TEST DRIVE MEME #1

[libraryassistants]

Welcome To The Library

You 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 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.

Welcome to the Unfinished Library

Coffee Corner

Sometime after your arrival, you enter the lobby to find yourself greeted by what appears to be a little tea cart containing a carafe of very weak coffee, a pot of very strong tea, mismatched creamers and sugar packets, and assorted cheap boxed shortbread cookies alongside small paper plates and cups. (For some reason, there also seems to be a pile of coupons for a free yacht ride.) There is a sign next to them, stating:

Welcome Editors!
Please enjoy these complimentary refreshments.
Do NOT take food or drink into the stacks and please wash your hands BEFORE touching anything.

Looking around, you see that you and everyone else present have also been supplied with sticker name tags with “Hello, my name is _____.” Take it off, and it will magically be replaced by a new one. It seems it’s time to mingle, or perhaps try to get anywhere but here.

There is also a phone set up on the desk, with a small sign labeling it as the “Assistants’ Line.” Give it a try, and you might get someone to talk to.


Between the Stacks

While exploring the labyrinthine sprawl of the Stacks, you find a door tucked between the towering bookshelves. Opening it, you see the impossible: a community garden, fresh produce glistening with morning dew and ripe for the picking. The open sky stretches welcomingly overhead, the warmth of an unseen sun warming the soft grass underfoot.

A large fence spans the generous perimeter of the garden. No matter how high you go, the fence follows with you. Those trying to get a peek on the other side should make a plan.

When the room is no longer in use and the door is closed, the garden will disappear; rotating out of cycle. The next time the door opens, maybe it’s a computer lab - decked out with technology from… some planet and century. Or maybe it’s a meeting room, complete with someone else’s handouts scattered across the table. Closing and reopening the door will reveal a different room each time. What's your pick?


Maker’s Meetup

There’s a cheerful, if not generic, poster on the bulletin board by the help desk, declaring:



The Maker Space in question is, for the moment, easy to find, a few nice and similarly formatted signs with arrows helping leading the way through the stacks. As promised, there are a number of machines and tools related to crafting and making things, including a table that, for some reason, just has construction paper and safety scissors.

It seems the materials for the room have been recently stocked, too; there’s a little pile of fabric (mostly scraps, but a lot of larger pieces that can be made into something without needing to piecemeal it together), some sheet metal of various sheens, and bits of wood that could be shaped into something maybe as large as a small bowl. There are also some more generic arts-and-crafts materials (on a separate table from the scissors); puff balls, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners and other sorts of things.

There doesn’t appear to be anyone actually around to teach the use of the machines, but it can’t be that hard… right?


Transition In - Prepare for Dheekis

In the Lobby, things begin to… change.

The tiled floors have started to fuzz along the grout, the colour and texture slowly bleeding out into cool grey metal. The change continues to flow up the walls, coloured strips of lighting dividing sturdy steel segments. What few doors there are shimmer, an overlay of automated mechanisms clinging closely to them. Hydraulic pistons pump as if pushing the doors open when you approach, but alas - these doors remain sadly hand-operated.

Within a few moments, gravity in the Lobby seems to decrease. Steps are lighter; a jump turns neatly into a bounce, leaving you hanging weightless in the air for a few long moments. The furniture remaining in the lobby begins to float, as do any items that have been left loose. If it’s not nailed down, consider it airborne.

The effect spans only the space (ha) of the Lobby. Exiting to another room will bring an unceremonious return to the Library’s usual gravity, and please note: the success of your landing is not guaranteed. Please proceed cautiously.

After some time - maybe it's days, who's to say? - you begin to feel it. A pull that tugs you to the Stacks, drawing you step by step closer to the next Story to unfold.


The Difficulty with Dheekis

On the SS Covenant, things usually run pretty smoothly. Usually. Unfortunately, there was an… incident at the last stopover at the Eternis Station. One of the crew members became utterly besotted with one of the little creatures the Eturian ambassador carried them with, called dheekis, and the ambassador was more than happy to gift them one. Unfortunately, the reason they were so willing to do that is that the fluffy little creatures, somewhere between a bunny and a rodent, are very prolific breeders, and additionally can procreate asexually when there’s only one of them around. Which means that after a week in space, it was no longer possible to keep them hidden.

