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!

---

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Comments

[ascends]

[a non-answer is an answer in its own right, even if suguru would have liked—but did not necessarily expect—more. there are, after all, many reasons for withholding a name, ranging from the hope that suguru will seek it out on his own to the hope that suguru will not learn it for quite some time. suguru doubts that satoru's reasoning has much to do with the former; suguru is willing to bet that satoru's reasoning has everything to do with the latter, because it makes sense, given what they are. the remnants of a long-fractured trust can only be stretched so far.

but then it becomes a question of why satoru would mention this at all. to hint about an ally? to warn about a potential threat? which would be curious, given satoru's current state. anything that poses a risk to satoru should—would—be of interest to suguru, even if it poses a risk to himself, for they seem to have an abundance of time on this train; suguru should be able to work out some manner of approach.

...the true answer is somewhere. suguru is more than capable of finding it, if given enough time—but he is trapped here for the time being, waiting and watching for satoru's next move. if he won't offer a name, then what will he offer? an abrupt pivot, suguru expects. he always favored those.

and true to form, satoru does take the conversation in an entirely new direction—and an unexpected one, at that. one that suguru finds himself altogether unprepared for, though he knows, on some level, that he shouldn't be—because it makes sense, in some roundabout way. they worked well together, when they were younger; they are aware of, and can compensate for, one another's shortcomings; they are trapped on this train, and thus they presumably share the same goal: to escape it.

(not to mention the convenience that is removing an enemy from the playing field. working together, even in the barest sense, means playing nice—so long as certain rules are followed. suguru can guess as to which rules satoru would insist he follow.)

but the true significance of such an offer is not lost on suguru. he remembers that year in which the greatest duo simply because the greatest; he remembers listening to satoru explain his mastery of his techniques, realizing, for the first time, that satoru truly was the strongest. there was no longer a need for suguru to keep watch, to remain close—and now, suddenly, there is. satoru is no longer capable of shouldering everything alone.

suguru should be pleased.

he is, on some level. a weakened satoru—outside of this one car, no less—is something to celebrate; it gives suguru greater impetus to act alone, allowing the chips to fall where they may.

and yet.

satoru's fist strikes him slightly off-center, knuckles catching the very edge of his shoulder—and this is another thing that suguru is unprepared for? this reminder of how things used to be, when satoru wouldn't have needed to ask for suguru's help—because suguru would have known. suguru would have been by satoru's side before satoru could say so much as a single word.

...there is nothing to be done about the choices that were made; there is nothing to do about the muffled ting of the charm trapped within suguru's fingers, though he swiftly tightens his hold, hoping to prevent anything more from slipping through. what does he think? what does he think.

first: a breath, slow in and slow out, as he considers what this conversation alone is costing satoru? in various ways, and for various reasons. then, after determining that it is surely more than satoru is willing to admit:]

I think you're tired, [he says, matter-of-factly, as he lifts his hand from his knee, bringing it to the front of his robes. one barely audible chime was enough; it's time for this charm to go back where it belongs, albeit carefully.] I think you're worried. I think I'm not the only reason why.

[the train, the cars, the people within, the "friend" that satoru refuses to name—all things for satoru to stress about, and for suguru to take full advantage of, if needs must. but there is something for suguru to take advantage of here, as well, which is why, in a somewhat lighter tone (as though he is wholly unaffected):]

Don't you want to work with your friend?

[once again, suguru expects little in terms of an actual response—but he's making a point.]

[mugen]

[It's too easy, returning to the small gestures that they used to pepper throughout their friendship: a pat on the floor, a punch on the shoulder, a nudge on the arm. It feels familiar, nearly comfortable, in how easily Satoru delivers it and Suguru accepts it — in how, for the span of a breath, it almost feels like they've gone back in time.

But whereas before these gestures were delivered without thought — whereas Satoru did not hinge his actions on proposals and considerations, but merely moved on impulse — now there exists a layer of time and space between them. They are separated by the infinite — still severed by all the choices they made before, and all the choices they will make in the future. One request will not bridge that gap; one proposal will not allow Suguru through Satoru's barrier. One agreement will not erase the past.

Because Satoru hasn't, and will not, lose sight of the fact that Suguru is an enemy. The still-present trust he holds for Suguru is fragile, layered with contingencies, and based entirely upon what he knows Suguru will not do — rather than what he will. Because Suguru is still a curse user, murderer, and Satoru's enemy. Because he knows that Suguru is weighing his options and thinking about what it will mean, when Satoru ends a long day with a pounding headache, tired, with no one to keep watch while he recharges.

