Downtime Log - Intro

[locomodo]

Log 01 Downtime Intro
Maybe you were walking to class, or riding into battle, or at your father's funeral, or gazing into the abyss as you brush your teeth and think about your waning youth. Maybe you're from 1000 years ago, or the far-flung future. But it doesn't matter how different you are, because all passengers will wake up sprawled on the same floor of the same car...


The Perfectly Average Everyday Normal Train Car

As characters stir from their slumber, they'll notice their new(?) phones vibrating in their pockets. An unread message is waiting for them...

FROM: clownductor one

Welcome to the Existential Express, car #83045029342000001.

[CHARACTER NAME] is currently engaged in Tutorial Mode.

Objectives:
> Read the Existential Express (E2) brochure.
> Access the user directory and send a message.
> Ask one of the other passengers to be your friend.
> Find the exit door.

By completing car objectives, passengers may proceed through the exit and onto the next car.

Thank you for riding with the Existential Express. Please enjoy your journey into the great unknown.

>>>>SUBJECT: New Passengers
How is that? I attempted to make it sound welcoming.

The message, strangely, cuts off there. The brochure goes over all the basic 'what is a train' questions people may have, but nothing else.

However, characters may find that the exit door is locked until they complete the objectives, so it's icebreaker time! On the bright side, it seems this is a dining car, so there's a few nice plates of treats and a bar that magically serves beverages when people make orders. The exit door will be locked until the objectives are complete! (Please see OOC notes below for more details.)

In any case, when they unlock the door and move on through the exit, there is a walkway to the next car. Please watch your step, and check out the FAQ for more details on trying to leave the train!

Immediately proceeding the intro car is...


The Land of Corginia Car

As characters enter the car, their phones will notify them of a new objective…

> Lend a helping paw.



Because this historical city is occupied with... dogs! Mostly corgis. They are smart, verbal, and very good boys and girls. The dogs are happy to play with anyone, and will also help passengers get to anywhere they want to go. The car itself is basically Rome, with low doorways and ceilings.

And because corgis do have short legs and zero thumbs, they will sometimes need and ask for assistance. For example, you and a partner may need to help the corgis cross a river, give them belly rubs, or reach a ball on a high shelf. They are easily distracted, squirmy little babies and will make life very difficult, but they're just so darn cute!


The Museum Car

(tw: body horror)

As the characters enter the car, their phones will notify them of a new objective…

> Complete yourself.



As passengers enter this car, they'll find themselves feeling notably lighter. This might be because they're suddenly missing a leg, or perhaps an arm, or their eyes, or tongue. Whatever it may be, a part of them has been taken away. There's no pain, or danger to their lives from the missing part, it simply isn't there.

It's been whisked away and hidden somewhere in the musty old museum that they've found themselves in. Luckily, it's currently closed, so there's nothing stopping them from raiding everything in sight! The displays span all manner of topics, from history to biology to space. Passengers might even find displays on familiar historical events or persons from their home worlds as they search—the collection is seemingly endless! Just watch out, because sometimes objects (and body parts) will come to life and lunge through the glass at anyone who walks a little too close.

NOTE: Characters can snipe items from the display cases in the museum! However, they'll discover the items are actually toy replicas made of flimsy plastic. They're completely non-functional and will break if handled too roughly.


The Birth of the Wind Car

As the characters enter the car, their phones will notify them of a new objective…

> Collect all the korogu seeds.



The world that lies ahead of the passengers is vast and lush; a spectacle of nature that spans snow-capped mountains, dense forests, deserts, and lakes. Aside from unusually large and extremely territorial fauna (1, 2, 3), the car appears devoid of any signs of civilization, and passengers might think themselves completely alone…

… Until they hear the tinkling of a bell, and a cheery, "yahaha!" in the distance. Upon closer inspection, the car is in fact populated by small, wooden creatures known as korogus (here). They hide at the tops of trees and mountains, on lone islands in large lakes, and under rocks. Once a passenger stumbles across their hiding place—whether knowingly or otherwise—they'll appear in a puff of magic holding a golden korogu seed. Simply finding them isn't enough for them to hand over the precious item however, and they'll require passengers to offer up one truth in exchange for a seed. And don't bother lying, they'll give you a solid bonk on the head and disappear if you do!