Since then, it has been a game of trying to capture and contain the little pests, shoving them into boxes so they’re packed tight- dheekis only stop reproducing when there is literally no more space for them. And they are trying very hard to fill up the void space on the ship; they’re under beds, in rafters, engineering nooks, forgotten corners, you name it. How long will it take to get rid of them all? Can you get rid of them all? Because if you have one dheeki, it won’t stay one for long.

[This is a free-form ‘Story’ prompt and cannot be considered canon to the game; since there’s no information post, feel free to make up whatever details you like!]

Comments

Nara'a Sunvara (Warrior of Light) | Final Fantasy XIV

[aetherweaver]

Coffee Corner

Well... okay. He's at least not so disoriented anymore, but the fact that there's coffee is definitely helping. He'd prefer it to be stronger, but what can you do? Maybe he'll try the tea next. In any case he's wandering around with a nametag on. 'Hi, my name is Nara'a Sunvara'. He won't be surprised if anyone not from Eorzea can't pronounce his name... but he's relatively easygoing, so it probably won't be a problem.


Between the Stacks

Oh, he knows what to do with this! Nara'a immediately dives in to help, his botany training kicking in pretty immediately. Some of the produce he doesn't recognize, but he's familiar enough with how plants work to know which ones to pick and which ones to let sit. It's hard work, and he has a decent sized amount of produce of various kinds that he picks up and takes over to the kitchenette once he's done.

When he comes back to try again, the door opens to - not... a garden. Instead it has wall to wall displays, but they do not have the hum of anything that he's used to seeing before. He's standing in the doorway, blocking it a little - maybe he needs to be told to move?


Maker's Meetup

Now this he's more comfortable with. Some of those machines he has no idea how to use, but woodworking he can do. It really doesn't take long for him to start creating things - taking this and that and staring to make simple wooden weapons and shields and even a couple of simple wooden toys.

He's flying through the crafts like he really knows what he's doing, so if someone looks like they need instruction with the tools he will absolutely flit over and help. He needs to keep his hands busy, or else he's going to go nuts...


[[ooc; Will match prose or brackets! If you need any explanation or if you want a wildcard, grab me on Plurk at atrypical or Discord at artematthew!]]

Maker's Meetup

[bashasasdemon]

Kai is not very good at being still- at least, in the metaphorical sense. He was a scout in the war, at least for parts of it, and he's very good at stilling his body far more than a mortal ever could. But he doesn't like being directionless, of being taken away from his friends (again) and trapped somewhere with little recourse for escape (again), and this time he doesn't even have an expositor and some hired mariners to kill to make him feel better about it.

He's never really done wood carving before, but he has some vague memories of some of his family in the Kentdessa tent making things. So he's got a little block of wood and a whittling nice, trying to make... something. Even he's not sure what, but with the way he's holding that knife he's probably going to cut himself sooner or later.

[aetherweaver]

Oh, oh no. He carefully moves over to where Kai is, not wanting to startle a man with a knife. That's usually not a good thing to do, in his experience.

"Try gripping it this way." He picks up a knife and shows the other man, smiling softly. "You'll get a bit more force out of it without putting yourself at risk. I'd hate to see that pretty face damaged."

Is he flirting? ... He might be.

[bashasasdemon]

Oh no indeed. There's veil over his eyes still, black with fine embroidery on the edges in places, concealing the pitch black eyes that mark him unmistakable as a demon. But the lower half of his face is showing, and it is showing that this particular person has no idea how to be flirted with.

"Uh." Yeah that's the first thing he says, because seriously, what- he's familiar enough with his face now, though that took some effort since he's only had this body about a month or so, and it's very different from Talamines's. Talamines, he knows, was pretty, and even though that's true of this body in a different way it's still very weird to hear it. So... he's going to ignore that for now, until he figures out what the hell to do with that.

He shifts the hold on the knife, mimicking what Nara'a is showing him. "Like this?" he asks, and thankfully his voice is still even.

