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Young Writers Society


The Librarians (YWS Birthday Storybook)



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Tue Nov 11, 2014 8:53 pm
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crossroads says...



From the archives:

Nearly a century ago now, the Device was created.
It was the dawning of a new era for writers and readers, allowing thousands upon thousands to see their favourite characters emerge from the pages, to see the settings and creatures of their favourite stories join us in the real world.

But what comes from a story, must always return to it. And hence, the Libraries were found.


History
Long ago, a machine was created that could bring any character, creature or even plant or setting, to life. For a while, the world was calm and happy, and stories became available to everyone in a whole new way. The Libraries were found in several places, ran by people with power to send back any person or creation to its home story, as long as its book physically exists. The LIbraries store the books as well - all those ever written, and, in secret departments, even those yet to be written.

But then, it all got out of control.

The villains learned how to fight the heroes of their stories, and how to fight humans. Many died, many fell, and the Earth changed drastically. Armies and rogues of all sorts, coming from the pages of their stories, roam the lands, rarely with good intentions.

And the Libraries, the only lines of defense, are down to one.

The Story

Behind the Caldwell Walls, there stands the last Library. Decades ago, its twin across the land was destroyed, and its Librarians gave in to darkness and insanity.

The Library, the one that remained, has a few older, experienced members taking care of things, and now a whole little army of apprentices, ready to learn how to use their powers properly and to join the higher ranks. The Library, powered by the mysterious Head Librarian's power, magically prevents the characters from leaving their stories, except in very safe training sessions created for the apprentices.
The Library prospers.

Or it had - until the moment that marks the beginning of our story.

The Head Librarian is missing - presumably, he's kidnapped by the so called evil Librarians from the Other Library - and the Librarians sent to find him never returned.

Now, however unready they might be, a group of apprentices, lead by two out of five more experienced Librarians, have no choice but to set out and look for them. The path before them is not safe at all, as more and more creatures and characters from all sorts of books are released, but they can get help. Help comes from the Writers, whom they have to find first, and who are writing those novels that are yet to be finished. They, if persuaded, are the only chance the Librarians have, as they are the ones who can create characters who'd fight all the already existing villains - all those who no longer have novels to return to.

During the day of YWS's birthday, all the Librarians' powers grow much stronger, and they have the power to send anyone into any story, bring anyone out of any story, even one not yet finished. The Librarians should use that, and hurry, for the Other Librarians will surely use it to their advantage as well.

The Roles

We can't take role of any of the already existing characters from other people's novels (they can be NPCs, though, but keep them in character!), but you can play as your own character or their YWS-self or whatever else you like.

The playable characters are the Librarians on the mission - a group of six apprentices who, with the two experts, set out to find the Head Librarian.
Also, of course, there are the Librarians who stay at the Library and work on sending people back to their stories and teaching the new apprentices how to do it. They are far from safe behind the Caldwell Walls, for there is no more magic that shields them from any character leaving their novel at will.
You can also play the Writers (and you don't have to agree with the Library's causes). In that case, you live outside of the Walls, working on your stories, and you can but don't have to be aware that you can still change things (i.e. write the villain's death in before they figure out how to escape the pages).
Oh and last but not least, there's a small squad, Squills, who dare to wander around and keep different groups informed of each other. A few people can play those as well.

~

This Storybook is open for all, regardless of your experience, and there is no such thing as too many characters!
Jump in at any point and stay for as long as you like~


As a side note, there is no rule against any of the characters being non-human ;)



For all questions and plotting and whatnot, refer to the DT :3
• previously ChildOfNowhere
- they/them -
literary fantasy with a fairytale flavour





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Wed Nov 12, 2014 1:24 am
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Lumi says...



Part One


Breakout


Lumi crouched low, fingers tracing fresh-fallen dust on the tile floor. There was no mistaking it: a novel had bio-emerged on this floor of the library. He motioned for his teammates to stay pressed against the bookshelves and filmed through a comic that had sloppily fallen on the floor.

Page 47 spilled liquefied ink into his hand. Using @ScarlettFire's flash light, he examined the cover of the comic.

The Uncanny X-Men #266: Gambit

"Aria's not gonna like this," he whispered. @ReisePiecey and @Iggy looked over his shoulder. It made him jostle the comic, which let loose a single, solitary Ace of Diamonds.

Iggy took in a sharp breath. "She's not gonna like it at all."

"@ShadowVyper, grab the card and stuff it."

They did as ordered, and placed the card into a plastic evidence bag. @ThereseCricket and @TimmyJake looked on in silence. ScarlettFire screwed up her mouth and shook her head. "If there are cards falling out of an X-Men comic, then there's only one hero it could be."

The team turned to her and nodded, but Lumi remained unconvinced. "There's an oddity, though. The dust on the floor is fresh, but it's dust...which takes time to accumulate. If we're just looking for Gambit, he wouldn't just come with dust--it doesn't fit his character."

@Iggy pointed ahead. "But that does."

Flashlights turned ahead to a portrait of an old, decrepit man. From the bottom of the painting fell flecks of dust and paint, scattering in the air conditioner.

"Ladies and gentlemen," @ShadowVyper said, "The Portrait of Dorian Gray."
I am a forest fire and an ocean, and I will burn you just as much
as I will drown everything you have inside.
-Shinji Moon


I am the property of Rydia, please return me to her ship.