Numbers

Numbers! Everyone starts with one that glows on their bodies — as a fun thread mechanic, we suggest they're somewhere visible, but it's up to you!



Because while this is not IC knowledge yet, numbers are determined by how troubled your character is. This may be based on their past actions and crimes, but also alienating habits, regrets, personality flaws, trauma, etc — a higher number does not necessarily mean they're a bad person, but it may signify a difficult time in their life, or substantial personal issues.

Numbers change as characters work through their issues... which we'll cover next time! However, for this log, please note that numbers will remain static. They may flicker or warp occasionally, but don't worry about them going up or down for the intro! As a bonus, numbers can glow in any color you would like.


OOC Notes

Car Order: While the cars are linear and in the order shown, characters can freely move between these four cars for the next three weeks — players may assume 1:1 IC:OOC time ratio.

Locks: Passengers may follow other characters out of cars after they've been unlocked — so in general, players can assume optional cars on downtime months are unlocked if they don't want to play in them. Likewise, if your character ICly would not participate in a car but you still want to play with those prompts, you can assume they're locked in and must complete objectives. Feel free to pick and choose what you'd like to play from any downtime log!

Update: We will also have a small update in the coming weeks — the setting won't change, but there will be a few more (optional!) aspects to play with later.

Feel free to direct questions to our Discord help channel. Welcome to Locomo, and have fun!

---

locomo e2 traincation

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Comments

[unrepentant]

They're doing just fine, he thinks, as they make their way through the gallery and his companion takes casual account of the legs, eyes, and tongues on display all around them. Despite how macabre it is, and how distinctly un-macabre he seems, the stranger looks to be taking it in stride. He even tugs his other glove off with his teeth, offering up his remaining hand to the light.

"Uh."

For better and worse, Anakin's skills do not lay in diplomacy. He's pretty sure he can be charming when the need arises, it's worked plenty of times before. But directness is just part of his nature- a desire to get to the quick of it, to cut right to the heart of a problem, to say what's on his mind. He doesn't measure every word and syllable; without the rigid walls of the temple and stoic faces of the other Jedi, this is nearer to who he is.

He has questions, that's for sure. The tapered tip of each finger looks like its covered in dark scars, and the back isn't much better. It makes him think of the cracks that appear when mud dries and the earth can't keep itself together. His eyes go to it, travel to the man's face and then back to the hand in question. They're quite distinctive, the stranger says. Anakin, familiar with what it means to be different and also to be tired of being reminded about being different- meets him with the suggestion of a smile. A cheeky upturn at the edge of his mouth.

"Well," He starts with feigned disapproval. "It's not green and scaly. But it'll do."

[fluxing]

_{[ Now that his emotions are slowly being soothed, he will look over at his addresser, and yes, those slitted eyes give her one obvious sweep and look over. He still looks pretty angy though, as of his lashing tail and pouting expression was any indication. ]}

I was robbed of something I cannot live without.

<sub>[ um dramatic
being invited for a drink though? Yeah, that will definitely put him in better spirits.

He joins alongside her as he hastily tries to lull his explosive temper and play up his charm. ]</sub>

Sounds good. What do you drink, sweetheart?

[neriticism]

[ None of the things he listed are weapons Toko oh my god. ]

[ But yeah, he's got a pretty good handle on what he's dealing with here. Which is a bomb with twenty different wires, all a different shade of red, creeping along the wall like she's trying to skirt the perimeter of a minefield or something. Cut the cherry one, Rubén, not the crimson. ]

You wanna let me finish or you wanna make yourself a fuckin' bunker before we continue this conversation?

[ NOT THE CRIMSON. He quickly puts up a hand again and plows on before she can go off. ] Listen, 'bout a week before all this, I got stitches, okay? And those gotta come out before too much longer or I'm gonna have a real bad time.

[ For emphasis, he reaches up to tug at the collar of his shirt to better show off the tape and gauze plastered to the side of his neck. There's more at the shoulder, but hopefully this makes enough of a point. ]

[fluxing]

Why the fuck would I want water?

