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

FAQ & Game Info / Calendar / Taken
Applications / Reserves / Hiatus & Drops



FULL NAVIGATION

Comments

Vidal | Original

[neriticism]

1. TUTORIAL MODE
[ After a lot of bleak staring at the brochure, and then a lot more bleak staring at the objective list... This might as well happen. Out of one alternate dimension and into another. Why not! Just roll with it. Anyway, maybe you receive a random ping from your phone. ]

Hey. Two birds, one stone. You scratch my to-do list I scratch yours. Mutually beneficial alliance and all that jazz. Let's be besties for the day.

[ Sent... still from the floor. Moving trains are not his friends, man. ]

2. MUSEUM
A.
[ If you're not already inside the next car, if you step across the walkway a little too closely behind Vidal, you might want to take a pause at the door, because one step in and the man keeps on plummeting straight forward. His hands throw themselves out in front of him on sheer instinct, not quite sure whether to catch himself or catch the ledge of a trap door, but they're Ready. ]

[ Too ready. There's no such trap door. Only solid floor that hits his palms hard and he immediately crumples to the side with a bark of pain that really echoes in the hall beyond, curling up to hug his shoulder. ]

[ Groaned mostly to the floorboards, ] Oh, fuck me sideways, fucking— I need a second.

[ Somehow, he doesn't seem to be quite so concerned with the fact that now there's definitely only one of two legs left tangled up in the tails of his overcoat... Ignorance is bliss, huh. Who's gonna tell him. Why is his phone buzzing. There's a lot going on here. ]

B.
[ After a lot of extremely undignified one-legged hopping through the museum and picking around broken glass, Vidal finally makes his way huffing and puffing to a bright and faux-jungle-y pedestal. Some sort of Jurassic taxidermy display if he had to guess. What he couldn't have guessed, however, was the main attraction: an amalgamation of flowering foliage gnarled and twisted around glimpses of clean white bone, cobbled together in the shape of a wolf? A bear, maybe? Whatever it is (or was..?), it's frozen in a rear onto its hind legs, well over 10 feet tall. ]

[ Even less dignified is the startled almost-duck that the impressive statue elicits, which turns into more of a violent wobble until he catches himself half-crouched on the nearest display case. Meant to do that, yep. ]

You gotta be kidding me, [ he mutters, glaring up at the thing, until the sight of a human leg clamped in its jaws—still wearing what is unmistakably his missing red-soled shoe—turns the glare into a downright sneer. ] Oh you are kid-ding me!

[ THIS IS JUST INSULT TO INJURY. ]

3. KOROGUS OR NOT
[ It's really not often that he gets distracted from a good (or rather, very stupid, but apparently very necessary) task at hand. He's found one of the jingly wooden brats and bared his soul (and that's between him, the little fella, and god) to get his hands on one of those golden seeds, stuffed into the pocket of his overcoat thrown over an arm. Now he's too busy being very still and peering over the precipice of a short but rather steep drop-off, and watching one of those positively massive silver lynels prowling across the plain below. ]

[ Do some habits die hard? Yes. Is it just one majestic motherfucker?? Also yes. He's got his phone out to shoot some pictures either way. And maybe to take some notes. Please don't sneak up on him. For the love of god, don't be loud. ]

[ Though for the record, there is a bright green glow glinting right at the base of his neck, visible through the collar of his shirt. Little hard to find your number when it's on your back, isn't it? Maybe he just didn't get one of those, huh? Weird... ]

[ Anyway, under his breath... almost like a vet talking to a kitten: ] What'cha got for teeth, there, buddy? Give us a smile.

4. WHATEVER
If u want smth specific just @ me I'm dying squirtle.

2A

[sulahnan]

[ Tessa stops as soon as Vidal pitches forward, managing only to say: ] Oh, shit, are you alright? [ before staggering over him. She meant to step, but as soon as she passed the threshold, pop! No more ears.

Turns out, that really fucks your balance. ]

[neriticism]

Oh yeah, peachy, [ he snipes up from the floor, making no honest effort to hide the strain in his voice. He— oh hello just stomp right on over him that's fine— ] Hey c'mon, easy, sweetie, I don't know how much more of a watch your step I could've given you here.

[ It's called leading by example... of what not to do. Anyway, with a loud huff, he does his best to roll himself up to a sit as his shoulder continues to protest. Any more swearing he does to himself, well, fortunately that's going to fall on deaf ears, isn't it? ]

You good? [ Or does he have to put out a blocking hand to not get tripped over again?? ]

[sulahnan]

WHAT?? [ Pardon her shouting, she suddenly can't hear anything. Tessa reaches up to try and figure out if there's something lodged in her ears, then claps her hands on the sides of her head à bit frantically. ] MY EARS ARE GONE?! AND YOU DEFINITELY HAD TWO LEGS A MOMENT AGO! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!

