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

[libraryassistants]

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.]

Comments

[bashasasdemon]

Kai doesn't really trust it, but he's going to pretend he does. "Thank you," he says, and he will resume the class.

(If Festival actually manages to shut up, then they can get through the class, and Kai will keep his promise to stick around.)

[bestofall]

Festival will not, in fact, manage to shut up. That is, he will for a little while—just long enough to let things juuuust get back on track before loudly singing:

”To my rit fal lal li bollem tit! To my rit fal lal li dee!
To my rit fal lal li bollem tit! To my rit fal lal li dee!”

[bashasasdemon]

Of course.

"Festival," Kaiisteron says quietly, though he manages to cut through the song all the same, "Other people are trying to concentrate. Out of respect for them, can you please wait on the song?"

[bestofall]

Oooh he's quite good at that quite authority bit, isn't he?

"Oh! Oh no, I've done it again, haven't I?" asks Festival, looking wretched. "I'm so terribly sorry. Terribly sorry, everyone. I can wait."

Surely this time he'll actually stay quiet!

[bashasasdemon]

Kaiisteron does not believe for a single second that he's going to stay quiet. Still, he says, "Thank you," and resumes the class.

Mentally, he's timing how long it'll take for the next outburst.

[bestofall]

Three…two…one…

” ’Twas far I had not scouted out
When close alongside the ocean
I saw something move which at first I thought
Was all the world in motion—-!”

[bashasasdemon]

"Festival." It's a really good thing he's had practice keeping himself under control in situations like this. In his younger years, he definitely would have snapped. Which he suspects is the point. "Why don't you go wait outside the class to be done? Or, there's a room next door that has the same acoustics as this one if you'd like. But we can't keep having these interruptions. It's not fair to everyone else."

[bestofall]

Oh, this guy is good. How long has it been since someone kept their temper with him like this?

What Festival really wants to know, though, is just how gentle these gentle creatures intend to be with their captive patients when they meet with resistance. And so he drapes himself across his yoga mat and bellows to the ceiling:

"But steering up close alongside
I found ’twas a crocodile!
And from his nose to the tip of his tail
He measured five hundred mile!

To my rit fal lal li bollem tit! To my rit fal lal li dee!
To my rit fal lal li bollem tit! To my rit fal lal li dee!"

[bashasasdemon]

Kai sighs, apologizes to the class, and pulls himself up from his position on the ground. He doesn't like doing this, but he is more than capable of being his own security.

He walks over to Festival, crouching on the ground next to him, voice still level. "Festival, I'm going to ask you one more time to please leave," he says, "otherwise, I am going to pick you up and carry you out." He doesn't know if Festival doesn't believe he can or would, or is trying to get him to to prove a point. What point? He has no idea. Where are the empaths when you need them?

[bestofall]

Is that really all? Festival wonders. Quite interesting if so.

With a grin, he gazes into Kai's eyes and continues:

"’Twas a crocodile, I plainly could see
He was not of a common race,
For I was obliged to climb a high tree
Before I could see his face;
And when he lifted up his jaw
Though perhaps you may think ’tis a lie,
He reached above the clouds for miles three score,
And almost touched the sky"

That is, he'll sing as much of it as he can get through unless he's forcibly stopped--and he'll go on singing it even if he does find himself being manhandled in the next few moments.

[bashasasdemon]

Kaiistero sighs and after a moment's more, he is, in fact, picking Festival up.

Kloax are strong at this level of gravity, and Festival is not very large. Which means he's getting fireman hoisted over his shoulder and carried out of the room.

He stops briefly to call someone to replace him in the class, and then takes Festival next door, putting him on the ground.

"Would you like to tell me what this is about?" he asks, and he's glad he at least still sounds reasonable.

[bestofall]

Oop there he goes! Festival goes limp to become dead weight, but a fat lot of good does it do him. He's stopped singing by the time Kaiisteron sets him down, at least, sitting up where he's been set on the floor, shoulders tight with ready energy.

"It's about an unusually large crocodile," he replies, a challenge in his tone. "Which you'd know if you'd been listening."

[bashasasdemon]

Kaiisteron's expression does not change. (This is the result of many years of training. He will not even make a snarky comment about strangling Festival!)

"You're testing the boundaries," he says instead, because that's the obvious answer, he thinks, "That's understandable, a lot of people do. Are you worried about what would happen if you pushed? Have you had to learn boundaries in.. an unpleasant fashion before?"

Sure hope Festival's goal with this was to get psycho-analyzed!

[bestofall]

This is immediately so much worse than any dungeon into which Festival thought he might get thrown. He lets out a sputtering scoff.

"Have you enforced boundaries in an unpleasant fashion before?" he asks sharply, then wants to kick himself because that's going to make it sound like the answer is yes. Which it isn't, obviously; this isn't about him; it's about what these people might do to the real humans they've abducted.

[bashasasdemon]

Uhuh. He's definitely on the right track then.