_{[ im sorry dimitri he has no interest in really taking care of himself and staying hydrated falls under that category ]}

No, I want to smoke. Or get high. Or both. You get it, right?

_{[ as Dimitri makes assumptions, he will also. This guy looks like he absolutely will not get it. ]}

[shiftybladesofcray]

[If she doesn't make it weird she's either dying or possessed, deal with it Jinwoo.

Anyway they are both faring much better after he so graciously made this offer, aren't they? She nods to him, a determined set to her jaw. The flush will drain out of her cheeks eventually, give her a sec, just gotta banish some indecent thoughts (look at his collarbone, my word—).]

Jinwoo? [It's...nice. A nice name for a mostly nice boy. As long as he can keep his hands to himself they'll get through this just fine.] Just Fukawa is fine.

L-let's try this way. [A decisive command followed by a spin on her heel, leading the charge. She regards him over her shoulder as they march on.] Are you really okay with just telling these things stuff about you? What if they pry too deep or something...

iii

[vadarta]

[ Having recently regained his own missing arm, on top of already having helped an eyeless fellow, Vanadi is technically ready for this request. But he'd also really like to keep moving through this train car before it can steal anything else away from him. So he squirms unhappily as he's grasped, makes a face he can trust won't be seen, and holds back a sigh.

(Empty sockets are really just so unsexy.)]

So you are, aren't you? [ Tessa would want him to help. Ugh. ] Alright, alright, let's get this over with, then. Do you have a lock on where yet?

[neriticism]

Who knows people got a lot of parts

[ Again, another thing lost in the translation of describing yourself—it's a scar that traverses a joint, how'd that shake out? Just how did it sever? Did it just pop off like a doll's? A straight guillotine cut? Is it a healed stump? It's still under his clothes and he hadn't really done a lot of thorough investigation, on account of being stunned out of his wits and also screamed at by a deafened elf. ]

[ But for some reason or another, she seems to be taking that into her own hands. He can't exactly pull away on one foot, so all he can do is just wriggle a little awkwardly as she pokes at his thigh. Which is still there, thanks. But down below the knee is all gone. ]

[ Muttered to himself, he knows, ] Hi, can I help you—

[sulahnan]

Looks like we're just looking for the bottom half! That's... that doesn't really have any bearing on the difficulty of finding anything, I guess. But now I know what to look for! Let's get on it.

[ She takes a few steps, trying to coordinate her stride with his so it's a less awkward double-gait. It's not easy, but it works. After passing a few body parts in display cases, Tessa looks at her new pal with a slight, lopsided smile. ]

I'm Tessa, by the way.

[neriticism]

[ Well, as long as the kid's not physically injured, he knows a fellow I'm Fine subscriber when he sees one, so he'll leave it at that and turn his attention politely back to the statue. ]

Believe me, I'd love nothing more, [ he mutters. And believe him, he is nothing if not a little apeshit on the inside, but he is also very tired. Really in the grand scheme of things that he's read up on and encountered at work, this is about as annoying and inconvenient as a toner leak in the office copier. ]

[ Anyway, he has zero qualms about busting this thing down, because fuck this thing and fuck this place, but he does have a couple concerns. ]

Agreed on all fronts, however, [ he raises a hold on finger at the hint of movement out of the corner of his eye, before this kid does anything rash, ] If that leg drops and snaps in half, I'm just a different flavor of screwed.

[ He pauses to shoot over a pointed and you personally will be carrying me for a month glance, but the sight of a— what, a ball and chain? stops the preemptive threat dead in its tracks. ]

You're— oddly prepared for vandalism, aren't you, pal.

voice: perfectly normal train car, I was going to wildcard you but ngl this works

[galasvar]

[Yeah, that's...a whole lot more than 25 words. Who gave her this much power.

Okay, no. It's clearly not a sending spell, since it's still going and also still coming out of the buzzing box from before. He lets her go on for a while, in no small part because it takes a while for what he's hearing to sink in. Eventually, very patiently, when he finally gets both his wits back about him and a chance for a word in edgewise—]

Uh. Jester? [A beat. Then, fainter, mostly to himself (as if it's just occurred to him to wonder—)] Can I reply to that message?

