libraryassistants: (Default)
Unfinished Library Mod & NPC Account ([personal profile] libraryassistants) wrote in [community profile] unfinishedlibrary2025-12-12 07:10 pm

The real alien abduction... LIBRARY RETURN LOG

Who: The Editors, and the Assistants
What: Library Return!
When: At the end of the Story
Where: The Library
Content warnings: Please put content warnings in the headers!

It’s been an eventful month in Woodhurst! The alleged alien abductions have caused tourism to absolutely boom. What was a small, peaceful town a few weeks ago has turned into a bustling hub. There are claims that the local bookstore has been run by an alien for the last 20-odd years - met only with mutters from the locals about having heard that one before - and a plethora of people taking to the internet to tell the stories of their own abductions.

With the return of most of the humans to Earth, the Wellbeing Group have recalled their agents to the SS Radiance. With a few exceptions, almost everyone should be back to where they were on that first day - November 14th, 2019. It turns out that the humans of Earth just aren’t ready for the Group’s efforts. Perhaps there’s something to be said for following protocol and allowing First Contact to be established… well, first.

Amongst all the chaos of reunions and goodbyes, Editors may miss the signs of the Story ending. It starts slowly, ramping up over a matter of hours. The smell of old books tickles at their senses, and the rustling of pages reaches their ears. There’s something like the scritch of pen on paper, like a bookmark being placed.

And then, between one slow blink and the next, Woodhurst and the SS Radiance begin to fuzz out of view. Like rubbing your eyes after a dream, the Stacks take shape around them; and with the thud of a hardcover closing, the Story comes to an end.

Welcome back, Editors

For some, recovering from the effects of the Story might be as easy as turning a page. For others, there might be a lot left to unpack. Readers - those who had remained themselves during the Story - will likely find it easier. Those who were Actors, fully absorbed in living another life, may need a minute to sort themselves out.

The Library itself seems to have some trouble shaking off the Story in full. Here and there are the same floral arrangements that had been on the Radiance, the scent of them much weaker now. There’s an echo of soothing music in the air, faint as if it’s fading out. And wherever these flowers can be smelled or the music can be heard, there’s an urge that is felt – a lowering of one’s barriers, a soothing sense of safety, and a compulsion to express oneself. So go on. Ask and answer the question. How does that make you feel?

The customary tea cart is set up in the Lobby again. It looks like it’s just recently been put out, with weak tea still only starting to steep. The coffee is as terrible as ever. Mismatched creamers and sugar packets sit in a neatly organised box, with a tin of butter cookies nearby. Paper cups have been replaced by ceramics with matching saucers, dainty napkins just waiting to be used.

Notably, there is no phone provided. Instead there is a sign:
Please direct all complaints to the Help Desk.


The Help Desk itself is along one wall of the Lobby. The large window, previously closed and locked, is now open. The ‘back in 5’ sign is gone, replaced by one that instructs you to ‘please take a number’. A stack of cards with bold numbers printed on them sits beneath it.

And behind that window, sitting at the Help Desk, is someone whose voice may have only been heard over the phone until now. He will not be assisting anyone who approaches out of turn, so you should get comfortable mingling while you wait.

Perhaps in the hopes that some people will get distracted and wander away, there is a poster next to the Help Desk window.

Skills 101
Learn from the best the Library has to offer!
Join the study group in Meeting Room 1.
No food or drinks permitted.


In case anyone would like to avoid the Assistants as much as possible, or would like something else to do after yelling at them, there is another display that can be found periodically outside one of the doors of rotating locations. It says ‘Seed Library’ and, as the name implies, has little packets of seeds that are available! When seen outside the door, it will always lead to the garden. Time to get your hands dirty!

Interestingly, it seems the garden seems to follow the same general rules as the rest of the library- whatever someone expects the weather or season to be is what will be reflected in that outside space, with a sunrise/set pattern to match. When two or more people with different ideas of what it should be occupy the space, however, it gets… muddled.

And for those with hands just itching to express themselves with violence… the Safe Zone awaits. The Library’s safety mechanism triggers as damage is registered, whether to an Editor or a piece of the Library. As if in anticipation of some long stays, the previously-empty yacht does now have a few creature comforts. Food, drinks, a place to rest. Just try not to extend your stay too long or your more peaceful friends might start to wonder where you’ve gone.
ohaiyo_isekai: (evoking the black cat of the cauldron)

[personal profile] ohaiyo_isekai 2025-12-13 01:05 am (UTC)(link)
"...I would like to formally register several complaints."

Hikaru's knuckles are nearly white where they grip his staff. It is only with effort of will that he is not shaking or raising his voice.

