The Luna Opal

We will meet again in this boundless sea of stars. ✨

AITA for not making board game nights in my store child-free?

I (35M) own a gamestore and hold boardgame/DnD nights three times a week. I have a few tables set up in the back so people can come in and play games, along with a small 'kitchen' (really just a fridge, microwave, sink and cupboard) so people can have some snacks and drinks while playing.

One of the regular groups have been playing DnD in my store on a weekly basis for the past three years (and I've sometimes joined them as a guest player), and it's always been great fun. About a year ago they had to find a new DM because their usual DM didn't have the time to dedicate to preparing campaigns anymore. While they were looking they still came in weekly, but just played regular boardgames instead.

Now a few months ago this 10-year old girl (let's just call her Emma for convenience) showed up with her mother at one of the game nights. According to her mother, Emma had been spending months making all kinds of materials for playing DnD, but didn't know anyone who would play with her. So her mother wondered if it was okay for her to ask at my store if anyone would be willing to play.

The regular group was more than happy to join in for a session, and it ended up going so well they asked Emma to DM for them regularly if she wanted to. Fast forward to now and Emma is DMing two days a week, one time for the regular group and one time for one-off sessions for other people to jump in if they want. I swear this girl is a genius, she has memorised the entire player's handbook and monster guide, and made a fully homebrew campaign that's genuinely fun and exciting (though sometimes also surprisingly dark).

Now for the problem. A few other people have started complaining about there being a child on game nights, saying the reason they're playing here is because they have children at home. Now that Emma is also coming to the game nights, they feel like they can't play games as they usually do because they keep having to think about whether their language or jokes are inappropriate for the presence of a child.

I told them that I never said anything about providing a childfree space, so I won't be banning Emma from coming, so I'm sorry if they don't like it. But they're welcome to plan their nights on days where Emma isn't there, or find a different place to play. I did tell Emma's mother that Emma is only allowed to be here as long as one of her parents is also present (not going to take any risk).

AITA for not banning children from game nights and telling people to basically suck it up?

Comments 1, 2, and 3 by OP Important_Cookie_958

1. It was honestly a surprise to see how good she actually is. She's better than probably 90% of DMs I've seen, and that's saying a lot. I kind of expected her campaigns to be relatively child-like and innocent (because, well, she's 10), but they turned out to be full of political intrigue, betrayals, plot twists and genuine heartwarming moments.

I have to applaud her mother for letting Emma invest herself in her hobby. Even though Emma's mother doesn't understand the game, she can see it's doing a lot of good for Emma's creative and social development.

2. It's been great fun having her around. The regular group has even started pitching in so Emma can buy miniatures and map-props to create battle maps and arenas for their games.

3. One instance I personally got really interested in was when it was revealed that the guy the group had been helping in the city had actually been killed and replaced by a doppelganger three sessions in.

None of the group ended up passing the checks to discover it, so after many sessions it turned out that instead of them helping the city get into a better position, they instead unknowingly helped the doppelganger set up his takeover of the city. They had taken out political figures, nobility, guard captains etc. that the doppelganger had claimed were corrupt, when instead those were the ones that were innocent.

I believe they're still dealing with the aftermath from that.

From left to right: 1795 Michał Jerzy Mniszech with his daughter Elżbieta - Marcello Bacciarelli; Christopher Anstey and his daughter Mary Ann by William Hoare 1776; A Musician and His Daughter by Thomas de Keyser 1629; The Geography Lesson (Portrait of Monsieur G. and His Daughter), 1812; Jean-baptiste Isabey And His Daughter; Portrait of a Young Girl and Older Man by William Harrison Scarborough

(this is probably somewhat related to my other favourite genre of painting, Husband With Multiple Kids Making Come Hither Eyes At His Wife)

So I wanted to speculate how some old magireco event units might get recontextualized into AU versions:

Haregi Alts,and Miko iroha and Ui: Magical girls are instead shrine maidens who protect people from demons. They get their powers from the gods

Tanabata Yachiyo: Magical girls are instead demigods who walk amongst mortals and disguise themselves as ordinary people to protect mortals from curses. Yachiyo in particular is a goddess of the stars.

Eternal Sakura Swimsuit Alt: The world is a digital program and magical girls are instead called “Admins” who protect people from Viruses. Eternal Sakura is an admin of an underwater resort.

Vampire Kanagi, vampire juri, vampire Yuna, and Sister Momoko: Magical girls are instead nuns who get their powers from god. Instead of witching out because their soul gems get corrupted by curses, they become vampires when their soul gems get corrupted by sin.

Momoko and Mitama Mermaid alts: Magical girls are instead called “Sea Maidens” and they are able to shift between a human form and a mermaid form. they become Sea Monsters instead of witches. (An event like this would be perfect for Sayaka lol).

Holy Mami and Holy Alina (I know that these are mainline story forms but they got recontextualized for events in magireco): Magical girls are instead angels who spread goodwill amongst humans. instead of witches, they become fallen angels.

Touka and Nemu and Nayuta and Mikage Christmas alts: in a world where it’s Christmas year-round, Magical girls get their powers from wishing upon a star when they have potential. Their job is to spread Christmas cheer and to keep witches at bay, since witches are instead monsters who feed on negative emotions and cause blizzards (think the wendigos from My little pony)

Nagisa Valentine’s version: Honestly I think this version would already fit pretty well into the Kyomami pastry chef au, tbh. I can see her being adopted taken in as an apprentice by Kyoko and Mami.

Doppel Kyoko: Instead of girls making wishes to become magical girls, girls make wishes to become witches. They harvest emotions from humans and convert it into magical energy to give to the incubators.

Darkness Kanagi and Darkness Mitama: Instead of the Wings of Magius, the magical girls of kamihama are instead antagonized by Kanagi and Mitama. the wings of magius are instead a secret resistance instead of a cult.

Demon parade Kagome: Magical girls are instead called “Spirit Guides” and their duty is to guide souls to the afterlife.

I know Miss Dream recently put out a remastered edition! That could be it.

Even without a tail and fur like ours, you are still one of us...

Happy birthday, Scara!