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The Haven

Just barely beyond the outer limits of zone six to the south east, The Self Storage Safe Haven is built, as one might guess, out of the shell of an old storage warehouse. Far, far out of the way of both the city and most 'joys, its hard work to keep it livable. They've had to built a lookout post –not unlike a free standing hunting blind– out of recovered material to stand some way out ahead of the building and keep an eye on the quick changes of the weather and dangerous wildlife. Still, it's the safest thing you'll find on the seven side of the line for miles and miles around, and if you need to lay low, there's no better place to do it. As long as you don't mind an empty horizon, the occasional thunderous sandstorm, and long cold nights echoing with the howls of what are probably coyotes, that is.

Surely part of some community or other in its heyday, the Haven is isolated, now. There are no neighboring buildings around as far as the eye can see, except the rubble of some old something that can't even be identified to the north. Whatever happened around it, the Haven stood firm, with only some damage to the roof and several missing windows which have been repaired and patched by the crew over time. Outer walls made of foot thick brick will do that. Inside, a fair amount of old-world junk remained, and the crew have sorted it and sold it and traded with it. Most of what was useful has been put to use or traded away, but some obscure corners still lurk, potentially hiding treasures.

Ground floor.

The front office has become a sort of communal area, where an assorted rabble of residents will fall together, but also the landing place for unfamiliar faces. The other employee space on the ground floor has been converted into an infirmary: it houses most of their first aid supplies and they've taken to calling it 'the clinic'. After shuffling things around and consolidating, the empty and emptied storage units were repurposed into rooms for the crew, as well as an extensive setup for broadcasting, and a 'library' of rescued books and handwritten accounts of the zones which were gathered by an old ally and left at the Haven for safekeeping. Some of the more solidly built units are more solidly locked - the crew has yet to find a way into the blacked out units without effectively destroying the structure. Outside the walls but inside the fence, a canopy protects the Haven's garden from the worst of the sun. Note: the unlabeled units aren't necessarily completely empty, but most have been swept clean.

Second Level.

Mostly empty space over the storage units (which are topped by fencing to prevent climbing from one to the other, but the open design led to easier climate control, when that was someone's concern for this place) but there's two upper office spaces at the front, and "the loft" at the back. The unclaimed office upstairs, though it has no official or specific purpose and could always turn into something else someday, currently almost serves its original purpose: any time Jack needs everyone in one room, he drags them in there. Tech jokingly refers to it as "the briefing room", while RKO routinely complains of 'conference room' lectures. The loft, being the top of the rearmost units, was almost certainly not made to be inhabited. That has not stopped the more mischievous among the crew from storing painting supplies there and turning it into a general hangout space.

The Crew

the Jack of All Trades — early-mid 30s. The Haven's leader. Tech's older brother. Colton's father. Former 'crow from the middle city. Jack makes some 'joys uncomfortable with his still, stoic front, but is recognized with respect in most trading circles and cheering approval from Regal Riotess's sparring ring in zone three. A bit of a mechanic, a bit of a musician, a bit of a builder - what it says on the tin, he's a little good at a lot of things.

Colton — under 10. Jack's young son. Zone born and too young to really have made a niche, but the crew (much to Jack's consternation) have already nicknamed him into a moniker: Colorblind Colt. Despite his age and a somewhat sickly nature he's already a fast-talking clever-clogs, too. He's going to be trouble when he gets older. [If they can protect him that long.]

Desert Phantom — mid-late 20s. Leader of the Desert Deaths. Former neutral from the Neon Slums, Phantom ran for the desert as a young thing and quickly built a befuddling and contradictory reputation. Often mistaken as laid back thanks to a friendly, flirty nature, he's a natural leader and instigator who gained recognition when he was promoted to lead of the infamous Desert Death's crew at a young age. A mechanic by trade and motorbaby at heart, even with the Haven as a landing place, including a space inside, he mostly lives out of his car. He travels a fair amount, running interference with BL/ind patrols and checking in on the various dealings of his crew.

Desert Dusk — mid 20s. member of the Desert Deaths. Closely bonded to Phantom and Dawn, and otherwise holding an utterly shrouded past except the known fact that she's survived the extinction of the rest of her previous group, whoever they were. (That's the bar of entry for any member of the Desert Deaths crew: survive your last). Sensible and spiritual, Des is an acolyte of the Lady of Sorrows, a desert deity. She has no one particular niche unless you're seeking a prayer, and makes herself useful as a general second set of eyes and hands.

