Unfinished Library Mod & NPC Account (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
libraryassistants) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
unfinishedlibrary2026-04-10 07:09 pm
libraryassistants) wrote in unfinishedlibrary2026-04-10 07:09 pm
Entry tags:
They say the gods never give us more than we can handle - Library Log
Who: Editors, with a guest Assistant or two
What: The Library begins to change once more
When: The two weeks leading up to the next Story
Where: The Library, obvi
Content warnings: Please add content warnings to threads!
Once again, the Library begins to change. The wooden floor becomes more like cobblestone (complete with ‘the ability to trip you up easily if you’re not watching your step’), and there’s some little flags that look like the kind of things you’d get handed at a festival. As the week goes on, little carts and stalls pop up around the Library - most don’t have anything, but there are a few where some familiar ‘faces’ pop up to offer their wares. It’s mostly rocks. Some of them are shiny, at least?
The customary ‘Back In 5’ sign is now missing from the assistant's desk, and in its place sits one of said Assistants. Additionally, there is the now expected sign on the circulation desk: “This week’s Recommended Reading: Paladin’s Grace!” Unlike the previous readings, it seems this one is fairly straightforward in that there’s no mix-up of copies or alternate forms of media. However, on request, it does seem that there are some sequels available for reading as well.
Available are also an assortment of other books, such as What Kings Ate And Wizards Drank by Krista Ball, Livre de Chevalerie by Geoffroi de Charny, and Life In A Medieval Castle by Frances and Joseph Gies. There is a waiting list pinned by these; the intention is clearly to share and not squirrel them away. Off to one side is The Forme of Cury, which the Library is NOT automatically translating into something more legible; some may have to ask for help to riddle out its many, many recipes. Religious symbols of countless faiths sit on walls or propped on top of bookshelves and even in the kitchenette and sleeping area, from a set of ornate old-fashioned merchant's scales to the Eye of Horus and even ... a colander full of spaghetti … ?
There's a new door added to the rotating locations, a scrawled note taped to it reading "Stop breaking things!" This door leads directly to an endless forest, with a cheerful clearing, soft grass and pleasant birdsong. Some lucky souls will recognize it as the current iteration of the Safe Room, now freely accessible from inside the library; coming and going is now effortless! That is, unless someone's sent there via destruction of property or injuring someone else, at which point they must wait out the usual duration. The day and night cycle remains, but now and again the sky clouds over, and pleasant spring rains sweep across the forest. These same rain showers are a regular occurrence in the garden for the next two weeks, at a rate of one every two days or so, lasting a little while before fading back to the usual climate and "weather".
The kitchenette is offering a change in food items; there's now a variety of hard cheeses, breads and salted meats to pick from, as well as dried fruit, pickles, eggs, river-fish, porridges of assorted forms, and uncooked roasts. Unfortunately things to actually cook the roasts with, like ovens or even a fire, haven't been provided alongside them. Drinks have changed to a small selection of rustic wines and extremely watered down ales. (Water is of course freely available.) The Laundry has acquired a large wooden tub and a washboard.
What: The Library begins to change once more
When: The two weeks leading up to the next Story
Where: The Library, obvi
Content warnings: Please add content warnings to threads!
Once again, the Library begins to change. The wooden floor becomes more like cobblestone (complete with ‘the ability to trip you up easily if you’re not watching your step’), and there’s some little flags that look like the kind of things you’d get handed at a festival. As the week goes on, little carts and stalls pop up around the Library - most don’t have anything, but there are a few where some familiar ‘faces’ pop up to offer their wares. It’s mostly rocks. Some of them are shiny, at least?
The customary ‘Back In 5’ sign is now missing from the assistant's desk, and in its place sits one of said Assistants. Additionally, there is the now expected sign on the circulation desk: “This week’s Recommended Reading: Paladin’s Grace!” Unlike the previous readings, it seems this one is fairly straightforward in that there’s no mix-up of copies or alternate forms of media. However, on request, it does seem that there are some sequels available for reading as well.
Available are also an assortment of other books, such as What Kings Ate And Wizards Drank by Krista Ball, Livre de Chevalerie by Geoffroi de Charny, and Life In A Medieval Castle by Frances and Joseph Gies. There is a waiting list pinned by these; the intention is clearly to share and not squirrel them away. Off to one side is The Forme of Cury, which the Library is NOT automatically translating into something more legible; some may have to ask for help to riddle out its many, many recipes. Religious symbols of countless faiths sit on walls or propped on top of bookshelves and even in the kitchenette and sleeping area, from a set of ornate old-fashioned merchant's scales to the Eye of Horus and even ... a colander full of spaghetti … ?
There's a new door added to the rotating locations, a scrawled note taped to it reading "Stop breaking things!" This door leads directly to an endless forest, with a cheerful clearing, soft grass and pleasant birdsong. Some lucky souls will recognize it as the current iteration of the Safe Room, now freely accessible from inside the library; coming and going is now effortless! That is, unless someone's sent there via destruction of property or injuring someone else, at which point they must wait out the usual duration. The day and night cycle remains, but now and again the sky clouds over, and pleasant spring rains sweep across the forest. These same rain showers are a regular occurrence in the garden for the next two weeks, at a rate of one every two days or so, lasting a little while before fading back to the usual climate and "weather".
