libraryassistants: (Default)
Unfinished Library Mod & NPC Account ([personal profile] libraryassistants) wrote in [community profile] unfinishedlibrary2026-03-27 07:21 pm

so good night unto you all - LIBRARY RETURN

Who: The Editors, one and all
What: The fight is over, the pieces remain... and the Editors head back 'home'
When: Dawn of the Final Day Sunrise after the attack
Where: Leaving Montica, back to the Library
Content warnings: Please make sure to put CW in headers!

By the time morning comes around again, the fires are beginning to die down, thanks to the many efforts of the citizenry to keep them under control. The rebel vampires too have been largely dealt with. These two seemingly insurmountable obstacles were only possible thanks to a combination of factors: the Umbra not being as blind to their human servants as their opposition would have thought, defectors from the Orlocks who were able to counter-act some of their magic, the following Amalia gathered and deployed from Laurelthirst, some suspicious (though welcome) help from suspiciously new arrivals, and of course, House Guildulf throwing their own into the fray to ally with the vampires for this confrontation.

A unity the likes of which Montica has never truly seen.

As the sun rises, there are few left who are able to fight at all; the rebels are beaten, and even the forces built up by both the vampires and werewolves are exhausted or diminished, leaving no one able to take advantage. Citizens of both sides flee indoors, and the remaining rebels are forced to vanish into the woods once more, weakened and unable to strike again any time soon. But there are still repairs to be done, physically and otherwise. Will this unity last beyond tonight? Will young love and youthful hope prevail? Those are the questions that settle over a weary Montica, as light pours into the city once more.

And then, the world begins to fade, static taking over the senses, as the Editors return to the Library.

Welcome back, Editors

It looks much the same as they left it, though the makings of a masquerade are no longer arranged as finely, a few scorch marks here and there, and for some reason there’s some amazing optical illusions on the floor panelling that makes them look like actual manhole covers. Alas, no sewers lay beneath. It may still take Actors a bit of time to shake off the old-new memories, and for some reason the fluorescent lighting seems harsher on the skin than it has any right too. Good thing that the stacks cast long shadows.

The customary tea cart is set up in the Lobby again, and it seems some improvements have been made. The coffee still isn’t strong, but’s far more drinkable than it has been, and there’s an added decaf option now! The tea has still been overstepped, and the stale cookies have been replaced by scones that are hard as rocks, but clearly someone’s getting the message that there are improvements needed. Clearly the tea cart was the place to start.

If someone for some reason doesn’t want stale scones, there’s also a child sized food truck in the lobby, with a sign out front boasting a variety of tamales, including: black beans and cheese, birria, chicken, fire scorpion, man suffering to death via battle wound, and beef. Upon approach, what look like fuzzy puppets pop up to… take your order? They don’t say much, or rather, they make a single noise over and over that seems to be them communicating, but the tamales are good. Just… don’t try to look in the truck. They’ll screech, vanish, and then no tamales for you.

Meanwhile, the bulletin board has a cheerful sign decorated with colorful blocks, declaring: “Join us in the Children’s Area for Lego Club!” Upon locating the room in question, Editors will discover boxes among boxes of legos of various shapes and sizes. There are some ‘how to’ guides for various builds (including a ‘research space ship’ and a ‘vampire’s castle’), but also plenty of encouragement for people to make their own creations! Unlike normal creations, these will actually stick around for a while after they’re finished, and there’s a nice little table where people can display and share what they’ve made.

The Assistants, it seems, are nowhere to be seen: the ‘back in 5’ sign is still in place at the help desk. Still, even without their ‘helpful’ guidance, some facets of the Library may come more easily to some in the aftermath of Montica’s troubles.

[Due to the resolution of the Story, any skills tagged Archivist in the skill tree cost one less skill point (minimum of 1) until the next Story. This can stack with a normal Archivist bonus!]
birdchasingecho: (acceptance)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho 2026-03-28 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
"If he thinks to look in a closed space dressed as a library he doesn't normally have access to? I think we'd have bigger problems," Mei says. It's a bald-faced attempt at humor. "But. Yeah. I was a dumb kid, and I'd run off after slipping my tails, and it was as often Chou's personal goon squad as Ichigo himself who came to escort me home.

"Not that I minded when it was Ichigo. We'd usually get to milk a few hours of that together, walkin' around Osaka, trying to avoid the cops." Like she said, they're decent friends.
codeswitchcraft: (sad)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] codeswitchcraft 2026-03-28 04:56 am (UTC)(link)
"I had resigned myself to the match," Siobhan says, softly. "Until I found out that my father was a murderer. Then I had to leave."
birdchasingecho: (hard-nosed)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho 2026-03-28 05:00 am (UTC)(link)
Her expression darkens, immediately. "'I cannot speak to foul play'."
codeswitchcraft: (disgusted)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] codeswitchcraft 2026-03-28 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
Siobhan snorts. "You may not be able to, but I can. He did poison my mother. I am certain it was through his gift of cosmetics to her."
birdchasingecho: (Revealed)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho 2026-03-28 05:18 am (UTC)(link)
"Then if we ever arrive at his doorstep, I hope you will allow me the honor of driving his face into the concrete."
codeswitchcraft: (smile)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] codeswitchcraft 2026-03-28 05:24 am (UTC)(link)

