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

[ of all the things to find in some crappy rundown mall, leave it to villanelle to find... a pizza flipper?? no it's obviously a sword, but it sure looks like it could flip a pizza. she has no clue how she is going to stab someone with it though, but beggars can't be choosers.

she's currently practicing her Killer Swing Moves in the open area of the playground. more accurately, she is wildly swinging the sword around with both hands. on one such bad swing, she loses control of the swing and the blunt of the blade slams into the rusted jungle gym. a sharp echoing vibration of metal can be heard across the nearby area, and villanelle clenches her teeth in a cringe. ]

Ugh. Stupid sword. [ she mutters to herself with a huff. might be more trouble than it's worth. ] Who even makes a sword like this?

[Felix has a rather, ah, tenuous relationship with Fraldarius family heirlooms? Useful as they are, there are times he thinks he'd rather lock them all in the armory and scour the land for every weapon Zoltan forged—but of course Felix appreciates them, to some degree. Faerghus tradition so often rubs him the wrong way, but his family is still...

...Well! Well. Let's just say there are no warm and fuzzy feelings as Felix exits a store he's been poking through, drawn out by that loud clang—and spies someone waving a familiar sword about. A very familiar sword. Not his favorite, it's true, but still.

Still. Here he comes, Villanelle... a grumpy-looking man stalking right over to you, empty scabbards hanging from his belt and a fierce scowl gracing his face.]

Are you trying to lose an arm? [Goddess above.] Put it down.

[Grip: wrong. Stance: wrong. Ma'am!!!]

[ her head jerks toward felix as he scolds her, her hands gripping the hilt tighter. in a rush of panic she lifts up the sword and holds it in front of her, using it more like a shield than a blade. finders keepers nerd. ]

Back off, I'm not afraid to use this!

[ a sword is just a really large knife at the end of the day, right? right. ]

INTRO LOG #1

wildcard, sword times

closes my eyes and prays for them both

dw never gave me a notif for this, shuts eyes