𝐻𝒜𝒫𝒫𝒴 𝐻𝐸𝒜𝑅𝒯𝒮 𝒮𝒯𝒜𝐹𝐹 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
happyheartsstaff) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
angryhearts2020-09-11 09:01 pm
happyheartsstaff) wrote in angryhearts2020-09-11 09:01 pm
leave her behind with the kids —
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.
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.
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:
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.
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!
© tessisamess
no subject
"I can't even argue with you, with all the nonsense you keep spouting," he huffs, "how do you not know your own face? Look, I don't know who you think you are, but I'm pretty sure there's only one Wei Wuxian. Did you hit your head or something?"
no subject
"I haven't hit my head on anything! I know exactly who I am! It's you that are confused! I am Wei Wuxian of The Yunmeng Jiang Sect!"
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"No, you're definitely delusional! I'm Wei Wuxian! The only one! What kind of prank are you trying to pull here?!" he gives the other a shove, trying to loose his grip on the front of his robes.
no subject
"I am not playing a prank!! And I am certainly not delusional! Explain to me how a place can rip a person from their home, steal our golden cores, drop me in a different body and then confiscate swords! Nothing about this is right! It's like one big nightmare.."
And if he didn't have such a death grip on these clothes he would be sure that this was some kind of hallucination. But he is starting to wonder if maybe there isn't something a little more off about all of this then just a body snatcher.
no subject
"How am I supposed to explain what he didn't know either?" he huffs, finally letting go and dropping his hands.
"I can't even use my talismans, and they took Suibian, you think I'm not annoyed too?"
no subject
His eyes narrow as he thinks of a way to test this guy. "Who do you live with at Lotus Pier?"
no subject
"Jiang Cheng, Shijie, Jiang-shushu, and Yu Furen and all the rest," he frowns, because anyone could know that if they paid much attention to the Jiang sect.
"What about you, huh? If you really have Suibian, how did it get its name?"
no subject
He folds his arms in front of his chest, "What is the one memory you have of your parents?" If he can answer that one..which he hasn't told anyone before..then it means things are very weird and he's not sure how to handle it.
no subject
"Of course it's a good name."
The rest is- well, it's the first thing he's said that has actually shaken Wei Wuxian. The rest could be laughed off or reasoned away, but knowing such a specific thing, even knowing to ask him that, it makes him feel like there's an itch running under his skin. He hadn't told anyone about that memory. Small as it is, it's all he really has, and he's held what bits of it he can hang onto dear in his mind.
"Traveling together," he says, muted compared to his earlier shouting. It feels uncomfortably vulnerable to share even that much with a stranger. Who might also be him. However that is supposed to work.
"On my father's shoulders," he swallows, "my mother was beside us, riding on a donkey."
He pushes another foot or so distance between them, frowning, "satisfied? Only the real Wei Wuxian could know something like that!"
no subject
"Which means there is two real ones.." And that is terribly unsettling. Because that is the memory that only they would know. If this is some sort of spell or curse or whatever..then it is an incredibly powerful one to duplicate even memories.
"Maybe that is why I have a different face. This place knew there was two of us and they had to do something to tell us apart.." What other explanation could there be? But then again, why are there two of them?
He has so many more questions now then he did before. He stares at the face that he has grown up with. The only face he has ever known until waking up in this place.
no subject
The whole situation is beyond ridiculous, but he finds he can't argue with the theory the other boy poses because, well, it's exactly what he would've said. So, there's two of... himself here, only one of their faces, well- bodies is wrong.
He frowns, rubbing lightly at the end of his nose; he's spent most of his time here enjoying the games and distractions, this strikes as particularly wrong, and like any good puzzle, he's struck with the immediate need to solve it. Was there some sort of soul-splitting spell? A duplication? It was as solid a theory as anything else, but to what end? He couldn't recall coming across anything like this in his studies.
"Pretty arrogant of them," he sniffs, "to think they can handle not just one, but two of us."
no subject
"I'll make it so they have no choice but to give me my body back and send me back home."
How he intends to do that..well he isn't entirely sure but he will figure it out.
no subject
He nods, smile returning slowly.
"I'm not saying we have to wreck the place... but I bet it's a good way to get their attention."
no subject
"Sounds like a good plan to me. You don't have to join me if you are scared of getting caught."
He would be fine doing things himself but if he knows..himself..like he thinks he does, he's pretty sure the other isn't going to turn down the chance. They would just have to figure out the best place to start.
no subject
Wei Wuxian follows suit, springing to his feet, and adjusting his rumpled robes before swatting the dust away. The real challenge was making sure they could do something big and chaotic enough to be obnoxious, without causing actual harm to the other people who were just stuck here. Without any weapons or paint or even the use of his core to do anything fun.
Still, he wasn't useless. He could still upturn all the tables in the buffet, or leave all the soda fountains running at once. Drag as much furniture as they could to the pool and throw it in. Start a bonfire in the lobby. Raid the kitchens for their wine. The possibilities were endless.