[Is that how this works. No one ever Messages him, really. Quickly, before she can answer that question—]

Wait, no. Nevermind. Fuck!—[Back up, focus, no wonder people always sound confused after Jester casts Sending to them. He opts to cut to the chase.] Where are you?

[And he punctuates this question by pushing himself up and away from where he's been sitting and studying the pamphlet to case the room. Fjord's on the taller side of the folk still hanging around in this car—surely he ought to be able to pick her out of the crowd. (Or at least spot where the catering powers-that-be have put the lion's share of the pastries and hedge his bets that she'll be nearby.)]

I am capital D dying

[galasvar]

[ uH....

He thought you were looking nervous over there, buddy, not suicidal. Insight never really his strong suit, though, so this tracks.

Credit where it's due—this guy manages to jump a frankly staggering height to match his grandstanding on the matter of technique. Unfortunate that it just gets him slammed back onto the catwalk by a bunch of giant fucking bugs.

A bunch of giant fucking bugs that doesn't seem satisfied by the fact that he's technically back on the train. By the time Fjord can stop gawking and skid to a stop in the middle of the platform to very-helpfully haul Estinien very-hastily upright by the shoulder, they're already circling around and lining up for another divebomb.]

What the fuck are those?

[And where the fuck did they come from?]

[galasvar]

[Not the softest of landings. But all nonlynel folks accounted for, that's a good start. He clocks Aria's movement and his posture relaxes just a little when she seems relatively unhurt. He gives her some space, takes to peering curiously up at the ceiling (and that very tiny point of light in the distance) as she picks herself up and Eos floats down toward them—another tiny point of light that grows less tiny and more fairy(???)shaped as she reaches eye level. Dryly—]

Well. I like to think there would be, at some point.

[Really would sting the old ego otherwise. Mostly because he likes to think there are at least a few people here who might notice him missing, eventually. But who knows how long that'll take, really. (At least one of them is very easily distracted.) Besides—]

I'm not sure I'm inclined to stick around long enough to find out.

[The sound of the rubble still settling around them isn't really comforting. As if to punctuate this, there's a loud cracking sound of shifting ice somewhere in the distance.]

wildcard! botw car

[sulahnan]

[ Ah, this car is so serene, so beautiful, so peaceful. Look at the grass, the trees, the distant mountains cast in purple hues against the blue sky...and the elf just there, shouting at a tree.

She doesn't hear Jack, or see him, facing away from him as she is, so Tessa doesn't do any room-reading to see whether or not she should, ya know, shut up. ]

You little motherfucker, get DOWN HERE! [ She's also holding onto the top of her head as if she just got knobbled, because that's exactly what happened. ] I'll kick the fuckin' tree down, I swear to Rast!

[ She doesn't even believe in Rast, really, but it's the easiest deity to conjure up in a tizzy. She shouts some more profanities at the foliage above her before stepping back and delivering a very solid kick to the base of the tree, and to her credit the trunk shakes and creaks and a fair few leaves flutter down. ]

[bersercu]

( well. hey, if jack's going to let him? that's permission from someone that isn't himself--- not that he needed it to begin with, so. he'll try.

he rears back and with a growl, slams his shoulder into it. it doesn't even buckle under his weight or his effort, instead sounding hollow and metallic. and then he drives a fist into it, receiving the same result.

... feels bad. )

Damn. You've gotta be kidding me.

( his tail smacks the ground by jack's feet. )

[bersercu]

( no, it's actually one of the first option other than squeezing the seeds out of each korogu he sees, which has been impossible for him to enact because they keep running away like little jerks! they're so mean! berserker is the innocent one here, everyone is very rude.

and unfortunately not within spear reach, unlike claude who is. )

I'm sure we can find a way to make your face unsightly.

( though as he's about to raise his lance and give the man a closer look at it, he pauses and thinks about that last bit. claude's not wrong. )

Compared to the other two, I suppose you're not wrong. ( a beat, then: ) You didn't spend more time with the dogs?

