middleofsomewhere | Rest and Relaxation: Aquafir Resort

Rest and Relaxation: Aquafir Resort

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Venison?" He repeats the word, curiously leaning over to look at it.

He does suppose that's the closest he could come to bearmeat here.. though it's a rather vague option to put on a menu, from Inigo's old medieval point of view. After all, it could mean it's meat from practically anything caught during a hunt!

"Sheesh, that's almost enough to make a guy wonder what they're hiding by listing it like that! Who knows, it might be some totally odd animal that only exists in this place."

Not that he seems necessarily bothered by that idea. Just surprised, really!

"It usually means deer, after a while." She's ten billion years old. She's familiar with just about any era and their terminology. "People stop eating a lot of other wild game when other options get easier."

Though this is another planet. "Unless it's an animal from another planet."

He slowly nods. This seems like the rare kind of explanation about something beyond Inigo's own time that he can actually grasp, unlike many other he's endured.

Maybe she's just that good at these explanations, he thinks. Or maybe it's just because it's about a topic that's easier for him to grasp.

"I suppose deer meat wouldn't be so bad either.. I'll probably go with that one as my topping option."

Can't say no to some good wild meat.

He glances over at her. "What about you?"

It helps to have experienced every time period and never have to worry about memory fading.

"I think mushrooms would go nicely with deer meat." That seems like a combination, right? Earthy sort of wilderness flavours. "If you've never had pizza before I won't toss you into the pineapple debate."

Mushrooms don't sound too weird to him either. Inigo has eaten those before out in the wild, but..

It's obviously the next part that instead makes him stop, glancing around as if he's thinking.

"The.. pineapple debate?"

The poor guy has absolutely no idea what he's dipping his toes into here.

"It's a tropical fruit. Some people like it on pizza. Some don't. It's incredibly divisive in a wonderfully human way." She says divisive with a remarkable amount of warmth. She thinks it's charming that they'll get so invested in something like this. It's silly and frivolous and sometimes that's what life is about.

At least he's getting the right impression here - that she seems to somehow think of this debate thing as something.. half-amusing, and half-fond. Which is an odd way to look at something that sounds divisive, but then again, if she's really Death like she said before, then Inigo supposes she's bound to have some odd, near-inhuman reactions to some stuff.

Besides, he can't even fully wrap his mind around the idea of toppings on pizza in the first place.

"Why is one kind of fruit in particular so divisive?" Maybe that's what he should figure out first, in order to be able to understand this.

"Fruit is a less common topping... other than the whole tomatoes are technically a fruit situation." Which is a whole other silly, wonderful mortal debate. Still, fruit being controversial when one of the basic ingredients is a fruit is strange. "Pineapple is the one people are most likely to use, so people who think toppings should only be savoury focus on it."

"That seems like an odd thing to get worked up about.."

But then again, maybe it's just because Inigo is from a world without pizza. Or from a world that was way too focused on the rapidly approaching end of the world to really think about silly stuff like that.

".. Maybe I should try it then? I don't want to look odd to all these other people on the train, just because I don't know what pineapple on pizza tastes like."

"I think it's mostly a joke." Or at least not quite as serious as people talk. It's just pizza, in the end. "People arguing for the sake of it."

She wishes her family would argue about that sort of thing instead some days. "You're definitely not the only passenger from a world without pizza topping debates though. It's no reason to think you're odd.

He lets out a breath. It's the smile on his face that keeps it from being a sigh, but it gets close.

"You'd be surprised." Just how many people talk to him about pizza, that is. Or about other weird futuristic things that he's never heard about before. "There aren't exactly a whole lot of people on the train who come from worlds similar to my own."

"What's your world like? Other than lacking pineapple or pizza." THat doesn't actually tell her much. There are worlds out there that have spaceships but no pizza. They're missing out, but one's not required for the other in the end.

"Ah, well.."

It's a pretty big ask, huh? To a point where Inigo doesn't even know where to start. His world is just his world, after all. No matter how many other worlds he's seen, it's just normal to him. How do you explain something that's so normal to you?

"It lacks a lot of technology compared to what we have on the train.." That's a main difference he can think of. "And dragons are also a really important part of my world, but they don't seem to exist in most other worlds."

It's a start, he thinks.

"Technology is often just a matter of time. It must have been a lot to learn." She's watched people run into a level they weren't expecting plenty of times. It... hasn't generally ended well when she's there to see.

"Dragons, on the other hand, can really set a place a part. The other universes are missing a certain something if they really don't have any."

Inigo can't say much on the technology thing. Sure, he did travel back in time and didn't see much of a difference - but maybe a twenty years or so just really don't make that big of a difference...

So rather than starting about that, he instead zooms in on the second part of what she says.

Especially since that brings passion into his voice.

"Right!" He says, with the tone of someone relieved to finally have found someone voicing the very thing he often thinks. "People act as if it's not a big matter at all, but it is! How can they live without dragons? I know I would feel so empty without Naga's presence in my life..!"

"I fell into the same trap as everyone else, assuming my universe must be more or less standard. It seems a lot of people come from places that are a lot more limited." Sure, some people might not realize how strange the universe could get, but it was still all out there and that was the important part.

"I won't deny that my world is limited too, in some ways.."

After all, it doesn't have any of the wild, wild technology he's found on the train, or even just in some of the worlds they visit. He's seen a lot of things that he's never seen back home.

"But.. it still hurts, you know? When I hear people talk so casually about dragons not existing." Especially considering the big role of one in particular in his personal life.

"You can think of it as the dragons making your world special. Every world people come from has something." Why there's some element of it everywhere... it's probably because she looks at her universe from the perspective of the entire universe. "Mine seems to have a bit of everything, but no one would have run into all of it."

Hey, you can't say a bit of everything in front of Inigo and then not expect the obvious question to come up next..

".. Does your world even have dragons?" Even if it might just be a little bit of them, compared to his world.

"Not everyone know about the more magical side of existence, but the dragons are real." Also some are in the Dreaming but that's not as reassuring. "I'm responsible for so many planets and planes, my universe seems to have a little bit of everything."

"Oh.."

It's a bit of a surprised answer on his part. Nothing over the top, but just a hint of surprise in the soft sound he lets out. (Granted, he would have been way more surprised by that if this place and Naga's powers back home hadn't already introduced him to the concept of multiple worlds existing out there.)

"So you're.. kind of in multiple worlds at once." At least, compared to the rest of them, who are stuck with just the one plane they live on.

"I have to be. I'm responsible for every life in my universe. They need me in so many places at the same time." It's strange, not knowing what the rest of herself is doing. She's fairly sure this isn't all of her. She feels smaller. If it's not just a piece, that would be disaster.

"Does that mean you are in all our worlds as well?"

After all, if those worlds can't exist without her.. then how could theirs? It's a huge thing to try and wrap his mind around, and Inigo is pretty sure he's not wrapping his mind all the way around it in this moment, but he's doing his best all the same.

"I'm only responsible for my universe. If I were to guess, each of yours probably has someone like me out there somewhere, but I haven't heard of anyone having met them." She shrugs. "But most people in my universe wouldn't be able to tell you I exist like this either."

Good thing she's not a god and therefore doesn't need the mortals to know she exists.

.. Inigo supposes that the idea of something like her being out there in his world isn't too strange. After all, Naga and Grima are also large, powerful presences - the only difference being that they're actually visible. People know about them. Who doesn't know about Naga, really?

It's that fact that makes them different from the woman - no, almost more like the being - standing here with him.

It leaves Inigo quiet for a few moments, thinking, but then he slowly says: "Isn't that lonely?"

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Rest and Relaxation: Aquafir Resort

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