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

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?

[He can relate a little bit to the hair problem. He's lacking a brush as well, so he mentally notes it. Yet, somehow, he's managed to find lipstick, so he's applied that, because you gotta have priorities in the post-apocalyptic mall. It is, of course, black as hell for his goth heart.]

Don't go public shopping much as a princess lord, huh? [It's Fire Lord but you know how it is.] Depends, but usually you'll see shit like baseball bats, balls, supplies for fishing -- but also for hiking and trekking. So there's a lot that's perfect for a survivalist situation.

They're usually pretty big, so we'll be in good shape if this mall has one. I'm thinking toward the end of one of the hallways might be where they situated the bigger department stores, so we should find something there.

Fire Lord.

⟪ She knows it's bait! But she can't let it go uncorrected, it's just not in her. ⟫

And I would normally be seated in a palanquin if I really wanted to see a public market.

⟪ So, hit the nail on the head.

At any rate, she'll head down one of the hallways. If he's not seen one before and she certainly can't recall anything fitting the specifications, trial and error it is. ⟫

Are you an actor?

⟪ 'cause of the lip paint. ⟫

A palanquin. Seriously. That's kind of overkill.

[The question makes him raise his brow, and he doesn't immediately get where she's going with her train of thought.]

No? [There's a pause, and he decides he might as well relinquish a bit of himself. She's talked about herself a bit, and he might as well give some as well. Somethingsomething helps with trust.] I used to work as an investigator for my team. Where'd the "actor" thing come from?

It's slow. But it's important to maintain decorum.

⟪ And royalty doesn't walk. Not always, at least, and definitely not across a market in the Capital.

Anyway, there's some curiosity sparked here. An investigator, that's interesting and it explains a few things – his approach to the situation had been methodical so far, this must be where that comes from. ⟫

The lip paint. That kind of thing is mostly reserved for actors back home. ⟪ But hey, perhaps he's undercover! Self-expression? Never heard of that one. ⟫ What kind of team is it?

Whatever you say.

[It's not his culture. Sure, it sounds stupid and arrogant and like she's spoiled rotten, but he also has no frame of reference for how that impacts her Fire Nation. Maybe it is important. Unlikely, but maybe.

He shrugs.] Always liked makeup. It's not exactly common for men to wear it where I'm from, but I can't give a shit about what someone else thinks.

[Oh boy, questions about the team.] We take odd jobs, mostly. We all have different specialties. One's like... [How to phrase this for her.] A scout, I guess. Makes sure we aren't followed and we can trace people if we have to. I don't know, we did a bunch of weird shit.

But if there was some weird mystery for us to solve, that usually fell on me. And let me tell you, the one we're in right now? Definitely one hell of a puzzle. I have more questions than answers right now.

⟪ Evidently, of all the things he's said so far, the idea that he just goes out there to be himself while not caring about what someone else could think seems to get to her the most. It isn't necessarily that she cares about some peasant's opinion, mind, but everything she does must exceed her father's expectation, and that... requires total conformity to his ideals.

That said, she doesn't seem to know where to even begin here, so it's a relief to hear him focus on the other question. ⟫

Your teammates aren't here, are they? ⟪ That would be too useful, and this place seems hell-bent on being the exact opposite of that. ⟫ At any rate, you seem to take this kind of weirdness pretty well. So it can't be too far from home.

They're definitely not. It's for best, anyway.

[There are a lot of layers to that thought, but-- ultimately, for as much as he wishes he had them, it's better that they aren't here. It would lead to too many more questions he isn't even sure he wants the answer to.]

Waking up in a pool of questionable water with an atmosphere bent on burning us to death while trapped in a mall with people that aren't from the same place I am is pretty high up on my weird list. I prefer to think of it as me being dead on the inside at this point.

[And if he let anything rattle his cage... well. He thinks he can't afford to show that kind of vulnerability to anyone. Definitely not to a teenager that might need an adult with his head on his shoulders.]

⟪ Something about the 'dead on the inside' bit seems to recover something within her, and there's a noise she makes that could almost be a laugh. In a way, it kinda makes her feel more calm.

Not that she'd been freaked out or anything. ⟫

Where are you from? ⟪ It's a pretty simple question, all told, but what matters is that she's actually interested in the answer. That's sort of unusual, coming from her. ⟫

[Well dang, that was almost a laugh maybe. But Abbacchio doesn't make a big deal of it for both their sakes.]

A country called Italy. Lot of crime there, lot of weird things happening if you know where to look for it.

Nobody bends elements though.

⟪ It's freaky to the nth degree that there's a whole country out there that she's never heard of, and worse, that no one there seems to be able to bend. ⟫

You reacted very calmly for someone who has never seen anyone bend before. ⟪ Does that mean there's an alternative to bending? Is everyone simply a non-bender who has never considered that there might be an alternative? ⟫

Oh. There it is. ⟪ There's a horrible, uninvitingly flickering neon sign that simply announces SPORTS above a shop that looks like it's trying to re-create the image of forest living. Armour, here she comes! ⟫

I've seen a lot of weird shit. A teenage girl shooting fire from her fingertips isn't that wild to me.

[Ah yes. So there it is, the mighty SPORTS store. Abbacchio heads inside with her, debating keeping his eyes peeled for anything for himself, but he admits he's probably going to make sure the armor is a priority. So he looks up at the aisle signs, considering for a moment before he gestures down for her.]

Back here is where the paintballing stuff is. It's not gonna be as classy as you're probably used to, but it's better than nothing.

I can go beyond fire.

⟪ But that line of thought is entirely forgotten when she reaches the armour selection. Yes, most of it has fallen into disrepair, and all that's left is made of a strange material (shiny, hard, but not metal) – but it's sort of a relief to have at least something to use here. ⟫

I don't always wear the royal armour, you know. It was my coronation day. ⟪ Is, still, her coronation day, technically. Not that there was much of the gold left – or, really, much of the armour, and the rusted and desolate bits and pieces were left back at ~~Hot Topic~~ the clothing store they had met in. ⟫ You always just talk about the 'weird'. That isn't very detailed.

INTRO LOG #1

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