Desert Dawn — teens. member of the Desert Deaths. Dawn's the last survivor of a peaceful settlement BL/ind attacked in 2024. Still working out her niche. Presently trying to learn fighting. She's never lost in the zones, either by some quirk or a skill she's not sure how to articulate. The Haven's youngest (aside from Colton obv) and somewhat sheltered and maybe just a little bit coddled; mostly her 'job' as it were is.. to be alive whilst young and bright and, somehow, despite it all, bubbly and happy. If Jack's the collective's older brother, Dawn's their collective younger sister.

Wild — early-mid 20s. Really a child of the Zones, even if she wasn't born there. Various crews kept an eye on her in a it-takes-a-village kind of way after she was left to find her own way at a tender age, but she's always gone where the wind took her. She earns her carbons running errands across the zones. In particular, she finds herself regularly in and out of neutral settlements as something of a go-between when they need to trade with proper Killjoys. She's just as likely (if not more so) to be found living out of her van with her mutt Beans as she is to be making use of the brightly painted space set aside for her at the Haven. [written by @/hvndredstories]

Arachnid — early-mid 30s. Unofficial second in command.The older brother of Boo. A rough home life and mistreatment from the City's systems drove them out to the desert. He and Boo had an up-and-down journey together and separately. Arachnid left his brother in the care of an old crew of theirs for a time, settling into himself without the responsibilities and expectations he'd held himself to for so long. The Haven is home now, and the Haven's garden where you'll find him most often. He's happy to help where he's needed, but keeps mostly to himself unless specifically sought out or charged with heading things up. [written by @/hvndredstories]

Boo — mid 20s. Still going through a delayed rebellious phase and ignoring his personal baggage. Sort of a resident pain in the ass when he's not finding his way inward to the mindless, alcohol-soaked chaos of the Zones' party scene. Not particularly helpful; Arachnid tends to make up for it. (It's probably a point of contention, at least from Boo's end.) He's got a good eye for spotting the unsavory types, if you can get him to focus long enough to look. [written by @/hvndredstories]

Violet Sigh — early 20s. Living in the zones for as long as she can remember, Vi couldn't tell you if she was born there or in the city, she just knows life is hard when you're living off the scraps. After some time spent turning tricks to make her way, she found herself on the Haven's doorstep. Now she's their in-house weapons modifier. Though not book educated, she excels at working with ammunition and explosives. She's repurposed a healthy handful of city charge into a security perimeter that guards the Haven's flank. (It's best not to approach through the back fence....) Though typically taciturn, Vi is also a social chameleon and great to have along when dealing with other crews.

Foxtrot — teens. Former member of the Sugar Babies. Former member of the Acoustic Devils. A runaway from the city from a painfully young age. It's a miracle he made it out. After some time bouncing around the desert, Fox landed with the Acoustic Devils and began to make his way...only for hard times to fall. Fox (and RKO) got separated from the pack and haven't been able to find a whisper of what happened to any of their old crew since. This landed them at the Haven. Now, fleet-footed little Fox is the Haven's paper boy (a messenger) and Jack's second shadow, eager to learn and prove himself.

RKO — late teens-twenties. Former member of the Acoustic Devils. Zone-raised, if not zone-born, K is a young man with a million contacts, making him surprisingly social for someone who doesn't get out much. After losing most of his crew, he's become reluctant to brave the desert's wild. He devotes his time instead to DJing: he runs a pirate radio station called The Fence which he runs from the Haven. Rolling out music and chatter all hours to keep company with those on the wind, he also broadcasts encoded warnings appraising the outer zones of bad weather and patrol movements, which he gathers through his connections across the desert an with other DJs. He also has a weekly segment where he spends hours reading off messages gathered from all over the zones- broad calls from crews and families who have been separated trying to reconnect with each other, or let each other know they're safe.

Lady Diamond (/Diana) — early 20s. A former security oriented drac from the center city. Di fled for the zones after a personal conflict of hers escalated to heights that got her labeled as a security risk and traitor. It's been a couple years since then, and while she's not exactly the most colorful resident of the zones, she's grown (begrudgingly) fond of the Haven, and even gained a proper moniker to use along with her 'city' name. A fighting expert and tactician. She's also proven to be great in the garden, which is easily her favorite thing about being out of the city.

