DAY 36: LIBRARY

[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

Keman retreated to libraries almost instinctively. He liked books. Books were simpler to deal with, and they didn't change. No matter what, the ending always stayed the same. Even if it was a bad ending, that ending was still a constant. Constants were good. They didn't surprise him, didn't show up out of nowhere and throw everything off kilter.

This had.

His mother. They'd taken Alara and done horrible things to her. Made her forget, fed her lies. He wouldn't wish it on anyone, not even Myre. And that was what would happen to him, too, if he wasn't careful. He'd lose himself completely. He was already slipping, already more halfblood than dragon. How long before halfblood turned to human, and Keman became Calvin?

At any rate, he needed to tell Shana everything that had happened. Alara was her mother, too. Keman left a note for his sister on the board, letting her know where he'd be, and then pulled the largest book he could find off the shelf: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. It looked to be a massive collection of plays and poetry. Good. Opening it to a random page, he settled down and began to read.

[for Shana (and Valyn and Shadow?)]

Comments

[light-wicca.livejournal.com]

Willow walked slowly into the library, barely paying attention to where she was going. Her nurse had been kind enough, after seeing how detached she was, to let her wander by herself, keeping only a vague eye on her to make she didn't hurt herself. After a quick glance over the bulletin board - done more out of habit rather than actually looking for any useful information - Willow wandered instinctively into the library. Books and old-fashioned research always helped her feel better by providing something to focus her mind on, but she couldn't even begin to think about the book titles this time.

She could still feel the round, cloth-sewn pouch in her hand, felt like she could still feel Tara's warmth on it. When the nurse led her away from the lobby a few minutes ago, Willow had felt like she was leaving part of herself behind. She shouldn't, though; she had to remember that wasn't really Tara. Her mind partway understood that, but her feelings certainly didn't.

She sighed and walked down one of the aisles on her right, pretending to examine the titles and trailing a hand slowly along the spines as she went.

[free, but probably won't be too social. ^^]

[timedork]

After he'd parted company with Arlene at the end of brunch, the Doctor had requested to visit the library. He'd elected spent the time between announcements perusing the selection of literature.

There wasn't anything particularly revealing about the collection. It was mostly classics... well, the classic classics, or the old classics, or the rediscovered classics, or even the oft-overlooked contemporary works, depending on what period you used as your frame of reference. Still, the collection was rather classic and rather dated, from a general standpoint and using what seemed to be the current era as a reference.

After looking over the collection in its entirety a number of times and discovering nothing out of the ordinary, the Doctor decided to settle down in a chair with Gulliver's Travels.

[For Donna]

[mateswithnobody.livejournal.com]

That catnap had been nice. Donna hadn't thought she'd needed it since she'd chosen to sleep the previous night, but the couches had been comfortable and she was feeling good as new.

Time to track down that spaceman then.

Hearing the nurse list off the places they could go, Donna picked out the Library as the choice option for finding the Doctor. Even a space nerd was still a nerd, and he'd be wanting some time with his books, no doubt.

And low and behold, there he was. Oh, she was good. Instead of storming up in front of him, she walked around the back of the chair and peered over at the book he was reading for a moment before speaking. "Last time I checked... reading didn't help much when it came to finding a big blue box." Sure, she could forget about finding the TARDIS from time to time, but the Doctor wasn't allowed that luxury. Not in Donna's mind. Unless he needed a pedicure, that was.

[timedork]

The Doctor turned in his seat to get a better look at Donna when he heard her voice. "No, it doesn't," he said with a smile, "but it does do wonders for the nerves. Good for relaxing and whatnot. You ought to try it!"

He glanced down at the open book in his lap, and then back at Donna. "Have you ever read Gulliver's Travels? I was reminded of an acquaintance this morning, so I thought it would be a good choice. And speaking of acquaintances, I met one of yours, at brunch. Arlene."

[mateswithnobody.livejournal.com]

Donna continued staring down at him and his nerve-relaxing book. "Throwing it at a certain lady in white here would do wonders for my nerves, not reading it." Or perhaps beating her over the head with it, but something that involved that woman suffering.

When he asked about her book knowledge, she gave a blank look before pointing at herself even though he wasn't looking. "Didn't I say I worked at library for two years?" she asked, obviously sarcastic. What idiot hadn't heard of that book who'd worked at a library? The Doctor should know bette... well. Maybe not. "And did you? Fun isn't she? Bit daffy sometimes, but considering where we are..." she looked around casually before changing back to the real subject, "Right, so did you find the TARDIS yet, or what?"

