leave her behind with the kids —

[happyheartsstaff]

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

Does anything in this hotel ever stay put? Those who go looking for the gym, the hotel spa, or the nightclub are out of luck one day, as they're simply no longer there. The hallways themselves go topsy-turvy, only staying put when one looks directly at them. For those who've been here long enough to have seen the last time the hotel shifted like this and remember how unhelpful the hotel staff were — it seems little there has changed. The only difference is the manner in which they are useless. They will acknowledge the shifting hallways, of course, and even provide direction back to the lobby, but profess they are much too busy to provide an escort.

Eventually, the hallways settle. Gone are The Caucus-Race, the Pearls Within, and the Rabbit Hole in favor of new amenities. Where once there was a gym, there's now an indoor playground. The nightclub has been replaced with an arcade, and the spa is now a massive movie theater. Were there always quite so many kids items on the restaurant menus? When did This Elegant Thimble get such a large children's section?

If asked, the hotel staff will shrug. Some will insist things have been this way for as long as they've been working there. Others will state that, like their wonderful Queen, the hotel will always know what's needed for any occasion and make suitable preparations.

ARCADE

9/11 - 9/23

The arcade, if possible, seems even larger than the nightclub that once stood in its place. There are rows of pinball, action games, shooting games, driving games. An entire room of air hockey, and another of dancing games. Clusters of skee-ball, whack-a-mole, and claw machines. The floors seem to be eternally sticky with spilled soda, and the smell of pizza and sugar permeates the air. No matter how many patrons are within sight, the sound of laughter and excited shrieking somehow seems to echo throughout the arcade.

Token dispensers are scattered amongst the games. Hotel staff will be stationed at the snack bar and the prize counter, ready to hand out tokens or trade tickets won from the games for small prizes.

Occasionally, one of the games will spark and short out. If asked, hotel staff will say it's out of order and put up a sign proclaiming it so. They don't seem all that concerned about fixing it. Soon enough, it will seem to fix itself and switch back on. It will still spark every so often, and something about the music will seem off. Anyone who decides to play one of these games anyway will find themselves feeling slightly dizzy. Is the arcade spinning around them, or is that just them?

When the spinning stops, they will no longer be where they were before. They will find themselves in the middle of the game they had previously been playing, regardless of what it was. Welcome to the other side of the arcade — where the game play is more realistic than ever! Hopefully they had a partner brought in with them, or someone else comes along to try to play who can help them win the game to get back out.

MOVIE NIGHT

9/11 - 9/23

The entrance to the movie theater is lined with concession stands. Snacks and drinks of every kind can be picked up here before going into one of the theater's two auditoriums. Films will be playing round the clock in both, a different one on each screen. Oysters may find the same movies they would have seen on their own world, movies one might find on modern day Earth, or even movies about old folktales or traditional stories that might have been told where they were from. The only thing that will not be showing is any version of Alice in Wonderland, or any story set in Wonderland itself.

At times, particular showings may be billed as interactive. These will be of all genres: musicals, adventures, mysteries, romance, comedies, even horror. Oysters who attend these will be encouraged to dress up, and will even be shown to a dressing room with a selection of suitable clothes. It will only be after they've been seated and the film starts that what is meant by interactive will become clear.

The musicals will have sing alongs, with people from the audience being pulled up to participate in the dance numbers. The adventures and mysteries will have characters on the screen turn to the audience as though they are part of the story, inviting them along in the investigation or interrogating them as a suspect. Protagonists and antagonists alike will walk off the screen of horror movies, seeking help from or looking to torment the audience until their story is completed and they are sent back to their film world. Comedies and romances will find those in the audience being pulled up to act out parts of the story — and may find themselves transported into the setting until they do.

DAYCARE AND PLAYGROUND

9/11 - 9/23

The front of the daycare is small, with a place to check in and drop off or pick up kids. This is the only area that Oysters who are not either helping out at the daycare or being dropped off themselves will be able to easily access. Behind this are sectioned off areas for quieter activities, with materials such as books, art supplies, toys, etc. There's a small kitchen that will be off limits to the kids, and an area for snack time and nap time. Hotel staff are very present and interactive in these areas — reading to children, making crafts with them, telling stories, fixing snacks. Some will be taking a quiet break for themselves in the kitchen, and may be willing to talk to Oysters helping out at the daycare.

The back of the daycare is an expansive indoor playground. Here, the children are mostly left to their own devices. There are some hotel staff out there to keep an eye on the children as they play, but they tend to cluster together for conversation. Oysters helping out at the daycare will be somewhat warily included in this if they approach. These hotel staff will mostly be dismissive of any children coming to them unless they are injured or crying. There are multiple parts of the playground that can be used to sneak in and out to the hotel area at large, if one is looking carefully! Any children who are not supposed to be there have a low risk of being caught unless they draw attention to themselves or try to enter the other area of the daycare.

