recolle | JULY EVENT LOG 2.0

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JULY EVENT LOG 2.0

EVENT

CRASH AND BURN
The last day of the ReConvention finds con-goers crowding the convention center for last-minute panels and purchases. The halls fill with attendees bartering for wares, attending autograph sessions and showing off their cosplays. But for a select number of people, time is of the essence.

Those who scanned their QR codes at the Retrospec booth will notice that their countdown clock draws closer to zero. With each second ticking closer and closer to the end, a sense of urgency settles around the crowd.

But, perhaps you’re one of the ones who will carry on as if nothing is happening. Or maybe you didn’t scan your code at all. It doesn’t matter though. There’s nothing stopping the clock from its descent backwards, and as the timer strikes zero a loud, piercing roar echoes off of every wall of the convention center.

I.
Those who were brave enough to scan their received QR codes (and even those who didn't but received one regardless) will find that their mobile devices shock them, a quick electric burst that leaves behind a white-hot sort of pain. When you open your eyes after the initial hit, a floating treasure chest appears. While there may be multiple chests surrounding you, it seems you may only open those with your name on them.

Another beam of light shines upon opening your prizes, orbs skyrocketing through the air as they circle briefly before settling around you. A surge of energy ignites within, and for some lucky few new companions and items have also been rewarded to those who played Jim's game. But…perhaps they aren't the ones you expected. Perhaps they make no sense at all. Why not give them a try?

II.
But seeing how the convention center continues to shake, it might be better to find out what’s up. The source of chaos can be traced back to Seto Kaiba's gaming booth as a projector in the wall releases monster after monster that pour out of the projection and come to life. Though the TV above Kaiba’s booth is shattered, the projector keeps rolling and the monsters appear while destroying the booth itself in their haste to be free. Among the rubble left behind the blue glow of the Retrospec symbol shines brightly from a side-panel of the projector.

For those in the convention center, there is the option to run and hide. With the building shifting due to the onslaught of attacks, piles of drywall, cracks and crevices and more provide for good hiding spots to give you time to make a new plan.

Of course, there's always the fight option. What will it take to bring these beasts down? Maybe it's best to lure them outside instead and away from civilians.

III.
Or perhaps that was a bad idea. Whether citizens manage to wrangle the monsters outside or not the beasts will make their way out on their own, fighting amongst themselves and chasing people through the city's streets. Even those who didn't attend the convention will find that the infestation spreads to every district of the city itself, and their QR-given items and abilities kick in. They aren't going for the kill, but they will follow any moving target including those who aren't on the Retrospec network. Though these citizens may run, hide or need rescuing, if asked they will simply remark that the city's always had a bit of a monster problem.

However, now that the fight's moved outside, it's easier to see the distinct red tint to the monsters' eyes every time they blink. A monster that has to forcibly change direction will flicker for a moment, like an image buffering and loading. Even when a monster unleashes an attack, some fighters may take the full impact while others get away with minor to no damage. In those moments, it's easier to bring them to a halt.

When a monster meets its demise though, something strange happens. The flickering is more rapid and faster, and the creature will dissolve into black blocks and spores that evaporate into thin air. What the hell was that? Now probably isn't the best time to ask questions.

IV.
The fighting rages on but with the sun still hanging in the sky it's impossible to tell what time it is. One of the monsters seems to have knocked out the nearby cell phone tower, too, taking down not only cell phone reception, but the entire Retrospec network as well.

It goes on for what feels like hours with the sun beating down from above. Retrospec users battle monsters and fight to reconnect while the network errors out any time someone tries to send a message about the city under attack. It seems as though a new wave of monsters appear just as the last one dies down.

It's with a sudden jolt that reception on your mobile device returns, but Retrospec appears to be in a maintenance mode where the network is still inaccessible. A quick glance at the date on your phone reveals that instead of the mere hours you thought, nearly five days have passed by and you realize the date is now August 3rd. Upon that realization everyone's devices begin to chime with several notifications and the monsters all seem to pause for one brief moment. Not long after, Retrospec members will also find themselves frozen in place no matter how hard they struggle. The spell on the monsters breaks as they swoop upon these unfortunate few, picking them up in their claws, hands or mouths. A large swirling portal opens not far away and one by one creatures dive straight through the portal with the Retrospec users.

