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

[regale]

Fufu, that's right... I was quite a useful little clown this evening!

Or, afternoon, if you'd prefer. I'm not sure of the time, as it is.

[ Presenting, a whole bag of frozen vegetables. A mix of them, carrots, peas, corn. They've already started to warm from his hands, so it's not like holding a block of ice. He's placing on a surface nearby, letting it finish thawing a bit more. ]

Ah, but it is no gourmet feast fit for you, I'm afraid. I also took a quick look around for something to cook it with, but found nothing of the sort.

[glorification]

[Eichi probably has never seen frozen veggies in his life, rather than fresh ones, so he leans over to the package to poke at it. Wow!]

I'm surprised that you were able to find something at all, with the state this mall is in. [Food...

Is an issue, isn't it. It's true that he's weak and will grow weaker sooner, but doesn't that mean that since he'll die so much easier, he should take less priority, rather than more...? Ah, he doesn't want to have this discussion. He hopes they won't have to.]

That reminds me, I was looking around at the stores that are within view here to see where we might be able to sleep, if necessary. It seems as though it's some time in the evening, if I were to guess, but it's impossible to say...

Still, I don't believe that we can leave right now. So, what about that store, over there...?

[Further down and across another bridge is a very bright store that he's pointing at. Pink and purple with a variety of unnecessary items ransacked all over, not with much space... Cl*ire's.]

[regale]

[ They're not going to have that discussion because it's stupid!!!!

He's looking to where he's pointing and... well, it's eye-catching, which Wataru loves and immediately agrees with, but isn't it a bit small? In his mind, Eichi should be the king of a furniture department store, on top of a pyramid of king size beds.

But this is quite cute too, he thinks. He's not going to ask why. It doesn't really matter. Cl*ire's is what the Emperor wants, so Cl*ire's it is. ]

Oh, it'll be easy to find... ♪ Very well, it shall be our temporary home. Our base of operations, if we are still thinking of this as a zombie apocalypse.

[glorification]

Fufu. If only it were to have a mattress, it would be suitable for camping.

[What kind of camping does he imagine? Well, that's not important. He's standing, carefully, reaching to carry the frozen vegetables because at least he can do this much. The water is in his other hand, he's ready for moving after sitting.]

Shall we?

[regale]

[ Neither of them have ever gone camping before, but... ]

We shall! Off to go camping... ♪

[ Maybe he should make them a tent out of blankets and sheets? Then at least they could maybe actually call it camping. Right now, isn't this just like a very sketchy hotel? ]

I did happen to spy a furniture store on the way back, so perhaps a mattress is not so far out of reach.

[glorification]

Oh, do you think so? If any of them seem put together enough, perhaps we could push it this way...

[He thinks he'll help, at first, but really he'd probably just get in the way. He rests the water against his bottom lip as he walks, humming.]

Do you think this is a kidnapping of some sort? It can't purely be some sort of unexplainable supernatural mystery, can it?