The other children in the daycare fall mostly between the ages of 6-11, with three or four outliers who appear to be toddlers or in the 12-13 age range. Astute Oysters likely to observe the behavior of the children will notice that there are clear social groups among them, as though they have known each other long enough to have friends they're accustomed to playing with. There are some who seem friendly and popular, some who seem to keep to themselves, some who seem to have good relationships with the hotel staff and others who seem determined to cause trouble, those who are bullies and those who are picked on. Their willingness to play with or answer questions from Oyster children or adults is equally as varied.

There will be a posted list of Oysters banned from helping out at the daycare. It will not be easily seen from the front of the daycare, but hotel staff will identify who is on it if asked. It will include the below names:

• Lan Wangji (novel)
• Wu Xie
• Wei Wuxian (novel)
• Crowley
• Commander Shepard
• Matthew Murdock
• Lan Wangji (TV)
• Sam Wilson

Characters on this list who have been de-aged will also find that hotel staff are reluctant to accept them into the daycare. They will be allowed only if someone not on the list vouches for them, and otherwise will have to sneak in through the playground.

If you have any questions, please leave them over here! For those interested in asking questions or interacting with the daycare staff, please reply to the first comment on this page, and the second comment for the other children!

PREMISE RULES FAQ TAKEN RESERVES APPLICATION MOD CONTACT HIATUS & DROPS WORLD INFO NPCS CALENDAR AC REWARDS PLAYER CONTACT

© tessisamess

Comments

[radishgrown]

He nods emphatically.

"In the Burial Mounds. He looks after a-Yuan when everyone else plants things. Sometimes, Ning-shushu goes down with Xian-gege to sell turnips."

Since it sounds like this gege knows Xian-gege, that sparks a hope in a-Yuan's heart.

"Do you know Xian-gege? Do you know where he is?"

[inquiryguqin]

He frowns. "Burial mounds." That place sounds familiar, but that sounds like no place to raise a child. "I do not know little one. I know of Xian-gege as an acquaintance, but right now, he doesn't speak to me." Still, he doesn't want to give up hope on changing his mind from his path and turn his life around and take him back to Gusu for healing.

"Let's go look for them. Maybe they're here in this inn." And if not, he'll take responsibility for the child, since, by instinct and virtue, he won't leave any child alone on their own.

He starts walking around the lobby and areas of the hotel to begin his search. "Tell me if you see them."

[radishgrown]

"Ah? Why would Xian-gege not speak to you?"

He wonders why this gege is frowning so much. He seems stern. Perhaps Xian-gege is too playful for this gege. a-Yuan looks at him closely. He has a white headband that looks similar to his own, though not exactly the same.

"What if gege says sorry to Xian-gege? Perhaps he is sad because he misses his shijie. He yelled at a-Yuan before because he was sad about missing his shijie."

[inquiryguqin]

"We had an argument." He said, and he doesn't feel like speaking about it, because the last time he saw him, he controlled fierce corpses, playing his flute horribly, and yelled a lot, and Lan Wangji felt like his heart is being crushed.

"Nevermind. Let's go find your family." He carries him around the hotel to the dining room, the arcade, the playground, the daycare (where the staff gave him a very cold reception).

"Do you see anyone around here?" He asks as he travels around the hotel main areas.

[radishgrown]

Gege is serious and a-Yuan gives him a genuine hug to make him feel better about what the argument is about. He knows what it is like when Xian-gege yells in an argument. When he carries a=Yuan around, he keeps a sharp eye out to see if he could recognize anyone.

"Gege, why are some people so very cold to you?"

[inquiryguqin]

Lan Wangji thought about it, though. If he should say sorry to Wei Wuxian, perhaps he will. Wei Wuxian has killed so many by then, that he fears and worries that it maybe too late to save him before the resentment energy takes control and destroys him, body and soul.

With the child hugging him, at the end of the search there seems to be no one for now. "I don't know. Maybe we're foreigners here. It doesn't matter."

For now, he's going to find a place to sit in the dining and find something to eat. He gets some service for food at least. "Do you want to eat anything?"

[radishgrown]

He wants to shake his head but his stomach growls loudly. a-Yuan buries his face in gege's shoulder, embarrassed by it. The place they had arrived at smells very good. But as a-Yuan looks around, there still is not a single familiar face. He shrinks a little against gege's shoulder and hugs tight.

[inquiryguqin]

He finds a table and seat for the both of them, and he gently lowers the child down on one of the seats. Taking a seat, he decides to make an order.

While he was hugging him tightly, with a menu in hand. "What do you want to eat? I'm going to order for the both of us."