[aetherweaver]

Okay, no flirting. He can handle that. Instead he focuses on the other's hands and nods, picking up a piece of wood and demonstrating.

"What are you trying to carve? Maybe I can give you some pointers. ... Or maybe we could draw it out if you're not totally certain of the shape. Wood is less forgiving than some materials in that way - it's harder to patch."

[bashasasdemon]

That's probably for the best, at least for now. Best for forever, if it's Kai talking, but he's still not over his boyfriend who died like twenty years ago so don't listen to him. He looks at Nara'a's hold, and then his own hands, trying to copy him.

"...A bird." It is very clear that he kind of made that up and had absolutely no plane going into this. But birds are easy, right?

[aetherweaver]

"I see. What kind of bird?" He knows of plenty of kinds! Hunting tends to leave one with a wide knowledge of what nature can offer you.

Still, the general shape isn't... bad. "Don't worry about trying to be perfect. Just try to get the general shape - you can always refine it later."

[bashasasdemon]

Nara'a, please, he's clearly making shit up, don't press him on questions he doesn't have answers too. Of course, Kai, being a stubborn idiot, will try to answer them anyway.

"A dove." Doves mean... something, in some Arike culture. Peace, maybe? Sure. That seems like a good thing to try to make. Even though he is feeling the exact opposite of peaceful.

[aetherweaver]

Hm. He can tell the other is getting a little upset, so maybe he should back off a bit. He sits down near the other so he's not hovering over his shoulder.

"I see. ... Maybe instead of trying to get the body and the wings in a single piece you could focus on the body? You can always make holes to fit in the wings afterwards."

[bashasasdemon]

Not upset so much as... flustered. Kai is a bad liar, and this is a stupid thing to be lying over, he's just apparently already doing it and is too far in to stop.

"When I've seen them carved, a lot of them have their winds tucked up against their sides." Like they were resting, wings laid against their bodies. He tries to ignore the pang when he remembers that most of those carves would have been burned softly after the last time he saw them.

[aetherweaver]

"If you focus on the body, you can always carve off a little more and define the wings that way. Or you can do it however you like. This needn't be a perfect piece, nor your only piece. Sometimes crafting is a matter of being patient with yourself as much as the materials."

He pulls some fabric over towards himself, toying with the material - some sort of cotton, he can tell. "And making mistakes is part of the process. How else will you learn?"

[bashasasdemon]

Kai huffs out a little laugh at that- he's not thinking of carving when he thinks about his mistakes, what they inspired or forced him to learn. "That's definitely true," he says, voice dry as he carefully resumes chipping away at the bird.

He's quiet for a few moments, trying to adjust to the new grip before he speaks again. "Are you an artisan, then?"

[aetherweaver]

"Between jobs, yes. It keeps the money coming in." He's got a comfortable amount, but some of those market prices get pretty high. And teleporting isn't always cheap. "Usually I'm an adventurer, though these days most of my adventures tend to be..."

What's even the right word? "More grand than I'd have imagined a scant decade or so ago."

Maker's Meetup

[aetherialshackles]

[Erich has been studying the various items in display when a familiar figure enters his field of vision- a gasp leaves his lips as he approaches the 'cat eared familiar' that helped him and his people during the crisis in the Pandaemonium. Someone he almost dared to consider a good friend but also a person who disappeared in a puff of smoke not shortly after things settled.

So many things happened since the two parted ways. Erich started studying under Lahabrea, he saw the world outside the Pandaemonium even if in very limited ways (his visits to Amaurot were strictly professional, he didn't have time to explore the city), he got a Themis doll to keep him company... and the Final Days came. The researcher closed his eyes for a second, trying to push down the unpleasant feelings bubbling up in his chest- no, this was a joyful reunion, right?

He stepped closer, barely glancing down at the wooden item currently being crafted.]

Nara'a... is that you?

