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.]
aetherweaver: (upset)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2025-11-22 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
"... Well, suddenly showing up without my ears, tails, and claws is quite distressing. It'd distress you, too."

Everything's so muffled and he feels off-balance! Not to mention his lack of defensive options... "... But I'm glad we aren't in any danger that we know of." Now he just has to worry about the danger they don't know of.
scienceofthearcane: (pic#18159719)

[personal profile] scienceofthearcane 2025-11-22 09:42 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well, my office is not far from here. There are fewer dangers inside, I think."

Stuff had already gotten weird, and Viktor was silently grateful that Nara'a wasn't attracting more looks with those fluffy ears and tail. He was also silently thinking that it might be a good idea to get out of being in the open like this
aetherweaver: (tilted up)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2025-11-24 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)
"That will definitely work." He straightens himself up and tries to keep himself as calm as possible. Ugh, okay. What can he do?

Well. He can definitely follow Viktor, since he seems to have more of an idea of this place. "Lead the way, then."
scienceofthearcane: (pic#18094473)

[personal profile] scienceofthearcane 2025-11-25 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, sort of. Viktor had memories of Woodhurst, but he also had memories of the library, and those two sets of memories would conflict with each other; but the ones that concerned Woodhurst were becoming vague and hard to recall.

Once they were inside the building, it only took a few moments to find the correct stairwell, then climb it to the floor with Viktor's office. He had hidden the large and cumbersome crystal singing bowl inside of it. He also locked the door since he had a vague memory of holding office hours later in the afternoon, and really didn't want a stranger walking in right now.

"I suspect that a very powerful sort of magic is at work here. One powerful enough to have created the entire library."
aetherweaver: (Default)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2025-11-29 07:13 pm (UTC)(link)
He looks around - it feels like he’s in the Studium again. That might not be all that far off, the more they move through the building. The office is a fascinating area, and he’s doing his best to not get distracted by every book or unfamiliar object - but it’s difficult.

“Powerful magic… we did start out by touching some kind of manuscript. Whatever drew us inside here is powerful enough to drag us not only to another world but one that may not even actually exist. We’re Editors, meant to Edit… but we haven’t been given clear instructions, which is obviously a problem.” So. He looks around for anything that might resemble a map.

“Where are we?”
scienceofthearcane: (pic#18159720)

[personal profile] scienceofthearcane 2025-12-04 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
The most that there is is a framed map of Woodhurst, which also shows the island of Britain in the corner. It could be on Mars for all that Viktor understands where they are or even what planet they are on. As far as an office belonging to a professor goes, it's actually had some attempts at tidying. But the bookshelves are crammed with all manner of books. Some had even migrated onto the floor in stacks and towers. Even in Woodhurst, Viktor's love of books carried over.

"I think that's the point, though? We are meant to finish the stories through our actions. Actions that don't have a clear set of instructions because they are part of a story that hasn't been finished yet. The library had a great deal of unfinished works."
aetherweaver: (confusion)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2025-12-07 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
It looks equally alien to him, unfortunately. But he does give the map a good stare for a few moments to try to get a general sense of where things are. The mapmakers here must be very good to get such precise locations written down...

"It's true, though I had hoped for a bit of instruction. I suppose it's not the first time I've been dropped into a situation and forced to adapt, nor will it be the last." The life of an adventurer knows no peace, after all. "But judging by this place I assume you're to be some sort of scholarly authority, even within this school. ... Have you any idea what sort of thing it is you're meant to teach, at least?"