collectedlogs | INTRO LOG #1

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

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[In Connie's defense, people don't usually encourage him to do these stupid things, so this is Felix's fault actually! He has a retort all ready to go, but Felix's second boost is, hm, a lot of a boost, and instead of simply getting up onto the broken bit of wall he overshoots it a bit, losing his balance and tumbling straight into the cursed hole. There's a lot of clattering and thumping that comes with this slapstick comedy, but after a moment:]

Don't follow! I'm perfectly fine!

[And so Felix is treated to listening to more clattering as Constantin gets out of a pile of garbage on the other side of the wall, dusts himself off, and goes to have a look around in here. Only some of the lights seem to be working, so who knows what this place is, but he'll take a little walk over to where the storefront should be— hmm!]

Do come over here, actually! [do not @ him] The doorway appears to be blocked.

[And he is a twig with no boost from this side who cannot move this ancient $2000 personal massage chair to get out of the store the proper way, so please, if you don't mind sir.]

[Maybe Felix feels, like, a twinge of guilt as all of that noise floats back to him—but it's fleeting. So fleeting, because gingerly poking the kicked-in area beneath his eyes lets him know that, yep, this shit is definitely going to bruise. Nice! Love that, honestly.

Plus, like, no one makes that much noise unless they are very much alive, so. So. Felix doesn't bother to ask if Constantin, or to respond with anything more than a grunt of acknowledgment when Constantin so generously offers that information; he crosses his arms, instead, leaning back against the wall as he does his best to track Constantin's progress. Felix can hear him scrabbling about like a little rat...

...And then the little rat asks for assistance. Goddess above, but Felix would totally snort if he didn't feel as though it would hurt.]

Will you make up your mind?

[Something rude to say as he obligingly begins looking for a way up to that hole, because if Felix stands in place for five more minutes, Felix is going to get antsy. Time to invent parkour.

...Or, you know. Time to get creative with his hunting dagger. It doesn't matter; what does is the fact that, after several loud, wall-shaking thumps, Felix can be seen pulling himself up and through that hole. He's not as clumsy as a certain someone, either. After giving the store a quick scan from his precarious perch, he picks a nice, relatively clear place to neatly land on his feet. Ta-da.

Anyway, where the fuck are you, Connie. What the fuck are you looking at. Allow Felix to wander on over to also inspect this dimly lit thing as he swipes his hands together, brushing off gross plaster dust. Ah. Well. Felix is strong, yes, but not Blaiddyd strong—and yet, after giving Connie another brief once-over...]

...Go around, [he mutters, moving to the opposite side of the chair to brace his shoulder against it. Time to use his full weight to shove this thing.] Make sure there's nothing in the way.

[Junk? Treasure? Who knows. Just clear the past as best you can, sir, because Felix will (slowly) push this chair forward—and allow the light from the main corridor of the hall to filter through the dusty glass door, illuminating the counter in the distance. Welcome... to The Sharper Image™.]

[Constantin loiters over near The Chair, but rest assured that he does lean around to raise an eyebrow at the hole in the wall as he hears those many thumps. What the hell is that, bud?

And he does also wave, once Felix is on his feet again and looking for him. Wave, and gesture at the chair significantly, as if that explains everything about the situation. It mostly does, so he has that going for him.]

You're going to—?

[You know, does he want to even offer to help push that chair, after he's taken not one but two dipshit falls in the past twenty minutes? Not even a little. So he cuts himself off with a brief shrug and goes around to do as he's told, nudging a few things out of the way with his foot as Felix starts shoving the chair.

Ah, the glorious reveal of... whatever vibe this store is supposed to give off. He doesn't know. Felix just pushed a chair that looks like it would provide comfort and restraint, perhaps for torture? Comfy torture? It's anyone's guess.

Well, it's time to go Touch Stuff. He is already several strides away as soon as there is enough light to see what he's touching, bye.]

Quite a magnificent find, wouldn't you say? [rummaging.... he holds up a slightly busted novelty item and gives it a very crooked spin.] Look at this!

[useful!!]

[Of course Constantin wanders away the second he's free to. Felix has known this man for all of fifteen minutes, now, and this is another thing he isn't surprised by in the least? And as Felix straightens, giving this too-heavy chair a Look while he considers kicking the corner of it, he feels the urge to tell Connie... to stop. To chill for a bit, because never in Felix's life has Felix felt more like Ingrid.