1

[vadarta]

[ Hello new friend, are you ready for full ass tutorial mode with a fantasy fuck who has never texted before? Because this response takes so long that Vidal might start to wonder if he sent it to a dead end, but eventually: ]

I was born ready for mutually beneficial friendships. What do you offer/ //
//


/
?

[neriticism]

[ They taught Vivi some technology, he can do it again, surely... But he is about to try texting another account when the reply finally shows up. And what a reply it is. ]

Sleepovers and scary stories and pillow fights and finding the way out of here, what else are friends for??

You lose the shift key over there, buddy?

[vadarta]

It's not very intuitive. [ dont make fun of him!!! ] It's sounding good so far, but I think I'd better meet you first. It's so difficult to be friends in writings alone, isn't it?

3;

[fluxing]

<sub>[ The objective of this car hasn’t caught his interest enough to participate (for now, at least) and what’s more intriguing are the passengers on this magical train and Jack is going to take his precious time getting to know the ones that catch his attention the most.

Such as this guy who is dangerously close to a drop off. Vidal’s back is facing Jack, so he does catch glimpse of that glowing number along the back of his neck.

A playful, if not a bit sadistic smile crosses his face as he tip toes closer to Vidal, hoping to not be seen. Vidal will probably sense his presence once he stops right next to him. ]</sub>

You know, I’veeeee got some nice teeth too.

_{[ His voice is sing-song as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. Should he tell him there’s a number on the back of his neck? Yeah probably. But not first thing. That’s too sensible. ]}

[neriticism]

[ Fun upside of the rampant backstabbing paranoia you wind up with in his line of work is that you develop eyes in the back of your head. Jack’s not as sneaky as he thinks he is, but he’s also not the priority here. Logically speaking, there’s something much more dangerous ahead, but the fact that Vidal’s crouched right on a ridge here has him glancing imperceptibly over his shoulder once or twice. ]

[ What he’s not expecting is them to get right up in his business straight off the bat. Which has him bristling even before the guy opens his mouth. Instinctively, Vidal gives him an irritable tone it down gesture. ]

Y'know, usually people try to lead with hello, or, nice to meet you. Sorry to bother you, that kinda thing. [ Dripping with enough polite informativeness to circle back around to insincere. And after taking a hot second to give him a proper look, ] ... You got a lot more than teeth going on, buddy.

[fluxing]

<sub>[ no he absolutely will not tone it down ]

[ As Vidal talks, Jack gives him a hopeful grin, showing off those aforementioned sharp teeth. Look at them. They look incredibly reptillian. He's being acknowledged, so his tail thumps against the ground. He's happy. ]</sub>

Oh. You have nooooooo idea.

_{[ He props his chin in one hand, seeming content to be talking to someone. ]}

I was just curious.. you look like another passenger. What number do you have?

2b

[reanimate]

[ Jinwoo's just passing through, rolling his shoulder and checking his left arm to make sure everything's in working order after having gone through a sudden disappearance in limb and then a frantic rescue montage. Content that his arm seems to be fine and that his objective is met, he's on his way toward the next exit door when he pauses mid-step at what he sees.

Damn, he feels the struggle of this poor guy. That had been him just moments ago, except this one seems more personal.

Curiosity gets the better of him, and Jinwoo ambles over, eyes darting first to the stranger, then to the leg in the jaws of some kind of large beast. ]

Friend of yours?

[neriticism]

[ The sound of footsteps over the sound of his exhausted breaths draws a glance, and Vidal quickly straightens up to stand a little more dignified, or as dignified as he could manage propped against the case. Get a load of this dude, all intact. Must be nice. He shoots the creature another look before huffing a laugh. ]

Best buds, [ he mutters with a little incredulous gesture. ] Y'know of all the times it coulda pulled this stunt off, I can't say I was expecting it to go quite like this.

[ Dropping his hand, he looks pretty miserably preoccupied with just how far up that leg is. He's been hopping for like an hour, man, what kind of sick joke is this. ]

[reanimate]

[ Something from this stranger's home, then... That's neat. Jinwoo hasn't run into anything like that in this museum and he guesses he ought to be grateful for it because the scenario before him is kind of a sad one...

Surely he can't just poke his nose into business that isn't his and then walk off. He'd gotten help for his own missing part, after all. Pay it forward like those Starbucks drive-thrus. ]

Maybe the train's playing a joke with you. [ A sick one. ] Want some help getting it down?

