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Unfinished Library Mod & NPC Account ([personal profile] libraryassistants) wrote in [community profile] unfinishedooc2025-12-20 09:27 am
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TEST DRIVE MEME #2

Welcome to the Library

Those who are new awake in the stacks.

You’re not sure when you fell asleep, and the memories of the last things you were doing are hazy at best. But now you’re here, and all you can see is books in every direction, the bookshelves teetering high enough above you to reach to the sky.

A helpful sign points you in the direction of the main circulation desk, and even if you try to ignore it and go in any other direction, the desk is where you will find yourself. A figure sits behind the desk, not even looking up as they sort through books and other media; they look, to your character, to be the exact picture of what they expect a Librarian to be.

Trying to ask the Librarian a question will get them shushed, but they’ll point down a hallway to the side, leading to a kitchenette and what appears to be a dorm room, where they’ll find they’re not alone in this strange place. But once they’ve looked away, when they look back, the Librarian is gone.


The Lobby

Those who are already familiar with the Library will see the Lobby change for the second time. It’s not paper plate UFOs and metal walls this time. Instead there are cheerful garlands strung about, and a stack of books shaped into a Christmas tree taking pride of place. The Help Desk is closed, the ‘Back in 5’ sign once again a bald-faced lie, but there is a menorah sat behind in the window, conveniently just out of reach of anyone who tries to get it. The candles are lit in a… somewhat sporadic fashion, the correct order but with no rhyme or reason to what ‘night’ is being represented. Either time is strange here, whoever’s in charge of it doesn’t know what day it is either, or they simply don’t care. Or some mix of the three.

Those two particular winter holidays are not the only ones represented either; characters will find a smattering of decorations or festive accessories from a great number of holidays, from their own worlds and beyond. There is what looks like a cabinet with instructions to pick your fortune from one of the many drawers. For some reason, there are a number of what looks like a child’s toy ponies placed on and around the cabinet. There are also some posters declaring in bold, decidedly upsetting typeset: “THE GOD-EMPEROR WISHES YOU A FESTIVE SANGUINALIA!” complete with a picture of a certain Library resident in all his feathered, shining glory. (The poster is not remotely shiny, but there are helpful accent lines to show that he should be shining.) And, for some reason, there is also a giant straw goat in the garden now, surrounded by festive strings of lights. Please do not set it on fire.

The Kitchens

It seems the decorations are not the only thing in the holiday spirit. The kitchens, usually bereft of anything but the most basic foodstuffs, are now full to the brim with a variety of holiday foods. There is always a tureen with hot mulled wine and a try of sweet pastries near by it, there’s ham and latkes in the fridge to be heated up, jelly doughnuts, moon cakes, pies, and an assortment of other delicious things. If your character would expect to find a certain thing within the stash, they do, regardless of how niche it may be. Christmas chili? Of course there’s christmas chili!

Oh, and that mulled wine isn’t the only alcohol around either- champagne, sake, hard cider… again, anything anyone might expect to find. Just try not to overdo it too much, alright? Everyone still has to sleep in the same room, and the Assistants aren’t going to show up to hold your hair back.

Crafts and More

What good are holidays without crafts? The Maker’s Space has been specially supplied with anything you might need to make your festive crafts- this includes everything you’d need for a gingerbread construction! (You’d think this would be in the kitchen, but don’t kid yourself- those things are not for eating.) There’s strips of colorful paper rings and instructions on how to make your own, little things of clay and paint and directions on how to craft your own dreidel, ’stained glass’ paper lanterns, and more. Oh, and glitter. Obviously there is a lot of glitter available.

There are also snow globe kits, mostly generic winter themes- trees, presents, and the like. Strangely enough, however, when they’re complete and shaken, they’ll show a memory from the person who shook it- a memory of a holiday, or snow, or generally something that invokes the feeling of the season- light, and hope, and togetherness. It’s fragmented, almost stop-motion in between the falling bits of ‘snow,’ but once it has settled the normal, basic scene inside returns.
reveriepeint: (pic#18175371)

[personal profile] reveriepeint 2025-12-23 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
He's definitely not an adult to Verso's eye, but he looks old enough for a bit of wine. But he accepted the denial easily enough, setting the bottle down. He couldn't help the curiosity as he watched the strange boy preparing his... food? He assumed it was food, set out in the offerings as it was, but the microwave had him a bit mystified as he came a little closer, curious and interested.

"I... is that something in question in this place?" Verso asked with a bemused raise of brows. This was a strange place to be sure, but pulling people from different times as well as places? Who had even heard of such a thing? "It's 1906 back home. And nowhere near the winter holidays either."
icanhearscreams: (huh...)

[personal profile] icanhearscreams 2025-12-23 03:29 am (UTC)(link)
"Your clothes kind of give you away." He's in a black shirt and jeans with sneakers, so very definitely not the style Verso's wearing. "It was in the winter at home... and the year had just turned 2004." It was... January? February, maybe. Everything's fuzzy, either from lack of sleep or just the sheer panic of those six or so months.

He follows the man's gaze over to the microwave. "A microwave oven. ... It heats up food, basically. The mechanics of it are a little beyond what I know, but I know it has to do with radiation - it's safe, despite what that might sound like. Just don't put metal in it."

The microwave beeps and he takes the noodles out. He grabs some chopsticks and wanders over to the table, sitting down.
reveriepeint: (pic#18175368)

[personal profile] reveriepeint 2025-12-23 07:50 am (UTC)(link)
"2004?" Give him a second, Verso needs to... take a long drink of his wine at that. But he supposes it makes sense- he'd surely notice the difference if someone in fashions from the early 1800s were wandering around. He might not be able to peg the specific year, but that the look was historical?

He listened to the explanation of the device though, making a mental note of the unfamiliar terms to look up later. This was a library after all wasn't it? He was duly impressed though, with how quickly it seemed to do it's job.

"Is the... radiation what makes it cook so quickly?"
icanhearscreams: (ehhhh...)

[personal profile] icanhearscreams 2025-12-23 02:58 pm (UTC)(link)
"I think so. From what I understand, it makes the molecules in whatever's in there to heat up and cook the food." He taps the cup. "And these are already partially cooked when they're packaged, so you don't have to keep them in water for very long when you open it."

He takes a few noodles and starts to chew - his family never really had anything fancy on New Year's, so it's not all that unusual. He does wait until his mouth is empty before speaking again. "... Did I even have soba this year? ... I don't think I did, with everything going on..."
reveriepeint: (pic#18175365)

[personal profile] reveriepeint 2025-12-23 09:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Verso nods slowly, adding that detail to his mental roster of things to investigate. He'd heard of molecules before, but only in debate. The idea that there was technology specifically harnessing the concept... that was new.

"Everything going on?" He tilted his head as he slid into a seat himself, not crowding the lad, but near enough that they could speak. "Here, or are you also a new arrival?"
icanhearscreams: (eugh...)

[personal profile] icanhearscreams 2025-12-23 09:41 pm (UTC)(link)
... He's far enough away that Jun's okay with it. "At home. I just got here, too. It seems like there's a mix of those of us who are new and those of us who have been here a bit, but I haven't found a lot out that seems particularly helpful..."

His more or less pleasant mask slips slightly as he sighs, rubbing at dark circles underneath his eyes that are yet to leave him. "But I'm not in the best position to gather information at the moment."