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

Essie watches the mountain, shifting into a wide legged gunslinger stance, but resisting the urge to immediately go chasing after Jeffy. He's not EXACTLY built to be a BALL PIT NINJA after all.

She's about to start pelting the spot he disappeared with more balls (which isn't EXACTLY super effective but whatever) when something grabs her and the squeal that escapes her lips is a mixture of surprise and delight. "Jeffy Jaws is no match for Eszilla!!!" she yells and launches herself into the balls, accompanied by her best kaiju roar. "First I'll defeat you and then I'll smash all of Luxembourg!!!"

Jeffy bursts out from under the cover of the balls right as Essie dives in, declaring death to Luxembourg and all the innocent Texans(?) therein. It's frankly miraculous they didn't crash into each other, because it's bad form to accidentally break your girlfriend's nose so close to prom.

"LUXEMBOURG?" Jeffy shouts, scattering plastic balls everywhere. "Luxembourg is a TRAP." What a TWIST. "And you fell RIGHT INTO IT, ESZILLA." He shoves his arms back under the plastic balls and starts rattling them around to... make it seem like an earthquake? Like there's anything bad about being in a BALL PIT in an EARTHQUAKE??

What?? NO!!! How could Essie have POSSIBLY foreseen this ruse??? (Had Luxembourg even been a real place to begin with?!?) Nothing like this had EVER happened in the history of their games together!!!

Well, not EXACTLY like this!!!

Essie pushes through the sea of balls, dodging the sudden EARTHQUAKE as best she can, but not without a great deal more of squealing, which makes her the least sneaky wannabe shark ever as she circles around behind Jeffy.

It also means she isn't necessarily ACTUALLY behind Jeffy when she launches herself out of the balls again, using momentum and her finely honed toppling-Lucas-over skills to try to topple Jeffy over because apparently she's far less concerned with accidentally breaking her boyfriend's nose this close to prom than she ought to be. "Then I'll just smash YOU!!!" she hollers, making everything going on inside of the maze very confusing sounding to any poor students still waiting their turn.

It's also right at that moment that Mr. Merrill's statue has apparently had enough of their rough housing and a giant blue cloud erupts from it.

Jeffy's center of gravity is a little different from the gangly Lucas, his sense of balance might be kind of better from years of trying to keep himself upright on a broom going [insert appropriate speed] MPH on a broom, but that doesn't mean he's completely prepared for an Essie missile attack. He stumbles forward and to the side, crashing to his knees in the pit. He's about to start on an epic near death sequence, a losing fight against Eszilla, determined to smash Jeffy Jaws, Protector of Luxembourg, when he hears a distinctive sound that can really only be the sound of gas escaping from the mouth of a statue that looks like your Head of House.

Yeah, literally nothing else.

"Uhhhhh," Jeffy says, arms held awkwardly aloft. "MAYBE smashing can resume... somewhere ELSE in the maze??"

💍 LET'S STEAL PROM! 💍 Round 3!

The Varmints! (ง •̀෴•́)ง Do What They Do Best

The Varmints! (ง •̀෴•́)ง Do What They Do Best

The Varmints! (ง •̀෴•́)ง Do What They Do Best

The Varmints! (ง •̀෴•́)ง Do What They Do Best