enodia_ic | THE STORM

THE STORM

THE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING

~~It was a dark and stormy night...~~

Shortly after 2AM, the sound of howling wind accompanies the rise of a bizarre storm and wakes up just about everyone in Enodia Station. Outside, the dark sky is overcome with swirling color like a frenetic aurora borealis and chaotic bolts of energy leap through the air with unpredictable ferocity, leaving scorched patterns and destruction in their wake. The raucous gale continues too and some residents claim to hear a whistling, melodic sound obscured within it. Barely audible but just there. Zeke Zelizer even insists they recognize the tune (it's obviously Help Me by Alkaline Trio!), though nobody else agrees or believes them. Perhaps more importantly, Noah Moon remembers hearing a similar melody just before the pulse. How strange.

Despite the presence of several backup generators, the storm also causes the Station to lose power soon after it starts, leaving the buildings dark and stuffy and increasingly hot on this summer morning. Occasionally, power returns long enough for the lights to flicker, but it never fully returns while the storm rages. Even the forcefield that surrounds the Station goes down and stays down. Electrical devices are similarly impacted, going dead in an instant and refusing to work properly, though some sporadically come back to life. Enoch Waldinger is able to use their phone to get a brief recording of the storm from a cracked window before the device gives up the ghost.

In the midst of this unfolding chaos, the directors make the call that everyone should shutter up their windows, stay put, hunker down on the lowest available floor, and wait this out. This message is passed along to everyone via a telepathic shoutout from Director Mora's assistant. While a few residents are working overnight shifts for Medical or Security and end up stuck in other buildings, this leaves most of the Station's occupants on the first floor of the Residential Building and forced into an unintentional sleepover. Get cozy, everyone! Some arrive dressed in their pajamas and wrapped in blankets, ready to try to get back to sleep, while others show up with candles, snacks, and the intention to start games for a proper sleepover experience. Either way, it's going to be a long night.

AROUND THE STATION

While most residents stay put, not all do.

Those that want to access other buildings to check on things there are directed to Lenz Polzin, who can create a portal to send them where they need to go. Probably. Who knows how this storm might impact anyone's abilities? Shortly after dawn, Director Madgy directly requests that Eden Chen and Annie Song be sent over to the Research Building to check in on the Liminal moles. With the power out, the forcefields that reinforce their cells are down and the last thing he wants is for the creatures to escape or wreck the place.

Those that want to go out in the storm itself will either need to sneak out from an upper floor or walk directly past members of the Security Division that are now stationed by the exterior exits. While Director Riddle hasn't instructed them to stop anyone that wants to leave, she has instructed them to strongly discourage this because of the danger outside and to let her know about anyone that heads out into the storm.

OUT IN THE STORM

Any character that wants to leave the Residential Building, either via teleportation or by heading out in the storm, will need to fill out the form below just to see how that goes. They're taking a risk, after all!

Any character that chooses to leave the Residential Building may or may not be able to get back. This will be clarified in their results. Players should keep this in mind when making the decision to leave.

AFTER THE STORM

The storm finally begins to calm in the early afternoon. The wind quiets, the sky clears, and the inexplicable energy crackling through the air disappears. Heading outside, residents find that the buildings are damaged, but this is mostly limited to the char marks from that wild energy and the occasional broken window. Unfortunately, [Character F] finds that they didn't secure their windows properly; at least one room in their apartment is filled with broken glass and was thoroughly wrecked by the storm. Hopefully it won't be too difficult to get things back in order! Around the grounds, the natural world is similarly scarred and the area is littered with the debris of unsecured objects and damaged flora.

While exploring the grounds, Minty Payne encounters the bizarre bird that had been previously captured in the Riftlands. It briefly imitates them before screeching and starting to get aggressive. They scramble to recapture the bird by bribing it with a snack and leading it into a corner where it can be captured and are able to do so! Fortunately, this was the only Liminal creature to escape and the Liminal moles remain safely in their cages in the Research Building.

» VIBE CHECK: How is your character feeling about the storm? What are they hoping for when they roll up for the Residential Building sleepover? Are they dressed in cute pajamas or looking like a scruffy mess?

» THE HALLWAY: Many of the residents end up camping out in the hallway of the Residential Building's first floor, clustered into small groups to doze, talk, or even play silly sleepover games. Whatever gets them through the storm!

» IN APARTMENTS: It's up to those that have an apartment on the first floor whether or not they want to let others into their homes. Let everyone know your verdict here and open up your room to scenes if your character is willing to take others in!

» AROUND THE STATION: Not everyone chose to stay in the Residential Building. Those that didn't can fill out a form here to see how that went!

» AFTER THE STORM: Once the storm has passed, explore the grounds to inspect the damage or just try to unwind.

» OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

(CODE)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Zeke jumps a little at the sound of a voice, lost in his own head as he often is, and spins around ready to be annoyed. But it's just Lou, who's cool in an almost intimidating way. Or in a fully intimidating way when you're Zeke and refuse to believe you're cool too.