[ It's not going to, uh. Lunge at him or anything, right. Like Jinwoo will happily bap its nose if it does but that's some serious jumpscare. ]

1

[reznikolai]

I don't know, I have extraordinarily high standards for my besties... How can I be sure you're a suitable candidate?

[What if he adds one of these fun little faces? Look, he's deliberating very carefully!]

🤔

[neriticism]

Oh I didn't realize what I was getting into here, did I? But I'm sure I can hack it.

[ That discerning emoji means business for sure. ]

What is it that makes a good candidate then? What's your vetting process? Will there be a phone interview?

[reznikolai]

There will be an exam, of course. Fifty questions about yours truly. An essay.

3

[unrepentant]

[Goal-oriented by nature, this is the first train car that feels like it's really required him to slow down. The landscape itself is vast and stretches out in all directions, and the objective itself is pretty open ended. How many of these little guys are there? How will they know when they've all be found? Anakin hasn't struggled to find them, if anything he seems to be drawn in the right direction over and over again. But he also seems to be collecting the korogus themselves more than the seeds they're bequeathing.

Like the tiny figure he's just uncovered under a conspicuously placed rock. Delighted at being found, the korogu chimes at him and Anakin pushes back up to his feet. He can see now that they're on one of a series of ledges, a cliff face that makes him think of a staircase, one short, steep ledge after the other.

....And one with a, person on the ledge below him. A person looking down at one of those much bigger locals. What'cha got for teeth, there, buddy? he hears. A person with no self-preservation instincts apparently.] You know that thing could squish you, right?

[neriticism]

[ As endless as the whole majestic landscape seems, two passengers were still bound to bump into one another sooner or later. The bright little chime is more startling than the voice that follows though. Vidal quickly looks over, then up, until he spots a figure looming over him on the ledge above, and he raises his eyebrows. ]

Yeah? So could most of the things I work with. So could a really determined dog. Not the best hazard metric.

[ Trust him, he has no intention of getting any closer than this. Somehow there’s respect in there behind the flippancy, and an occasional glance down at the prowling lynel to make sure it isn’t catching on to their presence or taking offense. ]

[ A gesture up at the korogu (korogus plural??) he can just spot over the ledge, jingling around the man’s ankles, ] Those things hit pretty hard too, y’know. Could be deadly in a big enough pack.

[ Just a little facetiously pointed. You sure you’re not being hunted, buddy? ]

[unrepentant]

[What kind of person defends their lack of self preservation by explaining how easy they are to kill? Anakin, who has absolutely defended his choices that way and who ascribes readily to the motto of Do As I Say Not As I Do- continues to frown contemplatively at the figure on the ledge below. Who is...

Honestly Anakin hasn't figured out what he's doing exactly. Surveying the landscape? Recon? Studying the local fauna? His gaze moves from the man himself to the creature keeping them all at a distance- its massive shape pacing across the plain in as if its on patrol. He crouches where he is just in case their spectating draws the wrong kind of attention. Like an arrow. Anakin's elbows come to rest on his knees, hands dangling idly in the space between them. Not quite startled by the sudden shift but choosing to accommodate anyway, two korogus give him a slightly wider berth, toddling through the dirt and sparse grass.]

I'm trying to figure out where to drop them off. [One tiny figure comes just close enough to the ledge between them that it slips. Anakin reaches out and picks it up by the head, setting it back on solid ground before it can finish its fall.]

Wait, these things hit? You tried to fight them?

2b!

[constrainer]

[ Truth be told, Kurapika is in a Mood after the events of this car, but he at least has his sight back now after having his eyes stolen, so that's nice? He still looks like utter shit, though, a bunch of leftover cold-sweat on his face and a bunch of tension in his brow - not far off from the image of someone who needs to lay down pronto. Just as he's about to storm out of the car, though, he does happen to witness this particularly sad predicament... and knows that he can help. He's not exactly feeling like doing so, but the sliver of his heart that tells him the person is just the same as him, and wants to get out of the car as soon as possible too, keeps him from continuing on his way. ]

That's yours?

[ He asks, bluntly, his eyes meandering up to the leg up in that... thing's jaws. It's more a rhetorical question than anything, given the shoe, but still, he feels he needs to ask to make sure. ]

[neriticism]

[ A blessing and a curse of the quiet museum setting is that motion and footfalls are just about impossible to miss. For him, anyway. Nothing about him is superhuman, but habitual twitchy paranoia is the next best thing. Vidal is glancing towards the passing figure well before he speaks, but once he does, he turns a little more directly. ]

Yeah, [ he sighs, ] That's about par for the course the way my luck's been going.