[aetherweaver]

[He turns and he feels his heart catch in his throat. Erichthonios... he'd thought of the young man many times. Wished he could ask his opinions on the things he'd seen - wondered about his opinions on tural vidraal, wished he could have said goodbye. ... Wished that he could have explained things. But he couldn't. Telling him he was from the future would invite too many questions. Maybe change the past in ways that could never have been repaired...]

[He sets the whittling knife and the little toy down and blinks tears out of his eyes, clearing his throat a little. His voice is still faint when he speaks.]

E... Erichthonios?

[Propriety be damned. He runs over and goes to hug his friend, but stops himself just short. He just reaches up to curl his fingers into some of the fabric of his robe. He's real. He's here.]

[aetherialshackles]

My old friend...

[Was it too bold of him to address the other as such? Erichthonios didn't step closer for a hug, nor he reached for the 'familiar', but he couldn't help but offer a tired smile- of all people, it was wonderful to see not only a familiar face but also the face of someone he was fond of.

The man looks down to the other's hand, fingers holding his robe, and he's not entirely certain of what to do next, physical contact out of what was medical or combat necessity wasn't something he ever knew, but...]

As strange as this whole situation is, I feel great comfort in seeing you again.

[But he could imitate the other, right? He hesitantly raised his hand up, reaching to touch the fabric of the other's clothes in a similar gesture. Circumstances be darned, this was a joyful reunion and he was going to treasure the moment.

From behind Erich's robe, then, a much bolder and brighter figure shows up. A mammet that should familiar to the miqo'te, a miniature Themis that has been brought to the past by the warrior himself- the little one doesn't hesitate before lifting one little hand up and waving it.]

[aetherweaver]

I missed you.

[He looks down at the mammet and waves a little bit, smiling. He remembers delivering that... so he kept it with him. He looks back up at his friend and leans into him carefully, not wanting to cause him distress. The Ancients never seemed big on physical contact.]

Much and more has happened since the last time we met. I wanted to make sure you were no phantom... what is the last thing you remember happening?

[aetherialshackles]

The feeling is mutual. How long has it been? It is quite difficult to tell the passage of time in the Pandaemonium.

[Hidden as it was, covered by a perpetual storm, the facility didn't exactly see the sun. And of course he kept the mammet- Erich may not know who it was from or who actually delivered it, but while everything was falling apart it was a comforting presence. As for the physical contact, Erich wasn't against it, he merely was raised by a rather distant mother and his father's coworkers, it was just.. not fate for him.]

I'm still alive, for what it's worth. [Unlike so many others of his kin. But for now? He smiled, even if it faltered just slightly at the other's question. He didn't want to ruin their meeting.] I... learnt a few new things. I was in the middle of recording a memory crystal when I was whisked here. [The same one that brought a certain someone to Pandaemonium to begin with, but he's avoiding to sound too depressing about it.] What about you? Your world has always seemed much larger than mine, I can only imagine the wonders you've seen.

[Perhaps they could discuss about their studies? There was a pang of nostalgia when he remembered their conversation and the other's curiosity. Little Themis merrely bounced in the man's direction in the meanwhile, trying to climb on his working station to check what was being made.]

[aetherweaver]

... Far too long.

[In the middle of recording a memory crystal... ah. His face falls a bit, knowing any attempt to hide it will just make him look guiltier. He gives the man's arm a squeeze before taking a step back, looking at the other seriously.]

I... can tell you this place is somewhere neither of us know, nor is connected to our star in any way I can imagine so... if you've reached that point I suppose I can tell you.

[He can imagine Hades' annoyed face, but that's not his problem.]

I've seen so many things... but I know what has befallen the star at this time. I... I know because I am from far in the future, from your point of view. It's been over twelve thousand years.

[There's a half-finished bow on the table, just an idle project. It's really more of a children's toy than a proper hunting bow.]

[aetherialshackles]

I agree with you.

[A tiny bit of confusion appears on his face, no one knew the content of what was being recorded after all, nor any of his coworkers was present for that... so he had no context for the other's shift in mood.]

I am aware we're far from our Star, yet I'm... lost. Have you found the reason so many souls have been brought here, perhaps?

