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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[So is he going to like, take that with him too, or...]

Is that how it works? I can't say that I understand anything of couples, but I suppose I could grasp that concept. [That high stress and fear lead to closeness. He may have had a hand in things like that. Multiple times.

His breathing is steadying, even if he feels hyper aware of the stinging. A glance down at his wrist shows that he thinks it might be making his skin red...? His skin is sensitive, but he tries to glance back at Wataru to see if he can gaze at any wet skin from here.]

Do you expect romance to bloom even in a place like this, then? I may be the person criticizing those moments in movies, but I can at least feel that it is nice to grasp this normalcy with you.

[How he can say these things in the same breath casually without thinking it implies anything at all... He's busy looking for welts on Wataru's beautiful skin, but it's kind of hard from this distance. Long sleeves and all...]

[ ...that was certainly a thing Eichi just said.

Well... he's a baby in some aspects. It already feels like it's been days since he's called him that, and yet it's only been a couple of hours. ]

Hmm... I don't know if I will expect it, but I will not be surprised to see it if it does. [ He's stepping closer, but only to place Eichi's half of their treasures on the counter, and then to put the robe away to the side. It looks like this sort of thing will be meant for another time, perhaps another person, even. ] I have already been surprised many times, so I would even say that anything could happen... ♪

[ Now that he's closer, Eichi can see that while it's definitely smeared onto his skin, there's not a lot of redness visible. It only looks like that, though—it's quite painful now, as well as itchy, and more than ever he's eager to finally get it off.

Stepping to the side, Wataru sweeps an arm out towards the doors they've been seeking. ]

Shall we?

[Anything could happen. He hears those words as he inspects Wataru from this close, and he thinks he has to believe it fully. Really, honestly, anything could happen. Isn't that wild? They've entered a whole different world, like this...

He's relieved that Wataru's skin isn't very red, and blinks to look where he's gesturing now, standing up from the counter with a weighted sigh. He's tired, and maybe after all of this time, he can let Wataru see it a little.

Just a little. They're both making their own sort of steps, aren't they?]

Let's. [Eichi gathers up his pile in his arms once more, too worried about being separated from them somehow to leave them behind like he normally might. He has to think differently about this.

Moving forward, the back room is something that looks like it was once used for extra stock that was returned and meant to go back, inventory, and so on. But there is a visible unisex bathroom, and Eichi moves towards it slowly, this time.

Things were certainly rummaged through even back here, but there's a sink...]

I wonder if the water is even running, with how it's flooded and acidic downstairs.

[ His tiredness is noted, but it looks like... they've found what they were looking for. That's a good point though, isn't it? Wataru doesn't want to get either of their hopes up so he hums, thoughtful. ]

Water sources are usually from the ground, aren't they? Well, let's take a chance. [ If there's no water here, they won't be able to stay in the building. It's as simple as that. There's no magic trick in the world that can produce clean water from a poisoned source. ] I can't help but wonder why it was here that we ended up. Was it a wrinkle through time?

[ Well, they may as well go for it. He's reaching for the cold water tap and turning it on.

There's a second where there's nothing, and then... water, streaming out as if it was just another Saturday at the mall. The pipes don't even groan. ]

It may be something like that...

[Setting his clothing pile on the floor right there, he inches closer once he sees the water and sticks his hand forward without warning, to test it himself. Otherwise Wataru was just going to, right? It's the same thing.

But it feels like water. Scrubbing his hands together seems to help get rid of the acid muck, and there's some stinging from red irritation already left behind, but it's much better.

But this is such a small sink meant only for hand washing...]

It seems to be clean water.

[ He's right, it's the only thing Wataru could have thought of to do too... knowing how to tell clean water from dirty water is something beyond what he'd care about in class. If it's even taught in class. Anyway, it wouldn't have been interesting or relevant enough for him to pay attention to or to put any deep thought into.

Then again, he was a tiny bit concerned when he stuck his hand in, just in case. ]

That's quite promising, then. I don't know how long we would last here without it. [ Wataru hasn't even looked outside yet. If the main floor is flooded with that sort of water... hm. ] Ahhh, it's too small for us to both crowd in here, so you should wash off as much as you can while I take a look around out here.

