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

p5r spoilers

[prison]

[ in contrast, ren hasn't received any sign by god or otherwise that akechi may be around- just a lingering sense that he probably is. the only thing he has to go by is this, and it's quite a conjecture, but: ren and akechi were the only two who were 'awake' in the false reality they witnessed. they had both determined that something has gone terribly awry if dead people were walking among them as though misfortune hadn't found them by akechi's pistol in the metaverse long ago already. it's only shortly after that conversation that he found himself nearly drowning in the pit of the mall. since then he's been fished out, found his bearings, and gathered what he can in the short time he's been here.

and in the pit of his stomach, he knows akechi is here, also.

his suspicions are confirmed when he hears the familiar voice calling out his codename. ren stops his steps. in his arm rests a life-sized doll of a man he hasn't met, but he figured he'd find its owner eventually if he keeps on lugging it around the mall in search of his own possessions. plus, he's going to have to set up base somewhere. a scarecrow, even though a handsome scarecrow, if he is allowed one unconventional thought, is something. and something is always better than nothing.

anyway, he cants his head toward akechi. this would be the third time he's waltzed back into his life without much ceremony. ren rolls his shoulder. ] New friend. [ he doesn't know the name. ] Trying to figure out a name. Any ideas?

[ fortunately, ren's aware that akechi wouldn't be so kind to entertain him with bullshit like that., so: ] Looks like a fake reality isn't the only thing we're dealing with. Have you been able to deduct anything since getting here?

p5r spoilers from here on down!!

[acerejective]

[ ren's bastard sense goes off --- it's like third eye, but it only alerts him to hidden bastards, not secrets. ]

[ scrabbling for his life isn't anything new to akechi, so he'd gotten out of the water with relative ease -- and had ample time to clean up, poke around, and track down ren after finding his catbag. ]

[ also, ren is absolutely right that akechi won't entertain any shenanigans whatsoever. in fact, his eyes narrow, and he actually takes a comment to consider throwing ren back into that toxic water. ]

If you have time to waste with jokes, I assume you've found something useful.

[ without any warning and with a little more force than necessarily, akechi throwing the mona bag at him. catch! ]

For one, I wouldn't recommend stepping outside, if you haven't already tried. that is. [ he definitely expects ren to have tried, even if he doesn't seem visibly injured. ] Secondly, based on the nonsense he's spouted about granting happiness and helping us, this doesn't seem to be Maruki's doing.

[ it would directly contradict what he's been doing, after all ]

[prison]

[ the bag in his hand doesn't go unnoticed; ren recognizes it immediately was one of the few he carries around, often with the weight of a full-sized cat within it- thrown at him like this, without any further warning other than the movement of his arm, ren almost drops it it. it's either the doll or the bag, and the doll drops to the floor, further dirtying its already marred appearance.

poor thing. and akechi refuses to help him name it- but if akechi expects him to have found something useful, well, he'll be sorely disappointed in this leader of the phantom thieves. ]

Oh, I tried. [ before picking up the doll, he rolls of the sleeve of his jacket, revealing slightly burnt marks from extending his arm out in direct sunlight. it still stings, but nothing he can't handle. he's endured far worse. he rolls his sleeve back down and leans down to pick up the doll.

the comment about maruki has him blinking, however. it's true that this is the exact opposite of what maruki would have wanted for them. ren taps his chin in consideration. ] We were the only ones who were 'aware,' though. Maybe this is somehow meant to recondition us? Or maybe to remove us from that world to prevent us from messing with it.

[ which still doesn't seem very maruki. he's inclined to believe maruki has nothing to do with this at all. another god, maybe. ]

But you're right, it's probably someone else. The people I met— they don't seem to have been from Tokyo, either.

[acerejective]

[ sometimes akechi thinks about how ren, the leader of the phantom thieves, bested him in both wits and combat. outsmarted him. completely defeated him. ]

[ this same ren that's now toting around a giant dirty idol (????) doll. ]

Hm.

[ at the burn!! akechi had thrown a rat outside rather than go out himself, but it doesn't surprise him that joker -- reckless and cocky as he is -- would go out. but it seems pretty minor, so he's not concerned. ]

It's a possibility, one that we can't discount at present. But I have my doubts. He wanted us to see his reality for ourselves, after all -- so we, too, could "enjoy" it.

[ wow he's bitter don't mind him. ]

I've gotten the same impression. No one recognizes me.

[prison]

[ the tone of his voice, combined with his specific wording, paints a vivid enough picture for akechi's feelings on their current situation, which only seems to have gotten more and more confusing. the boy wanted nothing to do with maruki's reality from the get-go, a sentiment that ren understands deeply as one who also avoided the temptation of greener pastures.

but if it's not maruki's doing, their investigation up until now will be moot. ] So I guess we'll have to make a new deal. Before we can solve whatever is going on back home, we should see what we can figure out here, too.

[ a new enemy, a new set of problems, and a slew of unanswered questions. the good news is, they've only just arrived. there's much they can still discover. what he says next causes ren to stifle a laugh, moving his fingertips to his lips. ]

Maybe that's a good thing. You get to be normal, for once.