so good night unto you all - LIBRARY RETURN

[libraryassistants]

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!]

Comments

Nabiki Tendo | Ranma 1/2 (1989 Anime) | Post 160 | OTA

[okanetendo]

Tamales
Not a food Nabiki has tried before, and the more ideosyncratic flavors make her tilt her head and blink, rapidly, damn near audibly, but hey, the price is right, so she’ll chance the beef.

The teenage girl with a brown bobcut in vintage 80’s fashions has the good sense to unwrap her tamale - it seems similar to lo mai gai from the Nekohanten, in the lotus leaf wrapper - and takes a bite.

“Hey, not bad,” she says, less to the… puppety things, this goddamn Library, more to anyone else on the fence. “Never ran across it before; anyone here know the deal?”

Lego
Nabiki has a skeptical look as she assembles Tokyo Tower. Or perhaps the Eiffel Tower. It’s hard to tell.

“So is this just an icebreaker or should I be concerned about the running theme of kid stuff?” she asks anyone willing to hear her kvetch.

Bunks
Great. Co-ed dorms. Something Nabiki was prepared for, with her ambitions of going to college, but still.

She grabs an empty bunk, stows what stuff she has, and lies face-down on the bed, doing leg exercises - gotta keep up her girlish figure - and reading a selection of novels and manga from the stacks.

Every so often she frowns and puts one aside.

“Not a one of these yet has an ending,” she grumbles.

Assuming our test drive thread sort of happened

[codeswitchcraft]

"None of the books here do," the pixie woman who'd recognized the manga that had been labeled Princess Orihime says. "I know we got distracted before but—did anyone explain about the Stories yet?"

And Laina’s

[okanetendo]

“Oh, yeah, it came up,” Nabiki says. “Your friend from - she didn’t say where on Mundus, so say the priestess from the wonderful city of Oz - mentioned. Laina,” she belatedly recalls.

She sets aside her book, frowning. “I can’t wait to wind up in Kamen Rider as the office girl that gets menaced by an antlion-themed monster.”

Re: And Laina’s

[codeswitchcraft]

"Salzstadt," Siobhan says. "It's the biggest city near where I grew up. What kind of riding animal is a Kamen?"

Re: And Laina’s

[okanetendo]

“A bike,” she says, amused. “But, seriously, it means ‘Masked Rider,’ and his ride is a motorcycle. I’m surprised Heeks hasn’t introduced you to the man who kicks fascists so hard they explode, he seems the type to be real into it.”

Re: And Laina’s

[codeswitchcraft]

"... that sounds like Kikaiser," Siobhan says, frowning a little. "Only the one he showed me had a woman kicking things until they exploded."

Re: And Laina’s

[okanetendo]

She blinks. (Just wait till Nabiki learns her name; it’s a good thing Masamiko looks nothing like Tendō Akane.)

“Good for her,” Nabiki says. “But then, he’s from the future from where I’m lying down. Both of you are,” she amends.

Re: And Laina’s

[codeswitchcraft]

"What year are you from?" she asks, curiously. "I know that by the Earthly calendar it's 2047 CE."

Re: And Laina’s

[okanetendo]

“1989, or the first year of the Heisei era,” she says. “No wonder he had a million player game good enough that you got real.”

She says it offhandedly, casually. There’s no doubt in her mind that Siobhan is a real person, in every way that matters. 2047 may as well be the 41st millenium to her understanding of computers.

Re: And Laina’s

[codeswitchcraft]

"I don't think Hikaru, Mei, or Sumire were even born yet in your time," Siobhan says. "Or Jun."

(All the other Japanese editors that she knows of, that is.)

Re: And Laina’s

[okanetendo]

She sighs heavily.

"I'm going to get that a lot, aren't I?" she says. "I think I'm going to be cheered up by the weird looks about my sister's engagement rather than depressed by it."

Re: And Laina’s

[codeswitchcraft]

"Your sister is betrothed?" Siobhan asks, curious but not at all looking at her oddly. But then again, her video game does seem to be set in a rather more archaic timeframe.

