libraryassistants: (Default)
Unfinished Library Mod & NPC Account ([personal profile] libraryassistants) wrote in [community profile] unfinishedlibrary2025-11-28 06:38 pm

I'm not saying that it's aliens - TAKE A LOAD OFF, LOG 2

Who: Readers and Actors
What: Beta Story final log
When: November 28 - December 11
Where: Woodhurst (UK) and the SS Radiance (in space!), 2019
Content warnings: Please tag warnings in comment headers!

In Woodhurst:

There is quite a bit of confusion in the village as the weeks pass by- by now it is clear that some people are very much not themselves, and there are multiple theories as to why. Aliens, obviously- the really weird bit is that it’s not just certain edgy teens purporting this theory, but since there’s been some (alleged) activity previously, maybe they’ve come back! Some tourists (and perhaps some locals) have made signs of the ‘Take me with you!’ variety, mostly loitering in the town square or in the park, whenever they get chased out of one or the other.

Suffice it to say, those people aren’t being taken seriously by those in charge- though even they have to admit that something strange is going on. Prevailing theories amongst officials are ‘gas leakage’ and ‘water contamination,’ neither of which are suitable explanations but no one seems to want to think too hard on it. As a result, the friends and families of those acting out of sorts are in a strange position. Do they try to seek medical help? Wait and hope it sorts itself out? Or do they join the crowds bidding welcome to their potential alien guests, demanding their real loved ones return?

Visitors of all stripes might find themselves a bit more scrutinized, as a result. Didn’t a bunch of weird people show up just as people seemed to start changing? Readers and aliens alike had best be on their most normal behavior, or it’s possible they’ll get cornered by someone asking what’s happening, or… a fanatic who wants to be taken up into their spaceship. Some of whom have some weird questions about probes. Good luck figuring out what that’s about.

On the IMW Group Supply Ship: Radiance

Things are not all well further up in the atmosphere, either. The staff have had to deal with much more pushback than they were expecting, including some people who seemed to not enough understand the concept of mental health (which was not in the briefing- shouldn’t they have at least heard of it before?). A few cases also seem to be quite severe, involving a level of intervention that they weren’t really prepared for- but of course, they’re here, so they’re going to do the very best they can to get all the humans the help they need! Hopefully legally.

Most alarmingly, however, it seems there have been some kidnapping attempts! …Kidnapping attempts that didn’t involve them! Someone, or multiple someones, have managed to get the patients off the ship without first filling out their discharge paperwork, and that simply will not do. As a result, security is ramped up on the ship… sort of. There’s very little in the way of a security crew, after all, and it’s not like they can call in reinforcements. So mostly this means that there are some very tired counselors who have been put on hallway shifts, and everyone has been assigned a little name badge that they MUST wear at ALL TIMES.

(There are actual people guarding the shuttles now, but again… there’s only so much security. The real question is, do you really want to beat up the aliens who are just trying to help?)

To their credit, the various Group members are trying to listen to the concerns of the patients who are here… less than willingly, and are beginning to filter some cases back to the planet by request. But they are going to do it properly, which means the proper forms. A wrap up visit with their counselor, a form agreeing to be finished with treatment, a politely worded request to maybe not tell people about the aliens (it’s not an NDA, because the Group has never needed those, it’s really just a form asking if they’re going to talk about it so management can figure out how badly this is going to go). Oh, and would you mind filling out this survey about your experience?

Of course, not everyone is in a hurry to leave- or at least needs something to do while waiting for bits of paperwork to approve. All the regular classes and sessions are still going, and they even retrofitted one of the spas to have water instead of… whatever it was before. Now certified safe for humans!


[Information on what's available on the ship is in the first log; info post is here.]
starandhope: (004)

1 probably?

[personal profile] starandhope 2025-11-29 02:51 am (UTC)(link)
Despite much of this mission going completely pear-shaped, Min'a has had a few wins. She has only ever wanted to be useful, helpful to others. And, difficult as this experience has been and continues to be, she does feel as though she's been a help, if only to one or two of her patients.

This is one of them.

"Good afternoon," she offers a smile. "How have you been? Did you enjoy the yoga?"
shelloflight: (happy)

Yep!

[personal profile] shelloflight 2025-11-29 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
He's been going by Mitch as an experiment, and trying to pitch his voice down. It wasn't much of an adjustment. His speech patterns were always, as he puts it, 'blokish.'

"Better than the tai chi. I think I can nix karate from my bucket list," he says, chuckling, shaking his head. "Got a kink out of my shoulder and it's better meditation than bloody sitting seiza. And ah."

