THE STORM

[enodiamod]

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.
<b>CHARACTER:</b> The character that intends to leave during the storm. <b>DESTINATION:</b> Where does the character intend to go? Are they heading to the Commercial Center to make sure their business has been properly secured or the Medical Building to check on a friend working the night shift? Do they just want to go outside and risk the storm to satiate their curiosity? <b>METHOD:</b> How does the character intend to get there? Are they being teleported, are they going on foot, or do they have some other method to get around? <b>ANYTHING ELSE?:</b> Anything else!

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)

Comments

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

[beautyfull]

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."

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

[imaginist]

"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."

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

[beautyfull]

"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."

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

[imaginist]

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.

IN APARTMENTS: Enoch & Crysta

[beautyfull]

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."