Unfinished Library Mod & NPC Account (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
libraryassistants) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
unfinishedlibrary2025-11-14 08:20 am
libraryassistants) wrote in 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.]
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.]
Dr. Elise Lanchester - All Prompts Open [Prose or Brackets, your call!]
Of course it was raining. It was all it did in this accursed country. Why The Others chose to come here, she'd never understand. Nevada made sense - so much space to hide, lovely flat bits, and not the sheer amount of rain. Enough rain, she was certain, that it must get into the equipment of The Others. Lord knows it did for hers.
Dr. Elise Lanchester was sure they were here. All her data and instrumentation said so! Not that she could, well, prove it for anyone else. Nobody believed her, that was the problem. Her science was 'too unproven', her results 'couldn't be reproduced.' She'd used the last of her year's budget to rent the old Victorian mansion outside of town - with its old observatory it was...imperfect, but at least she was here.
She would prove they existed. She would.
But as she walked through the village, she was certain, absolutely certain, of one other thing - that she was being followed. Every time she passed a shop window, she'd stay there, looking out of the corner of her eye to see if she could spot whoever it was.
Whoever was following her, or just happened to notice her - would see a very tall woman with shockingly tall hair, always dressed in a labcoat no matter the weather. She wore thick, black glasses, clacking about on impractical heels.
Cafe of Frustrations
Eventually, if only to preserve her umbrella she'll seek refuge in the nearest cafe. And the moment she has coffee - coffee, not tea, to the deep suspicion of locals - in front of her, she has her work out and is lost to it. Scrabbling calculations that to any outside eye would look like...well, nonsense.
She sips her coffee as if by memory only. Why, were you to move the cup she'd reach for where it used to be. It will take something like that to break her concentration - oh, oh, she'll need to reverse the polarity on the neutron flow if she's to make that bit work....
The Manor House
The Manor is dark and imposing. Especially when, well, it's dark out. She swears there is more thunder and lightning when she's there, but that can't be true, after all. It had belonged to someone named Talbot once upon a time, something of a gentleman astronomer. The telescope equipment was aged, but excellent - dating to the 1920s. But that also meant it was durable.
And it wasn't like she'd had much choice, though she wondered why the real estate agent had seemed so eager to get away once she'd signed the rental papers. But she'd gotten right to work, moved in all sorts of mysterious equipment with a plethora of buttons, flashing lights, and spinning reels. Then there were the books, which populated every room in the manor as she moved through them. And the papers were simply everywhere - she even had a notepad in the bathroom in case inspiration struck while brushing her teeth.
Did she live there or lair there? The local villagers were of divided opinion. But the rumours had begun to spread that she was, absurdly, searching for aliens. Aliens! Could you credit it? That up where her head was, the air must have been thinner - because she was claiming they were here, among the people of the hills and dales! Preposterous! Poppycock!
Best avoided. Which, naturally, made people all the more curious...
[CYA!]
[Have another idea? Drop me a line on plurk or here, let's see if it works!]
Cafe of Frustrations
Right now there are enough weirdoes - including the one that just ruined her week because he couldn't pronounce a bloody Japanese surname - that she's starting to think she might have to eat crow in front of Mr. "The Truth Is Out There" hisself, Shadow. So you're getting spied on, Doctor. She's not texting obliviously; she's filming her with her cell phone's camera.
no subject
But when she does, she has the wherewithal to be more affronted than afraid, for once, that she's being spied on.
"Are you filming me?!" she says, shooting up out of her chair, scattering papers. Which she has to quickly grab, which hinders immediate pursuit.
no subject
The punk kid starts to bolt, comes back to grab her coffee, then runs out the door for real.
She can't elude the Doctor forever, right?
no subject
She goes to jump a railing, some instinct of her usual self speaking - but the weight of her role in the universe bears back down and she goes for a tumble, one heel flying off.
"Dammit!"
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Woodhurst
Though that's not what gets her attention right now. What does get her attention is the way she keeps stopping to peer in the mirrors - or perhaps see what's reflected in them. Cassandra's done that more than once herself since they were sent to this place. She's just not sure what to do about it, or even if she should.
