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!]
steelfeathered: (of traumas and kisses)

[personal profile] steelfeathered 2026-03-28 02:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Hisako's wings should probably click and clatter continuously every time she flaps them, but the steel acts so much like keratin feathers that there's little additional sound when she flies. No, this rattling announcement is twigs and leaves encountering her on her way to a reasonably sturdy branch, and getting sheared off. The tree, adjusting, barely rocks when she finds a perch. Something big and sturdy enough to survive him - and it is still holding, for the moment - can handle a couple hundred pounds of Stormwing.

She's pretty much on the other side, with branches between them like they're on either side of a bush. Obscured but not entirely hidden.

"Is this a one-bird tree, or can others perch here too?" she asks belatedly, with a ghost of the aggressive friendliness she might have brought to that line otherwise. More softly Hisako says, "I can be quiet. We don't have to talk." Not right away.
angel_of_baal: (blue steel)

[personal profile] angel_of_baal 2026-03-30 01:54 pm (UTC)(link)
It's true: anything sturdy enough, this high up, to hold Sanguinius's weight, is not going to balk at a few extra pounds. "Please, join me." He does have some tamales he thinks about offering, but maybe she doesn't like fire scorpion. "I just wanted to look at the sky, even a false one. It meant much to me back there." No need to clarify where 'back there' was.
steelfeathered: (This life startles you)

[personal profile] steelfeathered 2026-03-30 03:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Hisako proceeds to start working on a minor platforming challenge, finding branches to hop or step onto that are reasonable perches which she can reach without causing too much damage to this poor plant.

She's got an increasing unease about not having talked to this tree first. Patently, obviously it's not a god and if she'd stopped to ask and wait for a reply as if it might be, that would invite comment and probably a return to the topic of blackberries and the nonexistence of justice. Old habits die hard, though. After leaving an oozing wound in the rough bark, slicing deep into the silvery phloem, Hisako mutters "Sorry."

Along the way she says, "I found out about that safety thing, the forest. It's good to have so much more space, but there's no stars at all."

She'd been frightened stumbling into some bizarre new rule in a place she didn't understand, but it was so nice to be in surroundings not as patently artificial as the rest of the Library.