libraryassistants: (Default)
Unfinished Library Mod & NPC Account ([personal profile] libraryassistants) wrote in [community profile] unfinishedlibrary2025-11-14 08:20 am

It's a beautiful day in the village - TAKE A LOAD OFF, LOG 1

Who: Readers and Actors
What: Beta Story Start - At the start of any particular Story, characters will be drawn to a section of the Stacks. Those inclined to resist will find themselves there anyway, through the shifts and changes inherent to the Library's structure. The Story manuscript will be laid out neatly on a side table, its pages lit by a faint aura that draws focus and beckons insistently to the Editors. Touching it will bring them into the Story.
Characters can either voluntarily touch the Story to enter it, or the Librarian will eventually sweep them in. Regardless of how long it takes them to enter, everyone will arrive at the same point in time.
When: November 14- November 27
Where: Woodhurst (UK) and the SS Radiance (in space!), 2019
Content warnings: Please tag warnings in comment headers!

In Woodhurst

It’s another Monday morning in Woodhurst, and as is often the case for the United Kingdom in the fall, it is raining. It is, all in all, a rather typical Monday morning. People shuffle off to work, dropping by the various cafes and shops for their morning caffeine. Polite (if meaningless) greetings are exchanged, vague comments about the weather are made. Heads down, trudging along, just keeping things going.

By midday, it’s clear that this Monday is a little bit… different. There are some people who seem especially cheerful and helpful. Perhaps you’ve just been served a free upsize of your morning coffee. Or a stranger held an umbrella up for you. People keep talking about the benefits of yoga? And it’s not just a bunch of people seeming to be having an especially good day and paying it forward (that would be strange enough). Some of your friends and loved ones aren’t acting like themselves, aside from being remarkably cheerful. They don’t seem to remember basic things, don’t know their normal rituals, and are generally just very off. You think one of them might have blinked sideways? Whatever it is that’s happened, it doesn’t seem right.

As for those ‘friends and loved ones’… The novices from the Interstellar Group are largely inexperienced with such a thing as covert operations. Fresh off the ship and with no frame of reference, their human disguises may have a few significant flaws.

However many fingers it is they have, they’re keen to help - perhaps a little too much so. Whatever it takes to make these human lives easier, whatever they can do to help them relax - the Group are on it! Hopefully they’ll catch on quietly.


On the IMW Group Supply Ship: Radiance

No plan survives contact with the enemy, is how the saying goes. But within the Interstellar Mindfulness & Wellness Group, the concept is usually applied to patients. Patients are, almost entirely across the board, unpredictable creatures - and while the science behind wellness is robust, there’s simply too much individual variation for a standardised approach. That being said, this particular plan seems to be going… rather more poorly than expected. It starts to break down once the word ‘kidnapping’ is brought up. It’s such an ugly word to use. The Group tries to avoid it. But in some of these cases, the humans need the Group’s own facilities! The idea was to convince the humans to follow them to a very not suspicious space capsule, or to get them to touch this particularly strange teleportation device, and they’d be on their way to recovery. However, most if not all the humans seem to be reacting… quite negatively to that. It’s almost like they don’t understand that this is for their benefit!

The ship is very nice, and perfectly designed to relax and comfort (--for the species the Group are familiar with, at least). Soothing music plays along the spaceship’s halls, which are lit in a soft violet glow. Potted plants are artfully displayed, though none of them are recognisable as any species found on Earth. For those with a sensitive nose, the flowers give off a bright, delicate scent; not unlike that of lavender and lemon myrtle. An entire stretch of glass is dedicated to the view outside, the Earth looking so serene from this distance; stars shining in the space around it.

For those Aliens aboard the mothership, maybe you’re delivering this hour’s yoga session. Maybe you’re leading a group chant or meditation. Are you perhaps talking humans into resting in the healing spa, or - for those so inclined - are you delving deeper, forming a connection, and really getting to know these humans? For the humans… well, at least the spa looks really nice, right?

[Space Spa Features:
Yoga - you’ve been herded into a room where a flexible alien encourages you to breathe deeply; holding it in your stomach and feeling your heart beat before letting it out in a big sigh. The routine is not very different to yoga on Earth, except… well, if you can’t find your proboscis, maybe that particular pose won’t work for you.
Sauna - the heat promotes circulation, but the temperature in here seems to be a little off.
Spa - you know what a spa is. Or, you thought you did. It looks like the aliens aren’t quite on the same page. Where there would normally be cucumbers, there’s a strange pink fruit. Where you’d expect water, there’s… a viscous fluid, gently rotating through a myriad of colours, that seems to soften and soothe your muscles as you soak in it.
And Others - the aliens have no shortage of remedies for what ails you! Since this is their first time experiencing humans, results may vary.]


Optional prompts (player-run):
An alien adrift, unsure what task to complete? Seek guidance from your leader.

In Woodhurst, unnerved and skeptical? Drop in at your local seedy bookshop to chat with some alien enthusiasts.

[Have a plan to drive the Story direction? Let us know, and we’ll add it to the list!

Info post can be found here.]
hellandbackpack: (pic#18111193)

[personal profile] hellandbackpack 2025-11-15 06:29 am (UTC)(link)
The light off the torch had made it hard to see who was there, but the voice that spoke up was comfortably familiar, and Charles couldn't help the way he perked up to hear it.