[bersercu]

( he huffs. berserker isn't here to entertain other people. what he wants is to get off this car, get to the next, keep moving until he can get his hands around whoever's controlling the damn thing... or find a car where he can just work himself into exhaustion. this is an impossibility but he can still try. )

A partner, huh.

( a baleful stare follows, as he straightens up. he sticks his lance into the earth and leans against it. )

You volunteering?

[bersercu]

( if a dragon offered its blood, he'd consume both the dragon and the blood in front of him. alas, he is somewhat empty despite not needing any kind of sustenance; violence fuels him, and he will not find any underneath the wiggly and adorable piles of squeezable and affable canines!!!

as the doggos have somewhat parted, berserker can finally sit up without having a furred anything in his mouth. he can take a nice, deep breath of air and not dog. )

A horde of anything, despite numbers, can ultimately overpower with determination alone.

( and again, he's not going to raise a hand against a bunch of dogs. they're not worth it. also, he's a monster and i'm not

his eyes fall on estinien's spear. how interesting it is, but not even close to comparable as he slowly makes his way back onto his feet, tail curling around his feet so that the dogs will go for it and not him. )

Interesting weapon you have there. It would be a shame if it got slobber on it.

( the dogs... panting and drooling as they go and drink water from running streams before coming back to their piles, some dancing around as they try to figure a way around the water. )

[bersercu]

( what is mercy to a berserker? perhaps nothing. to this berserker? something that can be used tactically and to his own benefit in the future. sometimes fat tits can't solve all your problems and that's when a thick and spiked lance will be far more effective. but of course, he could also just use his weapon??? his actual spear? the one that diluc probably could wield but at a cost. the weight is more than just the heaviness, but the kind that can stain a soul. a fiery one such as diluc's, demonstrated by the energy generated by that gem--- it's not mana, but it's probably close--- screams to cú.

diluc acts as a distraction to a beast who is smart enough to fight off one, but probably not two. he rears back, gae bolg in hand, mouth distorted in a snarl while his gaze hardens. his eyes lock onto the target: right at the neck. he will want to make sure to hit those nerves, the ones that keep it moving, so that neither he or diluc will receive any kind of retaliation from flailing about. the monster looks heavy and strong, but with its strings cut like some kind of meat marionette? it will fall just like anything else.

and then he hurls it as hard as he can, feeling the muscles in his chest burn before going numb. his shoulder, popping before he releases, then his arm sagging once he does. the spear is like a cannonball, the impact louder than the lynel's roar as it immediately cuts out, with gae bolg glowing in the beast's face.

cú goes to one knee, chest and tits heaving with every breath. if that doesn't finish it off, he'll leave diluc to the rest. )

[bersercu]

( what a cocky son of a bitch...


he likes that in a man.

berserker snarls, raising his tail and immediately curls it around sukuna's waist, drawing him close. it's almost like a hug! a spiky hug that could easily pierce the other man, but the spikes just ensure he doesn't do too much wiggling. )

Don't test me. I don't know how you scratched me like that, but I don't like it.

[fluxing]

<sub>[ The objective of this car seemed pretty easy, but it was so beautiful and vast. There was no war. The skies were clear of smog and debris; free from that dirt that clouded the streets of San Diego. It was truly beautiful. Jack didn’t want to finish the objective yet.

Instead, he’s found something more entertaining to watch— another one of those pointy eared folk beating the crap out of a tree. He doesn’t approach her, he merely flicks his tail up and seats himself on a large rock behind her to watch her have her moment.

In the confines of his vest, he pulls out a small bag of chips from the dining car and pops the bag open, which does initiate a loud noise, followed by the distinctive crunch of a potato chip. He clicks his tongue. ]</sub>

Oooh come on. That tree can’t be that mean. What did it ever do to you?

D. Wildcard - BOTW Car

[sulahnan]

Is it alright if I sit here?