Lithium Legend — early-mid 20s. Former neutral. [I will not try to detail too much background wise because this character belongs to a friend of mine and I'm worried I'm misremembering it/she might have adjusted it a little recently. As Lith relates to the Haven:] She is a secondary, in-a-pinch kind of medic, skilled mostly with folk remedies and what she's learned from Tox. She's also primary overseer of the Haven's little garden, which grows mostly plants used in those remedies, but some food. And some frivolous little guys that aren't "useful" at all, but generally liven the place up. She's also, aside from Jack, the person who looks after Colton the most, and is an excellent teacher. She and Tox are committed/consider themselves married.

Jonny Tox Screen — mid 20s. Former center-city Prodigy™. Former neutral. Presently, exhausted at all times forever and doing his best. A son of the city's elite, Tox is technically a walking talking experiment. The details are fuzzy even to him, but the general idea was in-utero enhancement, and the city loved to take credit for his above-average ability to learn when he was young. He was fast-tracked through schooling, earning medical accolades in his middle teens, and to make a very long and complex story very short and simple, he fled when the city just kept expecting more of him. He is the Haven's primary medic, and makes regular trips to other zones to offer aid to other killjoy groups. (Often paid in some kind of trade, but sometimes he helps for no cost at all.) He and Lith are committed/consider themselves married.

Techno Havoc — early-mid 20s. Jack's younger sister. A regular but arguably not truly a member of the crew, given her come-and-go ways. She's too busy being fundamentally unsettled and running as smuggler for the Desert Deaths and playing games with a certain Snake to stick around all the time. A hacker and general problem causer, she earns her personal carbons (separate from the smuggling shtick) mostly by her work with transmitters these days, building customs and jailbreaking the standard arrays.

Other Allies

Desert Vendetta — early 30s. A member of the Desert Deaths. She lives in the city under the name Amber Park and serves as a spy and contact point; Tech's stable landing place on the city side of the wall.

Redeye Rush & the Weasel — mid 20s. Scavengers and traders of the Wind Stop trading post (a converted gas station) in Zone Three. Red is an easygoing mechanic and musician. Weasel is a sharp-tongued weapons modifier gifted at irritating people and procuring rare and/or obscure supplies. They talk big (that is, the Weasel does) but cut incredibly forgiving deals for the desert's less fortunate more often than not. Both have been under Jack's wing at one point or another, and are close to Tox, Lith, and Tech. The Weasel is Diana's older brother.

Vivace — mid 20s. Trader of the Wind Stop. former leader and current contact/supplier of the Sugar Babies, an all-femme crew that makes a habit of robbing and beating up the creeps found in the zones, hailing to the notion that dead men don't catcall. Foxtrot is a former member of Viv's gang, and she's also close with Tech, Vi, and Phantom.

Regal Riotess — mid 40s. Free spirit and entertainer at heart, and also the queen of brawling. Tess runs a sparing/fighting ring in zone three with a small but notoriously formidable crew. She's real fond of Jack, and any kids of his are more than welcome in her stretch of sand.

Midnight Massacre — ???. Old-world military type who runs deals you're better off not knowing the details of. He's in Tech's corner, at least, if not the whole Haven (though it seems to at least vaguely extend in the others' direction.) The "guest" unit is more or less specifically for him and/or Mouse. [written by @/hvndredstories]

the Mouse Bombs — ???. Remnant of the old desert, the last of the House of Snow. More of a shut-in than anything else these days, spending a great deal of her time secluded in a stretch of the ridges in the outer zones. Close with Tech & friendly enough with Jack. The "guest" unit is more or less specifically for her and/or Midnight.

Kobra Kid — several years into his second life. Another "tied to Tech, specifically", though he's been 'round the Haven once or twice. Ask no questions and you'll get no lies.

TJ & Time Keeper — mid 50s. Former runners of the Wind Stop. TJ is former city, an engineer who fled from the horrors his work was used to enact. Keeper -a close contact of Mayhem (Jack & Tech's mother)- is a remnant of the older desert and someone who never belonged to the city. They went on a nondescript scouting journey and stopped responding to radio hailings after awhile, though now and then a signal persists. missing.

Toxic Fairydust — late 20s. Colton's mother. Singer and dancer once part of a traveling group, Dusty fell in with Jack and Tech early on and stuck with them for a number of years. After Colton's birth and a harrowing clash with a former friend, she became withdrawn. Then, with a single-sentence note ( "I'll be back in a bit") she was gone. Nobody's heard from her since. presumed dead.

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