[lost-metal.livejournal.com]

Ed didn't really care to move when the shift changed. He hadn't been into the library in ages, and he liked being around books after all. Besides, he didn't want to move to go an find the Bastard. Hohenheim could come to find him if he wanted to talk, and that included finding his secluded little corner of the library complete with rapidly growing book fortress surrounding him. What could he say? He read fast. And got bored easily when they didn't grab him. And if he had a lot of books, then people wouldn't bother him. Probably.

[For the deadbeat dad, Hohenheim XD]

[only-logic.livejournal.com]

Having wandered his way around the halls looking at the doors themselves, Hohenheim had amused himself by tinkering with the metal hinges and knobs until his nurse came by to tell him to stop doing such. She was such a pleasant woman telling him off for staring and touching doors. He supposed it was a very odd activity to take up, but they were supposed to be in a mental institute. Obsessive-compulsive behaviour and fascination with odd materials should have been a normal activity here.

When it was clear that he had no visitor, he had decided to look into finding his second eldest son. Not in the cafeteria or the sun room or the games room, and so he decided that it would have to be the library. All he had to ask himself was, 'where would I go when I was Edward's age?' Yes, the library would have been his choice.

Peering around, he nearly was distracted by the books themselves, but he had made himself around and found a few odd stacks of books. Edward apparently hadn't grown too much here, but the books were enough.

He walked over and picked up one of the books, peering at the spine before flipping open the pages expertly with one hand as he adjusted his glasses with the other. "Good afternoon, Edward."

[lost-metal.livejournal.com]

Ed sighed when he heard footsteps approaching and was addressed by the older man. He very deliberately closed his book and set it aside onto the top of the nearest fortress wall before even looking up at his father. His expression was cool, wary, but at least not openly hostile at the moment. Of course, considering that he'd managed to nearly make Hughes punch him, it wasn't difficult to predict that that wouldn't last for long.

"What did you want to talk about?"

[only-logic.livejournal.com]

His eyes moved over the words of the page briefly before it was apparent this was not an alchemy book. It appeared to be some kind of fictional reading, but he wasn't here to read as much as he would have like to delve right in.

"I wanted to ask you about a gentleman that I met this morning," he commented in a casual sort of way that indicated he had no idea this was possibly dangerous territory. He dropped the book down so that he could look down at his son, smiling merrily. "Brigadier General Maes Hughes. He said he was around when you boys were in the military. I just wanted to know a little about him."

He thought that a 'thank you' for taking care of his children in his absense was required. It was an adult thing to do, and it was clear that the other man was having a tough time. Maybe a kind 'thank you' would help out?

[hamenleai.livejournal.com]

After having seen Keman's post on the board, Shana hurriedly made her way towards the library, a worried frown on her face. Slipping into the room, she glanced around for her brother and immediately headed in his direction, already scanning his slim form to see if he'd been harmed in any way.

"Keman!" she exclaimed quietly as she approached. "Are you alright? What happened? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Shana asked quickly, assuming it had been yet another visit from Dyran. Keman was the only one he hadn't met with yet, after all, although Keman lacked the connection with the elf that she shared with Valyn and Shadow. Not that this made the madman any less a threat.

[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

"'He?'" Keman repeated bitterly, looking up. "Not a he. She. Mother." His eyes were dead. "Mother was here. And Myre. This place...changed them. They're human, and seemingly happily so." He was clutching the book so hard that his knuckles had gone white. He didn't seem to notice. "They took her. And they changed her."

[hamenleai.livejournal.com]

Shana stopped short, green eyes flying wide in disbelief as she stumbled, then caught herself. Her face gone pale, she could only stare at him for a long moment, trying to comprehend what he'd just said. "What? No! That's impossible!" she breathed, shaking her head in denial.

[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

Keman's whole body was shaking with repressed anger...and grief. "It was her." He choked. He didn't want to believe it either, but he couldn't just ignore what he'd seen because it was more convenient.

[godhood.livejournal.com]

[The Bride.]

After the shift with Mikami, things had quieted down considerably for Light. He'd had a fairly uneventful brunch (somehow) and had spent his first free shift in the Sun Room catching up on the bulletin as well as observing the room's occupants. With what new information he could glean from there and what he'd learned from Mikami, though, it was obvious that he needed some time to think and a relatively quiet place to do so. The library was the obvious choice.

