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

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» ONE

[ So, this is new.

Raylan will be the first to admit that he hasn't seen everything — what he's experienced during almost twenty years as a US Marshal is probably peanuts to what's actually possible — but this is still new. Waking up practically drowning in that nasty water was one thing, but once he got himself out and stood, dripping and furious, on dry land, he'd promptly realised that his holster was empty. It's an unsettling feeling to be in an unfamiliar place without his gun, which he assumes he lost in the water. There's no way he's getting it back now.

The second, far less life-threatening problem is his missing hat. He'd been wearing it last he remembered. Another casualty to the water, most likely, since he didn't think to glue it to his damn head the last time he put it on. His boots are soaked through but if he dries them out maybe they're not completely useless, but the rest of his clothes need to be replaced; lucky for him he's in close enough proximity to a clothing store. Ha ha.

His first stop, squelching unpleasantly in his socks since his boots are off and clamped against his side with his arm, is a clothing store. It's strange to be back at zero; he hasn't gone clothes shopping in years, really, but as he's sifting through racks of shirts looking for something that fits he's struck by a sense of normalcy, even if he's still damp as hell and... the rest of it.

He tugs a blue-grey t-shirt bearing a logo he doesn't recognise out from the rack and instantly reaches for the tag hanging from the collar. ] Still checkin' price tags, [ he says to whoever's nearby. It's a habit apparently impossible to shake, since everyone else seems to be taking freely. ]

» TWO

[ Freshly showered and clothed, Raylan's next plan is to see if he can track down anything more useful than new clothes, and then find a place to hunker down. He picked up a pair of work boots that fit well enough, but he's not risking putting his own boots down anywhere just yet in case any of the other enterprising mall strandees decide they really want a pair of waterlogged cowboy boots.

As he's poking through various stores, he comes across a frankly ridiculous hat — there's a feather in it and everything — that he's gonna go ahead and hold onto for Reasons, a funny little knife that he figures might come in handy, and what looks to be a bottle of allergy meds, which he's gonna slide into his pocket just in case they belong to someone here.

His plan, although it isn't much of one, is to head to the food court to dump his stuff and clear his head, maybe get something to eat if anything there looks even halfway edible, and try to scrounge up a drink of something stronger than water. The kitchens seem like the best bet. ]

Any luck findin' food? [ he asks anyone he comes upon. ] Checked out one of the freezers with the busted locks but there ain't a lick of ice cream left in there.

[ It is immediately crystalline clear that he's genuinely disappointed by that. ]

» THREE

[ It doesn't feel good to leave his scrounged stuff tucked into one of the cupboards behind the cash register of a card store. He picked the store specifically because he figured nobody else would have much interest in going there, but it still makes him nervous. It's gonna have to do, though, because his plan — still holding his cowboy boots, which he washed off of all that nasty water — is to head for the doors and leave them outside to dry off, and attempt an excursion himself.

He's barely stuck his arms outside to drop the boots down on the ground when his arms start to blister, and he yanks everything back inside. ]

Goddamn, [ he says through gritted teeth, inspecting the welts. It takes him a minute to realise that his boots had only been held outside for a few seconds, but they're bone-dry. Hearing someone nearby, he lifts his head up and says, ] Don't bother. Unless you wanna get burnt to a crisp.

» WILDCARD

[ what it says on the tin! if you want to find something of raylan's, the stuff up for grabs includes a handgun, an extra clip of bullets, and a US marshals service silver dollar! feel free to just throw something at me or gimme a PP at crowders if you wanna hash something out or ask for something more specific! ]

[ Raylan's set out to work for the day without his hat multiple times, but when it's taken away from him without warning, that's a different story. Even after putting his boots back on, there's still a part of him missing. Multiple parts, actually, if you include the badge (which is functionally useless at this point) and the gun (which is not), but the hat is something else.

Three times now, he's caught himself lifting a hand up to adjust the brim of a hat that just is not there. It's baffling and more than a little embarrassing. So when he sees a young woman strolling by across the other side of the mall wearing a hat that very plainly doesn't belong to her, Raylan's first instinct is to stride right over to her and right this wrong. ]

Miss. [ He stops with a hand on his hip, thumb tucked against his empty holster out of habit. He can't decide if it'd be more of a coincidence if this was his hat, or just a duplicate that looks virtually identical. ] Where'd you find that?

Edited 2020-07-01 23:02 (UTC)

[ Having to talk to anyone when she just emerged from a mass of black water (literally, just an hour ago!) is just the complete opposite of what Lottie's looking to deal with, right now. Luckily for Raylan, Lottie only bothers to turn and face him because he said miss, and not ma'am. ]

What?

[ It takes her a second to think of what she hasn't stolen that's on her person, but after a few moments of thought she figures he might be referencing the hat. The one diguising her still wet hair from her trip to the gym. She adjusts the straps of her dingy backpack, debating on whether he's asking to (definitely) compliment her on her questionable choice in hats, or try and steal it from her. ]

The hat?? [ Sadly, Lottie's not a very smart girl, because she is wholly betting on him saying this corny thing looks cool on her. ] Near the smoothie stand. Right next to the corn dogs.

[ The corn dogs...? Raylan balks, recoiling sharply as if she'd just personally insulted him, and in a way she kind of did. Good lord. ]

Yeah, well. [ His eyes narrow as he takes it in. Same leather braiding around the top, same cant to the brim... Other people are finding their weird shit all over the place. Why couldn't this be his? And even if it isn't, it's close enough for comfort. ] It's mine.

