JULY EVENT LOG 2.0

[recollecters]

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!

Comments

[sivard]

[He's definitely here for hiding out in the back. It's kind of like pretending you're camping during a power outage.

Only he's doing it with his boss.]

Gotta admit, this isn't how I thought I'd be spending today.

[scythegun]

[When you put it like that you make it sound less fun...!!]

I didn't imagine today would be anything quite like this either! I certainly wasn't expecting monsters...

[sivard]

I can't believe monsters are something anyone would expect, no matter the day.

[scythegun]

Ja, true enough. I doubt anyone could have seen this coming.

[sivard]

Definitely not. And if someone said they did, I'd call them a liar. This is the kind of crap that would be lame even on a bad TV show.

[scythegun]

So it's no surprise that Retrospec's behind all of this then, ja?

[He will never turn down the chance to insult Retrospec, okay.]

[sivard]

Oh, not at all.

They've been behind everything else so far. I wonder if they'll start advertising rewards for people who slay the monster monsters.

[scythegun]

I suppose I can't complain too much about that since I do find fighting monsters fun, but I'm not sure how badly I'd want anything from Retrospec.

[sivard]

If I could just remember how to fight...

Someone who knew me in the past, Sorey, he said I fought with whips. So I think I know how I used pendulums. I'm still pretty sure it involved manipulating them with magic somehow, but that doesn't give me much in the way of a clue.

And I'd probably need something sturdier than an old watch if I'm going to be tackling monsters with it. It's annoying, is what I'm getting at.

[scythegun]

I wish I could help you with that, but I don't have anything of the sort in my shop.

But fighting could absolutely help you regain a memory about it! That's how I learned to fight with my weapon!

[Okay, so he hasn't mastered it yet, but he can fight with a scythe!!]

[sivard]

No old fashioned whips? I'm surprised, Boss, you're usually pretty good at finding things like that.

[But he's probably teasing. Probably.]

[scythegun]

This isn't that kind of store, you know!

[He's absolutely joking around, but there aren't any whips in the store.]

[sivard]

Oh, c'mon, I'm sure someone is out there looking for some weird collector's item.

[But yeah, he figures as much. He'd have seen them by now if there were any.]

[scythegun]

Oh, I'm sure there is! But if you start stocking items like that, people tend to get the wrong idea!

[sivard]

[That earns a guffaw.]

Might be a bit hard to explain that mix-up to people!

[scythegun]

It's not a conversation I'd want to have!

[This would probably embarrass him horribly despite how he's acting, actually.]

[sivard]

[Oh actually that would be really weird, Zaveid has never seen Jaeger embarrassed about anything.]

Nah, it's not one I'd like to have, either. It's why I'm gonna have to think up pendulums carefully. I really don't want to give the wrong idea.

[scythegun]

[It's actually possible to do, it's just very difficult!]

Ja, it'll be difficult to find something that'll work so you'll probably have to make one yourself. What an interesting weapon choice, though!

[sivard]

The only real question is how the heck I used it in the first place. I guess the pendulum would be heavy enough I could have been able to manipulate it back to myself?

Maybe trying to make one will trigger some kind of memory.

[but he's still pretty sure he used magic like a cheating cheater who cheats, so]

[scythegun]

That would make sense, I'd think! It does seem like an impractical weapon to use, but perhaps you'll figure something out!

[sivard]

[Jaeger. Look at this man. Does he look like someone who would use a practical weapon?]

Naah, I don't think it's that impractical! If you're just aiming to knock someone out long enough to get away from 'em, you only need them down for a couple of minutes.

[scythegun]

[Okay that's fair....]

Well yes, I suppose that's true. But it wouldn't be useful against monsters like these, ja?

[sivard]

Nah, I think it would still work-- the idea is to stun them.

[Look at this man. He's so anti-violence he's not here for killing monsters.]

[scythegun]

[. . .]

But they're trying to kill us.

[Why would you just want to stun them????]

[sivard]

I know that but if you knock 'em out, then they can't do anything to us.