[radishgrown]

He slides into the seat that he's lowered into and a-Yuan leans into the hug and looks at the menu with strange foods on there.

"Gege, could we afford this?" he asks softly, looking up at him.

[inquiryguqin]

"I could. I wouldn't worry. The staff said it's free for Oysters." Thanks to the empathy device translating for him.

Looking at the menu, he reads it. "What would you like? Maybe steak? Hamburger? Eggs with rice and sausage? Or perhaps a soup?" The menu has a picture of foods made specifically for kids, so it's a kids-only menu for everyone. "we can eat sweets and desserts later. Food first."

[radishgrown]

Oysters? What is an Oyster? He leans to look at the menu, not letting go of this gege.

"Rich and sausage and eggs," he says. "What is gege going to eat?"

[inquiryguqin]

What the staff calls everyone from the other world who went through the mirror, including themselves.

"Probably the same as you." Except the staff has to double his portion being everything is kid-sized meals on the menu. He placed his order for the both of them and waited until their food arrived. Two plates for him, and a plate in front of the little one.

"This one is for you. Eat well." There's silverware provided, thought small, and to fit for a small child's hands.

[radishgrown]

a-Yuan still doesn't let him go even when their food arrives. He picks up the spoon and scoops the food into his mouth before holding up a portion to the gege to try, even though they have the same dish.

[inquiryguqin]

He sees the offer for a small bite on his little spoon. "Hm? For me. Oh, thank you little one." He bends over to nibble and eats from him.

In return, he uses a small spoon and cuts into the rice and eggs from his place, and then offers to feed him. "For you, eat little one."

[radishgrown]

He beams when gege eats from his spoon and looks at the bite offered back to him with wide eyes.

"Thank you, gege," he says as he tucks into the rice and eggs that he's been offered.

[inquiryguqin]

With a tired nod, "Mn." He's at the age where he is terrible with children.

He continues to eat for him. Sometime alternate feeding the child also in small bites. Until at last, all the meal is eaten and all gone.

"Would you like something to drink? I can order milk. Or some sweet? I'll order ice cream."

[radishgrown]

"If a-Yuan has something sweet, will gege have something sweet too?"

a-Yuan gives a small yawn and finishes his meal, setting the spoon gingerly down on the bowl. It is a good meal and probably one that would need to last a while for him until his next meal. Something sweet has his interest though.

[inquiryguqin]

"Mn. Then we'll both have something sweet." So for his next order, it's a double vanilla fudge sundae. When the waitress brought it, there are two small silver spoons. He hands the spoon to him, and one for himself.

"Here, this is for us. Let's eat. It's ice cream, so it's cold. You just dig the spoon in." In which Lan Wangji will eat it slowly likewise.

[radishgrown]

His eyes widen when the waitress brings them the double vanilla fudge sundae. So much, he fears they may fall out of his head. He had never seen a treat that big before. a-Yuan clutches the spoon and looks at gege.

He digs his spoon in and cautiously tastes the sweet treat, looking up at gege with the spoon still in his mouth. He grabs it and a-Yuan smiles up at him.

"It's good, gege!"

[inquiryguqin]

"Mn. Good." With a nod, he eats his ice cream away, but very little. He lets the little one have as much as he wants, since he's enjoying it. "Eat it all."

He manages a small smile, since he made him happy with the sweet until all the sweet is all gone.

[radishgrown]

When he finally finishes the sweet, he reaches for the napkin to wipe at his mouth. a-Yuan yawns and cuddles into gege's side, holding on tight.

"Thank you, gege," he says quietly.

[inquiryguqin]

When the child leans on him, seeing he wants to take a nap, and holding on his side.

"Mn. You're welcome. Do you want to sleep? I can take you back to your room and you can nap." Or he could take him back to his own room of Cloud Recesses, where he can nap and feel safe, watching over him.

[radishgrown]

He shakes his head, reaching up and wiping at his clearly sleepy face.

"a-Yuan doesn't want to go back to his room. It is cold and alone. Xian-gege might not find a-Yuan there. Can a-Yuan stay with gege?"

[inquiryguqin]

"Oh, I'm sorry it's cold and lonely. It doesn't have to be little one." With a nod, in a gentle tone, "Yes, of course, he can. I'll take you to Cloud Recess."

He slides his arms around him to pick him up and carry him in his arms. What a small body. "Let's go. You can sleep and nap and you can stay with me."

[radishgrown]

Three years old and even then, a-Yuan is small for his age. He rests his head on gege's shoulder.

"Thank you, gege," he mumbles.

Something about this gege reminds him a lot of Rich-gege when he came. Perhaps it is because they both have a white headband like his own. Perhaps it is because they smell similarly. Or perhaps it is that a-Yuan feels safe with him.