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

Mina Harker | OTA

[starandhope]

I. Quiet room;

Mina quickly discovered the quiet room. Approximately once a day, she opens the door until it appears, then settles at one of the desks to write in her journal. On this day, the third or fourth since her arrival, she eventually puts down her pen to run her fingers over a soft, white kid glove that she keeps tucked between the pages. It's a man's glove, elegant and fashionable.

Within moments, her shoulders begin to shake. She's crying, quietly.

II. Dorms;

The first time she steps into the large dorm room, her eyes widen a little.

"Everyone is intended to sleep here? Unmarried men and women?"

She is incredulous.

III. Body snatching;

When the title appears, Mina tilts her head in confusion at it.

"Body snatchers? Are we to learn of Burke and Hare?"

IV. Tea time;

In the kitchen, Mina has put together things for a better tea than the library had provided for them, even if it's still not quite to her standard. Fresh pot of tea, small sandwiches of watercress and cucumber, some fresher biscuits.

"This ought to be a little better than what we've had previously," she points out to whoever is joining her.

V. Wildcard;

Feel free to make up your own starter around the library!

Dorms

[ugh_emotions]

There was someone else already in the dorms when she arrived. It was sitting up on one of the upper bunk beds, knees pulled up to its chest. It had tucked itself away up here, watching Sanctuary Moon.

(Fucking communal sleeping. It wasn't going to be able to hide away in its own private space, and do what it wants. It was going to have to pretend to sleep, like a human would. Ugh.)

"Apparently," it calls down, without turning to face her or look down. It sounds just as unhappy about this as she does.

[starandhope]

"But that's unacceptable," Mina says. "Women should never sleep in the same room with men not their husbands."

It's as simple as that, as far as she's concerned. She could share a room, even a bed, with other women, but never with a man other than Jonathan.

[ugh_emotions]

At this point, the person on the bunk does in fact move to peer over the side of the bed.

(It doesn't actually need to - it has a drone perched on the edge of the bunk that can see her perfectly well. But humans tend to look at each other when they talk, so it has to at least pretend to do so itself. It makes sure not to look her in the eyes, however.)

"...Why not?" It asks. It's seen humans of all genders sleep in the same spaces before. None of them have ever made any fuss about being married to each other.

[starandhope]

Mina looks at the person she assumes to be a man. To be fair, she's never met someone who was not a man or woman, or who wasn't a person, for that matter. Perhaps she can be forgiven for the assumption, eventually.

It is strange that the person won't meet her gaze.

"It's improper," she says simply. "It gives the appearance - and temptation - of immorality."

[ugh_emotions]

(The gender of the person is, in fact, potentially a bit tricky to assume. Tall as it is, its appearance would probably lead many to assume a masculine gender. But the voice is rather more ambiguous; it doesn't sound particularly masculine at all.)

"...I don't follow," it says.

quiet room

[angel_of_baal]

He is immediately aware that he has intruded. Perhaps it was the almost total quiet of this space that seemed to carry a kind of reverence. Sanguinius was about to step out, because he, more than others, knows the need, sometimes, to be in solitude, until he sees the small shake of her shoulders.

He hesitates, debating leaving her to her sorrow. He had seen so much of it, on Baal, as a child. Life was often unkind there, and made the people unkind as well. Should he leave her to her sorrow?

Or risk intruding?

Maybe he could split the difference, and just ask. He tries to pitch his voice as gently as possible. "Do you wish to be alone?"

[starandhope]

The voice startles her. She sucks in a breath, automatically pushing the glove back into the journal and snapping it shut. It happens so quickly as to suggest that she feels some guilt.

"I'm all right," she says, and only then does she turn to look at the person who interrupted her. At the sight of him, she lets out a gasp. "My God!"

She covers her mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect -"

[angel_of_baal]

That was a fairly unconvincing 'I'm all right', but he knows a signal to not press when he hears one.

He's spent too much time on the battlefield, and too much time with his only company being the men of his Legion. He has forgotten, he thinks, proper manners and the ways of mortals.

Still, he's trying and he hopes the effort counts for something.

He looks behind him at her startled look, expecting to find his brother, the Night Haunter, behind him. That would get anyone's startlement or fright. He took a step back, showing empty hands, to show he meant no threat. "I didn't mean to startle you."

[starandhope]

"The fault is mine," she says immediately - she would never want anyone to think her rude, and especially not someone so - large.

"I just - I've never met anyone quite so tall," she admits. "I wasn't expecting it, is all."

[angel_of_baal]

"There is no need for fault or blame." Or if there was, it was equally on him for intruding into a private moment.

He gives a deprecating shrug. He's used to being the tallest person in the room, even among his brothers, he was tall. "Please know I mean you no harm. I was just exploring."

III

[extrasaltypotato]

The well read Hikaru is unable to stifle his laughter in time, but manages one bark of joyous recognition before he clears his throat into his fist.

"Aheh... Having seen this film, 'body snatching' is meant in quite a different sense. I don't want to spoil the story for you by elaborating."

[starandhope]

Mina can't help frowning a little at the laugh. Is she being made fun of? She's not sure she appreciates that.

Still, his mention of film gets her eyebrows raised. She taps the title lightly with a finger.

"Do you mean Edison's machine? Telling a story?"

She's seen films. 1897 films, which are fairly different from a film made 80 years later.

[extrasaltypotato]

Hikaru has the good grace to make an apologetic nod of the head. He didn't mean to make fun, honest, it's just... of course Mina would think that.

"A refinement of it, yes. I think it's about an hour and a half long - that's fairly standard for a script out of Hollywood or New York. But that story is more in the tradition of... are you familiar with H.G. Wells?"

[starandhope]

"The Time Machine, yes," Mina says. "It was very popular a year or two ago, among my students. I didn't like it much."

