The setup
A 1987 kind of night, in a 2026 kind of town
Theo Marsh, 34, moved back to Merriweather to look after his dad. It's Pride Saturday, he has $94, a phone at 80%, and the city council has called a 6 PM emergency session to "review" the parade permit. He also has exactly one going-out outfit.
== Old Town Street == (7:05 AM)
Brick storefronts and a neon sign that says LUCKY'S with the U flickering so it reads L CKY'S. Isn't it wonderful what a little neon can do?
Kim Tran is here.
> look doormat
Lucky's doormat. Amazed by your own cleverness, you lift it and discover... absolutely nothing. (What did you expect? A key?) (+1 point)
[7:05 AM | $94 | 2/559 Pride Points | confidence 35 | heat 20]
== Circulation Desk == (9:55 AM)
Elias, three phones, a stack of challenge forms, and a coffee that has been cold since Thursday.
> talk elias
"Can I help you find something, or are you here for the air conditioning like everyone else? You've dressed for it."
1) You've got a pencil behind your ear.
2) What's the challenge list?
3) Peonies, right? You said peonies once.
A whole town to work
Five districts on the Loop shuttle: Old Town, Main Street, the Civic Center, the Waterfront festival, and the hotel on the hill. Forty-nine hand-written locations.
A clock that doesn't stop
7 AM to sunrise. Every conversation, ride and shift costs minutes. The council votes at six whether you're there or not.
Four people, one real one
An app match, a guy who wants your tickets, a married clerk who becomes your best ally, and a librarian who is about to lose his job for refusing to pull forty-one books.
Jokes with a spine
The humor is the outfit and how much the town looks at it, the waiting room, the fax machine at the courthouse. It is never the body, the diagnosis, or being gay.
The town
Real pressures, real tactics, real jokes
The obstacles come from the news. The solutions come from people who have actually beaten them. You'll learn what a reconsideration policy is, and you'll use it.
The permit "review"
A council votes 4-3 to reconsider the parade two days out, citing safety complaints.
Play: file a public records request, find the one sender behind three emails, line up a business owner, a parent and a neighbor to speak, and get the civil-liberties letter sent by four.
The library challenge list
Forty-one titles challenged at once. The board meets tonight. Two of the forms are actually complete.
Play: find the library's own policy in the stacks, run a card drive at the festival, host a read-out on the steps.
The "adult cabaret" ordinance
A copy-paste law aimed at drag story hour in a kids' tent.
Play: read the actual text, write down the set list, move the show to the library steps as a literacy event.
The clinic's grant
One month of PrEP left in the fridge and a waiting list.
Play: Drag Bingo and Trivia Night proceeds, a telehealth table, patient-assistance forms. Trivia has 122 real questions from around the world.