libraryassistants: (Default)
Unfinished Library Mod & NPC Account ([personal profile] libraryassistants) wrote in [community profile] unfinishedlibrary2025-10-31 06:42 pm

Careful of the stacks - LIBRARY LOG

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!]
curzed: (pic#18125565)

[personal profile] curzed 2025-12-04 02:34 am (UTC)(link)
His hearing is sharp enough to pick up on it from a couple dozen feet away if he'd bothered to pay attention, and now that he is, there's a whole slew of invective rolling around in his mind.

That makes at least two. One was an elf, he didn't care about those. But a human.. they're supposed to nominally be keeping an eye out for those, and dead ones still moving around just didn't normally happen. "How does that work, precisely?" The question is a low, thoughtful rumble. "Your appointed fate arrives and you simply skip the terminal breath part..?"
hellandbackpack: (pic#18111197)

[personal profile] hellandbackpack 2025-12-13 08:31 pm (UTC)(link)
"Dunno if it was 'appointed' or not," He replied with a one-shouldered shrug. "But I died, yeah? Wasn't so bad really, didn't even realize until I turned around and saw my body still where I'd been layin' felt... well okay didn't feel much of anything but that was way better than before. I could've moved on, Death was gonna show up in a minute or two to pick my soul up and take me to y'know the great beyond or wherever. So I took off instead."
curzed: (pic#18155866)

[personal profile] curzed 2025-12-13 08:42 pm (UTC)(link)
"Caught by surprise?" Curze can think of many, many ways someone might die so suddenly they might not realize it happened, and most were terribly messy.

Souls still seem like nonsense to him. He could allow that perhaps psykers could leave an imprint of themselves behind for a while, or the new possibility of daemons, but was that really ghosts? "How peculiar. I have only heard of such things in tales to frighten children. Even that death may be a person to show up or not, and be late of all things, is ..."

Utter bullshit. "Odd."
hellandbackpack: (pic#18111355)

[personal profile] hellandbackpack 2025-12-13 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"Kinda? I think I was just a little too out of it to realize that was it." Hypothermia wasn't especially quick, but it definitely addled the mind enough that a person absolutely could miss the idea that they were dying.

And Curze certainly wouldn't be the first person to have trouble wrapping their head around the idea of souls and ghosts being real. Even back home, there were plenty of skeptics. "Oh yeah, back on Earth most people don't know, yeah? Like they have a lot of stories, but science hasn't hit the point that it can really find us, so lots of people think it's just some spooky stories, yeah? Don't think Death is ever late though. She's..."

He furrowed his brow slightly, considering. He'd never admitted as much to Edwin, but... "She let me run, I think. Can't tell me a- how'd Edwin put it- 'physical avatar of a primordial concept of existence' would be baffled by a door if she really wanted to catch me."
curzed: (pic#18132067)

[personal profile] curzed 2025-12-16 04:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Earth was Terra, by a different name. Washington had been in Merica. And if this young man is stone dead then what era he was from was almost more important than where. Pre or post Unification?

Death is seen as a 'she'. It must be pre-Unification. "No, I imagine the physical avatar of a primordial concept would not be baffled by doors. I wonder why you were allowed to escape." No implication there of something ominous, it sounds like curiosity at best. "Even in my era, detecting such things is ... mmm, if possible, then beyond my senses, or technology I know."

Which is fascinating. What would a normal, trained psyker detect? "Detecting death itself as a being is also an interesting and foreign concept!"
hellandbackpack: (pic#18111185)

[personal profile] hellandbackpack 2025-12-18 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"S'hard to say really. Endless don't really see things like mortals do, so even if we had a chance to hear her explanation, it might not even make sense," Charles didn't mind pondering it though, a tilt of his head accompanying the considerations. "Could be a greater good thing. Done a lot of helpin' other ghosts take care of their unfinished business which can make it easier for 'em to move on rather than risk 'em becomin' poltergeists or sommat like that."

A slight softening of expression before his smile brightened. "Or maybe she knew Edwin needed backup, and knew I'd think he was brills."
curzed: (pic#18155868)

[personal profile] curzed 2025-12-20 08:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Does Curze believe anything about an actual embodiment of Death going around doing death things? No. But could he consider the idea that ghosts might be a thing, some kind of post-death psychic impression that still thinks it's alive? Sure.

He's seen weirder. That's probably what's going on. Maybe. "It seems you and Edwin do make an effective team, if you are successful with settling that 'unfinished business' you speak of."