But no, no. Look at this, Connie calls, and Felix glances over, noting the piles of junk in his periphery—and temporarily ignoring them, because? Oh, shit? Forget the chair; Felix makes his way over to Constantin's side, wide-eyed as he watches this tiny horse stutter to a stop.]

Ah. Many portraits, but... a single horse, [he muses, canting his head to the side to better see the series of pictures. He gets it? He doesn't get it.] The same one. Clever piece of work.

[Enjoy this rare, not-so-grumpy Flex. He's intrigued despite himself, and soon his eyes flick up to Constantin's, brows raising. Another thing to enjoy: his puffed-up under-eye area, which will probably heal in another minute or so. For now, however, it is There.]

Well? Spin it again.

[He's not a horse girl, but he's into it. Somewhere, Rhea sheds a single tear.]

[Yes, come and marvel at Many Portraits, Single Horse... Constantin watches his face as the horse makes its last shaky dash, or more accurately, he watches the spot on Felix's face that he kicked not ten minutes ago, so first—]

Does it hurt terribly? [As he gestures at vaguely the same spot on his own face, then spins the horse wheel again.] Sorry about that.

[Don't refuse his apology, grumpy man. Take it and enjoy this complementary horse spin, a very clever and interesting thing for all of ten more seconds before, naturally, Constantin is idly looking around them again. He has not left yet, but ohhh there are so many things in here to get his grubby hands on.]

What do you think this shop is supposed to be? The ones I saw earlier were fairly obvious in their purpose, but this is all somewhat... eclectic.

[Torture chair? Horse toy? What's the theme.]

[No moving pictures back in Fódlan, sadly. Some magical bullshit, surely, but no cool horses galloping in place—and this also happens to be the one halfway decent thing he's come across in the mall today? It's... nice to stand here for a moment, soaking in something new, but that he kind-of-sort-of understands.

So Constantin apologizing is... unexpected. Felix has all but forgotten about The Kick, really, but as he glances up, catches that gesture—hmm. Nothing to raise a fuss about, and thus he hums in acknowledgment, attention drifting right back down to The Horse.]

Your kick could use some work.

[So, like, apology (dryly) accepted. Appreciated, on some level, but Felix is more than willing to let this moment pass, to continue watching the horse gallop about until it stops once more—and Constantin makes his Point.]

Doesn't every market have a stall like this? Full of... [One hand goes to his hip as he turns to survey one side of the store; the other comes up to wave about, an airy gesture as he thinks. He doesn't go to the market all that often, all things considered.] I don't know. Useless things.

[Like this thing standing in the corner? No lights, unfortunately, and the water is like. Cloudy, but those colorful fish sure are clumped together at the bottom. What the fuck is this?]

[He'll practice kicking Felix in the head in roughly a week's time, worry not. For now he will consider that an apology accepted enough, since it is time to touch things.]

Curios? Knickknacks?

[He's going over to peer at the fish tower, and after a moment, press a finger to the top of it and give it a gentle shake. This does nothing to the water that isn't disgusting.]

I suppose the oddities make this one less likely to entice looters than the others.

[Looters... like themselves!! No, but he trusts the other people in this mall maybe 2% and so a store full of seemingly useless garbage is a safer home base than the ones full of clothes and helpful household goods. No one will want to be in here except losers who like horse movies!]

[Wastes of time, Felix almost says, but—nah. He'll bite his tongue as he watches that water slosh about? Consider Constantin's words as he turns to survey the opposite side of the store. Junk is useful, in the sense that much of it can easily be broken down into other things.

But that requires skill, so. Constantin is right, even if Felix hasn't—well, he hasn't avoided thinking about being trapped inside this mall for the foreseeable future, but something, something, thinking about where to sleep makes it real. Funny, really, how one spends five years fighting a war, and then just after it's won...

...Pfft. Felix kicks at a very small something, sending it skittering across the floor before he makes his way back to the counter.]

They'll find it soon enough.

[Very optimistic, Felix! A regular bundle o' joy, really, but as he ducks behind the counter, pushing through stacks of ancient flyers he can't read (weird?) and colorful stickers and who knows what else:]

Planning to stay here?

[Well, he's going to stand here and shake this fish tower a bit more, before he turns to start picking through the perimeter of the store while Felix goes through the counter.]

Some wandering miscreants simply finding it isn't necessarily the problem...

