OOM: don't let your daughters grow up to be cowgirls...

[ikissdhimbck]

[Sometime after this...]


Sure, so there's nothing suggesting foul play about this strange place. But Kate still don't like it, and after the scouting mission she went on with her new friend, they found it was far more horrible than they could have imagined. A kitchen, truly vast, filled with so much food — and sweets. An icebox full of fruit and jams and jellies, cakes, pies, and ice cream. More food than a thousand people could eat in a thousand days! Natasha and Katherine knew what they had to do.

"Listen up!"

(They had their tea, weighed their options, and drew their maps and plans in detail. X's marked the places where the food and drinks were kept, question marks swirled over the Magical Bar, and dashes detailed an escape route out the back door toward the forest. Nobody would ever catch them, and there were more than enough other children to pull it off. They just had to convince them their mission was just.)

"The plan is simple. While the adults ain't looking, we clear out the cupboards. Nobody knows who's in charge here; ain't none of us have seen our mamas an' papas. Ain't you tired of not knowin' what's goin' on? Of havin' to ask? Of adults tellin' us no sweets 'cuz they'll rot our teeth? We just want our fair share, an' we want it for every one of us! Why do they get t'keep it all locked up?"

She nods to Natasha.

Comments

[electro_kinetic]

Meanwhile, Noriko has her big square of sturdy cloth spread out on the floor behind the bar, and is quickly unloading soda bottles and packages of nuts and salty treats, packing as many in as she can carry.

[unglitched]

Every once in a while you see a blur of glowing blue pixels darting from one shelf to another. After each dart, it briefly resolves itself into the form of a dark-haired girl in a hoodie and leggings with a basket under her arm, grabbing something off the shelf before dissolving into pixels again.

She may or may not be grabbing the best stuff just before you get to it. Vanellope is a brat like that.

[queenofmay]

Marian had grabbed one of Katherine's sacks for in case and followed them. It didn't hurt to be prepared.

The ice box was cold, and she was grateful for her heavy dress, but she didn't let the first shiver or her goosebumps stop her from beginning to test balancing a pie or two -- or three, maybe she could manage three, without them collapsing? -- while everyone was scampering around behind her.

[filemyclaim]

Oof, is the cold floor is especially chilly on Dixie's bare feet, but that doesn't stop her from both playing lookout AND lifing some sweet treats. On the way out of the room she snagged two sacks from Kate's, but she also not above using her straw bonnet for further room. She's a strong girl, after all.

Soon her sacks are double -loaded with cartons of candy and stack after stack of chocolate bar. She heaves them over her shoulders and keeps going, adding a package or two of cookies atop them.

[justdyedit]

While out at the bar, Jess is aiming for toppings since she knows the ice cream and cake is taken care of. She's grabbing bottles of maraschino cherries and cans of whipped cream (both the usual flavor and chocolate of course) when she pulls open a drawer and squeals at the motherload of gummy candies; bears, worms, fish, rats, you name it and it's there.

"Sweet Willy Wonka," she says in awe, her face underlight with a rainbow.

[ikissdhimbck]

All right, Vanellope is amazing. Kate could sit and watch her do that all day, but there's a job to be done.

She marches back, back, back inside the icebox, where the frozen foods are kept. She's never seen so many sweet treats in all her life, and after pulling out several tubs of vanilla ice cream she starts reaching for unusual flavors.

'Rocky Road'.

'Cookies and Cream'.

'Moose Tracks'.

Anything and everything, setting some of the cartons on their sides and rolling them toward the door.

[electro_kinetic]

Noriko is gathering all kinds of soda bottles; some dark, light, lemon-lime and orange and cola and root beer and everything within reach. Once they're all stacked and in tight, she moves to pilfer cookie boxes from the pantry.

There are so many! Sandwich cookies and Oreos, mint chocolate ones and peanut-butter ones and koala cookies--her favorite--and coconut ones and marshmallow-topped wafers in cellophane all go into the wrap carefully, muffling the sounds of bottles thumping together. She even takes some of the cocoa-hazelnut spread and a double handful of plastic spoons, just because.

[numbered_doctor]

The hardest part of liberating the doctor's office of it's sweets, is finding them. Remy finds an initial small dish of lollipops, but where these are, there should be more.

Trial and error eventually turns up a decently sized pail with more, and the sound of approaching footsteps from elsewhere in the area sends her scampering.

She meets up with her compatriots back behind the bar, helping and carrying where she can. Many hands make light work, after all.

[redintheledger]

One might be forgiven for thinking that in another life, Natasha was a sheepdog. She's running around everywhere; a helping hand here, some advice there, some sneaking about and peering around, and then the occasional jump of excitement.

The Liberation is off to a brilliant start, even if the rolling ice-cream cartoons get a double-take.

[queenofmay]

Three pies really is going hard enough to manage, balancing and running, so the fourth is out. Her arms are only so big, but once she figures that out she scouts around for what else is there, because she can set them down and get them when the posse is ready to make its retreat to safer grounds.

Marian picked up more of the cookies and chocolate bars behind Noriko and Dixie, before scavenging some of the fruit from a bowl on the counter. Oranges and apples, pears, and some grapes. Some people liked that kind of stuff, too, right?

[justdyedit]

Gummies taken care of, Jess steps back to look for the syrups and spots them on a shelf high above. Easy peasy to get to but how to do it without attracting attention?

She peaks over the top of the Bar to see if anyone's watching and, once the coast seems clear, she leaps up and grabs an arm full of bottles, landing lightly on her toes and hugging the bottles close so they don't chink.