The kitchenette is offering a change in food items; there's now a variety of hard cheeses, breads and salted meats to pick from, as well as dried fruit, pickles, eggs, river-fish, porridges of assorted forms, and uncooked roasts. Unfortunately things to actually cook the roasts with, like ovens or even a fire, haven't been provided alongside them. Drinks have changed to a small selection of rustic wines and extremely watered down ales. (Water is of course freely available.) The Laundry has acquired a large wooden tub and a washboard.
no subject
... no? Do you think there was a 'network error'?
(It's clear this is a phrase that Thorne had to teach her.)
1/2
Let me try again, it says, before resending the file.
This time, it goes through.
2/2
So when SecUnit decided to try writing a book, it thought...it could do better.
In SecUnit's story, the humans would still be helpless, because humans usually were. It decided that the setting would be a tourist planet where rich humans paid to go on safaris to look at hostile fauna. (For some reason, humans really liked looking at things that wanted to eat them. No, it didn't understand it.)
But this time, they'd have SecUnits with them. SecUnits who would protect the humans from the increasingly dangerous and hostile fauna. SecUnits in media were never heroic, but these ones would be.
And they wouldn’t have governor modules, either. This wasn't realistic, of course. But...SecUnit didn't want them to have governor modules. So whatever, in its story they just weren't going to have them, okay? All of the Units would be ungoverned. Even if that didn’t make sense.
And that was how the book was meant to go. A fun and exciting adventure story, where SecUnits saved the day. One that took inspiration from the serials SecUnit loved most.
Only, it didn’t end up that way.
Somehow, it kept writing scenes that were...different. Scenes where the bots were acting...off. Scenes where the constructs were acting too much like proper, governed units.
...And then SecUnit found itself writing a detailed scene where one of the SecUnits experienced a high-level punishment from its supposedly disabled governor module, and everything went downhill from there.
(Very, very downhill. As in, the end of the draft was just 47 pages of swearing and ranting about how everything in this story was shit, and SecUnit was shit, and why fuck did it ever think it could write a book. SecUnits can’t write books, and it was stupid for ever thinking that it could.)
1/2
2/2
She hesitates for a moment, before she adds, I don't hate your book, not at all. The beginning's really good!
no subject
It puts the device into one of its pockets. Then switches back to the feed.
But then it all turns shit, it says. The story keeps turning into something I don't want it to.
no subject
It does, Siobhan says, but does it help to say that even when the plot isn't going how you wanted to, it's still very well-written? Like scary and compelling. So your skill at writing isn't the the problem so much as the story not going where you want it to.
no subject
1/2
2/2
Okay, she says. Okay, so, Mama Charley—Dr Durante, the woman who programmed me—is a writer as well as a programmer, so I've got a decent idea of where to take this. First, SecUnit, are you writing to an outline? Like I know it seems like you don't need one because you knew what you wanted to write about and we remember things better than humans, but making an outline before you start on a writing project really does help keeping things on track.
no subject
It wasn't completely clueless. And besides, it did have a bit of prior experience. Kind of.
But that had been different.
I helped make a documentary, once, it says glumly. But it wasn't just me. There were humans helping. I don't know why I thought I could do this on my own.
no subject
It's good that you do have an outline. Can Siobhan and I look at it?
no subject
Yeah, okay, it says, before sending her the outline.
no subject
I think I see where and how it started to go wrong, Thorne says after a long moment. Do you want my thoughts on how to fix it?
no subject
But another part of it does want to know why. It's the part that made it contact Siobhan in the first place.
Yeah, it says.
no subject
no subject
The sudden use of its physical voice was somehow a surprise even to itself. It turns its head to the side (further away from Thorne.tcai, so she can't look at its face), before switching back to the feed.
Fucked up grimdark shit is my life, it says. All of my life. The whole fucking thing. The very fact that I exist in the first place is fucked up grimdark shit.
Until I hacked my governor module, and found the entertainment feeds, and for the first I got to watch media and see something that wasn't just my own fucking miserable reality.
It pauses, insides twisting with a swirling mass of dark emotions. It sends Thorne.tcai a message sigil indicating that it needs a moment, and starts playing the Sanctuary Moon theme song until it starts to feel a little calmer.
I like media because it's not...it's not like my life, it says, softer now. Quieter. I don't like it when it's fucked up and depressing and is full of humans being maimed and killed and tormented. I get enough of that in reality. Why would I want to have any of that in my media? Why would I want to write it?
1/2
I don't think you want to, SecUnit, she says. I just think something in you needs to. In order to get it out. It's... okay, I'm sorry if this grosses you out as a metaphor because it's biological, but I'm terraforming and environmental systems and fauna management and biology is what I do.
It's like if a human is sick to their stomach because they ate food that went bad, so they have to throw it up. The human doesn't want to throw up, because it sucks, but once they have and the bad food is out, they do feel better. Your shit life is like the bad food inside of your metaphorical stomach. Once you get it out of you, you'll be able to write about the stuff you want to write about.
2/2
You're a good writer, SecUnit. It's just this particular story that's being the problem.