[ The best possible scenario would be finding a bar of soap. The second best would be finding something he can use as a towel. Also... he should probably give him some privacy to change. ]

[The way Eichi looks from Wataru back to the sink shows such heavy reluctance. He'll have to strip down in the middle of all this, wash himself in a bathroom sink, all while dealing with the worry of the floor crumbling beneath him?

But it's not like he has the option to be vain right now. It's more than that. And Wataru is the one who's volunteering to walk around with that burning stuff still on him while waiting for him...

He undoes the first button of his jacket, but tosses one more look to Wataru. He's going to start with his face, but it feels like it'd be easier to just get everything that's burny off of himself first.]

I'll do my best, but try not to stray too far. You should also wash yourself as soon as I'm out of the way.

[ With a bright smile: ]

I will, Eichi! [ And a bit muted, as he's begun to walk away... ] Fufu, you really sounded like you were talking to someone in your family there... ♪

[ Is he going to let go of this "fine is your family now" narrative? Absolutely not. Wataru is even waving at him with his fingers before ducking out, just to really hammer in that he'll be alright. While he's gone, he can even hear him shuffling things around, picking them up and opening boxes, sometimes putting the boxes back if there's nothing of use.

After a couple of minutes, a tiny packet is being shot under the door towards him. It's soap! The... kind, as well as size, of one you'd get in a hotel, or would take for travel, and the corner looks suspiciously chewed on, but he's found it.

In a few hours they'll probably find the showers with actual shampoo and stuff but look, it's like they're actually surviving on their own right now. ]

[Family... He smiles automatically at that, even if the word "family" doesn't mean anything warm on its own. In the contest of fine, of Wataru and the others, it can begin to, and he thinks he's finally understanding that. They're precious comrades, friends, but also more than that...

He feels warm, thinking of that and hearing Wataru shuffle around as he washes himself as best as he can. He even dunks his whole head into the sink and tries to rinse his hair so more of that acid water doesn't drip down onto him. It's when he pulls up from that that he sees the soap, and ripping open that package means he can use it on his face and as much of the rest of him as he can.

He saves half of it on the sink for Wataru, squeezes his hair out as best as he can, and then steps into the best combination of clothing he can find from this pile. Baggy, strange colors, but he makes it work, somehow.

Curiously, he peeks out from the bathroom door, the remainder of his scrounged up clothes in his arms.]

Wataru? I left my stage outfit in there, though I've soaked it to rid it of that acid water enough that we can carry it. [He doesn't know how to properly wash it or anything... He just hopes that was a fair idea? Anyway, cleaned off, but still damp, it's clear his skin is very irritated, some sensitive areas even having a welt or two, but otherwise he's completely fine! It's probably for the best they cleaned asap rather than waiting for showers.]

[ Two arms deep into a box, Wataru looks up when Eichi finishes. He isn't laughing at him, but the sight is... cute, so he can't help but grin at him. It's gap moe. The sight is a bit tarnished by his irritated skin, but the sight of him like is relieving.

He leaves what he was rifling through to the side and comes back over, leaning over to start peeling his shoes and socks off. ]

That's a good idea. That should lessen the chance of it staining, at least. [ He hopes, anyway. The thought of having these outfits ruined is painful—they aren't even their usual ones, but that doesn't really matter. Very little here is actually familiar. ] Aha, I have so much more hair, this might take awhile. Try not to grow bored while you wait, hm?

[ ...this is his way of asking him to not wander away too far, too.

Before he even closes the door, he bunches up his hair and drops the whole pile of it into the sink. It... overflows the small sink and the sight is pretty funny to him, but it won't do to have the drain plugged up by long silver hairs, so he takes it back right away. ]

Fufu... I'll do my best.

[He understands, of course. Quietly, Eichi watches the hair mishap from the doorway before shutting it and slipping away, taking his own time to poke through the returns. Nothing informative... most things are eaten up by rodents or bugs, or are downright useless. Eichi doesn't wander far, spending more of the time sitting than anything else.