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Sat Nov 15, 2014 2:58 am
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Griffinkeeper says...



Grif slept while his characters watched.

"He looks quite peaceful when he's asleep," Alden said, clicking his talons anxiously. The gryphon looked over at his AI companion.

"It's a shame the world isn't as peaceful," Adelaide responded.

"Or this one," Alden agreed. "Why must there always be war and strife in his stories? Why can't they simply be about rescuing a shipwrecked crew or exploring a strange new land?"

"Maybe he'll write a story like that one day soon," Adelaide said thoughtfully.

"I doubt it," said Marlon Grey, as he emerged from shadows. "We have an intruder."

"How do you know?" Alden asked.

"Because I'm not actually asleep," Grif said.
Moderator Emeritus (frozen in carbonite.)





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Sat Nov 15, 2014 4:11 am
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Alpha says...



A Bee in Your Bennet



"Fighting villains from books, that's easy. Just club them and throw them back in. Convincing a major character to go back to their books? That's the tricky part. You couldn't club the good guys, or their family. Else you'll be a terrible Librarian." --@Anonymous


It is generally acknowledged that a woman dressed in layers after goddamn layers of skirts would be in want of a very good escape route.

"Alphs, @Autumns, get the guards to shut the gate!"

(If I were technical about it, this statement should not be true, as young ladies should not be in any situation that would need an escape route, right?) Alpha pushed her thoughts back to the sarcasm rack of her mind and and focused on following @StellaThomas's orders. Because for the first time, they had a non-villainous character running away from her own story.

Leaving their mentor to deal with two sisters, one distraught and the other spiteful, she and her comrade ran out to block the little girl's path before she escaped.

Alpha ran after Autumns out to the small snackery, out the back door and crossed around the Library's grounds to the gates. If she was completely honest with herself, it wasn't a complete surprise to find the gates deserted.

"This is perfect," muttered Autumns. She pulled a face at him and like the good little protégées they were, they dragged the heavy gates together shut. It had to be heavy doors. The things that stepped out of the books were sometimes scary-- scarier than a sixteen year old who was sick of her new marriage, too. She hoped Stella had a plan. Lydia could already have escaped..

"Hey, this might be the first time this happens to you but it's been done before," Autumns reassured her.

"So this happened when you were here?"

He looked away shiftily. "Not.. really."

She huffed and playfully punched him. They were both apprentices here -there were five students in total- but Autumns had started a year earlier; sent to become assistant librarians for Stella and @Cole. Right now, Cole, along with @Blues and @Auxiira have split off their group and were searching every inch of the four-story domed building just in case Lydia was hiding in there.

"Let's help Stella calm down Lizzie and Jane."

"Are you kidding?" Although the two girls most likely were not expecting their sister to be so vehemently opposed to going back between the safe covers of P&P, she had a feeling Stella would be using this opportunity to her advantage. "I bet she's having the time of her life, being a feisty-pants wi-"

A buzz sounded from their receivers.After opening the line, @fortis's voice filled the empty courtyard.

"Alfafa, Shoaib, get back in here. We have a plan."





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Sat Nov 15, 2014 2:13 pm
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Arcticus says...



A Hill, A Hut, A Campfire.

The group was nowhere close to finding the missing Librarians and it all was already beginning to seem like an endless struggle.

Autumns watched quietly through a narrow crack in the mud wall. Luckily, there hadn't been many encounters that day, but they had come a long way and the group was tired from walking for hours. They had taken shelter in a hut on top of a small hill. There had been no movement in the perimeter of the hill, except at sundown, when @Dreamy had spotted a hunchbacked zombie-like creature outside, in one of the huts below them, chewing something very loudly and groaning. All the huts on the hill were empty. As @Skydreamer had aptly remarked, "It must've been a beautiful village once."

When it was Autumns turn to keep watch, he went outside. He grabbed his binoculars and looked downhill. The presence wasn't quite what he had expected.

There was a group of soldiers at the foot of the hill.

"Who are these fellas, now?", said @Alpha. It was always hard to make her think seriously.

The soldiers wore metallic suits that shone in the pale moonlight, which made them look half machine and half supernatural. "Robotic angels?" shrugged @indieeloise, who had gone for a walk, and had also spotted them. They also held in their hands what looked like axes, their arms swinging as they walked in a neat formation.

"Those weird costumes... what are they? I can't quite place what book they're..." she frowned, stopping mid-sentence, her eyes narrowed. "I... think... that one of the soldiers might be looking in our direction."

"We fight tonight." said Alpha, grabbing her chainsaw. Autumns could tell from a glance that she wasn't serious. She never was.

"Shhh." Autumns whispered to @Lava and @manisha, who were laughing loudly over something by the small campfire they had built outside the hut. He put out the lantern on the shelf and quickly motioned to them, "Put the fire out! Get back into the hut. Hurry up!"

They all went inside, now quiet.

"They are searching the huts." gasped Skydreamer, there was fear in her eyes.

Everyone started picking up their stuff. Autumns reached into his left pocket, then his right pocket. Finding them both empty, he felt his heart sink. Time stopped for him. He collapsed on his knees, eyes closed. He opened his mouth to speak...

"I know, but where is my pack of gums?"
You either worship something higher than yourself or end up worshiping yourself

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This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.
— T.S. Eliot