Unfortunately for him, things in Landel's never quite went as planned. What looked to be a fairly dramatic scene was already underway once he stepped inside, and although it had yet to explode into something far more disruptive, Light wasn't exactly happy about this development. Some things just didn't belong in libraries, as far as he was concerned.

He didn't let any of his disapproval show in his expression, though, instead spending a few moments among the stacks searching for an appropriate title to pretend to read. Several titles caught his eye, but he eventually settled on Homer's Iliad and went to find a place to sit.

[quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com]

Beatrix had caught a glimpse of Light as she returned to the Sun Room from her wonderful visit with Elle. What was that bitch's game? Seeing Light head into the library, the Bride pushed thoughts of that traitorous bitch who tried to claim she'd never attempted to kill her and made her way to the library as well.

Her eyes narrowed at the intense feeling of anger in the room, her attention drawn to the young man she'd seen in the visitor room with her and a girl. She could understand the anger, but she didn't care one bit about it. Other people's pain wasn't her problem at the moment.

Finding Light, Beatrix stopped next to him, her journal in hand, and addressed the man. Her voice was much more neutral than in either of their previous conversations and she wasn't bothering to put up the more cheerful facade she generally did. She didn't seem to care enough to.

"Hello, Light. May I borrow some of your time to discuss the alchemy within this place?"

[godhood.livejournal.com]

... Interesting that it was only when he didn't want to be interrupted that people felt compelled to speak with him. Light supposed that was just Murphy's law gleefully making itself known again-- unless it was some quirk of the institute itself? Knowing the Head Doctor's sense of humor, it made more sense than he'd like to think, but further inquiry into this subject would have to wait. He had a supplicant, and it simply wouldn't do to ignore her.

"Hello, Arlene-san, and of course you may," he said, setting aside his book for the moment and smiling up at her. "Obviously I can't claim to be as knowledgeable about the subject as practitioners of the art here are, but considering the fact that you're asking me rather than them, that isn't the sort of discussion you had in mind, is it?" If it was, it would be a simple matter to direct her to the relevant parties, but since he doubted it... "Please, have a seat."

[quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," Beatrix replied, sitting down and placing the journal on the table.

"Last night, I decided to indulge my curiosity and enlisted the services of one of the alchemists," she began. "I wasn't sure if their... craft was real or not, so I figured I'd see for myself and if they were a bunch of charlatans, I'd only be out a night's worth of work gathering materials."

She paused, pulling a sheet of paper out of her journal. "And before my own eyes, from several lengths of pipe, a wooden desk drawer and a sheet, a well-balanced katana and scabbard was produced," she said, sliding the page with the diagrams of the sword and sheathe, including detailed measurements for length and weight across the table to Light.

"This sword, to exact specifications as far as I can tell." She folded her hands on top of her journal. "Now I, along with every American school student, learned that alchemy was a 'science' from centuries ago that was focused on turning lead to gold and finding the philosopher's stone, elixir of life, and that it was proven during the dawn of hard science to be false."

"Being as the source of thise was one of the other prisoners, I am unable to correlate the creation of this sword to any form of advanced technology," the Bride continued. "I did get an explanation from the alchemist, yet, I don't know what to believe. You're a very intelligent man, Light. What are your thoughts on this particular alchemy?"

[mukuchi.livejournal.com]

[for Honey or free |D]

Mori hadn't done a whole lot last shift. In fact, he couldn't really remember much of it. He'd gone into the Sun Room after talking to Anise and then...apparently, he'd fallen asleep. Or passed out, whichever was more likely. He'd been tired, he supposed, and getting rest before the night was probably a good idea.

Now, however, he had a choice of where to go and he chose the quietest room available. The library was surprisingly full of people though and Mori picked a random book off the shelf before finding a place to sit. He wasn't quite so interested in reading so much as not talking; and that was what the library was good for. Opening the book in the middle, Mori preoccupied himself with looking somewhat interested in what he was reading and waited to see how this shift would pass by.

[qui-gonjinn.livejournal.com]

Qui-Gon hadn't been able to find Goku. Someone needed to talk to the boy about what happened last night, but it was possible he wanted to be alone at the moment and was avoiding people. It was difficult, dealing with the loss of a close friend. Words wouldn't bring them back. But either way, Goku needed to have someone to be there with him - going through the loss on his own would be worse than having to talk.

