enodia_ic | THE STORM

Entry tags:

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

Enoch had a whole script prepared for this call, designed to chip away at Crysta's cynicism and make her wonder if this macabre illusion might be a sign that her dear older brother is experiencing terrible and debilitating effects from the storm, and maybe, just maybe, she should worry about him.

But the only thing on the other end of the line is a long silence, before Enoch's irritated voice comes through. "You know very well that Nutsy was not a friend, he was simply a squirrel that lived in the tree outside my bedroom window and which I happened to name because I was nine years old."

Edited (making it canon enoch never had any friends before the age of 9) 2023-06-16 00:24 (UTC)

Crysta is secretly glad for the electricity outage, because it means wherever he is lurking (probably in the closet like a weirdo), Enoch cannot see the way her shoulders fall in relief, or how her victory grin doesn't read as cruel. "It was totally sad." She insists over the fake phone, more out of habit than believing it's there.

Which. She slides off the counter, letting her bare feet crush the glass with a satisfying crunch. It doesn't hurt. Because of course it can't, if she doesn't believe it. What she does believe, at least enough to do it, is that she is fully able to drop the caseless iPhone 14 dramatically into a pool of fake blood. And she does. "...And if you're gonna play Scream, could you like at least pick a night where any of the phones worked."

Edited (i cannot write words tonight sobs) 2023-06-16 01:18 (UTC)

The phone breaks on impact—too dramatically, given the modest height of the drop and the construction of the device. (Enoch mentally adds "iPhone drop tests" to his list of things to research.) The glass screen is a spiderweb of fractures, but Enoch's voice still comes out of it: "Your phone isn't working either? Hm." This is what he gets for not making the effort to check up on other people.

The illusion drops. Slowly at first, then all at once, as the lab table transitions to a kitchen countertop, and the hard floors turn into linoleum and carpet, and the sight of the storm outside moves from the tall lab windows to outside the balcony.

"Good to know that if I'd been attacked by a crazed serial killer, my own flesh and blood would not care the slightest bit." Enoch stands in the corner of the kitchen, arms crossed, looking at her.

She glares as soon as she sees him. "Oh fuck you, of course I'd care." She refuses to let him have the loyalty test high ground here. "It's just I'm not like, actually as much of an idiot as you seem to think?? Like. If you died, your powers would be gone, too, and your apartment obviously isn't a lab, so duh, you were using them? Unless it was like, Parson using your powers after eating your soul too, in which case I'd be waaay screwed anyway, since then he's a super specific serial killer and I'm next."

Enoch was being facetious, and is surprised by the force of Crysta's anger in the moment. Maybe it's not that funny to endure an elaborate joke in which your brother is murdered at the research station where your other brother died. Crysta had seen through it immediately—she's always been able to, and he'd expected this to be just another incident in a long, long list of incidents where Enoch used his powers to fuck with his siblings. But he must have miscalculated, and something here (something he'd said?) actually upset her.

Instead of responding to Crysta's outburst like a compassionate human being, Enoch just asks, "Did anyone tell you about the pulse?"

Edited 2023-06-16 05:03 (UTC)

She sort of considers just leaving. A dramatic door-slam after this would give her the last word, effectively, and that's a huge advantage in any argument. But not with Enoch, who she knows will forget about her the second she walks out. The worst thing's happened; she's been exposed as caring more about him than he probably ever will about her. He'd certainly welcome her grisly murder. It'd give him something to sort out.

Left raw in the wake of another electric jolt and her own vulnerability, she pulls up a kitchen chair and lets it scrape across the floor. She sits in it petulant and child-like, her knees gathered under her big sweatshirt. The answer to his question is yes. She knows vaguely about the pulse and how it sent the station into turmoil. But she doesn't know anything about what had happened to him in it, and so to force him to tell her the whole story, however the hell this was applicable, she snaps, "Nope."

Edited (a child...sorry) 2023-06-16 16:51 (UTC)

Unfazed by Crysta's clear irritation, Enoch immediately takes on the stance and tone of voice which his siblings have mockingly called his "tryhard college professor" mode. "In February, Enodia Station was shut down by an energy pulse of unknown origin, which disabled all of our electronic devices and rendered every resident unconscious. The damage was so extensive that it necessitated a closure for repairs. I was in the lab at the time. I experienced..."

He pauses. This story still makes him feel oddly exposed, even though nothing about it is a secret and sharing data will only help them determine the truth sooner. But it's one thing to give an objective accounting of the events for research records, and another to tell your sister.