[A moment of silence follows then as he blinks in the warrior's direction, head tilting just a bit to the side. From... the future? That would explain why so many souls didn't seem to be able to explain his presence or what the miqo'te was, not even Lahabrea or Elidibus. Part of him could hardly believe it, but a selfish side of Erichthonios couldn't dismiss what that meant...]

That would explain why you arrived at the right moment to assist and how you disappeared right after solving our issues. [A sigh of relief escaped his lips, then. If the man came from the future, then life managed to find a way to survive the End of Times. He was never going to see it, not by choosing to remain in the Pandaemonium, but...] I'm glad to hear that, it must mean the Convocation found a way to save our kin and keep the star alive. Thank you, your words bring so much relief to my heart.

[Oh, what a misunderstanding...]

[aetherweaver]

[Oh, Erichthonios... it hurts him to have to do this, but... he shakes his head.]

They did, but... then there was a plan to -

[His hands are shaking. How does he explain this?]

Your kin wanted to cultivate the star again... and sacrifice all of those souls to bring back those who had been lost earlier. And that would mean sacrificing thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of lives. So there was a faction that could not abide that. ... They summoned their own primal to bind Zodiark, and split the star into a Source and thirteen reflections.

[Gesturing to himself, he lets his shoulders slump. He can practically hear Ardbert sighing.]

The reason my aether is so 'thin' is because, while some of those reflections have been rejoined by those of your kin who survived the Final Days, I am only a bit more than half of one of your souls. ... And I have an extra reflection's version of me in my soul, so most of the people I know are even thinner in aether. Not to mention the ones on the reflections that are only one fourteenth of your souls... one of your fellows considered us not alive.

But we are. We are as alive as the Phoenix, as the Carbuncle, as you or anyone else. The density of our souls doesn't matter - only the quality of our lives.

[aetherialshackles]

[Oh. The warder's lips move as he's about to reply with a stern 'you shouldn't joke about things like this' because there's no way Lahabrea and Elidibus would ever allow further sacrifices- they cared so deeply about the Star, more than anything else in their lives and the idea of forcing even more souls to forfeit their current existence for what felt like a dream...

Other's hands and posture tell him this is far from a lie. The warder's whole body tenses up as he takes in a deep breath, bright red eyes not leaving the other man's figure in an almost silent begging request to tell him nothing of that was true.

Erich's aether was 'thin' because his mother experimented on him, other people had smaller aether pools than others, there could be explanations that didn't involve the Star being split... right?]

Themis was chosen to be the heart of the summoned creature, his heart is kind, he wouldn't...

[He would be the first one to put a stop to further sacrificing lives, right? Erich looks down at his feet where Elidibus's mammet looks up in his direction with an almost questioning tilt of its head. It was hard for him to accept those words, to imagine a world split in many different copies (Alternative dimensions, perhaps? There were theories on that matter, but Erichthonios rarely paid attention to books speculating on things that could only be theorized, not proved in any way.

But... survivors of the Final Days? Trying to bring things back together? He can at least see that, maybe it's just all part of a giant plan he cannot hope to fully understand with his limited information. The warder does shake himself back to reality after a moment.]

I do admit it is... a lot to accept for me. I do suppose it still is a triumph of life despite existence as a whole being threatened...

[He needs a lighter topic, anything, because the weight in his chest is heavy once more but he doesn't want to completely sour their meeting.]

I am shocked Carbuncle still exists. It was deemed unfit for survival in so many ways, between its constant state of appetite and its bright colors making it a poor predator outside of very specific biomes.

[Not as light hearted as he hoped, sadly.]

[aetherweaver]

[He chuckles a little. He doesn't have the crystal here so he can't summon it, but...]

Carbuncles are much smaller now, generally summoned from gemstones. Mine is a little rascal that keeps trying to eat through my socks when I summon him.

[That humor aside, he reaches out to take his friend's hand, to hold it gently.]

Themis... he was kind. But he also was driven, and being the heart of Zodiark warped his mind in many ways. He wanted to protect you all. We... had to fight, in the end.

[Several times, but once was bad enough.]

