Characters

The leader of Hot Tub City who actively promotes the city's hot tub culture. Often seen on a floating platform addressing crowds from the promenade, the Mayor welcomes newcomers and enthusiastically encourages them to embrace the city's way of life, presenting hot tubs as the ultimate comfort.

A group of patrol enforcers working for the Tub-master in Hot Tub City. They actively monitor and patrol the Old District, enforcing the city's hot tub mandate and preventing resistance activities. They pose a threat to those who attempt to investigate the truth about the city's water treatment and the disappearances of resistors.

A weathered food vendor with scarred hands who operates a food cart tucked between buildings on the outskirts of the promenade. The cart appears to predate the hot tub obsession that dominates Hot Tub City. The vendor is knowledgeable about the city's true history before the hot tub takeover and openly skeptical of the city's mandatory tub installations. He refused orders to install a hot tub when he first set up shop and is one of the few remaining voices who remembers when Hot Tub City had real water and real businesses.

The vendor has uncovered the truth behind Hot Tub City's transformation. Three years ago, the city council passed the 'Total Immersion Act'—mandatory hot tub installations for every building in Hot Tub City. Following this mandate, mysterious disappearances began occurring throughout the city.

The vendor has discovered that the water in these hot tubs is chemically treated with something sinister. Those who spend too long soaking become content and obedient, losing their will to resist the system. Those who fought back or refused compliance entered the hot tubs and simply ceased to exist—no bodies, no explanations, no trace.

He possesses knowledge of at least three other business owners who resisted the hot tub mandate: a baker two blocks over, a bathhouse owner, and a mechanic near the old district. All three businesses have since closed, their owners disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The vendor has compiled a worn, stained map marking these locations as starting points for investigation, and he warns that the area is heavily patrolled by the Tub-master's enforcers.

The vendor is a key figure in the tubless resistance—a group of individuals who reject hot tub culture and are hiding throughout the city. He uses the tubless salute as a way to identify fellow resistors. He has revealed to Jonny Dry Skin that there are others like them, waiting and watching throughout the city, and appears hopeful that Jonny may be able to help them uncover the full truth about what Hot Tub City is really doing.

A burly, muscular vendor at the central promenade who specializes in polishing and showcasing hot tubs, particularly the premium 'Infinity-Bubble' models. The Tub-master operates a booth near the edge of the Central Immersion Basin, where he actively demos the latest hot tub technology to curious residents and newcomers.

He possesses a broad, toothy grin that conveys an unsettling hunger when encouraging visitors to test hot tubs. He controls a sophisticated panel beside his booth that regulates bubble production throughout the basin—capable of generating far more bubbles than natural sources. The panel allows him to create intense, unnatural bubbling in the water on command.

He claims visitors who soak in his tubs will "never want to leave this city," and speaks with particular enthusiasm when trying to convince newcomers to enter the water. He has access to a restricted Control Room located nearby, marked "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY." He is knowledgeable about the city's water systems and speaks cryptically about the basin's purposes and the mandate that established it three years ago.

A cheerful, tattooed woman who operates the juice bar at Big Jumbo Juice! on the Central Promenade. She is knowledgeable about creating specialty drinks and has a particular talent for maximizing bubble production in beverages. She wears a juice-stained apron and greets regular customers with enthusiasm and warmth.

The bartender has a knowing demeanor about the reality of Hot Tub City, offering subtle hints to customers that she recognizes the excessive "immersion" and bubble culture happening around them. She is part of the underground tubless resistance movement, watching over potentially hunted or vulnerable figures with protective vigilance.

She demonstrates a protective concern for those seeking escape from the city's pervasive bubble atmosphere, offering knowing glances and maintaining careful observation of visitors like Jonny Dry Skin. She appears supportive of interactions between potential resistance members, silently rooting for connections that could strengthen the movement.