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

[Prompto is also quiet during all that time, and he's starting to say, "Hey, no problem, do you want the mask?" when Zuko speaks up after all.]

Oh. Oh, well, here then!

[And he will hold it out for Zuko to take, because if it's his it should go back to him, right? It's not like Prompto has a pressing need for it, anyway.]

I guess everyone's stuff got kinda scattered. My camera was the same way. [He indicates the camera that is hanging around his neck from its strap.]

[What the heck is a camera? You know what, he's not going to ask. If it's important he can figure it out.

He does take the mask. It's weird, to have it in his hands again. The last time he'd seen it he'd thrown it into the lake, and yet it's remarkably well-preserved. Zuko should probably be questioning it, but there's a lot of things here he's questioning. This feels like spirit business, which was never his wheelhouse.

Yet another reason to miss his uncle, thrown onto an already mounting pile of reasons. Zuko takes a deep breath, still looking at the mask--he's supposed to have left it behind him months ago, but he still can't help but feel an attachment to it. Maybe it's just sentimental. It had been a theater character first, after all.]

Thanks. [Why did this show up, and not something more useful? It's beyond him. Honestly, he's not even sure what to do with it now.] Do you, uh... need any help? With finding things?

[Prompto is quiet while he looks as the mask - it must be important to him, even if Prompto has no idea why. He doesn't question it, even if he's curious.

He perks up a bit at the question, though. Finding things... well, other than his camera and his gun, which he's already retrieved from who found them, respectively, he didn't have a lot on him before he ended up here. The only other pressing item is...]

I'm actually looking for a smartphone. It's black, and it has a picture of me and my buddy and a chocobo as the lockscreen... [He trails off, because he's actually been through this song and dance at least once now, so he should probably make sure.]

Do you... know what a phone is?

[Nope, he didn't parse about half of those words, and they were the critical ones. At least he doesn't seem embarrassed about being confused.]

No, what's it look like?

[If it's large and distinctive, then it won't matter if Zuko has no idea what it does. Might as well still be helpful, right?]

It's... flat, and rectangular, and thin... [Prompto holds his palm out, flat.] Small enough to fit in my hand. It has a button at the bottom, and if you push it the face will light up.

[He hopes that's enough of an explanation. He's never had to explain what a phone is before.]

It's used to talk to people far away.

[Zuko is, unfortunately, envisioning something like a face carved into a small plate that can emit fire. Somehow, he's pretty sure that's not right, but asking for clarification would probably only be more confusing, so he just nods blankly along.]

Like smoke signals.

[...Sure!]

What do you need it for? [It sounds pretty useless, honestly--a flame that small wouldn't be anywhere near enough for effective communication--but maybe it's sentimental. Who's he to judge?]

[Smoke signals... if that's the reference this guy is getting out of what he said, the technology where he comes from must be pretty old. Prompto is pretty sure even comparing it to a telegram wouldn't get him anywhere.

Maybe trying to explain it isn't worth it, so he just... lets Zuko go on thinking it's a smoke signal machine. Sure.]

I was going to try to contact my friends... Maybe they can help get us out of... wherever this is.

[This is now convoluting into a smoke signal device that somehow can operate indoors, which makes Zuko certain he has the completely wrong idea and that it is probably better not to ask. He reminds himself: small, flat, with buttons and a face. Like... a drawing?

Whatever. He latches onto the actually relevant info.]

You think they managed to survive out there? [He nods vaguely in the direction of a window. At the blistering heat outside.]

[Don't even raise that possibility, Zuko, he doesn't even want to consider...]

Those guys? Oh yeah, they're pretty sturdy! And my buddy has some of the gods on his side, so I'm sure they're fine!

[He... doesn't sound as confident as he could, but he's trying to stay upbeat here!]

[Zuko grimaces, but it's with sympathy rather than impatience. Noted: Prompto is... a hell of an optimist. Based on his experience with optimists (Aang), Zuko knows he may need to tread carefully.]

There's nothing that could survive out there. Or nothing we'd want to be anywhere near. Trust me, I know heat.

[Maybe a bit more carefully than that.]

But... maybe there's other shelters.

[Oof... Sure, it's pretty bad out there, but surely they found a way to survive. Surely, if Prompto could do it...]

Yeah... there probably is. We can't be the only ones.

[They're just too far away to get to. Yeah. That's what he'll believe.]

If I managed to make it into a shelter, those guys definitely did. [A pause, and he rubs the back of his head sheepishly.] Not that remember how I made it here.

INTRO LOG #1

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