Now to sort the flavors. Hazelnut stays...vanilla comes, as does cinnamon and creme de menthe. Yum, strawberry!

[gavin62truck]

Tommy has been exploring the other rooms in Milliways when he comes back into the main bar to find-- something going on.

There's quite a bit of activity behind the bar and in and around the kitchen. Is someone preparing for a party or something? Is there going to be food? Free food?

Well, he's not going to miss this if that's what's happening!

Funny, though. It looks as if there's only girls around.

Huh?

He heads toward the kitchen door.

[ikissdhimbck]

While he's heading into the kitchen, Kate's heading out. Or trying to, anyhow. There's an oof! on the other side of the kitchen door and a few loud thuds.

Ice cream. Ice cream everywhere.

Kate gets to her feet quickly, trying to pick everything back up.

"What's the matter with you?"

You see? This is why boys weren't invited.

[gavin62truck]

Containers of ice cream go rolling across the floor in all directions.

After gaping at her for a moment, he turns to gape at all the other girls-- girls everywhere-- before turning back to Kate.

"S'matter with me? S'matter with you? What th' hell're you doin'?"

[ikissdhimbck]

"None of your beeswax!"

Like heck she's going to let him in on their plan. Knowing him, he'll just snitch on them.

"You go on an' get outta here. Forget you saw anythin'!"

Kate picks up the last spilled tub and fixes him with a defiant look.

[gavin62truck]

He meets her defiant look with one of his own.

"Whaddya mean, it's none o' my beeswax!"

Tommy's bigger than Kate and she's got her hands full anyway.

So he grabs a couple of tubs from her grasp.



What was that about strength in numbers?

[ikissdhimbck]

"Hey!"

How rude. How utterly, frustratingly childish. Kate tries to wrestle the ice cream back without popping any of the lids off the containers, frowning at Tommy in a way that will be very, very familiar to him in a few decades.

"Cut that out! This is a stickup!"

Oh look, she got to say the words after all.

[filemyclaim]

All of the commotion' enough to make Dixie look up from the ridiculously huge chocolate bar she'd been nomming on.

She gasps, dropping it. Oh no! She's fallen down on the job!

"BOY!!!" She shouts, pointing an index finger at Tommy, trying to alert the rest of the girls!

[gavin62truck]

The ice cream containers are slippery and cold (duh) and they're kind of hard to keep a good grip on as he struggles for them with Kate. But at the alarm call, he whips around, startled at the cry from the tiny child.

"Jeez, what--?!"

With a tub of Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey clutched against his chest, he realizes this might not have been a good idea. His expression? Think Scooby-Doo in a ruh-oh! situation.

If he gets out of here alive, he's so telling.

[queenofmay]

Marian doesn't have her pies in her hands right now. But she knows what a villain is, what a threat is, and about boys with hair that is too blonde, who are too problematic the moment they show up. Who will only get more in the way if they stay, as well as get everyone there in so much trouble the moment they start making a racket.

With one look around she spots a very long silver ladle and grabs it up, like one of her fathers too large wooden swords she should get away with playing with as often as she does, and strides toward him, coming from one side of Katherine and the boy struggling. The ladle out pointing somewhere between his chest and head, defiant about having anything jeopardize these new friends she's found.

"No one invited you!"

[electro_kinetic]

Noriko hears the commotion from her place at the bar and frowns--no boys were invited! She abandons her wrap of sodas and cookies and joins the other girls around the kitchen door, blocking off the intruder's escape route with Marian.

"What're you doing?"

[justdyedit]

Jess hears the commotion in the kitchen as well (just how did someone slip by her?) and knows this can be bad news. She stashes the syrup bottles in her sack, grabs a bottle of chocolate syrup, and is heading for the kitchen doors to help. Spotting a pile of bar towels, she grabs a few before bursting through the doors to assess the situation. Being a trained spy (shut up, she totally is), she quickly takes stock and blurts out, "We have to gag him before he brings down trouble on our heads."

She turns to the blond boy and announces, "You're our hostage now, we caught you fair and square!" while brandishing the bar towels.

[gavin62truck]

"Wait a minute, what the--"

First there's a girl pointing a ladle at him (his mother makes good use of a wooden spoon on him from time to time, so a metal one would definitely hurt more), then there's another girl demanding to know what he's doing, and now another claiming him as their hostage?

Incredulous-- and maaaaaybe just a little bit panicked-- he looks 'round and 'round at the growing number of angry girls surrounding him.

Especially at the one girl who brought the towels to gag him. O_o

"Hey, listen, I didn't know nothin' about this, I just came in here by accident! You don't gotta take me hostage, I swear I won't tell!"

He starts backing up as he tries to talk his way out, but it's obviously too late for that sort of thing.

"Here, uh-- you can have the ice cream back?"

And he holds out the Chunky Monkey toward anyone who'll take it.

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate blinks, surprised and delighted at how quickly everyone came together. And this is partly her gang, right? So she needs to make some decisions and give some orders.

Hmm.

"Oh, can I? Can I please have the ice cream that was mine t'begin with back?"

She glares at Tommy and snatches the ice cream from his hands, looking around for Natasha. Before they go so far as to gag him, she'd like to confer with her partner in crime. This is her very first stickup!

"They're right, you're our hostage now. We can't trust you t'keep your trap shut!"

[redintheledger]

And this is what happens when she goes to the tree-fort - A THIEF.

The small Russian girl gives Tommy a piercing look.

"You show willingness to undo your crimes," she says finally. "Buuuuut you've still committed a crime against this socialist liberation. And you can still tell on us. Spy," she adds.

"HOSTAGE, COMRADES!"