[ Maybe Lucretia is sitting on a log, or just in the grass, or maybe she's leaning against a wall and Tessa is pointing at the ground beside her, who can say. Regardless of the logistics, the elf (for all intents and purposes) doesn't actually wait for a response before plopping herself down a foot to Lucretia's left and sighs, letting the breath puff out her cheeks. Whether it was a good idea or not, she has long since torn the bottom of her dress to free up her legs for more movement, and somewhere along the line she's retrieved her mobile device from Vanadi and tucked it flat against her sternum under the shimmery fabric.

Without turning to look at the woman beside her, Tessa says: ] You had much luck with those little masked jerks? One of 'em bonked me on the head back there. D'you think there's a like, limit to this place? There's like, definitely magic happening, isn't there? 'Cos like, the room with the bar, and that museum, they both had walls, but this one seems to go on forever. I wonder if there are walls and we just can't see 'em.

[ She can go on for a while, if uninterrupted. ]

[fluxing]

<sub>[ The sound Cu’s shoulder makes shuddering against the door is stupidly attractive to Jack. What a strapping lad.

Though the tail smack by his feet startled him enough to jump and edge a little further out of the way. Oh my god. He needs consent if you’re gonna beat him up first. Set the mood, my guy. ]</sub>

Oof, hey hey, easy there.
…
Oh! Well. Um. Would you look at that? Maybe if you try again.. maybe.. try something else. Like a kick..

_{[ he just wants to admire this guy for as long as he can tbh ]}

[galasvar]

[Could have been worse, yeah. He raises his brows and cants his head a little in a lopsided kind of shrug. Yeah, that's very fair. It's a relief to get an answer at all, if a little concerning that it's taking him a while to stand. But since Ardbert seems to be able to move under his own power, he lets him—takes the time instead to case the rest of the cavern for the monster. There's no telltale pooling of blood under the rocks, no sound of movement other than their own. Nothing that says it's definitely dead or definitely run off or definitely waiting for them to turn their backs so it could club them into paste. So: not helpful in the least. He concludes the once-over with an uneasy glance at the still-settling shards of ice and stone surrounding them.]

Dead, I hope. I don't much like the idea of a round two down here.

[It was narrow enough dodging that thing when they weren't hemmed in on all sides by rickety piles of rubble.

Hoping only gets them so far, though, and he knows it, so he checks back in on how Ardbert is doing. The Star Razor gives off light like a torch, and Fjord's got good low-light vision—it's not hard to see him swaying. He very briefly weighs the odds of this fellow and his very big axe being put off by his pointing this out, but given his little show of geniality during the fight—]

Are you alright?

[Looking a little unsteady, there.]

toko...... If anyone was an NPC here it would be the Genshins, thank you very much.

[galasvar]

[Affront to nature excuse you, the Wildmother would beg to differ. And garish, wow. You're really hitting his self esteem where it hurts, Toko's meta, it's a good thing he can't read it. For his part Fjord is still mostly focused down at the haphazard placement of markers on the page, so it takes a second for that swerve in topic to sink in. Baffled, he lowers the map.]

Wait, what? Why are there chickens?

[Did he miss a step, how did they get here. He looks deeply puzzled for a beat before he clocks her stuttering and her escalating nervous energy and schools his expression and his tone back toward something deliberately more level. Holding his hands up, palm out as if the gesture will slow her down. (Though with the map still caught in his newly-glowing hand, his number might(?) still be obscured from her.) Quickly—]

You don't have to. [Maybe someone does? He doesn't know the rules here. But not right now. Lets back this conversation up just a little bit.] And certainly not alone. I'm just looking for a lay of the land.

[In hindsight he probably could have guessed she didn't check over there, herself. He was thinking out loud, mostly.]

[sulahnan]

[ Tessa recoils in surprise, jumping back away from the tree and spotting Jack there, snacking. She blinks, looks between man and tree, and shakes her head. ]

It's not the tree, it's the fucker in the tree. Clobbered me on the head when I told it my name! My fucking name! Like, how's that a lie, eh? Clearly the rules in this place are proper fucked.

[ For emphasis, when she says proper fucked she kicks the tree again, bark crunching under her shoe and ridiculous heel on said shoe popping right off to smack her in the face. ] Ow! Alright, now I'm mad at the tree, too!