The last place he checked was the library and he knew just from a cursory glance that Goku wasn't here - perhaps he'd stayed in his room. Sighing, Qui-Gon navigated his way through the bookshelves, glancing down at the books. According to Martin Landel, they were one step closer to the truth about the Institute, but it felt like they'd taken several backward. Death was a natural part of life...but how Sanzo's came about was anything about. What concerned him now was the people posting on the message board; he hadn't participated, but he'd kept an eye on Obi-Wan's postings and he knew what his friend was trying to do. If they leaked every detail and outright said Martin Landel would be there, no doubt there would be a rush to the basement and more people would die.

It already looked like more people were determined to go there despite Obi-Wan's warning. But he had warned them of the risks and it was still their choice to make. Unfortunately, it was a fact of being a Jedi that you couldn't save everyone: sometimes you could only inform them and whatever decision they made, they would have to deal with the consequences of.

[el-lolly-eat.livejournal.com]

Thankfully, it seemed as though no one had wanted to bother him last shift and L had the opportunity to spend some time sitting alone outside. He had a lot on his mind he needed to sort through. Like what he should do now. Despite the doctor’s suggestion, L was certainly not going to kill himself. Nothing could be gained from it. But what was he going to do with his time here? He couldn’t possibly spend each night in his room from now on, could he?

Investigation might end up resulting in failure and ultimately death, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do something else. L realized during his conversation with Citan that it would be best if he did everything he could to ensure his survival here, and if necessary the survival of those he had involved.

L had been looking for a doctor for some time now, as it appeared that Light had connections with the head of the First Aid club. Despite what L chose to do here, Light could still be out to kill him. And in the event he obtained injury L needed someone he knew and trusted to provide medical attention. Citan, if he was not being manipulated, could be of benefit.

There was also the matter that knowing how to use a weapon was vital here. Sure the rooms were safe, but not from the other patients… and not from incidents like his first trip back from town. He had doubts that Misora would continue to be so dedicated to protecting him now, so he needed to know how to better defend himself.

After the shift changed, he wandered inside, eventually finding himself at the library. The last time he was in here he left a mark in one of the books, and he was quite tempted to indulge in his curiosity to see if the mark was still present. Not that knowing the answer was going to do him any good…

[For Mello.]

[cnflctofintrst.livejournal.com]

The visitor session had left Mello unsteady and mildly confused, both of which were states of mind he didn't have much experience with. He'd heard that visitors were used to upset patients, sometimes to the point of hysteria, but Landel's technique with him seemed both uncharacteristic and unsettlingly appropriate.

Unfortunately, there was no time for him to recenter himself by musing on the finer points of how and why he hated Near. He had an issue to address, and he had to address it soon before L became any more of a risk. Mello walked around the institute at the start of the shift, searching for both L and vacated rooms. The conversation they needed to have would take place in private. He couldn't afford to leave anything up to interpretation.

When he finally found L, Mello was irritated to note that Yagami was in the room as well, meaning it would take a bit of subtlety to lead L into privacy. However, if Near was correct and Light already knew of the two of them, wasting time with secrecy was a moot point.

He didn't like having to make so many important decisions based on his rival's judgment. Mello needed to observe more, comprehend more, do more. He couldn't allow himself to rely on Near in any way. An exchange of information was one thing, but this was walking a line dangerously close to collaboration and the idea made his teeth clench in angry determination. He was better than this. He had to be.

Mello walked to L's side and followed the man's eyes to the bookshelf, scanning the titles and processing them for potential relevance. Literature was one of his weaker subjects, and although he'd read most of the books on the shelf, their contents were faded and indistinct. Names and locations blurred, and exact quotations were nearly inaccessible. He placed his index finger on a copy of Brave New World, but decided against it and slid his finger over to Don Quixote. Mello found it exceedingly difficult to flip through a volume with one hand, and after a few pages he snapped the book shut. "This library's awful," he said. "It's all Western lit. With so many people from so many different places, you'd think Landel had some reason for limiting our options."

[el-lolly-eat.livejournal.com]

After Near’s message on the bulletin board, L assumed it would only be a matter of time before he confronted one or both of his heirs in person. He wasn’t particularly interested in seeing them at the moment, but he supposed that it would be inevitable. He would have liked to have spoken to them during the nightshift where privacy was a little more achievable, though.

Mello had not been present in the chapel this morning. So he had not been witness to Matsuda’s outburst nor had heard what was said. All he was aware of Near giving the young man to go on was that L was broken-- An analysis that was not entirely accurate.

