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

[manufactured]

[That makes both of them, then.]

There should be some sort of side exit that's viable. I would prefer to not deal with the number of creatures that seemed to be interested in the main entrance.

[scythegun]

Ja, that's a good idea. I don't know the layout of this place; do you have any idea where we could find an exit like that?

[Or are we just going to hug the walls for awhile and hope for the best?]

[manufactured]

I was here for a convention, it's not as though I work here.

[...WE ARE GOING TO GET REAL ACQUAINTED WITH THESE WALLS, IN OTHER WORDS.]

[scythegun]

Well, let's follow the wall and see if we can find one, then!

[And here we go! He's sure to look up every so often, just in case. The last thing we need are to deal with more of those monsters. It seems like the coast is clear for right now, but Jaeger's moving quickly just to be safe.]

[manufactured]

[OH BOY we're going to right-hand method our way around this convention center, this is going to be a party - ...wait.]

...We want to look for staff exits and not emergency ones. The last thing we need is having an alarm go off to alert everything in the vicinity to our presence.

[scythegun]

Oh, yes, you're right.

[He hadn't given too much thought to that, though it probably would have occurred to him if he saw EMERGENCY written on the door.]

Well, that would have been a disaster!

[And naturally the first door they come across is an emergency one. Well, thanks for the advance warning!]

There has to be one around here somewhere.

[manufactured]

[...I mean, it's currently time for the stupidest thing he's ever suggested, but.]

Unless you want to try it and pray that they had the common sense to disable them when everything broke loose earlier, I'd hope so.

[scythegun]

[...why are you like this.]

Are you kidding? I'm not taking that chance! We can find another exit; come on!

[manufactured]

I wasn't telling you do it, it was simply a thought.

[if he knew why he was like this he would try to not be like this, okay]

[scythegun]

[well at least you'd try not to be like this!!]

Let's just keep looking, ja?

[Man, how big is this place? There has to be a staff door around here somewhere.]

[manufactured]

...It's possible there's something through the VIP lounge - that would make sense, given the sorts of people that were there that might want to come and go without as much hassle.

[...he knows his because he spent $250 on getting in to the fucking nerd convention, god help us]

[scythegun]

Oh, that makes sense! I wouldn't have thought about that. Do you happen to know where that is?

[...You totally know where it is, don't you. You were totally in there.]

[manufactured]

[Don't be an asshole - ]

...I do, yes.

[shut up shut up shut up]

[scythegun]

Do you, now? That's so convenient! So where is it?

[Is he going to say anything or is he going to let it slide, who knows.]

[manufactured]

Come on, then, it's this way.

[You are totally going to say something later and he knows it, you smug prick.]

[scythegun]

[ :)

Lead on, he'll follow! All without saying a word about why you spent some ridiculous amount of money to get into a nerd convention!!

At least there aren't any monsters around?? You can take comfort in that small fact at least.]

[manufactured]

[L I S T E N...

That said, he doesn't trust the fact that there don't seem to be any monsters around; it's a good thing, surely, but in several ways it's only serving to make him jumpier regarding the potential for something to happen.

...If there's a fucking jumpscare at any point he's going to be pissed off.

However, they do manage to reach the VIP lounge eventually; it's a generally out-of-the-way room, something that was nice at one point but since then looks like it's had something absolutely run through it -

Something like that, even.]

...I thought I was done dealing with these.

[scythegun]

[Oh dear, it looks like something's been through here and ruined your very expensive room at the nerd convention. What a shame.]

What is that thing?

[He kind of wants to kick it...]

Did you fight some of them earlier?

[manufactured]

With a baseball bat.

[IT SUCKED.]

[scythegun]

That sounds fun! Did they just go rolling away?

[The thing's noticed them now and Jaeger steps forward, transforming his weapon as he goes. This thing doesn't look like a person, after all.]

[manufactured]

They're surprisingly resilient, actually.

[He'll remain back and let Jaeger do his thing, however; he'll provide cover fire if needed, but he's here for watching Jaeger vs bear ball.]

[scythegun]

[Considering the last monster was absolutely not fun to fight, he's totally here for this one. The Ball Monokuma launches itself off the ground at Jaeger and he takes that opportunity to slam the back of the scythe into it to launch it like a fucking baseball. It hits the wall and bounces off, though now it just looks pissed.]

Oh, that was fun! Let's try that again!

[oh my god]

[manufactured]

[...why are you like this.

you know what, you have fun? you have fun.]

[scythegun]

[HE'S HAVING A BLAST, THANKS FOR NOTICING.

He'll hit the Ball Monokuma away a few more times before the thing decides it's had enough and rolls at his legs at high speed. Jaeger brings his scythe down on it, effectively taking it out in one shot.]

Well, that was entertaining!

[manufactured]

[.....................

why this all the time.]

Good to know that you had fun, I suppose.

[Just...let him make his way toward the back of the room, the side against the convention center wall; sure enough, there's an exit here that doesn't seem to have an alarm set on it.]

Shall we?