If he's rested by the time Wataru is done, then it's probably more useful than poking around this garbage anymore. They can look together once they keep moving.

Or, that's what he thinks before something vaguely familiar catches his gaze. Reaching up to a higher shelf, Eichi nudges a box aside to find the item behind it, pulling it closer. It's...

His Eichi-kun gauge...?]

[ His hair is truly the worst offender here. Though he's quite efficient about it, he still ends up taking a solid minute or two longer than Eichi thanks to the length of it. He feels better pretty quickly, and a quick look over himself reveals no real damage; some redness along the insides of his wrists and the back of his hairline that remain a little itchy, but it's already calming now that he's cleaner.

At least, he's fairly confident that he's got the worst of the acidic water out, off of him, and redresses himself in the nonsense he'd gathered earlier. Including the boa.

It's quite a sight, coupled with his hair a few inches longer and several shades darker while wet over one shoulder. But there he is, opening the door and sidling up next to Eichi to look over his shoulder. ]

Oh, did you find something interesting?

Something from long ago.

[Eichi hasn't even turned to look at how Wataru looks right now, busy pulling the device down and resting back on the flats of his feet as he holds it up to his wrist. Even without tying the band, it registers his heart beat, and a little meter shows 60%. Not as bad as it could be, honestly.]

This is something I haven't carried around since before fine was what it is now. I don't understand how it could end up in a place like this...

[Now, he looks up and over at Wataru, and— oh. Wait, it's so much cuter when he's like, normal water wet instead of disgusting muck acid water wet. His hair while wet in general is a sight he hasn't ever thought about in any detail, and yet...

Eichi's heart rate spikes comically and the gauge goes down 5%. It's probably a coincidence. Who dokis over a clown in a boa, right??? Anyway.]

[ Wataru looks down at the thing, then back up at Eichi. ]

Oh, is it for keeping track of your health? [ He's snooping, peering closer. ] Fufu, it's a little cute isn't it?

[ The clown in a boa is hovering over him now, trying to lift up his wrist so he can get a better look at it. ]

It's strange to find such a thing here... could they be quite popular? Would it be someone else's? Ah, but it seemed to recognize you right away...!

[ Recognize you.......... is a way to put that for sure. ]

I don't find it very cute at all, though that may be because I recognize it entirely. Though there are similar devices on the market, this one in particular was programmed to send alerts to my family and doctor the moment this bar dropped below a certain percent. Because my health was poor, my movement was limited, so...

[He frowns at it, even as Wataru takes his wrist. He can look, Eichi won't stop him even if he did have a heart rate spike.]

The moment something like that happened, I'd be forcibly extracted from the school. It would be nice if the signal were to reach now, but it's outdated, so I'm not sure my parents would even pay attention. I live away from them now, after all.

[ Eventually, Wataru might think something like this is useful. For now, he just looks it over and lets Eichi take his wrist back.

The way he talks about his family... he understands the situation, but it still doesn't bring him any happiness to hear. Now, more than ever, he wants him to remember that the rest of his new family is waiting for them. He can't say anything heroic like "your parents would definitely notice you" after all. ]

Our disappearance has likely already been noted, at least.

[ He's not exactly happy to think that they've left that to the others, under the assumption that those two are not also somewhere here. Still, they were moments from performing. Someone would have noticed that half of fine was gone. ]

But as for your device, unless something happened to it after you stopped using it, I'm not sure how it would end up here. Though, it's not as if we can guess how we got here ourselves, either. Hmmm, it's a mystery once more...

[ But it's especially strange, he thinks, that an item like that would be here as well. ]

Considering the timing of our disappearance, that much must be true, though I hate to think of what happened. The pieces of our memory that are missing, and the thoughts of those precious fans in the audience, let alone our cute Tori and Yuzuru.

To be honest, it's been troubling me.

[He sighs, swiping his hand over the rest of the area where he'd found the watch now that he has it back— but there's nothing else of value here.]

