INTRO LOG #1

[collectedmods]

INTRO LOG #1

Welcome to Collected’s first Intro Log! The information we’ve provided about the setting is not exhaustive - feel free to interact with the setting as you see fit. Rather than have specific prompts, our event posts throughout the game will generally have information listed out like this and players may come up with their own prompts.

If you have questions about the setting or the intro log, please ask them HERE in the comment thread! And most of all, have fun, shoppers.

PROMPTS

The first thing anyone does is gasp for air.

It’ll feel like the first breath you’ve taken in years. That’s right; before you can even become aware of your surroundings, the most immediate thing they’ll process is that you’re in water. Foul smelling water - like rotten eggs and decay. It’s pitch black, and you’re swimming in it with only your head above the surface. If the smell doesn’t deter you, the longer you stay in will; the water stings to have on your skin, chemical in nature.

So - you need to get out. This water can’t be okay to stay in. Once you’ve gathered enough about your surroundings, you’ll see that you’re inside a mall, of sorts. There’s a large (non-functioning) escalator in front of you that will lead you to the semi-safe havens of the second floor - but be careful, because everyone’s going to be gunning for that only exit.

» Once on the second floor, exploring will lead you to a few notes of interest: Long windows and tall glass doors show the conditions outside. The sky is a burnt orange, and there is a thick sort of fog on the horizon. Nothing for miles in every direction - just an empty parking lot, completely devoid of life or any sign that anyone has come across this place in many years. Even so, you’ll find the windows and doors unlocked, so getting outside is easy… the problem is what’s out there.

A trip outside will make it instantly clear why you see no life outside the mall’s walls: exposure to the radioactive sun outside causes your skin to bubble with welts, and the thick, toxic air of the outside is impossible to inhale without keeling over. It’s blistering hot, too. Even non-organic creatures would melt or be eroded by the sun’s radioactive qualities. One thing is abundantly obvious: you cannot survive outside. Not now, at least. Those who receive a burn or other damage from the conditions outside will discover that strangely enough, upon returning inside the mall, the wound begins to heal up on its own. Slowly, and extremely painfully, but it’s healing. That’s strange…

» Another thing of note is that there’s a food court on the second floor. There, you’ll find a variety of abandoned restaurants that have varying amounts of non-perishables inside - canned vegetables and preserved meats, as well as dusty old jars of sauces and the like. There are a few walk-in freezers with hefty locks on them, but if the locks are broken or picked, there’s actually some frozen rations, as well! Many of them are not labelled, so the dining experience will be pretty hit or miss. None of the stoves or cooking appliances in the food court work anymore, either, so you’ll have to get creative when it comes to cooking up these ingredients. (Or just, you know, eat them cold.)

» Throughout the mall’s bathrooms, water fountains, and gym showers, you’ll find that all the water in the mall is suspiciously clean. Like, way too clean to be normal in a place as run-down and clearly abandoned as this. You’ll find that toilets flush completely fine, and shower water heats up (eventually). Should you be grateful, or concerned?

» There’s an electronics store on the second floor, as well, along with a internet cafe. Should you try to turn on the computers in the internet cafe, you’ll find that it only opens to the same forum page: a site called Mall Watch. It’ll prompt you to make an account and password if you try posting to it. In the electronics store, you’ll also find that any phone you forage for and try to boot up will also only open up to this forum page. Weird!

» If you’re looking for a place to sleep, the department stores of the mall still have a variety of furniture sets collecting a lot of dust. Then again, no one’s around to tell you where to sleep - and maybe you don’t trust all these new faces you arrived with. If you’re okay sleeping on the floor of a random store, more power to you.

» You’ll probably want to do something about your clothes that were stained by the black water on the first floor.. try foraging for some clothes! Looking around, you’ll find that some clothes stores have some stock left over, though everything’s generally a mess in clothing stores - it’ll take you some time to find anything that’ll fit you. Looking around enough on this second floor, you might end up stumbling across some of your own belongings or clothing, or those of your peers.

More than anything, the longer you explore and scavenge the mall, you’ll recognize how eerily silent it is. If not for you and your peers here, this place would be totally desolate. Clearly, there’s no one around for miles, and as far as you can tell, you’ll only be able to survive here for as long as the supplies here last. No one’s coming to save you - no one even knows you’re here. In every sense of the word, you are alone.

For now.



NAVIGATION

Comments

[globs]

i. come up out da water
[ this may as well be a nightmare come to life for Cinnabar. There is no first gasp for them; their head is above the surface for only an instant before they sink into the blackness, heavy body dragging them down. Did they fall from the cliff they call home into the sea below? It's the only reasonable assumption they can make; they run with it, scrambling with single-minded instinctual panic towards the land they thought they'd glimpsed before their inclusions blink out in the darkness.

