SO YOU WANT TO STEAL SOME CHILDREN (Endgame Catchall)

[facultwist]

Welcome to the container for your endgame! This will be the place where you can perform your polterheist (we really love that portmanteau), and where you'll be able to commentate on the final trial!

ICly, the whole heist will take place Monday, while the final trial watch will take place Thursday. For anything not related to endgame, please continue to use the main deadland post!

Comments

[facultwist]

[ Atta girl.

The lock jiggles and clicks. Opening it, that'll require some more energy. But, from inside, you can hear murmuring of two distinct young boys. ]

—is she not...announcing herself?
...way too early for food...

[ And then, the loud call of one girl: ]

HELLOO? MISS KIDNAPPER, IS THAT YOU?

[ There's the sound of some scrambling, and amidst the boys' protests, the door opens to reveal a cheerful looking little girl. The boys stand behind her, looking like they hastily ran up, hands on her shoulders, expecting to pull her back, or something—


But from their perspectives, they're staring out into an empty hallway. ]

...Hello?

[bellpepperexercise]

[Oh, yeah. They just can't see anything.

Kana waves the torch a little as if saying hello. Crap, how do they communicate this?]

[facultwist]

[ The young girl's eyes get very big and she leans in a little—but the boys quickly pull her back, and she doesn't really fight them. Isabella raised her children to not trust floating torches, apparently. ]

[protomartyr]

[ Flinching at waving torches is good self-preservation. Lottie has been following Chris and the others but is trailing at the outside of the group, so she waves back to Usagi and the rest: ]

Usagi, you know the signal, right?

[eternalfuture]

I do!

[She'll carefully make her way into the room. She knows they can't see her, but she'll still smile, and tap out the rhythm - a little slower at first, then right on cue.]

[facultwist]

[ From the first knock, the kids listen with rapt attention. The black-haired boy places the rhythm first, his eyes widening slightly. The white-haired boy lets go of the girl. And the girl, her grin returning, cries out: ]

It's mom's signal! Mom found her own ghosts to rescue us?!

[ Her excitement is infectious. Shaky smiles spread across the boys' faces. ]

...Of course she did.

[ The black-haired boy discretely looks away to wipe his eyes, as the girl turns back to them. ]

Ray, Norman, come on! Let's—
Let's prepare, dummy. [ Covering up his small sniff with a huff. ] We can't just run out there, Emma.

[ The girl, Emma, grins a little sheepishly, and the kids sweep back into the room that has been their living space for the last seven weeks, talking amongst themselves quietly but vigorously, figuring out what they should take for an impromptu escape.

...An escape that you will have to help them with, though that will be the focus of tomorrow's activity.

For now, while they're gathering and prepping, you can take a peak at their accommodations. Good job, ghosts. ]

[eternalfuture]

[if it's all right, they're each getting an affectionate little hair ruffle from Usagi. they're good kids, okay.]

[facultwist]

[ That is absolutely allowed! Emma giggles in excitement, Norman (white-haired boy) kind of smiles nervously, and Ray (black-haired boy) shivers a little, but he doesn't really protest. ]

[eternalfuture]

[About now, she's wishing she had a pen and paper to actually write them a note, but she'll just stand back and smile.

While Dorothy is looking at the books, is there anything of note around where the kids have been sleeping?]

[facultwist]

[ A lot of blankets! Like a lot of blankets. Insanely cozy vibes for the floor of a private school basement.

Also snacks! Chips and candy - a lot of them from the cafeteria, but also some clearly purchased in town. Who knows, the "mid" chips from the first day could be in the room with you right now. ]

[eternalfuture]

[So it's the coziest pillow fort they could have made. Excellent.

Any sign of stuff like regular food from the cafeteria? Kids can't just eat junk food, says the girl who would, in fact, do that if she didn't have people telling her otherwise.]

[facultwist]

[ Usagi, never change.

There's some remnants of meals, probably the breakfast the kids had this morning, for one. But, here's the thing, they don't look prepackaged. There's no sign of instant noodles or anything like that, and maybe part of that can be attributed to them keeping the place somewhat tidy...

...but, that breakfast. Emma runs over in the midst of gathering things and prepping and snaps up a plate with what appears to be half an omelette remaining. She calls to the boys, telling them they should finish it before they leave.

Usagi, you have a mother who loves you dearly. You know what home-cooked food looks like. You get the feeling these children have been eating home-cooked meals, primarily...albeit, maybe not very good home-cooked meals. This is not Mama Tsukino level cuisine here. ]

[eternalfuture]

[That's good. Someone's looking out for them, even if it's not the same way Mama Tsukino would.

There's a pang at her heart, thinking about her mom. They're going to have to have a heart-to-heart talk once all this is said and done.

and this version of Usagi is now motivated to learn how to actually cook for real. thanks, death school!

[banishedfromparadise]

[Once the others have gotten the door unlocked and secured the children's escape, Dorothy follows the kids inside the room to take a look around at where they've been.

How comfortable or bleak are we talking here? Have they been miserable, or simply kept locked away from Isabella?]

[facultwist]

[ It's... actually pretty nice in here? Like it's a scantron and standardized test storage room, there's only so much that can be done, but it looks like there's some library books in here, a bunch of blankets around some sleeping bags, and there's even a TV on a rack that's been dragged in. ]

[banishedfromparadise]

[So kind of like a place some kids have been having a very weird sleepover. In a school basement. Well, she doesn't know these kids. Maybe one or more of them was into it.

First, what about those library books? What kind of titles are we seeing?]

[facultwist]

[ Probably not the kind you guys have been reading - lots of adventure stories! Damn these kids love the old Indiana Jones Extended Universe. ]

[banishedfromparadise]

[Well, that's a relief! Children shouldn't be reading the kinds of books that they've been looking at. If only she could ask them if their kidnapper brought those to them...

Oh well, moving on to the TV. Is it hooked up to anything in particular? Any nicer than the TV they had up in the lounge, or just as old?]

[facultwist]

[ It's not that old, but it's definitely... this is a CRT that used to be dragged into classrooms for movie days before they all got projectors.

It's hooked up to a Playstation 4, though there only appear to be two controllers. Nefarious.

There's also some like. Disney movies from the library's dvd section, but they don't look like they've been touched. ]

[banishedfromparadise]

[The real crime here is how do they read tiny HD quality text through an old CRT.

With the movies, are we talking they're just neatly stacked up, or more there's a thin layer of dust forming over them from never being chosen? And are there any physical games visible anywhere, or are these kids and their Playstation fully in the digital age?]

[facultwist]

[ With the movies... You get the impression that they've went through them once, but now there's a little dust on them.

As for the games, there's physical copies! It does not look like this Playstation is connected to the internet. The types of games are the same sort as the books. Adventure, things like that. These children have probably played through the entire Uncharted series multiple times. ]