Kai thinks about the question, giving it the due consideration it deserves. "Not through force, no," he says, "Early on in my training and career I might have yelled, but obviously that's something I worked on to make sure I wouldn't do." No matter how much he wanted to. A part of him does admit that watching Festival squirm a little is much more satisfying. "That's true of everyone on this ship. We do not allow anyone who would use force. There are some people who have some training about defensive if someone is physical trying to harm themselves or someone else but that's about it."

[bestofall]

"I'm not the slightest bit afraid of you, if that's what concerns you."

And that much is true. He's not afraid for himself at all; whatever force they could bring to bear against him doesn't worry Festival for his own safety.

"I'd have every reason to be," he points out. "Were I not myself. You've come from the stars and taken people from their homes. What do you mean by it?"

[bashasasdemon]

"I didn't think you were." He certainly doesn't act like. But he is afraid for other people, or at least thinks they should be afraid. "But you pushed the boundary to find out what it is, so you could know better if you should be worried for everyone else. Is that normal for you, to be more concerned about others well-being than your own?"

He sighs. "We are here to help," he says simply, "It's like... a hospital, but for more than just physical concerns. There is a real lack of that on your planet, and it made many members of the Group concerned for the general safety and well being of people here. Normally we wouldn't intervene until after first contact has been established, but in this case many people considered it dire enough to try and do what we could without that."

[bestofall]

Wow, Kai, way to make it sound weird that he looks out for those more vulnerable than himself, i.e. everyone who’s ever lived. He’s not even going to dignify that question with an answer because it’s such a dumb thing to ask. So there.

“That sounds entirely ridiculous. Hospitals and healers are for the sick and injured, and I’ve yet to see anyone here with illness nor injuries.”

Once again (and for once), truth spoken as he sees it. If these aliens think Earth is lacking in terms of mental health services, Festival’s home world, where such things are hardly even a known concept, would likely give them all palpitations.

[bashasasdemon]

It's not strange to look out for others; it's a little telling that he would specifically put himself (potentially) in harms way for them. Kai won't push, but he does make a mental note of that.

Especially since he's going to have to deal with a much bigger lack of knowledge than he was expecting. There's a moment where the alien just blinks his pitch black eyes at him, and Festival can probably tell that his confusion and slight alarm is genuine. "We handle some physical ailments," he says slowly, "but we specialize more in mental health. Anxiety, depression, stress..." He's watching Festival's face closely, to see if this is really as foreign to the man as he seems to claim.

cw systemic/internalized ableism/disregard for mental health issues all over this thread btw

[bestofall]

Festival really wasn't expecting a look of so much...concern? It really does sound like a lot of nonsense to him, much as he's willing to believe this strange creature believes what he's saying.

"Mental...health," he repeats, like he's never heard the two words strung together before. Then he scoffs again, more genuine this time. "You don't go to a hospital for a bit of anxiety. Is that really what you're so worried about that you've come all this way?"

[bashasasdemon]

Yeah that concern is not going away Festival. If anything, your disdain is making him more concerned. Kaiisteron has definitely read about this kind of attitude towards mental health, but he hadn't really expected to find it here. He didn't think it was that bad.

Still, he has to do something. It's clear that Festival, despite his claims, probably has some unpacking of his own to do. "You sound like you have some opinions on anxiety," he starts with- it's a good idea to get some preconceptions out on the table, "Why don't you tell me about them?"

[bestofall]

When did this situation spiral so far out of Festival's control? He could start singing about the crocodile again...no, best to save that for a true emergency.

"What sort of bandage does one apply to anxiety?" he asks rather than answering.

[bashasasdemon]

"Well, that depends," Kaiisteron answers, "Metaphorical bandages, obviously. But it depends on what level of anxiety, what's the cause of it, and the person's temperament. Anxiety can manifest in a lot of different ways, and people often develop their own coping mechanisms, some of which aren't actually very helpful." Like, say, drawing attention to themselves in a ludicrous fashion in hopes of getting a perceived potential punishment over with. "In a lot of cases, what was do is teach people how to confront their anxiety; if the things making them anxious aren't very rational, then we practice challenging those thoughts and putting them into perspective. Some people do better with trying to manage their emotions and ground themselves- like with the yoga class. Sometimes people do need medication to help manage it."

[bestofall]

“That’s a lot of words and a lot of kidnapping for something any sensible man can manage for himself.”

Festival being a very sensible man himself, obviously. He decides at last that it no longer serves him to sit on the floor where he was deposited at the start of this conversation and climbs daintily to his feet, fastidiously straightening his clothes in what’s obviously deeply ingrained habit.

“Though I suppose there’s little enough harm in yoga, from what I’ve seen.”

[bashasasdemon]

Of course. Kaiisteron watches him, trying to keep his expression neutral. It's hard not to be frustrated in the face of someone who acts like it's some foolish enterprise (the... general idea of mental health, not this specific trip, which is foolish), but he recognizes it's probably a lack of understanding. Which is... strange. He's definitely going to have to relook at the files.

"Yoga has a lot of physical benefits," he says with a little shrug, "Good for flexibility. And strength building, depending on the poses."