He was not all broken… Not the person at least. The letter and all it had stood for within this institute probably was. According to Matsuda, Yagami Light assumed the role of L upon his death, then later one of his heirs likely took it. With everyone from his world being brought from various points in time, it was difficult to distinguish who the current L was and to who. But then, could they really assume the role with its full authority and power within the institute? Of course not. It meant nothing here. The money, authority, man power, security, and equipment had all been stripped, regardless of who was filling the role and when in his world.

L supposed what Near was referring to the letter and not the individual when he tried to inform Mello on the board. He doubted either of his heirs could make the distinction based on how they were brought up in Wammy House. It was difficult for even him to separate himself from that title. Acting as L was essentially all he knew how to do. He had no identity or reason for existence beyond that. It was over when he died. There was no option of retirement. Now within this institute, he was alive again and incapable of fulfilling the role. There was no L.

Naomi and Matsuda needed to invest their hopes into someone who would not fail to return them home and was capable of returning with them. And L…Ryuga just needed to find some way to exist here until he disappeared or died again.

Since Mello was approaching him in Yagami-kun’s presence, he could only Assume Light was aware of everything. The matter of L’s concern was how what his attitude should be towards his heirs. Having not interacted with them much, especially in the institute, it would be difficult for Light to know the type of relationship he had with them. But L was sure if he tried to mislead him, the young man would see though it.

“Most of these are considered classics, but there also appears to be a number of generic titles within the selection It might be good to look into them. In any case, it isn’t any of my concern.” He looked at Mello thoughtfully while chewing on his thumbnail, wondering it the young man would have any use for the results of his experiment. After waiting so long, it would be a shame if it went to waste. “The last time I was here I picked up a rather interesting book. I highly recommend it.”

[cnflctofintrst.livejournal.com]

Interesting. Mello returned his own book to the shelf, sliding it into its appointed place. This was the third time he'd spoken with L within the institute, and once again, he cross-referenced the tone with the one he'd heard as a young adolescent, when L had told him of the BB case. L did not seem to be broken--not as badly as Near had implied, at any rate--but it was too soon to tell. Even the deeply damaged, like B, were capable of hiding their faults behind a facade of mere eccentricity. If it were at all possible to determine the depth of a crack in someone as complex as L, it could only be done by comparing him to a similar specimen. One such specimen had already declared him broken. The second was about to verify or reject that claim.

At first, Mello had blamed his uneasiness on the fact that he was in a library after so many recent revelations about fictionality, and once he'd dismissed that, he blamed it on the visitor session. It took a few seconds for the vague disorientation to reveal itself for what it was: deja vu. He'd been in this situation hundreds of times, but never in this role. Mello wondered if L knew he was being tested.

"Which book?" The method of experimentation wasn't hard to deduce: a dog-eared page, for instance, or a piece of paper slipped between the pages. Supplies were replaced every night, but Mello hadn't thought to see if modifications survived. It could be useful, especially in the more well-stocked rooms, and with enough subtlety there was a chance it could give an advantage at night as well. Of course, that was dependent on the results.

He waited to be led to whatever book L had used for his experiment.

[spandexorgtfo.livejournal.com]

Kratos wandered into the library, hoping to find something that could tell him more about the time and world he had been dropped into. Previously, he'd been perfectly content to let things come at him as they would, but after the visitor shift he realized that in order to play along properly, he would need to know more ahead of time.

As it turned out, the library had almost nothing in terms of information, although that certainly wasn't unsurprising. Giving up on his research (perhaps the board would yield more results?), Kratos picked a book at random- The Divine Comedy- and settled down to peruse it.

[free!]

[for-marian.livejournal.com]

What a complete waste of a day. All Leon had really managed to do was confirm that he had nothing to do tonight; he hadn't managed to remedy that situation, or even really tried very hard. Pathetic. He was obviously getting too complacent. The discussion with Guy had been okay, but it had quickly diverged from what he'd really wanted to talk about--swordsmanship--and become about the Swordians and Aeth'erian technology.

At the very least, his waiting and waiting for a sword apparently would not prove to be entirely wasted, as two of the alchemists replacing the former head of the Cooking club were aware that he had been on the list. He'd been one of the first to mention that, as well, so hopefully that meant relatively little more waiting. He should probably gather metal tonight, but... alone? What a pain. Maybe he could talk Clark into helping him out.

Leon nodded to Kratos as he passed the older man, but he didn't stop to chat. Kratos was reading something, and Leon wanted to do much the same, so he continued on towards the bookshelves without pausing.

[free]