"When the pulse happened, I felt this... pain in my head. The worst pain I've ever experienced in my life. I thought I was going to..." Enoch makes a sharp little gesture with his hand, dismissing the thought. "And I'd placed the whole lab in an illusion. At least, I think it was me. It was a place I'd never seen before."

She does not like the reminder that only a few months ago, Enoch was in grave danger. She also doesn't love the way her mouth twists when he describes the pain and its possible consequences. And she's never loved Professor Voice, but that's beside the point. Despite herself, Crysta leans her elbows on the table.

"...So like, without you knowing about it? Can you make it again?"

"No. I've tried." Enoch makes the same flicking motion with his hand again, this time to express his annoyance. He hates it when he doesn't understand something. Even worse when it's something about himself that he's unable to quantify and explain away just by studying hard enough. "The place was outdoors, likely in the nearby Riftlands, judging from the flora. And it was more realistic than any illusion I've ever made. Even I almost believed it was real."

He's just treating Crysta as his crow again, although saying all of this aloud is helping to settle the anxiety he's been trying to repress ever since the storm started. This isn't the same as the pulse. But he'd bet on the phenomena being more related than unrelated.

"Everyone in the lab went unconscious before it could be studied further. Another Enodia mystery to add to the pile. And—" Enoch smirks at her. "—a strong indication that I could, in fact, project an illusion while being murdered."

Edited (sorry about him) 2023-06-17 00:39 (UTC)

Crysta, for all of her many (many, many) faults, is a pretty good crow. She even perches in her chair like one, which is more out of anxiety than anything else right now. She wishes that she would've been there, months ago, so she could've been in the lab to see this herself. Which is a stupid wish, she realizes three seconds later. What could she possibly have done.

She does, though, pick up the thread of worry in his voice, she thinks. "...Do you think that might happen like. Now? With the storm?"

Even if that is a real fear, she follows it with a wide roll of her eyes and, "Ok, but no murderer would create like, your dumbass illusions, they couldn't. I know those."

"No, no. This storm and the pulse have completely different physical markers," Enoch says, although he doesn't sound entirely convinced. He's tense enough to start pacing in the kitchen, but if he does that, Crysta will definitely be able to read his mood, so he settles into the other kitchen chair and tries not to fidget.

Enoch looks across the apartment to the window, where strange lights swirl and jolts of energy streak across the sky. "I suspect we're in far more danger from the bored idiots milling around outside. People with superpowers were not meant to be packed together tightly and put under stress." His fingers tap on the small dining table. "Parson Starling might even come finish the job, now that we've made ourselves easy targets."

"I didn't even try to go outside." This is probably not something Crysta should brag about, but she somewhat compulsively seeks praise for clearing the lowest possible bar, always and forever. She isn't convinced. He still looks worried; tense. A lot of people here are. Crysta's still not, not anymore. Now that they're obviously off the topic of her feelings, she can handle the storm.

"I'd like to see him try. We'd be ready for him. I think he'd totally cry if all his hair went missing, for example."

Enoch looks away from the window, laughing despite himself. What a mental image. "He'd absolutely cry. The man was horribly shallow even before he absorbed the ego of a Waldinger."

They have yet to talk about this without turning it into a joke. Enoch doubts they ever will—that level of emotion is embarrassing for them both, and anyway, it's what Gavin would've wanted. Their brother had never known a single serious topic he couldn't make a dark joke about.

Enoch looks at Crysta, studying her for a moment. He'd expected her presence at Enodia to be nothing but a burden, an unwelcome reminder. For the first time, he's honestly glad to have his sister with him. (Too bad about the multiple deadly and dangerous events.) "You know, you..." Ugh. "You should go back to your party." The noise from the people in Crysta's apartment filters through the wall of the kitchen.

She releases a small puff of laughter in turn, trying to not betray too much how when they make fun of Parson Starling it feels a lot like it used to when they would team up to take down Gavin. There's a lot wrong with that, probably, being what she misses. She might be a bad person for it. Probably, actually. That's okay.

Even this moment's met with an attempted dismissal. She pauses, hearing the thumps through the wall and wonders idly if they're real or just Enoch trying to pull a fire alarm in her brain. She shakes her head, though. It's comfortable in here, or the idea of Enoch unconscious surrounded by a prison of his brain's own making is still too chilling. Or actually maybe just it's that her feet have fallen asleep because she's sitting on them weird. She'll go when they wake up. "I mean, I think Vidalia's doing like. Unholy things with our blender for truth or dare, so I was gonna chill here for a minute before facing that."

Edited 2023-06-18 21:27 (UTC)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

THE STORM

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta