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
2 - Arcade
He's been having a spot of trouble with it on his own, but he's drawn to the sounds of heavy thunks, as someone else has decided to take out their aggression on one of the games. Wei Wuxian is eager to see what's inside of the games, but he's also eager to raid them for tickets at the first opportunity.
The kid currently beating the shit out of a shooting game looks to be a little younger than he is, though you might not know it for his height, and wears his hair in the familiar braids Wei Wuxian associates with the Nie sect.
"Yeah!" he cheers, "hit it again! Hit it again!"
Re: 2 - Arcade
"Stupid thing! You can't just break when I'm about to win!"
Bang! Bang! BANG!
Whoops. The machine definitely has a dent in it now, and it's shooting a lot more sparks, and he's more tired than angry now that he's kicked the machine half a dozen times, so he kind of feels a little bad because now he definitely can't play it. He pants, great heaving breaths, and finally looks over at the kid who's been cheering him on.
"You want a turn?" He asks, more to be polite than anything. "It's broken anyway."
no subject
"I wanna see what's inside it," he says honestly, "hey, you're pretty strong, right? Can you help me pull it open?"
Wei Wuxian is already crouching beside it, looking for weak points, and hissing when his fingers get too close to some sparks. But he does manage to find a panel to start prying open, and he's quick to grab on, nodding toward it.
"I think it'll give right here!"
no subject
He's never thought about it, because he mostly just cared about the games working and letting him play them, not the stuff that might be inside of them, but it's true that since he's already broken it the rest of the way, they might as well take out the guts. His father had always said that if he was going to kill something, he should make sure he used all the scraps.
They were descended from a butcher, and butchers weren't wasteful.
"Yeah, I can do that. I'm really strong, and this thing isn't so -"
He crouches down next to him, watching him work, and when a spot is indicated, he braves the sparks and snags the panel, and tugs with all his strength. The metal groans and starts to give under his fingers.
no subject
"Right! Right! Well, that's what I wanna figure out!" he explains, "it's gotta have tickets, that's most important, but how does it work on the inside?"
Wei Wuxian makes way for the other boy to do the hard work, squatting nearby to watch and cheer him on.
"Yeah! Look, you almost got it!!" he'd suggest giving it a good hard kick, but given how lacking everyone was in proper shoes, prying at it was probably their best bet.
no subject
He's still prying away at the machine, and it's giving... giving... but he really wants to know.
"I've got no idea but that's what we're going to find out! I mean, it's not like there's a person in there giving us tickets, but how's it work? And I never ever see anyone putting more in, so does it make the tickets?"
They are about to find out, because whoops, with a final creaking groan and a great crack there goes the panel, finally broken open.
no subject
"I just never thought of it as guts," he laughs again. Maybe he doesn't know what to expect inside, but it's gotta be powered by some kind of magic, or enchanted item, or whatever else. He's just as excited to find out how it works as he is to find more tickets.
The metal gives a creak and then a crack and Wei Wuxian wastes no time in poking his nose into it. There's a big roll of tickets, so he's quick to try to work that loose, but there's also a bunch of string in different colors, winding its way around the insides.
He pulls out the roll triumphantly, "Tickets! I knew it! The rest is just... a buncha strings, no guts at all."
no subject
But they aren't - or maybe they are? Because as they look inside - Nie Mingjue has to peer around the other boy's head, because he got there first - there's just strings, in all kinds of different colors, and a huge roll of tickets. He lets the other get the tickets - he's going to reach in and grab the strings, curious -
and quickly let go with a yelp, as a spark zaps his hand.
"Not strings," he corrects, shaking his hand. "It shocked me!"
no subject
"Shocked you?" he repeats. Was there something more to those strings? What else could they be to deliver a bite of lightning? They were probably bespelled or cursed or something. The game didn't seem alive, so perhaps they'd triggered some kind of trap? Not a very good one if it didn't stop them from taking tickets.
"Let me see! Did it leave a curse mark?"
no subject
Did it live a curse mark? He holds out his hand and looks carefully but - it just looks a little red, like an insect bite without the swelling.
"No curse mark," he says doubtfully, "But be careful if you put your hands in there."