Despite everything, he is not a man inclined to violence as a first resort. Being reminded again that it is only despite everything that he is a man in the first place is not something he expected from the library, much less that fact being bared against his will.
aetherweaver: (surprised)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2025-12-13 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
"Ah." He says, tail swishing a little curiously. His head tilts slightly but he steps into the room regardless. The rearrangement bothers him somehow, but he can't put a finger on why... ah, well. The strange garb doesn't bother him much, but the way the man feels is...

... Well, his aether stinks of something that feels vaguely.. he's not sure. But he had no problem with Zero, so he really shouldn't have any problem with this man.

"I'm always up for learning, so yes, I would like that very much."
starandhope: (013)

Mina Harker | OTA

[personal profile] starandhope 2025-12-13 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
Madam Mina is surprisingly calm, upon her return to the library and to herself. Did she enjoy her time living another life? No, not especially. Does she think it was a good thing? Absolutely not. Is she angry about it?

That's hard to say. She's not really sure what she feels about it, all things considered. It was... odd. But not completely outside the realm of her experience, either. At least, the bit about living another life.

What she needs, is to keep busy. She's not inclined to yell - at the assistants, or at anyone else. But she can make better tea than what the library provides, and so after an hour or so, as people are gathering again, she brings a fresh pot to the lobby.

"Here. This should be better than what's already on hand," she says. At least now they have proper cups!
ugh_emotions: (Default)

[personal profile] ugh_emotions 2025-12-13 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
So, at the story start SecUnit had one drone that was surveilling the Staff Only door. Normally it would just keep recording in SecUnit’s absence…but I’m guessing that might go a little differently in this case haha

So yeah: what would have happened with that particular drone, and what (if anything) would SecUnit be able to pull from its data & recordings post Story?
aetherweaver: (asleep)

Nara'a Sunvara (Warrior of Light) | OTA

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2025-12-13 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
Return

He has his ears and claws and tail again! He could jump for joy if he wasn't still so godsdamned stressed. His ears fold flat against his head and he briefly considers registering a complaint, but... no, not now. Instead he starts prowling around the stacks, resisting the urge to whap books off the shelf in a foul mood. That's not going to help anything and he knows it.

Instead he takes out his journal, takes a deep breath, and practically growls into it. People are free to either come find him or yell back, their choice.


Gardening Fun

Nara'a likes botany. It's calming, and it's a way to get his hands dirty without violence. Instead he starts planting some of the seeds that he recognizes or at least has good analogues to, so people coming through the garden are likely to see him at work.

Even when he's not at work he's sometimes just sitting out there, watching the sky turn different colors. It's good to get some fresh air, even if that fresh air is inside while also being outside. He doesn't want to push himself too hard, since... all of that business was extremely unpleasant and he'd prefer to not think about it right now.


(Un)Pleasant Dreams (cw: nightmares, panic attacks, possible spoilers)

He gets tired eventually, and sleeping in the dirt is not a good option when there's beds available. Even if he'd prefer it not be communal, he's got to rest at some point.

But his dreams are uneasy, terrifying flashes of violence and horror. He doesn't shift around in bed much, but he does startle awake at the slightest noise anywhere in the room, grabbing his weapon and pointing it towards whatever direction the noise came from. It takes a bit for him to calm down each time he's startled.

If the source of the noise is close enough, they might notice tear streaks down his pale cheeks, but whether or not they remark on it is up to them.


Wildcard

[ooc; idk just grab me on Discord or Plurk if you want something else.]
hellandbackpack: (pic#18111398)

Charles Rowland | OTA

[personal profile] hellandbackpack 2025-12-13 01:43 am (UTC)(link)
Charles? Wasn't entirely sure what to do with himself here. Already feeling exposed, vulnerable, after the Devlin House? The Story and everything it had brought out for everyone to see was positively harrowing. Even being a ghost, not having a digestive system to speak of, he felt nauseous at the thought of it. Felt a little bit like he was in shock, standing in the Stacks after all was said and done.

Without a reflection to assess, he didn't really catch the shifts in his appearance that might otherwise encourage him to go elsewhere until he can get a handle on them. The lack of the black overcoat was one thing, even the burgundy jacket that went under it being gone wasn't anything new. That his polo had shifted colors though- black instead of burgundy, collar striped in slashes of an almost violent red rather than yellow and gold was. Not that anyone here would know what that meant. Surely he was just changing his look a bit.