These portals may spit you out anywhere in the city, but several of them send residents to Peach Beach. Strangely, the monsters are nowhere to be found, but way out in the distance appears to be a creature, swallowing up the ocean in a swirl of waves.

You can try to run out to fight it, but the moment your feet touch what used to be the ocean floor a forcefield throws you back to the sand allowing the ocean to slip away right before your eyes. The moment the last drop is drained, that monster disappears, too.

What happens next? To be continued…

And welcome to the wrap-up of the ReConvention! As Prompt IV says, monster attacks will continue through all five days (July 30th, 31st, August 1st, 2nd and 3rd) and the network will not be accessible to anyone in-game from now until August 3rd when a mod-posted Retrospec post goes live! Please feel free to play with the monster attacks as you wish! You can have your characters escape via glitches in the monsters, or you can fight the monsters and and your character can actually take damage for a real battle (though death is not an option at this time.) We leave that up to you!

Please do not post any threads in this log or in your inboxes set for after this log just yet! We will be setting up August's event via this log and for plot purposes we ask that you refrain from doing anything prior to our Retrospec post on 8/3.

Those who are in Group One or Group Two will learn more about their small-focus teams on August 3rd when your logs goes live.

Please direct questions about this log to the mod comment here. Thanks!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Near the end of Ryoji's fight with the Blue Eyes, Freya rounds the street corner with a kangaroo of all things on her heels, just in time to avoid the dive of a storm bird. It's wings crash against a building and a lamp post, but it raises to the sky again, shrieking.]

[She stumbles to a stop though, staring up at Thanatos and the dragon. This was... problematic. She couldn't fight all of these off with a metal pole.]

[ You can do it, Freya.

Thanatos breaks away from his fight at the sound of that shriek, dropping from the sky to use the momentum to crash straight into the storm bird with his sword— it's the sound of metal on metal that screeches, sword ineffective. Thanatos holds on, keeping close as the magic wells up from between the jaws of his mask, and blasts apart one of the storm bird's wings.

That'll be enough to immobilize it, but only then does he spot Freya and that... kangaroo. It's raining shrapnel; watch out below. ]

[What. The. Shit.]

[Freya dashes to the side to get out from under the majority of the wing, and stops to brace her "weapon" overhead; she's learned well in the last week she has more stopping power that she should, so long as she focusing on actually stopping it.]

[And just as expected, a blue, honeycombed barrier springs around her, her skin shining blue. It doesn't stop the shrapnel, but deflects it well enough and softens the impact. Her skin tingles with that strange relieving effect, small scratches closing.]

[There's a deeper roar, and once the shrapnel's stopped, Freya sprints to the side of the street. The dragon's approaching the clash, and like hell is she standing in the middle of that.]

[But was that metal-faced thing helping her, or was it a coincidence?]

[ Thanatos can't hold off two opponents at once, so he has to focus on taking down the bird first; without one wing to keep it aloft, it struggles to stay in the air and Thanatos can make quick work of piercing its joints and tearing it apart with his bare hands.

He saw that barrier Freya had put up, and much like his own barrier, it can deflect whatever comes at it with little to no harm, so... This makes it easy. He no longer has to worry about anything falling out of the sky and crushing those below. More shrapnel, and the entire body of the storm bird gets thrown down towards the ground. Freya can take care of it, he's sure.

(He's helping) ]

[What kind of hell street did she stumble onto.]

[She raises her weapon into a guard again to trigger the barrier when she sees Creature #3 starting to completely mutilate Creature #1. Freya winces as a large piece more forcefully impacts her shoulder, and a smaller plate goes whizzing by to leave a stinging cut on her other arm, but the wounds soon start to itch and numb, as they always did whenever she brought up the barrier.]

[And then the storm bird drops, wingless. It still seems "alive", though dramatically crippled.
Freya's gaze flicks to the dragon approaching, to the Thanatos to make sure it wasn't making a move towards her, then the flopping mechabird; then she makes a run towards the bird, making a too-large leap to its back.]

[The kangaroo can manage.]

[ It's Teamwork Street. And Thanatos sure is making a move towards her, diving to the ground but with his back turned as if falling— the coffins behind him are spread out to catch the wind and slow his descent, and from its mask come bursts of light magic that he sends straight up into the air at that dragon which holds his attention now.

