retrospec | (no subject)

Happy New Years, users.

I'll cut to the chase; the barrier we instilled a few months ago is decaying quickly and we're sorting through the new data as fast as we can. This barrier was originally designed to contain a rogue error. There are several of you who have taken care of this issue and from here we will handle the rest...thank you. The influx of data will help us decode our next steps.

As mentioned, we've spent December tracing several magical sources that are coming up in our readings. We're doing the best we can to trace Clarence--Mr. Vanderweele, and corral the effects he's altering in the city. I believe we're ready to tear down the firewall and begin exploring further. If our information is correct, we're really breaking the boundaries of the layers we've discovered lately! It's exciting, don't you think?

The only information I can offer is that we will need you to be strong no matter what happens. We believe things have changed outside of security measures we've set in place, though we will need more data to understand the best way to stabilize the city from his control. We understand if you cannot and do not wish to help, but please know we're doing everything we can.

Please take care.

Joanne Wiseman
Technician 2nd class
Retr

spec Incorporated

Characters' display names are the same as whatever has been previously chosen and are permanently locked in!

Please feel free to use this post as a network mingle. Every toplevel can be considered a new post, and threadjacking is permitted. No NPC response will be given.

As a friendly reminder, you may also claim one of this month's freebie by submitting a thread from this mod post. This thread must be 10 comments from you and submitted before AC closes.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

oh
that's another thing the ghost told me
i thought that bit was already common knowledge
that was like his whole thing in the project
putting up illusion magic to keep all the non-retrospec people from seeing all the weird stuff going on
he's the reason why everyone acts like all the crazy stuff that goes on is just a normal day in recolle

[Derek is seriously wondering when he missed this. HOW DID HE MISS THIS!]

THAT'S WHY PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE CRAP WE ARE TALKING ABOUT? It's done by magic, not some weird scientific chemical thing or what ever?

yeah
i mean
the ghost didn't say that part
that's just what i figure must be going on
but he DID say that vanderweele started infecting it all with bad magic too
that's why cavendish and mahoney didn't just kill him after what he did to spinnato
they needed him around to figure out how to undo the bad magic
except they haven't been doing a good job of it apparently because we're still dealing with it now

Do we know what kind of bad magic?
Draco takes a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Maybe some of the info I have now in my head can be useful???

hang on

[ James sends a link to a video recording of this. ]

that's from cavendish's cottage
i also saw vanderweele's staff fight off the other founders' weapons and animals and then break the retrospec seal but i didn't get a recording of it in time
pretty sure that wasn't literal though, just a metaphor
simile?
one of those
so you tell me what kind of bad magic that is, mr magician

Well, his desire to use "less worthy" candidates as energy is alarming, that's for sure. And it seems he's implying that his magic has limits. He can only do so much with supplied energy. It's his magic keeping the project running... which makes me wonder how is this program still running? Is his spell wearing off and the stored up energy running out since he's not directly involved in the project anymore?

His magic is different than what I'm use to. In Draco's world, there is no power limit, it's more about... mental strength and skill, not energy. Like, you don't just run out of magic in a sense.

i don't think his magic is what's running the project
i think it's just part of it
or he's making it worse with whatever bad magic he pulled off, and that's why retrospec's trying to undo it now
but yeah i guess it's still going, if he's still a problem now

so now you're telling me your magic is too different to understand his magic?
great
so we're no closer to making any sense out of this then

It's not like I've found other who have magic like mine. My magic is apparently some special snowflake here. Besides, I did say maybe the info I have could help.

You might have a better chance talking to someone whose magic is similar to Vanderwheels... IF they even understand their own magical theory that is.

[Why, why does it feel like he's the only one who thinks about HOW his magic works?]

ugh how did i end up doing all this magic research
i don't know the first thing about it, vanderweele's or anyone else's
i'm just a guy with a metal arm, i'm too normal for this

[ Which is not a thing he's ever thought about himself in the past two years, but, well. All this magic crap is a great way to make a guy feel mundane. ]

Probably because you know many magic users. Prices of friendship= magic research.

That metal arm is not normal.

yeah but the arm isn't like TOTALLY fantasy
it's just a really fancy prosthetic
a superstrong one i can control remotely but still just a prosthetic
prosthetics are totally normal

Now that we're on the topic of arms, how did your other self loose it?

it got blown off when i died trying to disarm a launched missile

[ If that sounds familiar to Derek, that's because it is--it's more or less the exact scenario they experienced in one of those shared dreams several months back. ]

Wait... THAT'S HOW?

[As if Derek would forget THAT dream!]

Wasn't I stuck in a dream like that? WE DIED!

oh yeah
well cool you got to witness my death firsthand
more or less anyway, i don't think it went exactly like the dream
but tell me--did i at least look cool?

Cool in a tragic way I suppose.

I don't like dying in my dreams dude.

i'm guessing you DON'T dream about dying a lot, then

Me dying? No, thank goodness. You?