"Only question is where best to start?" he grins.
no subject
"What is a place that kids aren't going to want to go to? Perhaps that noisy place in the lobby would be the best place to start. Easy to be seen by staffers and out of the way of kids."
The kids aren't going to want to go to the casino when they have the arcade to enjoy. It would be mostly full of adults and even those seem to be limited to staffers right now. He wonders how easy those machines are to tip over...because that could be a fun game of dominoes.
no subject
"I like how you think," he smiles back at his other self, "Wei Wuxian is definitely just as clever as they say."
Was it bragging to compliment his other self, when they were effectively the same person in different vessels? Maybe. Did he care? Absolutely not.
"Wonder how many we can knock over before they notice," he stuffs his remaining tickets into whatever sleeves and pockets he can find, and starts toward the exit, "shall we?"
no subject
"Depends how heavy those machines actually are. The heavier, the more noise they will make. But considering how noisy it is in there anyway, they might not notice right away. But..if we can get one of the ones on the end to push over onto a whole line of them. Well..they are sure to notice a whole row."
It is possible that even by pushing over one it won't have the leverage or the weight to knock over the rest but this game is about creating chaos. So even if it doesn't work then that just means the experiment fails and they move on to the next kind of destruction.
no subject
His other self brought up some good points, of course. The machines were full of those coins, and had to be reasonably heavy, but if they weren't set too close together, they could definitely push over a whole line of them! He could only imagine how satisfying a crash that would make.
"Shouldn't take much to test it," he agrees, "tell me if anyone's coming!"
It doesn't take long to find a row of them, flashing lights and ringing bells. Pity the only rope he had was licorice, it'd be way easier to get the leverage to topple them if he could pull harder at it from the top. He does a quick glance for any watching staff, then shoulder-checks the nearest machine, and grins when it gives a satisfying wobble. Wei Wuxian offers the other a pleased nod, as if to confirm; yes, they should tip over quite nicely.
"Might be hard to get them all to topple in a row, but they're not too heavy," he confirms.
"Usually I'd say divide up, but it might take both of us to push them over. Still pretty quick, even in that body, right?"
no subject
"If we give the first one a hard enough shove, gravity will help us with the rest." And if they spill coins all over the floor well..that is just a bonus mess for someone to have to clean up.
"And yeah..you don't have to worry about me. My reflexes are still just as good." He hasn't had much reason to test them but other then being a little shorter this body is built much like his own and he hasn't noticed any other declines in his abilities. So being able to move quick shouldn't be an issue.
He gives one last glance around before scooting over next to the other him. "Ready to cause some chaos?"
no subject
Just as important as the prank itself, is the getaway, he reasons. And if they could topple one row, it would be that much easier to find another and do the same, while people are distracted. Even with their short scuffle earlier, he has no reason to doubt the other boy can keep up.
"One. Two..." he starts, then throws everything in his scrawny, teenage frame against the machine, unable to stifle a laugh as he shoves for all he's worth.
no subject
He feels the machine give and start to topple. It doesn't take much before gravity takes hold and all that weight has no choice but to start falling. Even with a belly full of coins it isn't enough to weight it down away from the two forces pushing.
There is a loud clang that can be heard over even the music in the room as it crashes into the next one. The force of the blow shifts it off the table it had been on which is enough to send it toppling into the next one. And do dominoes is on! Coins spill onto the floor out of the fallen machines as their comrades continue to go down.
"Go go go!" Wei Wuxian takes off as the whole row starts to go down. time to get away from the scene of the crime so that they can work on the next row. Which will have to be a few down from this one so that they don't get associated with the disaster that is forming.
no subject
Voices and shouts join the din, hurrying toward the chaos as they slip away from it, only to seek out another unsteady row of noisy machines. There's no angry staff or pointing fingers just yet, so once he catches his twin's eye, he nods toward another line of them and braces his shoulder on it.
"Keep it up!" he hisses, barely able to hold back his laughter as he does a cursory check for watchful eyes, but most seem concentrated on their first mess.
no subject
Wei Wuxian pushes as hard as he can on this next machine and then steadies himself as this machine also goes crashing towards the one next to it. The sounds of the machines hitting each other is almost ear shattering. Loud clangs of metal hitting metal, only getting louder ans more and more collide and fall to the hard concrete ground.
He takes off once more, this time ducking down the next aisle to make sure anyone that might come to the ends to investigate doesn't see their two tails running from the scene. Luckily the more mess they make, the more the crowd leaves the rows they are around to go investigate the matter. It makes choosing the next rows for destruction a whole lot easier.
He looks back at his soul twin with a smirk, "It's going to take them days to clean this up." And hopefully they won't be around to see it happen.
no subject
"The more of them busy with clean-up, the better," he agrees. The more easy it would be to find a way out, or cause more problems. Hopefully they'd relent and see that it was better to just let them go.
"Let's hit one further down and across the way next. I'd hate to be predictable."
(no subject)