The stormbird isn't dead through; that's Thanatos' mistake, and even without wings, electricity starts to crackle about it for one last attack. ]

[As soon as she touches down the bird's back, Freya stabs the metal pole, now red-hot as if drawn out of a fire, down between the plats on its neck to what she assumed was wires. She was about to twist it viciously in an attempt to disconnect them when Thanatos' sudden movement startles her, pausing her long enough for the storm bird to complete it's charge.]

[And then everything is pain. She doesn't fall thanks to her muscles going rigid and hands grasping even tighter onto her weapon. When it subsides, Freya has just enough sense to drop her weight, taking the pole with her and twisting the wires inside.]

[ Thanatos' entire body jolts, and for a moment, he thinks he's been hit with the lightning-- but it's alarm that courses through his veins like electricity, the air crackling as he drives his sword straight through the top of the bird's head where it's already breaking apart with the damage Freya had done to it, dissolving into black spores so reminiscent of how Shadows disappear when defeated; it obscures his vision, and for a moment, he debates on changing back into himself to see that Freya is okay.

But the dragon is still up there, and he'd rather not let anyone know who Thanatos is... A compromise, then, taking Minako's idea and using Thanatos as his "proxy."

He speaks through Freya's mind instead of out loud: ]

Freya, answer me if you can. It's Ryoji.

[Freya falls when the bird dissolves under her, still too stunned to make a proper jump. The kangaroo, of all things, catches her with relative ease despite carrying its lumpy bag.]

[The voice ringing through her mind snaps her out of her daze, startling Freya back into awareness.]

What? [She looks around, first, then lets her gaze drift up to Thanatos' imposing form. That... felt exactly like when Bahamut spoke to her.]

[It takes a long moment, but two and two are finally adding up. Minako told her very little, but that one scrap of information clicks into place. Freya's not entirely certain, but her eyes widen a little at the realization.]

[ ...It's exactly what he'd asked her to do, answer him with that "What?" but Thanatos waits there, staring back, hoping to hear something more concrete. After some silence, he tries again. ]

...Okay, so I can speak directly into your mind, but it's a one-way thing: I can't read your thoughts. So if you were thinking something at me just now, you'll have to say it out loud.

[It's rare for Freya to be rendered speechless, and she fumbles for coherent words she shakily gets to her feet, supporting herself with the metal pole.]

...don't sweat it, you didn't miss a thing. Just... startled me, that's all. Thanks, for your help.

Oh... You're welcome.

[ He wants so bad to smile at that thanks, but he can't as Thanatos... Reverting back is out of the question, so Thanatos just shifts from foot to foot, all too keenly aware of the fighting still going on around them, that he can only partly shield Freya and the kangaroo from with the row of coffins on his back like a wall. ]

Are you badly hurt? It looked painful... Can you run?

[She snorts.] Hurt like hell. I'll be fine, don't you worry. [Freya grins a little wryly.] Had worse this last week.

[It's difficult not to stare, but Freya does her best.] You holdin' up?

...I'm fine. I don't really feel physical pain in this form, so I don't mind being hurt.

[ It's the hurting other things that gives him pause, even though that hurting is coupled with saving. ]

What happened last week, though?

Just 'cause you can't feel it doesn't mean it's not bad for you. [It seems... silly to chide Ryoji as whatever he is, but it was still Ryoji, she supposed. She promised Minako she'd look out for him.]

[Damn if this wasn't a surprise, though.]

[She looks up at him with a grin, like she hasn't been fighting for however long it's been.]

Fell out of a tree. Had my ass handed to me by a dragon.

It's fine...? Pain goes away.

[ Dragons though? Aren't fine, especially if they're attacking people, chasing them up trees and whatnot. ]

What happened to the dragon? Is it still out there?

I mean the wounds, genius. [It's chiding, but her tone isn't insulting. Freya steps back to lean back against a building. Might as well take the chance while Ryoji's here.]

Kiiind of. It's complicated. You don't have to worry about him.

Wounds heal too, in time.

[ For him, wounds tend to be shallow and healing very quick, so he shakes his head at the concern. It really isn't something he thinks about anymore. ]

If you're sure... If he's "kind of" still out there, I'm "kind of" going to worry, though.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

JULY EVENT LOG 2.0

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