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]

Someone special to him. a-Yuan nods, as if understanding what it means. But as most children are curious...

"Why?"

[billowing]

"It is to represent discipline. It serves as a reminder that you are a Lan, and must conduct yourself appropriately."

Is that a lot of words for a kid? Lan Wangji doesn't know, he's still a kid himself.

[radishgrown]

Di-sci-pline. a-Yuan mouths the word to himself and looks up when he says that he is a Lan. a-Yuan's brows furrow and he shakes his head.

"a-Yuan is not a Lan. a-Yuan is a part of the Wen clan."

[billowing]

"Mm, but A-Yuan is wearing Lan clothes." So he needs to behave like a Lan, is what he's getting at. Too bad for A-Yuan...

[radishgrown]

He doesn't quite understand why clothes matter so much for someone's behavior but he nods anyway.

"...Rich-ge? Were you going to return to the Burial Mounds? Xian-gege seemed happy when he was with Rich-ge. Why did you leave us?"

[billowing]

He doesn't know what A-Yuan is talking about, but he imagines that somehow this is Wei Ying's child, and perhaps his brother had gone to visit them?

"I had to return home," is all he says.

[radishgrown]

"Ah. Will Rich-ge return to play some day?" he asks.

[billowing]

"Hm. I will," he says, because he can't think of a reason he would leave Wei Ying alone to take care of A-Yuan, when Wei Ying can barely take care of himself.

And also because A-Yuan is very cute.

There are no other reasons.

[radishgrown]

He perks up happily at the prospect of Rich-ge returning.

"Yay! Xian-gege said that you would not return ever. But he can be wrong. Qing-jiejie has said he was wrong before."

[billowing]

"Do Xian-gege and Qing-jiejie take good care of A-Yuan?" he asks, because he would like to know. He trusts that Wen Qing is responsible, and maybe she even tempers out Wei Ying. It's hard not to feel a pang of jealousy, especially right now, but he realizes that A-Yuan is from the future, and it was fruitless to think that Wei Ying wouldn't grow up and get a wife-slash-girlfriend to essentially raise children with.

[radishgrown]

"Xian-gege does. Qing-jiejie is busy as a doctor. a-Yuan heard Qing-jiejie worry about Xian-gege being lonely. He doesn't have anyone. But when we came back from Yiling, a-Yuan said that Xian-gege isn't lonely. He has Rich-ge," the toddler reports.

[billowing]

He isn't expecting to hear that, but he supposes that a small child might have misunderstood the situation.

Which is more likely than him misunderstanding the situation. Clearly.

"And what did Xian-ge say when you told him that?"

[radishgrown]

"Xian-gege laughed."

a-Yuan giggles at that as he looks up at Rich-ge.

"Rich-ge should return so that Xian-gege is happy again. Sometimes he's very sad but he seems so happy with Rich-ge when we had lunch."

[billowing]

But he laughed, so perhaps he thought of the idea as ludicrous. Still, he had been relieved to see anyone that he'd known from before, who did not hate him.

"I will come visit you and Xian-ge again." He holds onto A-Yuan just a little tighter, and thinks, he shouldn't let this little boy go.

[radishgrown]

a-Yuan hugs him as tightly as he can, laughing in excitement of Rich-ge visiting them again.

"Xian-gege will be very happy about that!"

[billowing]

He hopes so. But he doesn't say that and instead, bounces A-Yuan a little. "He isn't here. A-Yuan does not mind spending the day with me, does he?"

[radishgrown]

He shakes his head and beams up at him.

"a-Yuan love spending time with Rich-ge and wants him to come back so we can play every day."

[billowing]

Oh. He'll gladly spend his time with A-Yuan. "Mm. Just let me know if you get hungry or tired." He doesn't know how to take care of children, but he will try his best.

[radishgrown]

His troubles when he first encountered Rich-ge have disappeared.

"Rich-ge? Would you want to stay with us when we go back to the Burial Mounds?"

His voice is hopeful. Rich-ge makes Xian-gege happy and a-Yuan wants Xian-gege to be happy.

[billowing]

"Ah. Does A-Yuan want to come live with me in Cloud Recesses instead?" he counters. He doesn't know why Wei Ying has gone to live in a place called Burial Mounds, but it can't be good. So, therefore, he should obviously come back home, with A-Yuan.

[radishgrown]

He considers it for a moment, thinking it over. He doesn't know where Cloud Recesses is but if Rich-ge lives there, it must be a nice place.

"Will Xian-gege and everyone else come with a-Yuan?" he asks.

[billowing]

He thinks about this, and says, "There is room for him, if he wants. Who else is coming?"

What on Earth happens in the future?

[radishgrown]

He starts to list off quite a few people, counting them off on his little fingers. He runs out and makes a frowning face and keeps going. Then he looks up at Rich-ge expectantly, if he would take all of them to Cloud Recesses.

[billowing]

This is going to be a problem.

He has a look of concern on his face, but quickly brushes it away as he doesn't want to pass that worry to A-Yuan.

"I will see what I can do."

[radishgrown]

He catches the end of the concerned look. a-Yuan tilts his head to look at Rich-ge.

"...can they not come with a-Yuan?" he asks quietly.