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

⟪ She listens to the explanation, and there's a tiny part of her that is relieved when he picks up the vest, because that probably means he's actually physically present and she's not just. Making him up. ⟫

It's practical.

⟪ Unlike her smeared lipstick, which is a statement unto itself. ⟫

Don't you want to be prepared? This – ⟪ a nod towards his vest ⟫ – isn't going to shield you in battle.

You expecting a fight sometime soon?

[He shrugs.] Anyway. I've got my own ways of dealing with confrontations. And right now, I'm more worried about food, water, and a place to sleep than anything else.

[Abbacchio motions to her.] C'mon. Just pick out some clothes. If you're really bent on it, we'll have a look at a sports store if there's one here. Maybe you'll luck out. But you should have something to wear just in case you don't.

⟪ Her look is answer enough: of course she is expecting a fight. The only other option is intrigue, in which case armour is useless but would make her feel more like herself.

He's got a point though: every field guide says the same thing he does. Food, water, shelter, especially if there's no indicator that their stay here is temporary. The logic of it almost makes up for the fact that she isn't at all sure how to react to his verbal nudging, the suggestion that he basically plans on helping her. Before Lo and Li had decided to turn traitor by implying she might not be entirely there, suggestions like these would have come from them sometimes – of course, from a more worshipful, servant-to-princess perspective.

For a moment, she looks like she's wrestling with herself, then she concedes and grabs a couple of shirts that look vaguely okay to wear. Red and black. Works. ⟫

Water first. Thirst kills quicker than the rest.

⟪ If you're a firebender who doesn't have to worry about warmth. But before she's fully ready to follow him out of there: ⟫

You haven't introduced yourself.

Too true. We'll see if we can find some bottles of water or an actual source.

[Right now, he doesn't really see any problem lending a hand. She's a weird kid, but he's honestly dealt with some wild teens before, so he doesn't feel off leading her along to see what they can find together. Maybe she'll luck out, maybe not, but it's not like he has anything else to do.]

Yeah, well, neither have you.

[But he doesn't leave her hanging for long.]

Leone Abbacchio.

I outrank you, Leone Abbacchio. The lower ranks always go first.

⟪ Duh. At any rate, she doesn't seem to be considering this a particularly insulting thing to say. ⟫

I am Azula, crown princess to the Fire Nation. ⟪ A pause. ⟫ Well. Fire Lord, about to be crowned.

⟪ That seems to agitate her, and she shakes her head as if she's blending something out. ⟫

You outrank me, huh.

[There's a grave pause to that, because to him, that could mean something.

But when she mentions the shit about the Fire Nation and whatever, Abbacchio barks out a laugh, almost dropping his bag.]

Oh, shit. My bad. I should've guessed, this whole thing is a game, right? What do they call them... a LARP? Sorry, Your Flaminess, of course.

A game?

⟪ The whole thing – the laughter, the implying that she's just a child at play – makes her so furious she's almost yelling at him. Which doesn't really sell the seriousness of the situation, especially considering the fact that she basically only reaches up to his mid-riff and that her voice goes up awfully high when she's upset. ⟫

You'll never meet anyone more powerful than me in your entire life and you dare say I am playing?

⟪ Yeah, definitely yelling now. The entire family is like this, except for Iroh, who probably was like this at some point. ⟫

I know one person who's more powerful than you.

[Abruptly, Abbacchio's tone is flat and cold, distant in a way. He's scowling to himself, yet he completely means what he says to her. In every sense of the word, he knows one person stronger than anyone else quite horribly.

But anyway, he's back to teasing her, sorry not sorry. Thankfully, his tone is back to being playfully mean.]

Anyway, it'd explain why you want "armor" and the color coding. I figured it was just a fashion choice, but-- Fire Nation? Wears red and black? Should've guessed it. Fire Lord, though, that's a nice title.

