[Our team has spotted a blip in atmospheric Juice within Vignette 3502:Vampire's Lair. Sending a scout to investigate. Standby for further instructions.]

“Aliens?”

“Definitely aliens.”

Two scientists in NFWS during a routine Vignette observation.

The Nightmare Fuel Weather Station (NFWS) are a research institute whose existence centres around maintenance of the Juice Battery. They monitor its power distribution through Dream and how changes affect its landscape. They were the first Muses to discover that Juice levels were depleting, prompting the gathering of Muses who were most affected by the energy crisis at Brainstorms, in collaboration with the Academy of Thought.

In return for keeping the energy reserves of Dream in check, they have the resources to probe at the fabric of Dream, Trope Cards and even Creative Juice. Exploiting this, NFWS have invented various Juicetronic machines that contribute to the efficiency of energy consumption and altogether make Muse life more comfortable. Those who do work for NFWS seem to be ever curious about the imaginary-yet-very-real world around them. Inherently eccentric, free and talkative about all the wrong things, they are an opinionated bunch that stretch from off-the-wall geniuses to dutiful facility managers that only agree on one thing - it's not so much about what you should do; its about what you can do.

NFWS was founded by Rosalin Hearse, a scholar and Muse of History. She is mostly acclaimed for inventing a way to power Dream through Jo’s Creative Juices. A large monument to her stands in the courtyard of NFWS station, holding her signature red and white umbrella high with pride. In her wake, NFWS started to attract the revolutionaries amongst Muse society: those that thought too much about what could be. They wanted idealists that had the drive to put their ideas into action. Curiosity, discovery and knowledge have remained at the core of NFWS, even as it started to have some… stranger people within its employ. It is no secret that NFWS has had its fair share of Censored Muses in its past, as the pursuit of truth and the metaphysical tends to rub against some other factions the wrong way. However, their intellect and control of energy gives the institute enough political power to continue their research even in the face of contrasting opinions.

NFWS today exists as a sprawling collection of low stonewalled buildings, reminiscent of a run down weather station in the small town where Jo grew up. Within the drab exterior are housed the latest inventions and complex monitors - where staff work vigilantly - interspersed with the occasional yell and heated argument, usually catching the ears of all in the room. Here, there is no structure; only great and greater minds exploding under the same roof beneath a political shield where the stiff and uncreative cannot catch them. Here, they have the resources to go further than any Muse has gone before: chasing the ever-elusive secrets to their world, they are truly free.

Education: Professors and scholars who give lectures on the latest research on the Dreamscape for veterans and rookies alike. They usually also conduct their own private research.

Exploration: Headed by Dr. Tangle, these Muses spend their time exploring the Dreamscape, recording distant Vignettes and untapped Trope mines within obscure Transitions unknown by the general public.

Maintenance: These homebodies tend to stay within the NFWS core to monitor the Juice battery under the employ of P. Rasbox. They are highly skilled technicians and engineers that are responsible for Juice collections and the distribution of power throughout Spindle.

Spark Core: Adrenaline junkies that form NFWS's emergency response team, primarily to deal with Juice power outages that threaten to collapse Vignettes as well as Spindle itself.

• Pando Rasbox: Manager of the Muse energy control systems that monitor the energy and weather around Dream 24/7. That voice in the ears of Spark Core agents if any anomalies are spotted. The energy crisis has overworked this poor Muse half to death. Nowadays what Pando really needs is a holiday.
• Kendrick: Lecturer of Mind Games 101, a class taken in first-year courses at NFWS. He used to be a prolific inventor, but allegedly retired to teach in his older age. He is as strict as he is a man of few words and meek demeanour; if one reads his research papers though, it’s a very different story…
• Dr. Tangle: Conductor of the Think Train: a floating locomotive that travels through Vignette after Vignette carrying various satellites and lab equipment to conduct field work out in the Dreamscapes of Jo’s forgotten Vignettes. She’s a little hard to talk to given her staring off into blank space or mumbling to herself in between sentences - but she remains one of the brightest Muses within NFWS.
• Rosalin Hearse: She has long stopped managing NFWS and now spends her time travelling Dream via the floating umbrella she invented. Occasionally she comes to check in on NFWS staff, but is less concerned with the energy crisis and is more into wacky new inventions.
• Fisheye: A rather cagey and skittish young Muse who is responsible for transferring raw files from Vignette monitoring systems to an edited broadcast where they can be viewed by all of Spindle on Vig-Net. No one has seen her beyond an outreached arm from her 'office' to grab the latest footage for upload.

NFWS staff think they're dressing practically, though other Muses may not agree with this statement. Their ordinary clothes are layered over with tattered lab coats, goggles, hazmat suits and any other specialised protective devices they may need for their research. Explorers vary in their dress depending on what environmental hazards they'll be encountering in their newly-discovered Vignettes. NFWS staff are not afraid to express what they do and love through their clothing - their outfits tend to show wear and tear from past failed experiments or adventures. Explorers in particular are fond of brandishing souvenirs from lost Vignettes. Pins, badges and even patches showing off quotes and cameos from their favourite Muses and Impressions, as well as intellectual inspiration, tend to be worn proudly.

Spark Core aligned NFWS Muses tend to also take inspiration from non-violent emergency rescue services in the real world, such as paramedics, firefighters and coast/lifeguards.

• Are interested in the metaphysic of the game and enjoy PvE.
• Want to play someone eccentric and chaotic, of any moral compass.
• Enjoy collaborative actions.
• Enjoy exploring the wider world of Dream.
• Do not mind being the underdog.