He takes a deep breath.

"Turns out I do like a little bit of sewing in the right context, like making costumes."
starandhope: (010)

[personal profile] starandhope 2025-11-29 03:27 am (UTC)(link)
"I find both yoga and sewing to be very relaxing," Min'a points out easily. "They both give me something to focus on, complex enough to keep my attention but simple enough to not cause me any undue anxiety."

She is careful not to characterize anything in gendered terms.

"What sort of costumes would you be making? Helping your friend?"
shelloflight: (Default)

more 3ish after all

[personal profile] shelloflight 2025-11-29 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
"Ad Terra uniforms, maybe an outfit for Saburo and Junko. I wouldn't be wearing the latter but I've enough friends who would," he clarified. "Patching clothes. Maybe a decal for my jacket."

He leans in, hands together, trying to figure out how to say this.

"During the escape attempt, I... someone important to me found me." He won't rat out brilliant, mad, beautiful Siobhan. "They saw me and accepted me almost instantly, and they... made a quite brilliant suggestion. I won't use it, but it sparked an idea."
starandhope: (004)

[personal profile] starandhope 2025-11-30 02:34 am (UTC)(link)
Min'a is, quite frankly, so happy for Mitch. This is exactly the kind of thing she's always wanted to do - really help someone, give them whatever nudge they need to make their lives better.

"What sort of idea?" she asks, curious.
shelloflight: (rare smile)

[personal profile] shelloflight 2025-11-30 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
"How much do you know about Japanese writing, Ms. Ha'arker? I know you've got an autotranslator, but do you know what kanji are?"

Regardless of whether or not she knows, the boy formerly called Michiko, who's been going by Mitch, writes three characters with a mechanical pencil in a practiced hand:

佃光子

"Tsukuda, Michi, -ko, is what my parents named me and how I've been reading these three till now."
starandhope: (007)

[personal profile] starandhope 2025-12-01 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
"I'm afraid I don't know much about Earth's systems of writing, no," Min'a admits. Her research had been limited to what she knew would be immediately useful to her for this mission.

Still, she watches intently, ready to learn.
shelloflight: (determined)

[personal profile] shelloflight 2025-12-01 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
"So the thing about kanji," he says, with a close-mouthed, determined smile, "is that because they're whole words instead of sounds or syllables, there are a bloody lot of ways to pronounce them, depending on context. For an example, dunno how it came to me, next to the character for 'female child,' -ko, this reads as Tsukuda Michiko."

She erases that character, leaving just:

佃光

"Take it away, and you could instead read it as Tsukuda Akira."
starandhope: (005)

[personal profile] starandhope 2025-12-01 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
"Indeed!" Min'a is fascinated by this, honestly. "And that would be preferable to you?"
shelloflight: (rare smile)

[personal profile] shelloflight 2025-12-01 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
He nods.

"The burden of being my parent's daughter was - is - intolerable. I can't do it. I was breaking under the strain of it, and so were they. But... but this threads the needle, doesn't it? It's a way to keep what they gave me cause they love me. And I don't think Mom and Dad would be any less proud of a son."

He sighs.

"So. Once more with feeling. Call me Akira Tsukuda, and it is a very great pleasure to meet you, Missus Min'a Mu'raay."
starandhope: (012)

[personal profile] starandhope 2025-12-01 05:54 pm (UTC)(link)
“And it is very nice to meet you, Akira,” Min’a says with a big smile. “It’s a good name, if you like it.”
shelloflight: (deep exasperated sigh)

[personal profile] shelloflight 2025-12-02 04:33 am (UTC)(link)
"I hope they like it too."

He looks up at her, hesitates, then clenches his fist in his lap.

"...and that brings us to the last thing we need to settle before I go home, I think. The... The medicine."
starandhope: (005)

[personal profile] starandhope 2025-12-03 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
"Hormone treatment?" Min'a nods. "I can provide you with some, though of course it's limited, and you'll have to go through your own, Earth-based medical professionals to continue it after we're gone."
shelloflight: (deep exasperated sigh)

[personal profile] shelloflight 2025-12-03 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
"Which could take ages," he sighs. "The UK is not great about it. But I'll get the process started. Please give me as much as you're able."
starandhope: (007)

[personal profile] starandhope 2025-12-03 04:01 pm (UTC)(link)
“Of course,” Min’a says. “I only wish I could do more to assist. Without official First Contact, I’m not able to work with your local health care in any direct way.”

This was the only way they were able to help at all, and still it is terribly inadequate.