"AS if-" He huffs upon hearing Shadow intends to go trawling deeper into the woods, knowing what that likely means. "You promised you had a new trick to show off, and I wanna see it."

As he spoke, he slid easily off the barrier onto his feet, not hesitating in loping after the older teen in an easy jog to catch up with his stride.
ultimateedgehog: (pic#18137662)

[personal profile] ultimateedgehog 2025-11-15 07:19 am (UTC)(link)
Shadow doesn't slow down for him, but he doesn't try to lose him either. He's glad, in a way, that Charles is following him - he's always left with a weirdly heavy feeling when the kid doesn't bother.

He gives a short hm of confirmation, pushing through the thick bushes to hop through the barrier they form between civilisation and whatever the heck is out there.

"I'm going to get that 50 metre grind afterwards." Sure, he's fumbled it every time he's tried - and almost broke his leg on the last attempt. That won't stop him from having a wealth of determination and confidence about it.

He will wait for Charles to clear the bushes, but won't be watching him - won't even be giving away that waiting is what he's doing. Instead covering his pause with the excuse of scouting out the thick press of the trees, trying to identify the best way through them.
hellandbackpack: (pic#18111221)

[personal profile] hellandbackpack 2025-11-15 07:47 am (UTC)(link)
It's rare that Charles doesn't take those invitations. It never signals anything good about his state, so it's a good sign how easily he's hustling after Shadow with a grin. Not complaining about the pace as he follows through the bushes, but then the kid has always been something of an energetic one, so it's probably a good way to get some of that energy bled out.

"Want me to film?" He's done it before, taking clips of whatever trick Shadow was keen on getting evidence of. And he doesn't even clock that the older teen is waiting on him as he pulls free of the tangled bushes, giving his coat a shake to dislodge twigs and leaves. "Too bad it's not a full moon, we could go looking for werewolves."
ultimateedgehog: (pic#18137659)

[personal profile] ultimateedgehog 2025-11-17 09:41 am (UTC)(link)
He nods in answer to the question. Failure isn't even a potential outcome in Shadow's mind, so of course he's not worried about screwing up. Also, if he does it that badly - a video is always useful for Charles to show Randy exactly what happened.

Even though he knows it's not a full moon, because Charles literally just said it, Shadow still glances up at the mention; his mouth twisting into a scowl at the clouds overhead.

Just before Charles is ready is when Shadow sets off again, picking the direction with the more dense tree cover. In case it starts bucketing down. The torch is having a rough time piercing through the foliage, but it's enough light to get by with as long as they stick together.

"Like they could see it through all that." It sounds like he's griping, because he is; carrying personal beef with the weather. "How does a werewolf work if the moon can't even touch them?"

Genuine question, if not a grumpy one.
hellandbackpack: (pic#18111187)

[personal profile] hellandbackpack 2025-11-21 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
It's hardly the first time they've rambled in the woods like this, and not the first time Charles has had to scramble a bit to keep up.

And it's definitely not the first time one of them had gotten off onto a tear about their favorite subject. Charles can't help but to perk a bit as he glances up at the cloud cover just visible through the branches of trees.

"Lots of theories on that one. Some folk want to claim it's just magic, but that's a copout, innit?" Charles might believe that magic is a thing, but he's also of the opinion that there's some sort of logic behind it, even if it's not something people get just yet. "Bloke on one of the servers was sayin' it might be sommat like how the tides work. Don't gotta see the moon for the tides to go in and out, yeah? So he was sayin' it might be a change in their brain chemistry or somethin' that makes 'em sensitive to the moon's gravity. Or like a new organ, that kinda thing. Not the weirdest thing if they can literally turn into wolves, yeah?"
ultimateedgehog: (the Less-Grumpy (Conversational?) grump)

[personal profile] ultimateedgehog 2025-11-30 09:09 am (UTC)(link)
They could go real, real deep down this rabbit hole. Top themes to spend hours unpacking being 1) could a werewolf pilot outrun the effects of the moon, 2) what happens to a werewolf astronaut, 3) does an eclipse have the same effect, 4) what if the moon is just a coincidence rather than a contributing factor to the transformation?

But Shadow's eyes narrow, and he nods; sticks and other detritus crunching underfoot. He's giving that serious consideration.

"Makes sense, in a way." Gesturing up, to the glimpses of sky -- "We can't see Mercury, but we still know when retrograde starts."

Which leads him to a topic that's been sitting on his mind all day, casting a look over at Charles.

"Mitch mentioned people acting weirder than usual around here. Something about the tourists not knowing 'where or when' they are." Now, Shadow's not usually one for a time travel plot, but - "Have you seen anything?"
hellandbackpack: (pic#18111336)

[personal profile] hellandbackpack 2025-12-03 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
It wouldn't be the first time they chased some esoteric weird little bit of theorycrafting, whether on aliens or supernatural creatures.

Whatever the case, Charles perks up at the way Shadow seems to genuinely consider and accept his offered theory as potentially legitimate, grin brightening as he nods his agreement. The grin is muted though when the older teen brings up the strange people Mitch was talking about, a thoughtful cast over his expression as he considers the puzzle.

"Not anyone talkin' about 'when' they are, but I've seen folk from around here actin' kinda funny. Real cheerful-like. Ran into a tourist the other night too- nice enough bloke, but he didn't seem to know anything about Woodhurst, wasn't one of the nature folk, wasn't one of the alien-chasers either. Had to fill him in on both."