Re: And Laina’s

[okanetendo]

Cautiously, Nabiki says, "My father ran a dojo - a martial arts school," she says. "He had a friend who trained under the same master."

She pulls a face. No love lost between her and that master, to put it mildly.

"And so Dad, in his wisdom, promised one of us - three sisters - to this guy's son, just to make sure that Anything Goes Martial Arts doesn't die with the two of them," she says. "Akane's the actual martial artist: I keep the books, Kasumi keeps home. Ranma gets to marry the one he can spar with."

There's more she wants - or feels she has to - say, but she's going to wait on questions first.

Re: And Laina’s

[codeswitchcraft]

Siobhan nods, thoughtfully. "Are they at least friends?" she asks. "It is possible to have a passionless marriage and have it still work out, but I cannot see how one would without at least a degree of friendship."

Some things Siobhan is very pragmatic about, it seems.

keeping in mind that 'kawaiikunee' more often describes behavior than appearance...

[okanetendo]

She blinks. And Nabiki Tendo, given the luxury of distance from... all of that... actually, finally, gives it some serious thought.

"I don't think they would get under each others skin as much as they do if they hadn't caught feelings for each other somewhere along the line," she says at last. "They have a real talent for saying the wrong thing to each other, both of them. Akane needles Ranma, Ranma says that's not very cute of Akane, things escalate. But when they work together..."

She shakes her head, a little sad.

bunks

[shakenit]

"They probably won't. If they do, then it's likely because the middle is 'plot goes here.' The only complete books I've seen so far were the ones they gave us before the last Story started."

And those, with hindsight, were clearly meant as preparation.

Re: bunks

[okanetendo]

“Huh.”

Sumire had been more than patient with her, and Nabiki found out the fun way that she was a way better cook than her, so -

Nabiki has the curious feeling that she owes her. An attempt to be pleasant despite the circumstances at the very least.

“Any idea why that would be? I get the idea that all of this is very much strings attached, rather than free, gratis, and for nothing.”

[shakenit]

"Those were pretty clearly intended to give us some idea of what we were in for. I'm not sure how much they helped me, at least, but some of the others got a lot out of them."

[okanetendo]

“Greaaaat.”

She opens up one about an obnoxious and very tsundere alien girl who kind of deserves the horny idiot she inexplicably caught feelings for.

“What happened last time, anyway? So I know what I’m up against.”

[shakenit]

"Star-crossed-lovers stuff, but with vampires and werewolves involved. I think we managed to keep anyone crucial from dying."

She thinks. She was kind of useless.

[okanetendo]

She blinks heavily, tilting her head, frowning.

“That’s honestly pretty impressive?” she says. “That no one bit it during Movie Monsters In Love.”

[shakenit]

Sumire sighs. "I could be wrong. I was too caught up in my own head to be very helpful. But I also think someone would have mentioned by now if they had."

Legos

[birdchasingecho]

"I wish I knew, but the Library changed pretty quick for the run-up to the last Story," Mei says. She's in the middle of constructing what appears to be a two-story family home, very staid, albeit with two offices and a small free-weight space instead of a living room. Then you look more closely at the bottom floor, and realize it has a steel fire door and a way down in it, looped around underneath the other stairs.

Then-- Then she double-takes. That is an extremely 80's girl. And Mei is an exceedingly 2020's girl, at least, when it comes to clothes. The blue judo gi's an old tradition, but the tight shirt and compression bra? Not so much.

Her hair's short, but clearly being grown out. A red ribbon sits atop it, a little sad-looking. "So chances are we'll know when the next Story's comin'."

Re: Legos

[okanetendo]

Nabiki evaluates this stranger, and what she's doing with her work, and - everything else she chooses to be -

And bows, shallow. "Tendo Nabiki," she says. "Just got here."

Time to be very friendly to someone she will likely need to stand behind.

Re: Legos

[birdchasingecho]

"Torioi Mei." She stands to answer the bow, almost polite enough to be insulting. "I've been through. One Story. Some of us have been through two, I think? So hey, you're on the ground floor."