," Jingyi said, eyes back on the finished skewers. He looks away, to Lea, and then grins. "Mooncakes, lotus paste buns, lotus soup, there's all sorts of things you can do, depending on if you're using the seeds or the root. For sweeter things, stick to the seeds. What did these lotus eating people do? Pluck them straight out of the water and eat them raw? No, they had to just be eating the seeds, right, harvesting the roots maybe?"

[hotheadwarmheart]

"Honestly, I don't think the story mentioned how they were eating them?", Lea said. " At least not in the version I heard. I always assumed it was the flowers they were eating as a kid, since I'd really only seen lotuses used for decoration in ponds and stuff, so it always sounded weird. What you're talking about makes a lot more sense though. Most likely, whoever came up with the story just assumed that any one listening would know how people from their area usually ate them, so he didn't need to spell it out. And how they were eating them wasn't really important to the story anyway."

"The story goes that there was a group of soldiers who were traveling home from war. It had been a long journey, and all of them were tired and desperate to get home. Then one day they came to a beautiful lagoon full of lotuses. There expensive looking tents and people there already, with most of the people lounging around and eating lotuses. They all seemed happy and relaxed, and they invited the soldiers to join them."

"Given that they still had a long way to go, most of the soldiers thought it would be a good place to rest for awhile, and decided to take them up on the offer. But their leader was still eager to press on, and so took two of his men and went ahead to scout the terrain so they'd have an easier time when they all set out again. Two days later though, the little group returned from their scouting, they found that their comrades had seemingly become just as indolent as the people they'd originally seen lounging around the lagoon and couldn't be roused. And what was even more alarming was that they didn't seem to remember that they were on a journey or that they had anything important to do at all. Some of them couldn't even remember their families, and didn't seem bothered by that. All they wanted to do was lounge around and eat lotuses all day."

"That was when their leader realized that the whole lagoon was a trap designed to ensnare travelers. The lotuses weren't ordinary plants, but were enchanted to basically drug victims until they were so blissed-out that they forgot everything outside of the lagoon and the desire to eat more lotuses, even as they slowly wasted away."

"Eventually, of course, the leader of the group managed to break the spell and escape with most of his men, but the story turned 'lotus-eater' into an expression. It's usually attached to a place or an object, and basically means something that's designed to trap someone with pleasure and blind them to reality, or at least, to more important things in their lives."

[jingyeets]

Jingyi listened to the whole story attentively, details of it being odd, but others familiar to stories he knew.

"Such a strange story to me. Not the whole being lured into some kind of confusion array, though yeah, its not exactly one of those. The whole... lotuses mean a lot of things, but none of them would make sense in the story. So a lotus eater's just a normal person, eating any part of a lotus, since most of it's edible—and they're symbols of purity, life, light, stuff like that."

He pauses, then claps his hands together. "Fun story though! Be wary of beautiful things and growing fat like cats fed too well to hunt the rats in the stores. Or what we dealt with on the illusion Diagad."

[hotheadwarmheart]

Lea nodded. "Yeah," he said. "It's actually part of a way longer story, and I only remember bits of it, so maybe it makes more sense in context? But you're right; the moral of that part of the story is pretty clear. If something seems too good to be true, then it probably is, and don't neglect your duties when you have important things to do."