Who: Tim Drake & Cass Cain, possibly Tim Drake and... whoever else wants to tag into this? Plurk me and we'll plot.
What: Batkids have unfair advantages at a carnival, but maybe not a haunted one.
When: The evening of October 11th.


Carnivals weren't always Tim's idea of a good time, but the spike in government activity before this one appeared meant it was probably significant, in one way or another, and he wasn't likely to find out why by sitting back on the sidelines.  He was halfway through a text message to Dick before he realized what he was doing and erased it.

No, he wasn't going to bring Dick into this without knowing how he felt about it first.  Poking around someplace like this could be fun for his brother... or it could be like poking an open wound.  If he saw Dick there, he'd bring him in, but in the meantime he needed to bring someone else in for his exploration.

Looking downhill at the fairgrounds, he snapped a picture and sent it as a picture message to Cass, along with a subject line: Meet me in 15?

ok so my life up until this point has been fake. shway. thats a headache ill deal w/ later. like after i eat my bodyweight in pizza. freezer-burned peas & carrots dont really do it for me. good choco pudding tho.

but what i really want cleared up is todays date. the year being the priority here. the staff here are sketchier than the mystery meat and i cant get a straight answer from them. so if someone could just clue me in thatd be slammin.

Ah - much as I hate to be the bearer of bad, especially as things are just beginning to seem like they might be looking up - the release list has arrived. I'm afraid to say it's not small this month. [Koizumi's expression is open and serious, voice informal but with an undercurrent of tension and sadness. This is a sharp contrast to his usual cheerful, enigmatic smile.]

Persons released during the month of September include:

Chrona
Ikari Shinji
Katsura Kotaro
Nick Miller
Nagisa Kaworu
Jake English
Roxas
Clint Barton
Lizzie Bennet
Xion
Zatanna Zatara
Toph Bei Fong
Sora
Lea
Isaac Lahey
Meenah Peixes
Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum
Darcy Lewis

[There's a lingering pause, as Koizumi glances down, out of the camera frame. A few moments later, he looks back, sympathy and understanding on his face.] I'm so sorry to anyone who lost friends. If there's anything I might do, please do not hesitate to let me know.

[The video turns on to show London cuddling up on Sarah's lap.]

So...who else is gone? [Xion's gone and now she's rooming with the chief of police....well her day is over.]

[The feed of the phone flickers to life with a kitten pawing at the video while rolling around in a shirt. It's not the only piece of laundry on the floor. Nope, there's jeans and more shirts.]

Urgh, where are you? You weren't supposed to be this...holy shit, did you ransack the laundry basket?!

[Sarah's not completely in the screen, off screen but her feet do come into view. The kitten scampers off to hide in her pant leg.

There's a soft sigh as she moves to pick up stuff and eventually her phone.]

Damn cat's smarter than I thought.

Okay, I know I should be the last one saying this---


You guys are being way too normal for a bunch of people who randomly time-travel and turn into pirates.

[To Tim, Cass, Sarah, Shinichi, the Doctor, Koizumi... anyone else who's close CR enough. He knows Christopher's home, at least.]

You still here?

[ Shinichi is far too accustomed to coming home to an empty house he doesn't even bother to look for a note-his parents never left one when they up and left, so why would it be different here? ]

Jeez!

Is it normal in some places to just up and leave a kid alone for a few days? Because, I thought that was just an annoying habit my parents had but Miller-san seems to have left since he's not at his job or here.

I just thought it was illegal. It's not that I really care-I can take care of myself just fine, [ Aside from the fact he can't cook. ] but I don't think it would kill anyone to give me a heads up. Obviously, I can't just run next door and make Agasa-hakase get me something for dinner like I usually do in this situation.

[ He's not yet found the notice that he's being relocated. ]

[Definitely stolen, and nor does it appear to particularly want to be carrying the message attached to its leg. It will, however reluctantly, take messages back to its place of origin.

The message is written in smeared red - perhaps blood - on a dirty piece of torn paper.]


S.O.S.

[The parrot does a remarkably good job of reproducing the creaking, echoing sound quality of the space. The singing, while cheerful, is a little creaky as well, and more than a little jaded.]

When I was just a lad looking for my true vocation
My father said "Now son, this choice deserves deliberation
Though you could be a doctor or perhaps a financier
My boy why not consider a more challenging career

Hey ho ho
You'll cruise to foreign shores
And you'll keep your mind and body sound
By working out of doors

[He breaks off with a weary laugh.]

Well. That didn't work out as intended.

Well, I appreciate air conditioners a lot more now.

If anyone needs me, I'm going to be recharging in front of one. I'm pooped. No more casting spells for a month.

[ He can't be bothered to type today, he's speeding right on through his homework ]

Okay, I'll compromise. I'll go to school everyday of the week except for Tuesdays and Thursdays. That's fair, right?

[ Because those are the days music class happens and he refuses to make fool of himself with lack of any kind of music ability whatsoever. ]

[Text]

I have one hundred weeks' worth of video journals, but I've never deliberately made a video broadcast to the network before this. Which probably has something to do with Midnight Channel stress, I don't know.

But I edited together a few of the older videos, mostly because Lizzie wanted to see what I'd been vlogging about all this time, and I thought it might be worth showing off to everyone else, too.

( [Video] )

So...

Heat wave came and went, what's next a blizzard? [She's being sarcastic, really she is.]

[Sheska's sounding a little breathless and wilted at the moment.]

I'm sorry to interrupt your weekend, but I thought everyone should know... The release list has arrived. Since the two officer who would normally be in charge of this sort of thing are out of commission for the moment I, um, I thought I'd give everyone the bad news. S-so here it goes.

The released persons over the last month include:

America Chavez
Aradia Megido
Archer
Billy Kaplan
Damian Wayne
Hanamura Yosuke
Ian Yorkland
Jason Todd
Link
Namine
Peter Parker
Ryu
Sif
Stephanie Brown
Terra
Texas
Thor Odinson
Tommy Shepherd
Vanitas
Wally West
Yatogami Kuroh


I... I'm sorry. If there are any questions I can answer, I'll do my best. [A thoughtful beat.] Unless it's about the heat or the air conditioning, because I'm afraid the police don't know anything about that, and are suffering as well. It's not something we can fix, unfortunately.

It's hot.

Too Hot. Too hot to play soccer. That's unacceptable!

Someone do something. [ It's also too hot to type since this is an actual video post. And everyone can now see that he is an actual seven year old. ]

Aradia and Archer are gone, along with Riku...[The latter though she's known about for a while, but it's still hard to process.]

Saying goodbye only gives us the chance to say hello again. [The phrase is muttered more to herself than for anyone listening out there.]

In any case I think I'm the only one at the bookstore, so if you need me you know where to look.