... I know you cared for him. In the end, he was free to be Themis once more before he was returned to the Underworld. He was the one who made it possible for me to go to the past, giving up most of the remnants of his aether to power the portal. I -

[His eyes prickle with tears and he blinks hard, trying to keep his composure.]

I tried to save them. But your father was too twisted from revenge and pain, Emet-Selch was too zealous in trying to bring your people back, Themis... Themis was losing his memories, himself...

And then the others of the Convocation were split, and even those were aware of the plan... I'm sorry. We had to protect ourselves. Protect life as we know it now, not how some might know it in your time.

[He reaches for his friend's hand, holding it gently.]

But the part of you that exists on the Source, where I am from... I found him. And in a strange way, you saved him. It's... even more complicated to explain, but.. he's a good man. Just as you are. Just as I know you always will be, no matter what form you are in. Kind and determined and devoted to research and utterly ridiculous in your own way.

[Nara'a smiles, even as the tears start to roll down his face.]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you and I'm sorry you had to find out. But your message was what let me find you in the first place. It's all connected.

[It's not for nothing. It never is. It can't be.]

[aetherialshackles]

You use gemstones as vessels for thee sake of summoning? Considering their innate aetherical properties, they're already rather popular... I think it would be lovely to see one in various shades of red. Or blue.

[The colors of his parents' eyes... he's pathetically predictable after all. And while Erichthonios may be aware of how little his mother cared about him, he still- there's a part of him that still wishes she wasn't as cold as he found out. He opens his mouth again to speak once more, but the other reaches for his hand and the researcher freezes- it's a rather intimate gesture by his standards, but at the same time he attempts to reframe it with the lens of 'this is a person from another time, perhaps it's not as uncommon for them'. At least he can appreciate what seems the attempt at comforting him.

His eyes don't leave their hands as he listens in complete silence. His heart weeps for his father and Themis, he wonders what he'd doo if he was forced to go in a doomed past and be unable to help and... well, he may not be familiar with Emet-Selch, but that doesn't stop Erich from grieving his people as a whole.

There was so much he still wanted to see and do, so many people he never got to meet and learn from...]

This... [His voice almost cracked there and he had to fight his own feelings to regain his composure.] is a lot. I struggle to imagine my father like that and to hear that Themis would fall to the same creation he was supposed to guide is- he was my friend. Before meeting the two of you, I didn't know what friendship was like so I...

[His chest bubbles with negative feelings, of course it does, but there's nothing he can do to make the situation better, is it? He was bound to return to the Star from the Pandaemonium, he even said his formal goodbyes to Themis when they last spoke, and- there was nothing he could do, not even by going back to his time, to fix anything.

He was going to eventually need some time to process things for himself, that was a given, and he barely noticed the little mammet climbing his robe to plop on his shoulder until it was sitting there. From that elevated position, the mammet opened its arms, trying to reach the other man- as limited as its programming was, it at least knew when it was time to comfort someone. It just stood there, little arms waving and inviting the man to pick them up for comfort.

Right... that one friend of his was gone, but he could at least try for the miqo'te, right?]

I...

[Oh- Nara'a was... crying? Guilt also found space on his chest and he dropped any comment he could have on him being reborn once more as a researcher and apparently being sommeone the miqo'te knew, focusing instead on what he could do to help.

In the end, he awkwardly raised his free hand up, trying to pass the sleeve on the other's face to wipe the tears, their other hands stay otherwise linked for now. Oh... he's tearing up as well...]

It's okay. I mean, it's not okay but... you know what I mean, right?

[aetherweaver]

[Slowly and carefully, so he has time to pull away, Nara'a goes in for a hug. He just wants to feel his friend's breath, the beat of his heart, to know he's really alive.]

No. None of what happened was okay. ... We did find the cause of the Final Days, however. And she will not be leading any more civilizations to their doom. ... I can't say everyone is totally safe, but from something that dramatic... we're safe for now.

[Everything seems to fall apart around him. It's not okay and he has to remind himself of that sometimes.]

But you're here. You're here and you're safe and maybe others will find their way here, too. Hope... even faint hope can help us through. ... I'm just sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I just... I felt awful not telling you the whole truth...