⟪ In-ter-res-ting. Someone more powerful is either a direct threat or an opportunity to make herself more dangerous, so he can absolutely tell that he's got her attention ––

except he goes back to the game thing! ⟫

It's not just a title. ⟪ She says it so fiercely, it's as if she's trying to convince herself alongside him. Her father has given her full responsibility, and not only would she show him, she would show him that –– that what? He's made himself Phoenix King. He handed a title over, but how much would that mean once he is back in the palace himself?

And what of her brother? He's dead. He's dead. He has to be dead, because if he's alive, if she doesn't manage to get back in time and off his water peasant friend and makes sure he's dead - she doesn't know what will happen then. She bunches her hands up in her two new shirts, keeping them from shaking.

Then, there's a thought. ⟫

Do you know what a firebender is?

Firebender?

[Abbacchio looks thoughtful for a moment, then glances over his shoulder at her.]

Sounds like a bender, but with some spicy drinks. Yeah, I've probably been on a few firebenders myself.

[No, he has never heard of a firebender, clearly.]

⟪ She looks at him like he grew a second head. Honestly, she thought her brother was infuriating, but then she met Leone Abbacchio and learned something about the world. ⟫

You... don't know. ⟪ Somehow, that seems to please her. ⟫ Good. Watch.

⟪ Actually, this isn't super convenient, because she's got both hands full of shirts, but she can twist where she stands and kick the air, sending a blast of fire across the store. The flames burn bright blue and decimate an ancient display in seconds, and she kills the fire as swiftly as she created it with nothing but a deep breath and a gesture made towards the ground, using her hands. ⟫

That is firebending.

[Ah. Okay. Abbacchio does go still and peers at the fire, frowning thoughtfully to himself. All right, that definitely explains "firebending" and might put the whole Fire Nation aspect matter into perspective for him.]

All right, then.

[Not the work of a Stand? Not impossible, but--]

I still don't give a shit if you're a princess or whatever. But I'll buy your Fire Nation thing.

Fine.

⟪ It feels like a bad trade, but honestly, she needs water more than she needs him to bow right this minute. That can happen down the line, and at any rate, no longer telling her she's playing a game seems to have... given her some level of self-control back. ⟫

Let's find water, then. That black sludge can't be the only option.

[Firebender. Wild. Abbacchio is still turning it over in his head. If she gets pissed off and sets him on fire, it'll be a bad time, but he can't imagine it'll hurt worse than when he tried to step outside.

And she still isn't terrifying to him. Few people could be.]

I doubt it. I haven't had a chance to look into it yet, but I think there's a gym here. If there's a gym, there are showers. Might be worth seeing if there's running water, and nothing like a hot shower to make you feel like a human being again.

⟪ 'Running water', at least, made some shape of sense to her, and the implication that there's a good chance of finding hot water was even better. ⟫

A steam bath would be nice.

⟪ She looks at her long, finely manicured fingernails. It'll take ages to get that black filth out from under them. ⟫

Lead the way, then.

All right. Water, then maybe we'll luck out at the sports store for you.

[He isn't too sure that they'll have baths, but they could probably make something work. In any case, he's not going to bitch about having running water, if they're that lucky. He's not that optimistic, but it's worth checking.

The mall is large, but he remembers some of the layout; he'd passed the gym on his way over to find clothing, and he does indeed lead the way. Eventually, he tells himself, he needs to do a proper investigation of the mall when he has a moment. Preferably alone. There's no telling if he's the only Stand user around here or not, and he doesn't want to make the risk of revealing his.

They make it to the gym through the amazing scene transition! Abbacchio pauses for a moment when they're inside, then he points toward the end of the gym.]

The locker rooms. We should check over there. You need me to hold your hand over to the ladies' section?

I don't want another mall-hopper to try and eat me.

⟪ She keeps the fake-fear up for a moment, before gracefully (mind her pointy yet steel-toed shoes) stepping away. ⟫

My father named me sovereign of a country. I'll be fine.

⟪ And with that, she's out and away, to examine the mysteries of the locker room. Mostly, it's kind of gross, but she does find strange metal fixtures in separate little compartments – could this be the famed showers?