"Oh, yeah, of course," he says, popping an earbud out and scooching to leave room. "You can bother if you want, too. Nothing all that good's coming out right now anyway." He looks down at his sketchbook, where he'd been trying to spill his anxiety about the storm. But right now all he can see is layers and layers of scribbles blotting out the whiteness of the page.

Edited (OF COURSE I LOVE LOU) 2023-06-15 23:08 (UTC)

Meanwhile, Lou is intimidated by Zeke (who he thinks is Intimidatingly Cool), so he tries to make himself as small as possible in the spot that Zeke has scooched over to make for him.

"I just mean, if you don't want to talk, I won't talk. I can see you're busy—" (He gestures at the sketchbook) "—looks great, by the way. Evocative."

Zeke has never been able to turn away attention, even when he's feeling on edge. Especially when he's feeling on edge. When his whole body is vibrating with energy and anxiety, the only way he can think of to handle it is to either spill it into his art or onto other people.

"Thinkin' of calling it Anxiety in Vermont," he half-jokes with a crooked smirk and equally crooked shrug. "Or maybe just..." He trails off, shaking the end of the sentence away. Because saying the words Going Blind aloud seems like tempting fate, or giving it ideas.

"It's a good title. Sounds like it could be off a Mountain Goats album," Lou half-jokes in return, mirroring his shrug.

He nods toward the energy drink. "You were already in the Art Zone when the shit hit the fan, huh?"

He sets his lizard down on the ground and it just sits there, staring at Zeke, seemingly without a single brain cell behind its beady little eyes.

"Heh, I was sculpting actually. Didn't really think—" Zeke glances down at the lizard but tries not to linger on its face. It feels like he's being judged. Can lizards judge? Or is he just projecting his anxiety onto an animal that's just staring forward placidly and passively.

Yeah, probably that second one.

Zeke clears his throat and tears his eyes away from the lizard. "Didn't really think a pile of bones would make the trip all that well."

Lou takes notice of Potato making Zeke uncomfortable and turns the bearded dragon around to stare blankly at the wall instead. The lizard doesn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, probably not. What were you making? Something abstract? Figurative? I'd love to see it if you ever want to show it off," Lou asks, so genuinely interested in this that for a moment, he forgets his promise not to talk.

Zeke perks up a little, because not only is art something he actually enjoys talking about, but the lizard's tiny black eyes are no longer boring into his soul. Judge that wall, Potato, it deserves it.

"Abstract, mostly. I usually start literal, but once the first bone breaks, I just kind of let it lead me." He can feel a small amount of heat creeping up his face, because personifying something like a pile of bones can be embarrassing for him sometimes. But Lou gets art. "Once it's done...ish I'll trot it out."

Lou nods, looking thoughtful as he contemplates what that sort of art might look like. It sounds very cool. It makes him feel more than a little wistful for the days when he was still surrounded by other people who cared about—and made!—art.

"That sounds really awesome. Wish I'd known you back when I was researching and writing about liminals making art. Never met anyone else making stuff likes yours," he says, clearly impressed. He rubs the sleep from his eyes, curiosity perking him up a bit.

"So, did you make art before the, you know—" Lou does some vague wiggly fingers, trying to indicate 'magical powers'. "—and was it the same kind?"

Zeke mutters a quiet "thanks" because, to him, compliments were always things that went to other people. He always considered himself unremarkable, forever surrounded by impressive people with better educations and flashier, more useful talents. People like Lou, people like the healers and empaths or people who saw the future.

"I used to paint, actually. Some of it was legit and some was just, like, graffiti, but..." He runs his tongue through a gap where one of his molars had been removed back when he was a teenager, back when he would tag the old factory in town with whatever colors he could steal from the Walmart. "Then I lost color and it was hard to love it as much."

Ironically, Lou would have been the last person to consider himself remarkable; in his mind, Zeke was the more important and interesting person here—he was unique, he had potential. Lou considered himself to have failed at everything he'd ever attempted, except to be here, a slab of meat putting himself between danger and more worthy people.

He listens sympathetically, his expression falling as Zeke explained what had happened. He tries to find the right words for a moment, but finds it difficult to think of anything better than, "I'm really sorry, man. That sucks. I didn't mean to like, bring up... bad stuff or anything. But y'know, I'm glad you found something else to love. Artists rarely do the same thing forever—they grow, they evolve... what we initially think of as limitations often result in having to come up with creative solutions. You're forced to think outside the box. Not everyone has the ability to roll with the punches. You're smart, you're resourceful, you're killin' it."

THE STORM

THE HALLWAY: Zeke & Lou

THE HALLWAY: Zeke & Lou

THE HALLWAY: Zeke & Lou

THE HALLWAY: Zeke & Lou

THE HALLWAY: Zeke & Lou

THE HALLWAY: Zeke & Lou

THE HALLWAY: Zeke & Lou

THE HALLWAY: Zeke & Lou

THE HALLWAY: Zeke & Lou

THE HALLWAY: Zeke & Lou