gooseberryhigh | 💍 LET'S STEAL PROM! 💍 Round 3!

ROUND THREE: Conquer the Maze!

You couldn't miss today's event if you'd tried. The entire atrium has been repurposed for the grand heist and much of the open area is blocked off by ominous modular walls, each of them stretching over eight feet tall - the freshmen insisted that none of the upperclassmen giants be able to spy on their work.

A set of ominous doors mark the entrance to this strange contraption. And just outside, a row of familiar briefcases wait on a table. Participants are asked to open their briefcases (and those who could not solve their puzzles last round are assisted by an especially smug freshman), because the key to solving this week's puzzle is waiting inside: a map. What's beyond the walls is the final event: a maze full of shifting pathways and frankly obnoxious traps. And somewhere, in the middle, the grand prize.

If you're going to pull this heist off, you'll need to conquer the maze.

Welcome to Round Three of Let’s Steal Prom!

HOW THIS WORKS

Competitors are limited to those teams which previously signed up. In the first round, each team was presented with a set of cards listing their 'role' for the event. These roles are for flavor purposes only and have no effect on the final outcome.

Stewart Ocean and his band of merry freshmen were still primarily responsible for this round, but Ursula did make sure nothing in the maze could seriously harm someone. If something seems too complicated for a freshman... assume staff helped.

Post your pair under the THE MAZE heading, and play out a scene based on the current round's scenario. For every tag, Manx will RNG a number between 1–25 to add to your pair's score.

Current Scenario: As soon as your team enters the maze, the wall closes behind them. That's not the only wall moving - every 30 seconds, the maze rearranges itself, but thankfully your map updates itself as well. Throughout the maze are trip wires, pressure plates, statues that resemble various staff members and magical proximity sensors that can trigger a variety of traps (see team assignments). At the end of the final hallway, there they are - a pair of crowns! Unfortunately there's a magical laser maze that has to be bested first and a team of eager looking freshmen perched high atop the maze walls ready to dump buckets of green slime if they hear the buzzing sound of one of the lasers being tripped. In a final twist, once obtained, the crowns explode in a burst of confetti and there's a note saying the winners will be announced at prom. In the distance, you can hear the sound of a wall opening. Have fun getting back out!

Please note! This information is being provided for flavor purposes. There's no need to encounter all traps or actually reach the crowns. Just pick somewhere in the maze and have fun putzing around. All gas effects encountered last 1 minute.

Up to 6 tags per pair will count for your score each round, i.e. you only get a maximum of six RNG numbers to add to your score. But feel free to tag more or less!

Double jeopardy! Team lagging behind in the weekly rankings? At some point during the maze each team will encounter a door labeled "SHORTCUT???". Passing through this doorway could bring a team closer to their goal... or it could land them back at the start of the course. Teams that opt to try the shortcut will receive an additional RNG score between -50 and +50.

The team with the fastest time through the maze will gain 5 bonus points.

Scores for round 3 will be rolled on all tags posted through Friday, May 25th 11:59 PM EST. For the sake of suspense, third round rolls and results won't be revealed until prom. Scores from prior rounds will carry over.

CLICK HERE FOR TEAM ASSIGNMENTS

149% Naughty
Lilika + Webster
Traps Encountered: Babbling Gas-Breathing Statue, Falling Sticky Net & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Adverse Drug Reaction
Rosy + Danny
Traps Encountered: Giggle Gas-Breathing Statue, Giant Beachball Boulder & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Catwomen🐾
Ari + Jade
Traps Encountered: Itching Gas-Breathing Statue, Falling Sticky Net & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Danger Butt
Dinah + Chad
Traps Encountered: Hiccup Gas-Breathing Statue, Giant Beachball Boulder & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Flotsam & Jetsam
Ursula + Ferdie
Traps Encountered: Giggle Gas-Breathing Statue, Multicolor Plastic Ball Pit & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Hero & Marie
Archie + Nisha
Traps Encountered: Itching Gas-Breathing Statue, Multicolor Plastic Ball Pit & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Innocent Nun
Heathcliff + Fern
Traps Encountered: Babbling Gas-Breathing Statue, Falling Sticky Net & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Lake Gooseberry Killers
Sy + Clem
Traps Encountered: Giggle Gas-Breathing Statue, Nerf Dart Barrage & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Loot the Booty
Riley + January
Traps Encountered: Hiccup Gas-Breathing Statue, Multicolor Plastic Ball Pit & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Munificent Mermaid
JD + Ophelia
Traps Encountered: Sneezing Gas-Breathing Statue, Giant Beachball Boulder & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Nap Mom and Squonk
Griffin + Georgie
Traps Encountered: Babbling Gas-Breathing Statue, Nerf Dart Barrage & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Nerf Herders
Lucas + Bash
Traps Encountered: Sneezing Gas-Breathing Statue, Giant Beachball Boulder & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Pirate Ninja
Todd + Grace
Traps Encountered: Giggle Gas-Breathing Statue, Giant Beachball Boulder & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Princess Sparkle
London + Quentin
Traps Encountered: Itching Gas-Breathing Statue, Falling Sticky Net & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Salubrious Sword
Yancey + Lachlan
Traps Encountered: Sneezing Gas-Breathing Statue, Nerf Dart Barrage & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Spira
Spencer + Ira
Traps Encountered: Babbling Gas-Breathing Statue, Falling Sticky Net & Magical Mistletoe Snare

The Varmints! (ง •̀෴•́)ง
Jeffy + Essie
Traps Encountered: Itching Gas-Breathing Statue, Multicolor Plastic Ball Pit & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Titanic Panic
Iliya + Cameron
Traps Encountered: Hiccup Gas-Breathing Statue, Nerf Dart Barrage & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Wagonman
Eve + Salem
Traps Encountered: Hiccup Gas-Breathing Statue, Nerf Dart Barrage & Magical Mistletoe Snare

Shoeless Swan
Reid + Austin
Traps Encountered: Sneezing Gas-Breathing Statue, Multicolor Plastic Ball Pit & Magical Mistletoe Snare

» SHORTCUT???: Post the form below to get a completion time and opt into whether your team attempted to take the shortcut.