And surely the dark circles under his eyes were just a trick of the light as he tentatively lurked the outskirts of the Lobby, unsure if he was up to keeping a cheerful face on long enough to find out how people were handling what had happened, or if he should find somewhere quiet to get a grip. There was nothing to be gleaned from the subtle drop in air temperature either. He was just standing by a vent or something.
angel_of_baal: (pic#18017458)

[personal profile] angel_of_baal 2025-12-13 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
Sanguinius is drinking the crappy tea because, well, someone has to and his kind can digest just about anything, after all. Sure, it tastes like hot dishwater. And what he really wants to drink right now is...well, sort of off limits. But some blood WOULD steady him.

It didn't stop him from accepting the cup from Mina, and then freezing because he had a sudden memory (?) of crying on her shoulder. "thank you." The sudden high squeakiness of his voice is pure undistilled embarrasment.
aetherweaver: (surprised)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2025-12-13 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
Nara'a approaches him - the face is familiar, even if he's taller and a bit older. ... Hm. Should he - oh to hells with it, he might as well.

"... Charles, yes? Are you all right - well, I suppose that's a stupid question, isn't it?"
hellandbackpack: (pic#18068783)

[personal profile] hellandbackpack 2025-12-13 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
Welp, looks like he's locked in now. The smile comes easily (it always does) as he looks to the other, noting the similarities and differences between when they'd met in the Story.

"Wotcher- Nara'a, wasn't it?" Nothing's wrong here. Nothing's wrong, everything's totally fine. "That was... well, aliens, pretty wild innit?"
aetherweaver: (tilted up)

[personal profile] aetherweaver 2025-12-13 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
"It was. ... But you seemed like you were dealing with a lot in there."

He pauses, presses his lips together. Feels his fangs poke at him. Hm. "I'm sure you're tired of talking about it, but I'm... around if you want to. Don't know how much of that was true to your experience, but..."
ugh_emotions: (Default)

[personal profile] ugh_emotions 2025-12-13 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
Interesting! When did Richard come out with the cart - just before the return?

And since seeing into the room is impossible - what does what look like? Like a blank void or something?
ohaiyo_isekai: (:sad)

[personal profile] ohaiyo_isekai 2025-12-13 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
Hikaru is dreading this conversation.

Mina Harker is a woman of her era, if one of the most enlightened and valiant of them. Min'a Ha'arker was accepting of - there must be a better word for it than 'egg' for the unknowingly transmasculine, given that the closest spear counterpart for the 'well a chick comes out when it hatches' pun is obscene, surely? - but there is a chance, however slim Hikaru thought it, that her as herself would not - was not equipped to - understand.

But she has faced worse horrors than a man who realized he was a man later in life.

So he goes, and accepts the tea, and sips it, and thinks of where to begin.

"...I suspect my distaste for black tea was because I've never had a proper cup, this is quite excellent," Hikaru says as his deep and subtle mind struggles with turns of phrase.
Edited 2025-12-13 02:02 (UTC)
angel_of_baal: (Default)

Sanguinius OTA

[personal profile] angel_of_baal 2025-12-13 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
THE LIBRARY
If it was possible to die of embarrassment, Sanguinius would have done so. He tried to convince himself that it was all a dream, some sort of warp-driven nightmare. But when he woke up the first time and his hands had automatically gone up to tie his hair up in a bun...he had realized that it was real. All of it. The hugging. The arts and crafts.

The..... near murder by the hands of what had obviously been his brother.

The whole thing was just awful to contemplate and his only hope was that no one would recognize him or make the connection.

Despite the fact that his voice sounds eerily similar and there's still a fall, somehow, of glitter from his wings.

If you interacted with him as Tsang, you might notice him trying to hide--badly--at your approach in the Library.

QUARTERS
It's even worse here in their makeshift quarters. When he eventually drops off to sleep, there's a ruckus of flapping, huge wings. Nightmares? Him? NOOOOOO.
ohaiyo_isekai: (:shock)

[personal profile] ohaiyo_isekai 2025-12-13 02:06 am (UTC)(link)
A four foot and a couple of spare inches, dragonfly-winged, cape robe and wizard hat clad gentleman looks up from his book at the person passing by and his jaw drops in recognition.

"...Charles Rowland, was it? Or is that not a name you go by anymore?" he asks.

His voice is an octave deeper than that of Akira Tsukuda's - Mitch's - but recognizable as it aged twenty to thirty years.
unsheathedfromreality: (at the edges of periphery)

(Un)pleasant Dreams

[personal profile] unsheathedfromreality 2025-12-13 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
The dead don't sleep. But Illarion does have occasional business in the bunk room -- business that doesn't always respect the sleeping hours of those who do need it, though he's quiet enough about it he usually doesn't wake anyone.