And that's why Satoru has broached this topic now, before Suguru learns all there is to know about Sukuna, and before Satoru reaches his limit. If Satoru can protect the people on this train by teaming up with Suguru, pulling him from the opposite side to stand along with him, however temporarily, then Satoru can conserve the energy he would use on keeping tabs on him — and put it toward the other threats on this train, and to the overall goal of escape.

He remembers Suguru in his final moments. He remembers Suguru in the in between, drenched in rain. He remembers Suguru as a student. And he hears the muffled ting of a bell that is familiar, somehow — out of place, distant, but audible enough that Satoru's mind identifies it as significant.

And he knows, somewhere inside of Suguru's twisted, broken sense of morality, there remains fractured pieces of what once was.

That ting does not echo; it is cut off, hidden, replaced with blunt words — but Satoru will remember it.]

I don't think my friend wants to work with me.

[Spoken vaguely, it could mean either "friend" in question: the King of Curses, who wants to make good on his promise to kill Satoru, or Suguru himself, who identifies Satoru's proposal for the admission of vulnerability that it is, and spares no words in pointing it out.]

But that's a mistake.

[Because Satoru may be weak and limited in what he can do here, he may be restrained in this room by being unable to see, and may still feel that sense of fondness for what once was, the ting of memory, but he is still capable of fighting — he will still use the power he does have. And while a match between Suguru and himself may be more equal now than it would have been at any time in the decade that they were apart, there is one stark, painful truth that remains between them:

Satoru has killed Suguru before. If Suguru forces his hand, he will kill him again.

And he will grieve him again.

Satoru stands. His ability to navigate the museum is compromised, but he transitions to give Suguru a way out. He's lain the cards he wants to show out on the table, and now Suguru must decide his next play.

He stretches, rolling his neck and folding his hands behind his head, nearly taking out a display case in the process — unconcerned about whatever may be caught by his carelessness.]

Either way, things are about to get a lot more fun.

[Fun, deadly, dangerous —

like old times.]

[ascends]

[the vagueness of satoru's response is not lost on suguru; he recognizes that this is as much a warning for himself as it is the mysterious "friend," but it still answers one of suguru's questions? provides him with another, potentially viable path, if he chooses to spurn satoru's offer—which is good. there are now two doors before him; he can open whichever one he pleases, at the cost of permanently closing the other.

...such a decision should not be made lightly, especially in a place as strange as this. there are far too many unknown variables; there is the knowledge that satoru may be the key to uncovering a majority of them, his weakened abilities still the perfect complement to suguru's weakened abilities.

(and there is also the knowledge that, if they both escape this train, satoru will once again pose the largest risk to suguru's family, suguru's goals. satoru once hesitated for a decade; he will not make that mistake twice.)

but satoru stands, somewhat clumsily, before suguru can speak, apparently calling an end to this temporary truce. to search for his eyes, suguru is sure—and as suguru can see, suguru could help. a gesture for a gesture. proof that suguru deserves the small amount of trust that satoru has offered him, and that maybe, just maybe, at least half of satoru's warning was unwarranted.

except that it wasn't, and thus suguru remains where he is? silently watches a blinded satoru almost knock over someone's something, his hand still resting over the charm that is now safely tucked away. fun.]

You would say that.

[spoken quietly, with an undercurrent of something that suguru couldn't hide if he tried, because even weakened and running on fumes—satoru would. but despite that—despite the charm he can just barely feel, hidden beneath layers of fabric—suguru thinks of all that he has yet to do.]

I look forward to learning more about your friend.

[whether it's information that satoru chooses to share—or information that suguru uncovers on his own. either way.]

[mugen]

[There is a moment, just before Satoru turns away, where he pauses. He hears those words, spoken in that tone, and he thinks of a time long ago, when he asked Suguru to explain himself — to tell him why. He wore nothing over his eyes back then — no blindfold, no shades. He looked at Suguru without anything between them, and searched for a reason.

He thinks about how, years later, he found Suguru in an alleyway, preparing for death. He wore nothing over his eyes then, either. He looked at Suguru without anything between them, and took his life.

Satoru hooks a finger in his blindfold and pulls it down.

He looks at Suguru without anything between them —

and sees nothing.

He smiles at the darkness before him, and with the weight of yet another parting on his shoulders, he finally turns.

With a wave, he says:]

Say hi to Ryomen Sukuna for me.

[And makes his way out of the hall.]