» THE MAZE: Navigate through the maze and try to avoid falling victim to its traps to secure the prize. ...Or are you being graded on how much you can entertain a crew of freshmen?

» OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Rosy has the map up in front of her, trying to stay one step ahead of the sudden changes and new dead ends. If they can sprint through this upcoming straightaway before it changes again, that should put them within spitting distance of the center, and they can escape the hell that is freshmen with power.

She is not thinking about flirting right now, because this is not a great time for that. She's thinking about whether or not she'd be allowed to ditch her demonstrably snail-paced boyfriend and pick him up on the way back through when she hears the click.

The map goes down. Rosy looks up. She doesn't even have a chance to hold her breath before the gas starts.

"What the fuck—" a choked laugh escapes her throat, and the anger in her eyes does not match the girlish giggling threatening to break through. Rosy grits her teeth. "—did you do?"

He snaps his hand away from the wall like he's been shocked. "I didn't do shit." Danny protests, lying poorly as he starts to giggle. He stares at the indentation in the wall and hisses out more laughter. Cursing even though he's pretty sure this is the funniest thing in the world, right now.

"We-- we should--" he pulls his glasses off and wipe tears from his eyes. Danny isn't about to let a bullshit trap stop them from winning an arbitrary crown neither one of them is particularly interested in. "We should keep going."

"Oh, you—" a breathless, voiceless laugh that a red-faced Rosemary does her best to suppress, "— you think we should keep going?" She snorts. Which is fucking hilarious, and her face goes even redder as she tries, just, so hard to maintain some semblance of composure.

"I was thinking of just staying here and," there are actual tears in her eyes at this point, and she should really give in and just keep moving, but there is no way in hell she's leaving without telling Danny exactly how much he fucked up here. It's part of a healthy well-balanced relationship. But when she finishes with, "pushing more stupid buttons," her voice is muffled by the entire fist she had to shove in her mouth to keep up that careful composure.

"Well, now," Danny pauses to wheeze and stammer a bit, sweeping his arms out when he starts up again. "I'm going to push every button from here to the middle of the maze." And he'll do it, too. If he survives this. He's quiet for a moment, lower lip trembling from the effort of not laughing before it eventually gives way and he starts to titter.

"C'mon," he takes her wrist and lets out a soft, laughing sigh. "Walk and talk, Stoker, you can berate me while we solve this."

Rosy almost had her composure back, she had almost vanquished the foe that is joyfulness, but there's just something so fucking great about Danny's little giggle. It's just so small, so free of his usual pretenses, and she both loves and hates it because now she's pushing him out of the way to collapse against a far wall.

"I hate you," she snickers, the map a crumpled mess in her hands. She doesn't even know which direction they're supposed to go now. "I'm about to leave your ass and—" A thought occurs to Rosy that would make her smile like an asshole under ordinary circumstances. The effect here is greatly multiplied, and she can barely get enough breath to gasp out, "the crown won't fit over your hair anyways."

"Fuck you," he exclaims, wide-eyed and grinning, half because he can't help it and half because of how happy Rosy seems. Logically, he knows it's the magic doing it, but he's not going to not enjoy that smile. "I'll transfigure it so it fits."

Danny gestures with both hands, still laughing. Then he glances up from them, at Rosy, and adjusts the size, snorting as the imaginary grapefruit-sized crown becomes an imaginary grape-sized crown. "I'm going to make it super fucking tiny." He brings his fingers close together and pantomimes carefully putting a hat on. "Little tiny ass crown on my head. So it doesn't mess anything up." He wheezes.

Edited 2018-05-22 17:14 (UTC)

Breathing has become a serious issue at this point, and Rosy can't remember the last time she so much as smiled for more than ten seconds. Her cheeks are going to be so fucking sore if she manages to live through this, and this is one hell of an ab workout.

"It's gonna get lost in there, you know," she coughs out, taking deep, steadying breaths as she forces herself to a standing position. Please, for the love of god, do not let there be another one of those hidden tiles in this wall, because she cannot take another disaster right now. She moves back toward Danny to run a hand up into his hair. "We'll have to send Newt in after it."

And at the image of Newt the Niffler rummaging around in Daniel's overly-coiffed hair, Rosy loses it again. She may never recover.

Edited 2018-05-22 23:07 (UTC)

💍 LET'S STEAL PROM! 💍 Round 3!

Adverse Drug Reaction Has An Adverse Drug Reaction

Adverse Drug Reaction Has An Adverse Drug Reaction

Adverse Drug Reaction Has An Adverse Drug Reaction

Adverse Drug Reaction Has An Adverse Drug Reaction

Adverse Drug Reaction Has An Adverse Drug Reaction

Adverse Drug Reaction Has An Adverse Drug Reaction

Adverse Drug Reaction Has An Adverse Drug Reaction