[ Uh, why's he looking at her like that just because she said corn dogs? She squints her eyes in return, suddenly feeling defensive for no real good reason. And then, he accuses her of taking his hat - now she has a good reason to act defensive! ]

Okay. [ Said with a tinge of attitude, ] What makes you think that?

[Constantin doesn't know what a food court is, exactly; all he knows is there was a cracked and faded sign with "food something-or-other" on it a ways down this hall, and so he's made his way down to see if he can find anything worth eating before he resorts to catching spiders for all his meals. His stomach won't be able to handle it, he will expire—

Still, what faster way to sidetrack him than to leave a familiar hat just sitting there? He makes a beeline for it immediately, not certain until the hat is in his hands that it is, indeed, the one he thought it was. There's no reason for this to be here, his cousin is nowhere to be found, so... what is this.

He blinks and looks up from it at the sound of a voice, and oh, hm, well now he's just standing here holding this hat, and....]

No. [...] Where did you find this?

[His tone does not exactly scream "because I want my own," but rather, "the absolute gall." It's probably fine.]

Uh.

[ Weird question. Raylan turns a little, hand on his hip, his eyebrows cranked up. He's been carrying this ridiculous thing around with him ever since he found it, even though he isn't missing his own hat enough to want to replace it with something with a feather in it. For all he knows, this man might own it.

Still. He squints. ]

Found it over there. [ He gestures vaguely in the direction of the Rest Of The Mall. ] Why, is it yours?

It's— yes. Yes it is.

[He holds it a little closer to his chest, careful not to bend the feather too much or dent the shape of the hat. He does not actually put it on, but it's been a long day, so maybe jaunty headwear is too much, emotionally.

(Fact: this is about half of the reason.)]

I am taking it back, and I have nothing to trade for it.

[Which he just sort of... lets hang there; he'd politely give up a can of peaches for his own hat if he had any on him, but alas. He's taking it anyway.]

[Silver has seen several people go outside now, and every time it makes him wince. Maybe he should just set up shop here next to the doors so he can warn people not to risk it?]

-- Ah, man. Sorry. I didn't make it back in time to warn you not to go out there. Is it really bad? Do you need bandages?

[the voice sounds like a teenage boy, but the only other thing around is a three foot tall furry animal on two legs. hm]

[ Goddamn, it hurts like a son of a bitch — but then Raylan turns and gets a good look at who he's actually talking to, and then he kind of wishes it hurt more so he wouldn't have to split his brain evenly between thinking shitfuckgoddamnitthathurts and did that furry animal just talk to me or is this the thing that sent me over the edge?

It makes his face do a funny thing for a second as he grits his teeth, a muscle in his jaw jumping hard. There's no way. Not a bipedal talking animal. Not in this goddamn mall from which there is apparently, evidently, no escape. ]

You're shittin' me.

[Silver tilts his head, his quills flopping sadly like wilted plants]

Not this again... [he stands back up straight and balls his hands into fists] It's fine, I'm a person! I'm just not a human. And I said, are you ok?!

[ The whoever nearby happens to be 9S, who's likewise only dragged himself out of the water a little while ago, and is similarly still damp. That black coat certainly isn't going to dry off quickly, and he's also having to deal with the unpleasant squelching of wet feet in boots; the most peculiar part of his attire, though, is probably the strip of black cloth wrapped over his face.

He hasn't taken any of it off, though. After the ordeal that was fishing himself out of the water and meeting those doing similarly—which has led itself into some pretty shocking news—he's taken it upon himself to do a little searching. Maybe to find out where this is, perhaps to find a clue regarding their circumstances, but above all else there's such a tenseness in his demeanor he doesn't know what to do with himself if it isn't putting one foot in front of the other.

In one... room, 9S can only think of them as, there's shelves and racks all over, but only a fraction of them are filled with anything. When he slows his step, the voice of another man grabs his attention. ]

Erm—

[ ... Price tags? A gloved hand gently tugs at the sleeve of a nearby polo shirt, withered and several sizes too large, imitating the motion, but whatever the numbers mean, he doesn't know. Following his moment of confusion, there does seem to be a flash of recognition that washes over him. ]

... Is this supposed to be a store?

[ At first the question sounds ridiculous, and then Raylan actually looks sidelong at his new pal, which abruptly changes his mind. He smiles, a little sheepish about it, grateful that he didn't come out with a no shit which would've been plain rude, considering.

(He's decidedly not thinking about the fact that it probably would've been plain rude any which way you slice it. Listen, he has a short fuse under these bizarre circumstances.) ]

Yeah, it is. Clothin' store. We're in a mall.

[ Who could blame him for a short fuse? Certainly not 9S, who's as lost and unsettled as anyone else rightly is. But the man's response is as innocuous as they come, and very obviously knowledgeable of the things around them, too. That's more than what 9S has, and he's aware of it. ]

I've only ever heard of shopping centers before.

[ He offers, as way of explanation. The one commercial facility he's passed through was a hollowed out husk of its former self, just like every other human-built structure in the crumbling remains of the city. It's kind of insane seeing the real deal, even if it's clearly been through better days. ]

... Doesn't look like there's much left here, though.

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INTRO LOG #1

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for lottie!

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hat time

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three

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one

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