It takes them longer to emerge than the rest. Anyone still around will be audience to a bizarre sight - a figure, just slightly too slender and delicate to be human, emerging onto the broken-down escalator with weight that makes the old machinery groan in displeasure beneath them. The light that reaches down to them is magnified tenfold by red skin and hair that reflect it in every direction like a polished gem - and, indeed, that's exactly what they appear to be made of. Once Cinnabar's managed to breach the surface, they scramble with surprising quickness to the top of the escalator until they're far enough away from the water to catch their proverbial breath.

And that's where things really become nightmarish, as they realize the world around them is entirely alien. Their eyes become wider and wider with fear as they pass by each element of the setting, none of it recognizable to them - and the moment they notice someone else there, looking at them, they startle like a stray cat, sprinting in the opposite direction with a strangled yelp. ]

ii. makin pretzels

[ after that, Cinnabar's pretty hard to find in the mall... but, obviously, they haven't gone anywhere. Internally, they're aware that they should be exploring more, trying to make sense of the bizarre situation - no, the bizarre world they're suddenly in, all broken stone and flooding and rotten fabrics. They've never seen anything like it. But the truth of the matter is that they're overwhelmed. They like to think of themself as an adaptable gem - one who can get accustomed to anything, given the time, and perhaps they can get used to this, too. Change, though, is the boogeyman of their immortal kind, and when this much is thrown at them at once, Cinnabar is no different. For all their pragmatism, the stress and outright fear coursing through them wins out, at the end of the day, and they do not explore at all.

No, they take shelter - they seek out normalcy, which, as it turns out, is in short supply. Eventually, though, they find something like it in a musty bag at the edge of the food court. In what looks like an old pretzel bakery of some kind, tucked way into the back corner of the kitchen behind the counter, Cinnabar sits with a torn bag of flour, and appears to be... spreading it on their crystalline red skin. If it weren't for how shiny they (and the mysterious blobs of silver something-or-other that hover in the air around them as constant companions) are, they probably wouldn't be noticeable at all. ]

iii. wildcard!

[ HEYO. Cinnabar's items are as follows: an old wooden clipboard with a lot of blank pages stuck to it (the final page has a big black handprint on it) and an empty wooden box about the size of a shoebox! Both of these items are pretty rustic/homemade-looking and will probably stick out. Feel free to find them! Or do any other scenario - Cinnabar will be mostly hiding and listening to other characters from around corners like a peeping tom. (You can PM me if you want to figure out something specific to do, too!)

ALSO. i have no idea if any characters would try, but just for the record, Cinnabar is harmful to the touch and will corrode the skin/whatever of anyone who touches them. ]

( i )

[regale]

[ Once he's made sure Eichi is settled somewhere, Wataru's returned to the "entrance"; he'd been with four, yet only the two of them had arrived, so periodically he's been checking for the other two.

In this case, this person is nothing like the two he seeks—and is another thing entirely. This is probably one of the most breathtaking people he's ever been blessed to meet and yet—

Oh. There they go, yelping. There's not many things Wataru hates, but accidentally surprising someone, rather than doing it on purpose, is up there. ]

Wait, wait, I didn't mean to startle you! Forgive my surprising appearance, this clown has been in a state of disarray ever since arriving...!

[ PLEASE COME BACK, FASCINATINGLY SHINY PERSON. ]

(keanu voice) YOU'RE breathtaking

[globs]

[ fascinatingly shiny person is fuckin out of here, man. They're surprisingly fast for how heavy their footfalls sound, and they don't stop, even when they hear a voice calling after them.

That wasn't a gem. A Lunarian? It didn't look like any Lunarian they'd ever seen before, but their appearance would certainly be an explanation for all this. Ironic - they've finally been taken to the moon, just like they'd always wished, but now, they find themself wanting to go back home. They hate it here already.

Luckily, for all their speed, they don't make it very far in this unfamiliar terrain. After rounding the corner, there's what sounds like half of a what?! followed by a very loud crash as they proceed to trip over the shriveled remains of a decorative plant in a broken pot, landing right on their face (and, somehow, managing not to break anything of their own.) ]

[regale]

[ Should he let them go? Perhaps. Is he going to? Absolutely not.

Realistically he probably skipped after them but now that he's crouched down in front of them, it's kind of like he's just appeared right there, looking cheerful as he brings his hands up. ]

He~llo ☆ Amazing Earth to Shiny-san! Come in, Shiny-san! Please respond quickly so that your Hibiki Wataru knows that you are alright... ♪

[globs]

[ how did he get there so fast?! They're only just barely getting to their knees and making sure they haven't got any fractures when he appears, and he sends them right back onto their butt, shoving themselves backwards until their back hits the part of the planter that's still standing. Crimson arms are crossed in front of their face defensively; at this close range, it's obvious that they're shaking.

