Careful of the stacks - LIBRARY LOG

[libraryassistants]

Who: EVERYONE!
What: A bunch of Editors walk into a library...
When: October 31st - November 13
Where: The Unfinished Library
Content warnings: Please add them as needed in the comment titles!

Welcome to the Library, Editors.

As the new residents drop into the Library, they are bound to have questions. Unfortunately it seems no one (except perhaps someone on the phone) appears to have any answers. But there is a nice little cart with a carafe of too weak coffee, a pot of too strong tea, assorted creams and sugar packets, and what appear to be leftover boxed shortbread cookies. There’s a sign inviting people to help themselves but reminding them not to take any food or drinks into the stacks, or touch any of the books with their grubby cookie hands. But aside from this little display and the nametags they’re all given, which do reappear whenever removed for the first week (where do they keep coming from?), the Editors are more or less left alone.

The Library is eternal, or at least it seems that way, unbothered by its new inhabitants. It certainly does not seem like this is anything unusual within its operation. Are there other sections of the Library with Editors, tucked into a different part of the stacks? Have there been Editors here before, and the ones here are simply a replacement? It’s impossible to say, just that the Library seems quite prepared for them. The refrigerators are stocked with appropriate (if generic) foodstuffs, any tantrums in front of the circulation desk are completely ignored, and attempts to set the Library on fire fizzle out before anything can even catch.

However, after a few days, some of the scenery in the Library seems to be changing. Little singing bowls and white noise makers pop up on various shelves and counters, yoga mats appear tucked under the bunk beds (plenty for everyone, somehow), and some of the rooms have started playing relaxing, meditative music over unseen speakers. More confusingly, there are also small UFOs hanging by string from the lower ceilings of the contained rooms, which on closer reflection are revealed to simply be two paper plates glued together and painted silver. In the beginning they’re quite sparse, but by the end of the second week they are everywhere and impossible to ignore.

At the start of the second week, there is a possible hint as to why, for at least part of it. On the table by the circulation desk there is a sign: “This Week’s Recommended Reading: Invasion of the Body Snatchers!” Next to it, there is a sign up sheet: a waitlist to check-out the ‘reading.’ (There is no explanation or apology for it actually being a movie.)

[ooc note: The Library prompts from the TDM can be considered canon to the game. Remember any of the locations listed in the setting are fair game. Have fun!]

Comments

[ice_rose]

She will accept that and continue to make the bowl sing, eyes closing as she tries different speeds, letting it grow louder or softer, more vibrant or deeper. It's a fascinating instrument, and she pulls the stick away to tap it just right to ring out, bell-like before she puts it down.

"It's an interesting instrument. Meditative."

[ugh_emotions]

There's an awkward pause, for a moment. The SecUnit's always a bit nervous, when a strange human just...starts talking to it, like this. It never knew how it should respond.

(But it did like the instrument.)

"...It's nice," it says. She might notice it's not looking her in the eyes; instead it looks at the bowl, using it as an excuse to look elsewhere.

[ice_rose]

She'll notice. But she won't remark upon it. Instead, she'll look to the bowl herself.

"I've never played one before myself, but I'd seen them in a book from one of the more northly sections of my world and it seems to have been accurate. I'm not sure why it's appeared here at this point, or what it might have to do with any of the other strange new additions."

Now she looks up, but she still doesn't seem to try and look them in the face. They're fine with avoiding eye contact.

"Would you happen to know of any connection between this, the exercise mats, and the strange hanging decorations that have been cropping up of late?"

[ugh_emotions]

"What is it called?" If it knew the name of it, it could look for more recordings of it. Well, once it got back to somewhere with the feed again, anyway. (It realy hopes it will get somewhere with the feed again someday.)

Then it takes an entire 2.3 seconds to run a quick analysis, looking for any possible links or connections between the various objects.

"...No," it says, as the analysis fails to come up with anything.

[ice_rose]

"In that country, it's usually referred to as a 'singing bowl'," she provides easily enough, and her hand turns as if to say 'well, it does sing, after all' before placing it down.

That answer is less than helpful but-

"Then I suppose there needs be more investigation."

A pause before she dips her head.

"Scarlet El Vandimion. A pleasure to meet you."

[ugh_emotions]

Oh - a singing bowl? It kinda liked that name.

It made a note, to look up more on them later. And maybe try it out itself, when there weren't any humans around that might witness it.

"Uh. I'm Rin," it says. "Hi?"

(Urgh, introductions here were always so awkward. This was so much easier when it could just check someone's feed profile for their name and pronouns.)

[ice_rose]

And yet, she'll just nod to the 'hi' and accept it as is: true manners are meeting people where they are.

"I suppose you arrived with the others I've met?"

Hardly suits to assume.

[ugh_emotions]

Oh good. Because meeting SecUnit where it is means making quite a journey indeed.

"I don't know who you've met," it says. Because apparently it feels like being pedantic. (But the answer is, clearly: yes.)