[extrasaltypotato]

"Ah. Hmn."

He considers this, wind clearly taken out of his sails, before snapping his fingers.

"Verne. Possibly Jules Verne is more to your tastes. You might call the genre scientific romances."

Which may imply he calls it by another.

tea time

[kallig]

"The tea wasn't so bad," Altair said, though he was aware that was because he didn't mind strong tea. The entire presentation of what had been present to welcome them to the library would leave any Sith seething, but that was because his kind usually had a very high opinion of themselves that Altair did not yet fully share, "Too strong to be universally enjoyed though, certainly."

Most people probably did not prefer for their tea strong enough to be able to double as speeder fuel.

"The caf- coffee- was an affront to the Force though."

Though he had come in following the scent of tea, he remained- quite politely- at a distance, "May I?" He asked, seeking permission to have a cup rather than just assuming despite the fact that it seemed like she had prepared the pot with a willingness to share it with the library's other unwilling inhabitants.

[starandhope]

Perhaps Mina would someday become accustomed to the strange appearance of some of the people brought here. There seemed to be everything from giants, to fairies, to - blue-skinned people.

However, she was far too polite to comment on such things - being a deportment and etiquette teacher for several years, Mina knew how to school her features to something pleasantly neutral, in nearly every circumstance.

So long as no one was sneaking up on her, or being overtly threatening, she would be fine. Stiff upper lip, and all that.

"Please do," she said, waving the stranger to the teapot. She wasn't about to deny anyone arbitrarily. "I've made some sandwiches as well. Cucumber, mostly. I don't believe we've met. I'm Mina Harker."

[kallig]

"Thank you," Altair said, sounding equally polite and neutral- further aided by his posh and proper Imperial accent. That would probably sound British to anyone familiar.

Her introduction was responded to with a small smile and he put a hand to his chest and tipped forward in a polite bow, the motion the fluid and practiced one of someone who was used to a degree of formality in their daily life, "It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Lord Nox- though I much prefer my given name of Altair so you may call me that if you'd like."

It was what he preferred to be called by anyone who was not an Imperial, at any rate.

He straightened back up from his bow and then moved to fetch himself a cup so he could pour himself some of the tea, "And I'm... Not familiar with cucumber, actually."

Admittedly he wasn't familiar with most foods that didn't come wrapped in foil and tasted like cardboard.

"From the looks of it it appears to be a vegetable?"

He mostly assumed that because vegetables were more common to use for sandwiches than fruits. Or so he thought, anyway. He didn't actually know.

[starandhope]

On balance, it made sense that someone with such a startlingly unusual appearance might not be familiar with something so mundane as a cucumber. Mina was gradually coming to understand that the people brought here came not simply from other places, but from other times and perhaps other worlds, very different from her own.

It was a lot to take in, but for all her insistence that she was completely average in every way, Mina had a formidable mind, and a spine of steel.

Still, cucumbers!

“Yes, it’s a vegetable. I often make cucumber sandwiches with tea, as they are light and refreshing.”

The ritual of tea time also helped keep her grounded.

[kallig]

"Light and refreshing," Altair mused, tilting his head, "That will be a new experience."

Outside of his ration bars, most fresh foods he'd had an encounter with were the heavy luxurious meals served at Sith parties that he could never manage to take more than two bites out of. Food not meant to be enjoyed so much as it was meant to look pretty and showcase the wealth of the host. He preferred not to think much of the time before his ration bars and the Sith parties but he vaguely remembered grey slop.

Couldn't remember the flavor but if he was to guess, he would guess that the flavor profile matched the color.

Though he often hesitated when it came to food for a few different reasons, since it had been offered, he did help himself to one of the sandwiches- somewhat awkwardly putting it onto a plate and sort of staring at it more than anything else. He mentally filed find etiquette tutor away in his mind for whenever they all got to go home so he could learn how to interact with different foods in a way that didn't make him seem awkward.

Tea was one thing- tea he knew given that he consumed it at a rate he would consider above average. Food in another shape than 'solid brick' was another thing entirely though.

"It's very kind of you to prepare enough for others too."

IV

[aetherweaver]

"Ooh." Nara'a looks at the sandwiches as he wanders in. "Those look good. ... Though I don't mean to take your lunch."

Or whatever meal is happening now. It doesn't really matter. His ears flick as he smiles at the hyur, feline tail curling behind him.

[starandhope]

The people in this place just keep getting more and more queer - though of course, Mina would never say such a thing aloud. She absolutely takes mental note of this person's appearance, including the ears and tail.

(Hopefully no one would be offended at the thought that she describes them all in great detail in her journal.)

"Not at all, I made plenty to spare," she says, after only a quick blink at the stranger. "They're just from what I could find in the garden. We all need to keep up our strength."

[aetherweaver]

"Ah, thank you." He takes one of the sandwiches, careful to not squish it hard enough to get a mess on his gloves. His appearance is probably made a bit stranger by having a rapier at his side, but he hasn't seen reason to use it at all yet.

After a bite - and making sure he doesn't have food in his mouth - he grins. There's small fangs in his mouth, but those aren't for people. "This is really good. I've been trying to move some of the produce from the garden into here - I'm a fair hand at botany, so I thought I could help out. Besides, if we pluck the produce it frees the plants up for creating more."

[starandhope]

Honestly, the rapier is probably the least strange thing about his appearance. And while Mina’s loved ones have been terrorized by a vampire lately, she has little enough experience that sharp teeth do not immediately bring to mind images of blood-sucking monsters.

Really, it just makes him look more like a cat.

“Oh, I’m glad someone here has some experience with gardening. I have very little, so while I’m happy to cook, I don’t necessarily feel comfortable with tending the garden itself.”