"Of course. And I will shoot at Ichigo's parents for you should we run into them."

birdchasingecho: (Revealed)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho 2026-03-28 05:38 am (UTC)(link)
"Deal." The grin she has is maybe a little too gleeful. "Heck, maybe we can even find you my old bow. Dad made magic items, and that one was a masterpiece. It's been ages since I held one, but I bet you could pull it."
Edited 2026-03-28 05:38 (UTC)
codeswitchcraft: (Default)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] codeswitchcraft 2026-03-28 01:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"I suppose if it is sized for humans, I could take a human form," Siobhan says thoughtfully.
birdchasingecho: (soft smile)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho 2026-03-29 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
"Don't even think you'd need to be human. I was... What, 142cm when he woulda given it me? uhhhh, four foot eight? Sure, it was up to my nose, but..."
codeswitchcraft: (Default)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] codeswitchcraft 2026-03-29 06:07 am (UTC)(link)
"That's nine inches taller than my adult height," Siobhan points out.
birdchasingecho: (hard-nosed)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho 2026-03-29 06:15 am (UTC)(link)
"... I really gotta get better at measurements," Mei says, with a resigned sigh. And then, she remembers: She is allowed to learn. "-- Y'know? I gotta better idea. If things keep going like in that Story... D'you think you could teach me how you shoot?"
codeswitchcraft: (Default)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] codeswitchcraft 2026-03-29 06:21 am (UTC)(link)
"We will need to go somewhere akin to the Safe Zone," Siobhan says thoughtfully, "and I should want to learn how to produce arrows from books or otherwise make them in the maker's space. But I do not see why not."
birdchasingecho: (neutral)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho 2026-03-29 06:32 am (UTC)(link)
"I'll work on the making-side, then. It's now officially been three years too long since I held a bow." Because she couldn't. Because she can't.

But fuck if that stopped Amalia, and it's not going to stop her. "... Sorry for putting you in harm's way for. What was essentially a spat with myself."
codeswitchcraft: (Default)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] codeswitchcraft 2026-03-29 03:49 pm (UTC)(link)
"I was safe for most of the play," Siobhan argues. "Mostly I was just shielding Moth— ah, Sigrid Guildulf's mother."
birdchasingecho: (Thinking)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho 2026-03-29 05:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Mei nods. If it had been her mother in such a state... "I'd have done the same, in your position. How could I not?"

The last of the kitchen clicks into place. Mei begins working on the walls more properly now. It's a little touchy, but less so than if she'd started with the walls and tried to add lego furniture.
codeswitchcraft: (Default)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] codeswitchcraft 2026-03-29 06:29 pm (UTC)(link)
"Hikaru made me think, earlier, about how the story might have been different if different ones of us had played different roles. You in mine or he in yours or Claire in Nara'a's. It would have been very different, I think."
birdchasingecho: (Duality)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho 2026-03-29 07:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"You're not wrong. Lily doing Merchant of Venice shit with vampire-Claire, for instance, while I, secretly already in love--" she stops. "But I'm no playwright."

Click. Click.
codeswitchcraft: (Default)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] codeswitchcraft 2026-03-29 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
"Nor am I," Siobhan says. "My few poems, poor that they might be, were meant for the eyes of one, not to be performed upon stage."
birdchasingecho: (soft smile)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho 2026-03-30 12:24 am (UTC)(link)
Click. The stairs start to come into place, too, and it's at this point someone might notice that the steel door slips into a space under the stairwell, where normally there might be a closet.

"I'll admit I wasn't much for poetry. Flower-arranging, yes. Poetry, no."
codeswitchcraft: (Default)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] codeswitchcraft 2026-03-30 12:47 am (UTC)(link)
"I had a dear friend who I missed very much who I used to send my poems to," Siobhan admits. "Poor efforts though they were."

(Objectively speaking they were actually pretty good, especially considering her age, but also technically they were written by a friend of one of the devteam members of the video game that Siobhan was an NPC in, even if in character they were Siobhan's.)
birdchasingecho: (neutral)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho 2026-03-30 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
"I sent pictures to my friends of them. Until I had to stop." Click. She gently touches her throat and blinks. Interesting to know...
codeswitchcraft: (Default)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] codeswitchcraft 2026-03-30 02:06 am (UTC)(link)
"Why did you have to stop?" Siobhan asks.
birdchasingecho: (Thinking)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho 2026-03-30 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
"... This house I'm building. It burned down. When I moved homes--" She hums. 'Deleted' in this context is probably a naughty word. "My contacts could no longer be contacted. ... I wonder how Naoki is doing...? I hope things turned out OK, but I haven't seen her on Suita campus."
codeswitchcraft: (Default)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] codeswitchcraft 2026-03-30 02:16 am (UTC)(link)
"I am so sorry," Siobhan says sincerely. "It is a sad thing to lose one's friends that way."
birdchasingecho: (hard-nosed)

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho 2026-03-30 02:22 am (UTC)(link)
"I'd like to see her again. But. I am here. And Takayama Naoki, and Auntie Kei, they are in Kansai." Click.

Re: Legos

[personal profile] codeswitchcraft - 2026-03-30 02:25 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Legos

[personal profile] birdchasingecho - 2026-03-30 02:36 (UTC) - Expand