Except that she's too close not to say anything now, so: "Is everything all right?"
no subject
Though given the Bride's hair, that's likely to be significantly less dramatic than the trope calls for.
"I'm fine!" she replies, when the woman approaches her, clutching at her briefcase. "Everything is completely normal. Nominal even!"
no subject
(Cassandra's almost certain everything is not normal, based on the way the Bride is holding onto her bag, but even she thinks it's probably better not to point that out.)
no subject
She's not sure what to say, and finally just goes with: "W-who are you? What do you want?!"
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Woodhurst
He's starting to understand the shape of things a little better, but he's still in information-gathering mode. So he's selected an interesting looking person, one Dr. Lanchester, and taken up following her. He's really quite good at it; when she pauses to look for him he always manages to either be out of sight or engaging himself in some entirely plausible activity that has nothing to do with her, and he's less conspicuous than usual in his human guise. But, well, he's simply there too often for someone who isn't following her, and her own subterfuge is enough that he doesn't realize just how much she's noticed him.
no subject
Oh dear or dear, what to do?
She picks up her pace, ducking to a haberdashery shop that has likely been in operation since the days of Queen Victoria, and busies herself with browsing. For the moment, somewhere to hide, but maybe there's a back door...
no subject
Festival nearly blows past the haberdashery shop, but his eye catches on a familiar silhouette just in time. She seems to be turned away, so at least she won't see when he makes an abrupt u-turn to follow her inside, the bell on the door chiming his arrival.
Right?
no subject
She had two choices - rush out the back, or find something to bean him with...
please feel free to ignore if this is too crusty
Well, isn't this suspicious? What kind of person disappears like that? Dishonest people, that's who. He's not certain what she has to be dishonest about, but surely this proves he was right to tail her.
Well. Time to check for a back door to the place. He's already quite sure she's gone out it, so he'll be prime for beaning when he walks past her hiding place in a moment.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Cafe
One of them is in the cafe he's ducked into and is scribbling down what looks like nonsense. He spent a long time in school to be an astrophysicist and seeing strange markings on paper that's supposed to be - is that math?
He doesn't realize he's staring as long as he is, standing there over her, his eyes on the page.
no subject
Others might not notice her unusual hues, stitches, or staples - but he just might.
And oblivious though she is, she notices the staring, holding up a sheaf of paper beside her face while deciding what to do. Before she decides that fleeing is the important thing. She quickly stuffs her papers back in her briefcase, slaps down money, and flees as fast as her heels can carry her.
no subject
He turns on his heel and rushes out, but Capa is never and will never be an athlete. He managed to make it through space training before, but that doesn't translate well to his space-addled self.
"Hey!" he calls out. "Hey wait!"
no subject
And the occasional look back to see if he's gaining on her.
The Manor House - this is going to get real dumb real fast, strap in
Whether she's aware of it or not, that questionably ethical experiment is ringing her doorbell impatiently with all the attitude and confidence that only a 19 year old in Heeleys can possess. The bell doesn't even get the full way through its chime before he's pressing it again, repeatedly interrupting it with itself.
Come on lady, it's been a whole 10 seconds. Is she even home?
no subject
"What?!" she says, wrenching open the door. Then looking down a bit. And perhaps its because the Bride is somewhere inside this person, or perhaps it's the annoyance - or maybe one is tied to the other. But the rest of her reply is one her real self would entirely approve of.
"If you're trying to sell me religion at this hour, I have a shotgun in here somewhere."
no subject
As if to make a point, his finger depresses the button once again; the chime interrupting itself once more.
"You're the one doing research?" He asks flatly, holding out his hand to catch the door in case she decides to slam it on his face. "I've got what you need. I have proof that aliens are in Woodhurst."
no subject
It'll almost certainly be nothing.
But she doesn't know for sure.
"Dammit," she replies, stepping back. "Come in, quickly. Tell me everything."
no subject
"You've heard of the landing? Years ago." Shadow grew up attached to those news articles, reading them like bedtime stories. If she needs, he has an extensive explanation banked up-- "An unidentified object crashed just outside of town. I have reason to believe that a nearby storage facility was exposed to contamination from the extraterrestrials who arrived that day."
(no subject)