recolle | 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

[Tatsuo whacks one of those weird red bat-like things.]

Ugh, yeah. I know how to look around for opponents at my height, but above? I was not trained for this kind of nonsense!

[Clearly, if they all survive this, Fight Club is going to have to take advantage of the high ceilings in the dojo for simulated air attacks.]

Where is all this shit coming from?!

[ Planning ahead already, huh? That's the way, Tatsuo. It's also kind of funny to hear him curse, but that's more that Kaz should probably invite Tatsuo out for drinks after this so they can catch up. ]

They seem kind of like video game monsters.

[ Which, you know, very weird. ]

Maybe someone was going for VR and Retrospec "sponsored" the technology?

[Tatsuo is selective about his cursing. But sometimes, the situation just calls for a well placed expletive.]

Video game monsters. They certainly look like some. I mean... that thing there!

[Tatsuo flips the broom handle so he's holding closer to the end and whips it around as a purple octopus looking thing coughs a rock at him. The broom handle connects with the rock with a satisfying crack. It barely misses the creature as it flies back.]

How did they all get in here? There are so many, but where were they keeping them? Under the convention center?

[ Damn, those are smooth moves, Tatsuo. Kiryu is impressed. He nods, agreeing. ]

Dunno. They could've shown up out of nowhere.... none of this makes sense.

[ Kiryu reaches around for another broken standee. At least he can use it as a shield against that weird octopus. ]

Think they have HP?

Hit points? I dunno... sure they look like video game monsters...

[Still. This rock chucking octopus is just... so ridiculous. But will it act like a video game monster.]

Well. Might as well try. Nothing else seems to be working on them.

[And the purple octopus starts chucking rock after rock at them.]

[ Kiryu has played the Chronicle of Alda, he has an idea. ]

Lemme see.

[ He tries to block and knock the rock back... which would work if the rock was thrown that hard. But it's actually not, so it just bounces off his shield. ]

Maybe we can just throw one of these rocks at it.

It's only fair. If it's chucking rocks at us, I don't see why we can't chuck them right back.

[Tatsuo grips the middle of his staff and gives it a spin, knocking another rock out the way. He then bends down to scoop it up, before winding back to throw it baseball style at the monster.]

This really is just like a video game.

[ That seems to work, if Zelda logic holds true here. The monster is clearly stunned... Kiryu picks up a rock and throws it at it while it's down. ]

[As the monster crumbles into little black cubes, Tatsuo narrows his eyes.]

That... is unique...

[ Okay, when he said it was like a video game, he was not expecting that. ]

Wow, uh... [ What does he even say. ] You saw that too, right?

Little black cubes? Yeah, yeah I saw that.

[Tatsuo looks over at Kiryu, clearly confused by what they just saw.]

There is something weird with these monsters.

I mean... they're monsters. So it almost kind of makes sense?

[ Almost... in the sense that none of this make sense. ]

[Tatsuo stares at the spot where the monster had been a few moments ago... then he waves a hand impatiently.]

Right now there's still monsters everywhere. We can discuss whether they're real or not after they're gone.

Yeah, good point.

[ Kiryu nods, following Tatsuo out of the fray. ]

Let's get out of here.

No argument from me.

[They have to dodge a few more monsters before they can get clear of the convention center.]

Hey, when was the last time you saw Goro?

JULY EVENT LOG 2.0

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