They've never heard a Lunarian talk, either. ]

Don't -- don't come any closer!!

[ should they attack? It might be smarter if they do; as weak as their body is, their toxin is strong enough to disable anyone coming after them -- but the idea of fighting with this strange creature in this strange place makes them feel sick, and the poison's already leaking out of their eyes. ]

[regale]

Oh, you're alive! I was afraid that you'd died on the spot! Welcome back to life...♪

Now, there's no reason to be afraid! [ At least... he thinks that's fear. Emotions are not his strong suit, even if he's grown to recognize them a bit better. ] See? If Hibiki Wataru is a bit much, you can just call me Watarun! Or Watarin! Whatever is easier for you. Well, "that idiot" and "this weird clown" are also suitable names for me, so I'll stay over here away from you!

[ Hey... isn't this just a ploy to get a cute nickname... ]

[globs]

[ Is there a word for both scared and annoyed? That's how they're feeling, listening to this thing talk. At least it's respecting their space; that offers them the bare minimum of comfort. Their arms stay raised protectively, but they're looking over at him, now, too. ]

Watarun...? [ is that what he is? They've never heard of it. Though their voice quivers, they try to press on. ] What are you...? W-Where is this?

[ where are the others? It hasn't been very long, but they've already grown too used to being around their fellow gems; the thought of being alone again is shamefully frightening. ]

[regale]

[ This is probably not the first time he's been questioned on what he is, to be honest. ]

I am an idol and a magician~ stirring up the hearts of others with love and happiness is my raison d'etre... ☆ [ At this, his hands come up in an excited little wave. ] But also I'm quite human, even if it seems otherwise... so answering the second question is something I cannot do, just yet.

But fear not! As much as I love being surprised... it has become quite troublesome here. So I'd like to find out the secrets behind this mysterious shopping mall as well.

[ He's found Eichi, but where did the others go.......... he's missing his murder machine and his princess... ]

[globs]

[ this may be the worst person to try and get initial answers from, rip cinnabar. Luckily, he says the important word -- "human." Their eyes widen considerably, and they lower their arms - although only slightly. Maybe they know what humans are, theoretically, but they don't know anything about them. ]

Human...? You're a human?

[ that's what they're focusing on, because it's something they can actually understand. What is an idol, or a magician, or a "shopping mall," or a "raisin detre?" They have no idea. Clinging to the one familiar concept that's been presented to them here is all they can do. ]

But... that's not possible.

[regale]

Oh? Is it my hair? Fufu, I have always had this colour, I didn't go prematurely grey or anything!

[ He's lifting part of his hair up, then dropping it like a curtain. It's probably not the hair, even he's aware of this, but in times like this... clowns make jokes. ]

But I am quite human, even if I don't seem to act or look like one. My body is sturdy, but it bleeds just as much as any other.

[globs]

[ cinnabar is not laughing at your joke, clown boy. in fact, they don't even seem to understand. Unsurprisingly, his hair color is not even slightly questionable to someone who appears to have hair made out of red crystal. And also, everything else made out of red crystal. ]

But... [ their brow furrows. ] The meteors... How did you survive?

[ that was so long ago, too - from what they've gleaned, there's no way an organic creature could have survived that long. Does that mean there's a colony of humans surviving somewhere...? ]

ii

[impostersyndrome]

[The good news is that Prompto has learned better than to touch mysterious floating orbs of unknown substances, so he doesn't. The bad news is that they attract his attention toward the pretzel bakery, and as he comes closer to investigate, he notices the shiny... person? They certainly seem person-shaped.

Whatever questions he had about that are discarded when he sees the bag of flour though, and he brightens.]

Uh, hey! You found flour?

[That they seem to be in the midst of spoiling.]

ii

[globs]

[ they jerk just slightly at the sound of his voice, even though they'd heard him coming; by now, they at least understand that these gem-like animals are the infamous "humans," but it doesn't mean Cinnabar's used to them yet. Their hands are absolutely covered in flour, and their face and most of their arms are covered in an even white coat of it, making them less confusingly reflective to look at - their legs are still raw red crystal, and even as they glare over their shoulder at Prompto, they tuck them in towards their chest in some combination of shyness and wariness. ]

... It's not flowers. Look somewhere else.

[ they don't know what flour is so they have to make an assumption that he's looking to go flower-picking or something... ]

[impostersyndrome]

[All day Prompto has been dealing with people who don't know what various electronics are, but this one really takes the cake.]

Not flowers. Flour- uh, you know. For baking?

[What is flour even made out of? Grain? Heck if he knows. But he at least knows what to do with flour, and he knows that it's not cover yourself in it so you're less shiny.]