[He lifts the corner of some kind of soft-looking shape that was once a pillow, and it flops lamely back down in a puff of dust. Ew.

Well, he'll have to go back for his bundle o' department store wares, but-]

Something will have to be done about the hole in the wall! But it's better than nothing, don't you think? Better than the pile of debris next door.

[When they find it, they'll want to poke through it. Want to take things just to take them, considering how difficult it had been for Felix to reclaim his sword—but Felix peeks over the counter, pausing his sticker sorting long enough to watch Constantin fuss with the pillow. He's familiar with others in this mall, for better and for worse, but this guy...]

The hole in the wall, [Felix repeats, casting a pointed Look to the front of the store.] The chair you can't move.

[It could serve as a halfway decent way to block any, ah, surprise visitors, but that requires someone able to move it. This counter could serve as a decent hiding spot? Or: Felix fought, and some part of Felix will never stop fighting. It's habit.]

...I suppose it's defensible, [he concedes, ducking back beneath the counter.] If you're not alone.

[The pillow is too dusty to be saved, he decides, and looks around this pillow display to see if there are any more in some boxes. He's learning how Mall Shops work, slowly but surely. Packaging...

But oh? What is this? He looks over his shoulder at the shape of Felix skulking behind the counter, considering. No reply comes for a bit, while he pokes through some more things, until eventually:]

And who is going to stay and be my bold and valiant guard?

[Because, okay, the implication that he can't defend the store or himself is rude, but not untrue.]

Can I borrow your hideous and unsettling shield?

[Guarding someone is so... well! Well. There's, like, mercenary work, and there's protecting someone for decidedly chivalrous reasons, you know? The latter is wack. The latter leads to someone depending on someone else when they really should learn to take care of their damn selves.

Or: What a way to word that question. Felix is bristling behind the counter, but then Constantin follows it up with something so patently silly Felix can't help but to peek over the counter yet again. Enjoy this Flat Look.]

"Unsettling?"

[That's his Relic, don't insult it!!!! Jk, but bruh, it's a shield.]

[Sir, it's a big ugly thing that wiggles.]

Unnerving. Confusing. Take your pick! That isn't a yes or a no.

[What's happening, Felix? Free shield or new roomie? He needs an answer to this pressing matter.

He has also found what was once kinetic sand (tm) and now is just kind of brittle squished shapes, so breaking these is the new agenda while Felix considers this great deal.]

[What's happening is Felix taking his unnerving, confusing shield to whatever store just happens to be next door—except not really. Constantin silently fucks with kinetic sand; Felix silently rummages about the last shelf before his fingers close around something decidedly not paper-y, and thus there's a pleased noise from behind the counter before Felix finally, blessedly, stands... and slaps this bad boy beside the register. Aha. He knows what this is.

(Spoiler alert: he absolutely does not.)

But... right, right. The Question.]

You're not taking my shield. If you find it "unsettling," I doubt you'd enjoy what you'd become.

[He is just sayin'. Anyway, give him a second to look over this store and all its dimly illuminated riches one last time as he considers, like. Dimitri. Sylvain. Dorothea? Two very loud people and... whatever Dimitri is, these days. Hoo boy.

He sure does heave a sigh.]

...Find something to cover the hole in the wall. I don't want to look at it.

[It's unsafe! Anyway, that's a roundabout yes, let him live.]

[Hey quick question, what the fuck does that mean, Felix?? Constantin gives him a Look, perturbed, and makes a mental note to put that shield somewhere in this Sharper Image that is as far from himself as possible. Forever. It's ugly and spooky.

That said, it's... hmm. Generous? Practical? It's something of Felix to deign to agree to this not-guard arrangement. Constantin supposes that if he's agreed after getting kicked in the face without making a big deal out of that, he's probably not going to stab anyone in their sleep! Maybe!]

Actually, I have just the thing! Stay right where you are.

[He heads back to the now exposed front door and gets it open with some effort, thanks to the ancient hinges, and then disappears out of the Sharper Image and down the hall forever. Goodbye, Felix. No, he's making a hasty dash back to where he stashed his bundle of Goods, specifically because the bundle is made out of a horse blanket of considerable size.

He holds this up once he returns a few minutes later and carefully unpacks his other items. Check it out. Also, he's back, hi.]

Here you are! It suits that moving pictures toy. [horse......destiny!!!]

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INTRO LOG #1

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