Do you think there may be an exit on this floor? Now that the acid is no longer burning at our skin, we have time to search.

[ Was there? He didn't see any exits, but it's pretty common for malls, isn't it? At the time, he was pretty focused on getting out of the acid water, and they haven't exactly searched very far. ]

Larger buildings such as this often have second floor access to parkades.

At the very least, there should be windows accessible to us somewhere. Perhaps all we need to do is take a look outside and all of our questions will be answered, hm?

[He gathers everything up once more, glancing back the way they'd come in. If they stay around the edge can they hop over easier? Is there a way around? He doesn't even know what's going to end up happening here.]

I suppose that's a good point. I haven't seen any windows in this store, but in the halls of the mall with each store inside, there may be one or two before we run into an exit. Shall we, then?

[ It's narrow and there's gaps, but it definitely seems more sturdy than the flooring they knocked out earlier. Back around the sexy lingerie they go!

Anyway, doesn't this seem more and more like it's out of an action horror thriller? ]

Mr. Zombies, if you are listening~ this is not a very good time to come out and attack us... ♪

[ ... ]

Idol brains must taste delicious, but I will have to ask you to consider other options for the time being... ♪

[ ... ]

I saw a film once where the main characters pretended to be zombies to get past a terrifying horde. [ Shaun of the Dead. It's just Shaun of the Dead. ] Ah, to think that I may have to expand my list of roles with something like a 'zombie'! Suddenly I'm much more excited about this entire thing!

[ ...

It's been too serious for too long, the clown has decided. ]

[He's so used to this that he feels a little bad that he doesn't even glance his way to see what sort of dramatic twirls or gestures he's making along with these exclamations. He's busy walking, moving around the lingerie, back to the hall, thinking deeply.

It is serious, after all.]

Putting aside that this is a strange situation where anything can happen, there hasn't been a single zombie in view since our very loud arrival, you know? I'm worried that if you act like a zombie, the others who seem to be in a similar situation to ourselves may attack you, so I'm going to have to ask that you hold back for now.

[Sorry his dear clown... He's so lost in thought, and now he sees what looks like a window up ahead, wide and shining in from the side, so he picks up his pace a little even if he should be taking it slow.]

[ His quota for attention is still overfull so it's okay— ]

Fufufu... becoming one of the walking dead and being ruined by victorious heroes! There could be much worse deaths. Though you're right, I'd like to live out a long zombie idol life first! [ He is hurrying up, though, matching Eichi's pace and staying in step beside him. ] You've found one! Good work, good work. Now, let us see...

[ It's... warm? Already, the sunlight feels warm and they've hardly entered its glowing embrace. Well, it was spring... but still. ]

[Eichi feels it, as well. Hot, like the window is radiating heat. Is it that hot outside? More than that, the light from the window itself seems off, and for a moment, Eichi wonders if it might be sunset or sunrise.

But as he peers outside, he sees that he's wrong. The entire sky is orange, rather than just the horizon, and the sun is in the sky above, like it's some time in the mid afternoon. There's a parking lot, cracked and worn out and dry, spreading out— and absolutely nothing that he can see beyond that.

No other buildings.

The warmth just from standing in this window is uncomfortable, and he takes a step back in worry.]

Do you see that?

Is it something interesting?

[ As they had approached, Wataru had presumed that it was just sunset—but stepping into the rays of light, he understands now. It's warm on his skin, hot, but it's not burning him through the window.

But from the looks of the outside world, it's... ]

...how fascinating. My first thought would have been the time of day, followed by a dust storm of some kind. But this is quite different. The land out there seems entirely undeveloped, doesn't it?

Let us find another window, Eichi. Perhaps a different direction will yield more information.

To the other side, then?

[Eichi glances away from the window and down the way. There are a number of stores, and then there's a bridge that doesn't seem completely destroyed.

It looks incredibly dangerous, though, viewed from this angle. He can see all of that acid water below it, and how bits of the side of the bridge have crumbled away.]

Either we attempt to cross at one of these points, or we stick to the sides and walk the long way around. I wonder... I'm curious to see the other windows, and I see some that way.

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