Usually.

The least motion from the bunks freezes him in place -- pure instinct, before he's even processed the potential threat leveled at him. Once he has, he ... blinks, once, before asking in a low voice, "That bad for you?"
hellandbackpack: (pic#18111221)

[personal profile] hellandbackpack 2025-12-13 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Nah," Lies, lies, time to lie like a goddamn rug. At least Nara'a didn't have the whole picture. Just an unpleasant glimpse. He hadn't seen nearly as much as some of the others. "They were playin' things up for the Story or whatever, yeah?"

A faint huff, a wry twist to his smile. "Thanks though mate. Right decent."
hellandbackpack: (pic#18111310)

[personal profile] hellandbackpack 2025-12-13 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
Charles remembered meeting this person before when he'd first wound up in the Library. And at first he wanted to chalk up the familiarity on both sides to that.

But then he was speaking, and Charles had enough people he'd known who'd aged around him, so was more than familiar with the way those years would alter a voice. It clicked quickly, eyes widening as he stopped dead.

"Mitch?" A startled huff, a shake of his head. "No wait. Hikaru here, yeah?"

An uncertain draw of unnecessary breath as he just nodded, letting a smile paint over his features. Unfortunate that after all that, Hikaru was well-acquainted with his 'fake it til you make it' cheer, not that he was thinking about that just yet. "Charles though, yeah."
angel_of_baal: (pic#18017458)

[personal profile] angel_of_baal 2025-12-13 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
There's a large clattering. It's not that Sanguinius is trying to attract attention--sort of the opposite after the last...situation. It's just that none of the chairs have proper cut outs to accommodate his massive wings, so as he tries to sit down, quietly in the back, his wings knock a bunch of the other chairs over.

He does look sheepish, reaching out to try to pick up the knocked over chairs.
ohaiyo_isekai: (:sad)

[personal profile] ohaiyo_isekai 2025-12-13 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
He blinks, a little, at being addressed as Mitch. It's been years (It was only yesterday) when he was last called that. By Juliet, before they went by Jules.

"Mutan's ever-changing curves. ...You know, the last time I was really called that was in - well, in my 2021. And I'm from California, really. But that was otherwise a shockingly, rather too intimate, rather too accurate look at who I used to be."

With the question of if that was true of Charles' youth left unstated but implied.
Edited 2025-12-13 02:44 (UTC)
flantastic: (Sideye)

[personal profile] flantastic 2025-12-13 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
Rakia's got a rock in one hand and is munching on it like a human might an apple. One, other species don't seem to have the same view of food and not-food like he would so he doesn't think anyone would care. Two, he's feeling surly and unhelpful anyway, even if this is the sort of thing that seems like it would be more helpful for him. "You mean this place is good for something other than being confusing as hell?"
hellandbackpack: (pic#18111187)

In which Charles can't keep a lid on it

[personal profile] hellandbackpack 2025-12-13 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
“It wasn’t that bad,” Charles says quickly, like he’s heading something off before it can grow teeth. “Places like that just… had rules. You figured them out. Didn’t take long.”

He glanced back at Hikaru, something uneasy in it, in the edges of his expression, as the silence seemed to encourage him to keep going, like the right combination of words would just convince the other that it was fine. “…And it’s not like I didn’t know when I’d crossed a line. You could feel it coming. Tone of voice, the way the room went quiet.”

Doing great, Rowland.

“…I mean,” Charles huffed a short breath as sense seemed to catch up with him, then a crooked smile slotted into place a bit too fast, one hand fidgeting with the strap of his pack, the other tapping restlessly against his leg as he tried to think of how to spin this back to normalcy, to get his shit back under his hat. “I’m not saying it was some big thing. Just… normal stuff you pick up on, yeah? Like learning when a teacher’s about to lose it. You get good at reading rooms. Comes in handy, honestly!”

A brief pause, a hesitation as his gaze skittered to one side, as if avoiding a knowing gaze. A motion he didn't even realize he'd made as the temperature dropped a couple more degrees. “And anyway, that story was exaggerating. Stories always do. They skip the boring bits where you’re fine afterward.”

Another beat before Charles spoke again, though softer now, but still pushing forward. As if afraid of the implications of silence. And because... there was still that part of him that remembered the comfort of being able to talk with the other about this. Hard to shake still.

“…And it’s not like I didn’t deserve some of it. I was a right pain as a kid! Always pushing, always too much.” He laughs, a shade too loud, artificially cheerful. “Anyone would’ve snapped eventually, yeah?”

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