[globs]

[ shows what YOU know, prompto ]

What are you talking about...?

[ they sound half-frustrated, half-curious - in reality, they're all nerves. They hate talking to strangers even more than they hate talking to people they already know, and their stiff body language belies how anxious they are, in contrast to their cold words and dismissive words. ]

[impostersyndrome]

[He knows a lot, he'll have them know!

That said, Prompto might not know much about cooking, but he can tell when someone's getting frustrated with his presence. Whether it's because they don't like Prompto or don't like people in general, he isn't sure. But he thinks he should probably tread a little more lightly.]

You've never had anything baked before? Like bread, or doughnuts, or cake?

[He doesn't sound judgmental. There's lots of strange people here - maybe baking really doesn't exist wherever they're from.]

[globs]

No.

[ they sigh, glittering eyes narrowing. ]

... Isn't it obvious? That I'm not "human." I don't know about any of the things you do.

[ even if it's not judgmental, Cinnabar seems to have taken it that way; all of this is exhausting. They're tired of not knowing things already. They want to go home. ]

[impostersyndrome]

Oh, sorry. I mean, I thought... I guess I just assumed...

[Okay, so, not all people who are here eat food like humans do. Some don't even know about food at all, or at least not the kind he's familiar with. That's good for Prompto to know.]

Uh, it's okay not to know though! I mean, I probably don't know the stuff you do, so... we're even?

[Does that help? Don't be mad at him, strange glittery person, please!]

[globs]

[ He's so awkward. Cinnabar is distinctly reminded of some of the younger gems. Not that they've talked to them much - but they've seen and heard them enough. Unfortunately, it doesn't do much to temper how they're going to be have towards him. Especially not when they're so entirely stressed out by everything going on. ]

Whatever. It's not like we're competing.

[ they should probably be working together, but Cinnabar is sure that their presence would cause more harm than good around these delicate animals. They go back to rubbing more flour on their arm... ]

[impostersyndrome]

[Ah... and they're back to that, huh...]

Well, back to what I was saying... that's flour, so it's food? It'd be better not to waste for those of us who do have to eat...

[Maybe he can rescue at least some of the flour.]

[globs]

[ oh, now they're being criticized! They glower at him, tugging their half-depleted bag a little closer to them protectively. ]

There's more than one bag... I'm not wasting it. [ running around unpowdered would be embarrassing. People are already staring at them. Case in point: the current situation. ] ... You actually eat this powdery stuff? That's weird.

[ sounding faintly judgmental. ]

ii

[prison]

[ ren just happens to be passing by when he notices a strange scene unfolding before his eyes. ren's secret identity, of course, is a phantom thief— naturally, when he sees something shiny, he would zero in on it. this shiny object happens to be a person- at least, they have the likeliness of one. pair of arms, pair of feet. torso and head. the only thing odd about them is their overall appearance - he notices their red, shiny hair and the floating orbs around them first, then the unnatural color of their skin.

but he's met his fair share of strange characters at this point, especially when he had his entire arsenal of personas. it occurs to him they could be a persona, but he quickly discards that idea. personas don't rub flour on themselves. speaking of.

he lowers himself to a squat not quite near them, but close enough for them to notice ren. ] What's bakin'.

[globs]

[ ren showing he hasn't found the muffin man's mask yet smh...

yes, Cinnabar does notice him coming in; if they weren't in the middle of something, they would have gotten up and left, but they can't stand all the curious gazes directed their way without their powder - it's bad enough that they stand out even with it on. Instead, they settle for shooting him a venomous glare.

They don't know what "bakin'" is. ]

... You tell me. [ is that a proper answer. ] What are you looking at?

[prison]

[ the stare clearly communicates that he isn't welcomed- but that's what ren does, go to places where he isn't welcomed, if the palaces he's explored and destroyed up to this point is any indicator. which is to say, it doesn't dissuade him from moving from his spot; his eyes bore onto the floury patches against their skin, leaning into the palm of his hand.

ren can't tell if they're being cheeky or not... ] I just thought you might need a little help?

[ like applying sunscreen, but this is clearly not sunscreen. and it doesn't even seem like they'll even allow it, if they're already being defensive. ]

Just wondering, but do you know what flour is typically used for?

[globs]

[ being stared at is terrible; they know he has a million reasons to do so at the moment, and all of them are mortifying, as far as Cinnabar is concerned. Their glance darts away again, uncomfortable, and they draw their limbs in a little bit closer to themself. ]

I already know it's not for this.

[ or, like, they have to assume. This place is obviously built for animals who need to eat. Humans, probably, since everything about fits their size. What is flour used for? Actually, what is flour, period? They don't know that, either. They're just grasping for some semblance of control and normalcy. ]