Azula does what any overly self-confident person does when faced with a mystery button: she presses it. Presses it while standing right underneath the showerhead. Lucky for her, the water is clean, unlucky for her, it's both extremely cold and severely unexpected, so if Abbacchio is still in hearing range, he'll be treated to a truly piercing girl-scream.

If he decides that she might need help, he'll find that... well, he's not wrong. In her effort to fight the sudden attacker (water), she's aimed for another fire-kick – only to slip, kick a hole into one of the thin walls, and get her foot horribly stuck in it in one fell swoop.

Help. She's drenched, the water's still running, and everything is pretty much awful. The only saving grace is that she had enough foresight to leave her new shirts on one of the locker room benches. ⟫

Works for me.

[For his part, Abbacchio smartly stays at the side as he lets the water run, and he's pleased to see that it's actually surprisingly clean. That's... pretty bizarre, considering everything else that's going on, but he's also not going to complain about it. As he lets it run, he doesn't get very far in his shower adventure before he hears Azula shriek like she's dying.

Fortunately still dressed, Abbacchio books it from the men's side and comes into the ladies' locker room.]

Azula, what--

[Oh. Okay, this is just hijinks, not a life and death situation. Abbacchio's expression goes from concern to the familiar flat in an instant, and he approaches to help her out, starting by turning off the shower.]

How the hell did you even manage this? C'mon, let's get your foot out.

⟪ She is practically breathing blue flames, though she seems to relax somewhat when he appears and tears her out of whatever mental fog has taken over a moment ago. ⟫

I thought it was that water peasant.

⟪ All told, a moment ago, she had fallen in a way that she was certainly would lead to a nasty bruise, but as time passes, so does the pain – odd.

With some shifting, she can get her foot free – the stupid pointy-toed shoe had hooked right properly into the hole. ⟫

Don't you dare laugh.

Wasn't even considering it.

[He holds out his hand for her if she wants a hand up, but he isn't going to grab her or whatever. That's her business.]

So there are waterbenders too, huh. Should've guessed.

Anyway. I can show you how to use this if you want.

And earthbenders. And one final airbender.

⟪ She shrugs, more focused on the shower business. ⟫

I suppose the button makes it... go. ⟪ Scientific terms. ⟫ But the water's ice cold.

Great, you know how to push buttons. We got that down.

[Standing up, Abbacchio taps his finger by the dial.]

Red for hot, blue for cold. You might not want to crank it all the way into red, but hey I'm not the boss of you.

⟪ She nods. ⟫

Fine.

⟪ And now she should, of course, dismiss him. Except he did come to help her, which is...hm. He must have some ulterior motive. And sure, he had even offered to help her stand, entirely without being ordered to. And he'd explained this shower business.

It's a bit as if he's watching her battle some inner demon, but then, she touches the palm of her hand to her fist, the sign of the flame as a show of respect, and says: ⟫

... thank you.

⟪ Traditionally, the gesture would require her to bow, and, you know, raise her voice beyond a mumble, but honestly, that might be enough to kill her right now. ⟫

I'll see you afterwards. You could really use a shower. ⟪ Okay, now she feels better. ⟫

[If nothing else, he does seem to recognize that she's trying, that she's showing respect and gratitude. Likely not fun to be humbled when you're royalty, he expects. Abbacchio nods his head, deciding to not make it a big deal.]

Yeah, well, that goes for both of us.

I'll catch up with you in a bit.

[And he'll see himself out, 'cuz it's shower time finally. Thank fucking god.]

⟪ When they reconvene outside the locker rooms, Azula is fully dressed and dried off – firebending does have that perk. She isn't altogether comfortable in the t-shirt, but it's not covered in black muck, so there's that.

Her hair's a mess, though. She combed through it with her fingers but that only really takes you so far. ⟫

Let's find armour.

⟪ Squint. ⟫

What does a sports store look like?

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