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

[lifespanned]

[ Wow, this guy is totally talking like he's in a weird European period drama... what's his deal. A method actor?! Her imagination runs wild for a few moments. She frowns, but the tension in her shoulders bleeds out as he goes on, eventually deciding that he probably didn't really mean it - it's as he says, he's probably just scared the same way everyone else is. ]

It's fine... just be glad you didn't actually hit me! Or I'd really have gotten mad.

[ It's said with a pout, because she's just trying to make light of the situation so things can be not tense - she's got enough stress on her plate right now. Only now does she realize that he's glancing between her and the umbrella, which makes her eyebrows tilt up even more. ]

...But, anyways, aren't you going to close that? It's bad luck to open those indoors.

[takeroot]

[Ten points to Constantin for diffusing a situation? He'll give himself that credit, yes. He gives her a sheepish kind of smile, still apologetic, while he looks down at the... mysterious undercarriage of the umbrella and stares at it.

Well, it's a lot of metal sticks, for sure.]

Is it? You don't say.

[Still looking...]

I have no idea how to close this, actually.

[lifespanned]

[ As quick as it had come on, her annoyance just melts away, tilting her head curiously at his remark. She's a friendly person - so she wants to help if he means no harm. ]

Oh. Is that why you haven't? It's pretty easy. [ Stepping in a little closer to peer around to the umbrella's handle, she points out the knob resting below all that spindly metal. ] You just hold onto that and pull it in.

[ But.... ]

Do you not live where there's rain? I thought you might be from Europe or something.

[ it rains a lot there.. right!! ]

[takeroot]

[Look, there's a lot of this spindly metal and he's been futilely pressing the release button for a while now, hoping it will just suck the whole thing back in. Sadly, this umbrella is not quite that luxurious, so ah... The metal core.

It does in fact start to close when he pulls on it, and don't judge him too much for looking impressed by this, thanks.]

I was worried I might break the entire thing! It looks exceedingly delicate for something so simple.

[Anyway, now he can keep this umbrella forever. Yaaay. Where is Europe.]

That said, I am from Serene, capital city of the Merchant Congregation on the continent of Gacane. Nothing in this entire building means a thing to me, so I imagine none of that will mean a thing to you, yes?

[lifespanned]

...Wow, I thought you might be joking, but you're totally serious! You're right, I've never heard of that place.

[ Is it possible this guy is from some random capital city in Europe she's never ever heard of? Well - it would have been, if he hadn't mentioned how none of this means anything to him. Everywhere has malls. He could be from another world entirely! The idea's not so crazy to her - the Shinigami Realm exists, afterall. ]

But you don't have to worry! I know everything about malls— or, um, "buildings" like this. [ She gives her best reassuring smile. ] Maybe you're lucky you ran into me!

[takeroot]

[Ah, she's suddenly so confident after freaking out at him a minute ago... Well, he'll take that over the freaking out, so great!!]

Perhaps I am! Then, O Expert, will you lend me your generous guidance? I am in your care!

[Only about a third of this is totally earnest, in his defense. He gestures with the now closed umbrella, in... a direction! It doesn't matter, he doesn't know anything about Malls.]

What is that over there?

[It's a water fountain.]

[lifespanned]

Hee hee. You can count on Misa-Misa!

[ His theatrics (or what she thinks are dramatics) only serve to energize her own, and she laughs a little, charmed by his question. ]

That? That's a drinking fountain. [ Walking over a few steps to it, she presses the button on the center of it, and clear, clean water comes up from the spout. ] See?

[ She lets go of the button so it'll stop. ]

Malls have these so people can drink from them. I mean, I never usually did, because I could always just get bottled water from somewhere, but... for now, it's probably good that these work!! It looks okay to drink.

[ It's said with a little question in her voice, which is probably not too convincing, but she can't help but be suspicious of dilapidated mall water. Even if it does look okay! ]