[ As if anyone else has been having a good time here. He's allowed to complain! Class action hardships hardly invalidate his personal suffering! But speaking of, with his eyes off the spotlit display and adjusting back to the dimness of the museum hall, this kid looks about ten times more rattled than he feels. ]

Hey, you good? You look like you saw a ghost.

[ Or about to faint. Or maybe throw up. Jury's still out til he opens his mouth again. ]

[constrainer]

I'm fine.

[ He manages to say this relatively steadily (if not like, kinda hurriedly?) despite still seeming pale, using the sleeve of his fancy suit to dab at some of the sweat at his brow. It's already been a blow to his pride to be so shaken by this car - to have it acknowledged by another fellow human being? Mortifying. ]

Just... it's better to leave this car as soon as possible. You should complete yourself quickly.

[ His eyes drift from the leg back to his companion, somewhat relieved to see a reaction to this all closer to "this is so annoying" than "I'm gonna go apeshit if I don't get my body part back." It's better to be around someone who can take this in stride, right now. Still. He doesn't trust this place not to steal something else from them if they loiter. ]

About the leg— it'll be faster to bring it down to us than for us to climb up there. That thing can likely be knocked over.

[ Kurapika rolls his right wrist, and a linked chain untangles from around his hand, his left fingers pulling more of the chain out, as if measuring rope for a lasso. At the end of the chain is a small metal ball. Is he suggesting pulling down the whole taxidermized statue just to get to the leg? Yes, because fuck this place. Any shrivel of care about making a mess or a disruption has long left him. ]

3

[mugen]

[Listen: it isn't that Satoru intends to be loud, even if it is arguably one of his natural states. Though he has no qualms with disrupting the observance of wildlife and is maybe a little guilty of frequently interrupting peaceful moments, he actually intends to traverse this cliff in peace for once. It's been a long few days and he's a little tired, which isn't typical for him but happens to be a consequence of missing one of his very important techniques. What he really needs is a nice, long nap and a solid few hours of Infinity-free existence so he can recharge, but that's asking for a lot from someone who's accustomed to being untouchable.

But a short doze while encased in Infinity is better than no nap at all. So! He's made his way to a cliff that overlooks a big scary creature in hopes that he'd be alone. Who would want to hang around on ledges while animals leer at them from below? Only crazy people, right?

It's bad luck, really, that Satoru happens to be making his way by one such crazy person, quiet for the first time in possibly forever, only to have to pause behind him because of a sudden need to sneeze. Someone out there must be talking about him, which makes sense, because he's already annoyed his fair share of people on this train. The sound is both loud and sudden.

Which is unfortunate all around, because it's definitely going to attract the Lynel's attention. And there's also the risk that this guy will go plummeting off this edge in surprise. Absolutely his fault, even if this is trouble he actually didn't intend to cause for once. But he's responsible for it nonetheless so he'll go ahead and grab the back of Vidal's shirt preemptively, just in case.]

Close one.

[If Vidal wasn't about to fall, that's unfortunate for him, because Satoru's now sort of holding him over the ledge by the grip he has on his shirt, which means he averted no crisis just to give Vidal the impression that he's about to be fed to that angry Lynel.

Satoru sounds completely relaxed and unbothered by this near-disaster. And he seems in no hurry to get them away from the ledge and out of sight of the disturbed Lynel.]

It looks pretty mad, huh?

[neriticism]

[ There's people about, milling across the plains all working towards their own personal participation quotas, he knows that much. And the knowledge is enough to keep Vidal from leaping into the stratosphere at the sudden sneeze from behind. And he's got enough instinct to move back from the ledge, rather than springing forward, but that doesn't do much good when something's seizing and hoisting you by your shirt. ]

Jesus—! [ Squirming, he throws a hand back to get a grip on the wrist of who- or whatever's got him, inadvertently chucking his phone back to the safety of the ledge in the process. The other hand doesn't even make it to chest height before he's biting back a yelp, and all that accomplishes is sliding his overcoat off of his arm and flinging it right off the edge. ]

You fucking— What the fuck?! Close what?! Let go, you piece of—

[ We can assume the expletives will continue endlessly for as long as he's wriggling and kicking, 'cause he looks pretty mad too. But honestly compared to the lynel, his violent fury is about on par with a scruffed kitten in this position. ]

2b

[arcsplainist]

[ A museum so irritatingly large does make locating one's lost appendage a difficult find, doesn't it? At least someone here has managed to find theirs, even if it sits within the jaws of some creature of another—or at least, the display of one.

Alphinaud wanders up, his attention caught by a man hobbling along on one foot. His own missing limb is obvious: the right sleeve of his coat dangles limply with nothing to fill it out. ]

... 'Tis a cruel spot to place it in.

[ But not for the reasons Alphinaud thinks. ]