The 9th Hour... (Phase 1: Sept-Oct Event)

[central_librarymods]

The cold presence is seeping in through the dark shadows. The darkness is reaching further, brushing the minds of the patrons and opening doors to dimensions that should not be open. Something wants in. But in the Central Library, there are ways to get through without crossing entirely… through your dreams. Among other things.

Pick one of the options below and make a post for other patrons to join you in the events. You may make up your own, but keep it matching the event at hand as the different phases of the event will progressively get worse.

1. Your dreams are getting dangerous, violent even. When you wake up, there are bruises and injuries that shouldn’t be there. What is going on? Why are your dreams becoming a reality little by little? And why is it getting so hard to wake up?


2. Things are shifting in the Library. The shadows are moving and the temperatures are starting to drop. There are cold spots that sometimes get colder and sometimes it feels like if you turn around, you’ll find someone right behind you.


3. The monsters are looking a bit more frantic and daring to come closer to the center of the Library where they normally will not tread. It seems you aren’t the only ones scared of the dark recesses any longer.


4. The Market is now a lovely little faire of the early Renaissance with all sorts of fresh grain, fruits and vegetables! It is a brilliant sight, but it seems the ominous plague masks they don still gives a foreboding feeling of the miasma that killed over two-thirds of the world’s population… Perhaps you shouldn’t wander very far.


5. New areas are now opened up. A blacksmith and workshop for the tinkers has been created. You might want to look or contribute... You might also want to stop in the new bath area. The large pool has a Grecian feel and all of the walls are made of crystalline glass where the stars are always shining with a different universe in constant succession.


6. Wild Card: Make up your own scenario. Just remember that all of the things above are happening. Things are getting foreboding and growing stronger by the day. Sleep will be a luxury you might not have… You may not see what’s coming, not yet. But you know it’s coming.

Comments

[harrys_skull]

"And the whispers," Bob says wishing he could shake his head, "something nasty is brewing and I'm not even sure where to start looking for a leak."

Re: Barry Allen l The Flash l Sensing Shadow

[give_me_a_museum]

Barry shakes his head again. "Yeah I think so," he says, "I just keep feeling like someone is watching me and not in a good way. And I keep hearing whispers in the shadows too at least I think I am."

[amery]

Amery was pleased that he'd found someone who seemed pleasant enough, but now that he had, he was abruptly slight nervous about the thing he actually wanted to ask about. "Oh, no, it's quite all right. I woke on my own." Truthfully, he hadn't thought anyone else would be up either, but he was glad that they were.

"Would you mind terribly if I asked for a small favor?"

[ingrantitude]

"we could do other things." He reaches for her leg, gently, "To keep me awake." But his eyes are lidded and heavy, "....I went crazy without you baby. The one thing that kept me going was the thought of avenging you to make the pain stop."

He sniffs, pulling her close, "But we got a second chance."

[amery]

"Oh. I believe I might have heard of those." Maybe seen them a few times, but he hadn't ventured close enough to be in any real danger. "Are they that much of a risk?" Perhaps he should find some sort of weapon to defend himself with. Nothing here would ever be as good as Anastasia, but in times of need a man had to compromise.

Amery cleared his throat. "Forgive me for being short with you, a moment ago; I've been having a rough night. My name is Amery Vallet."

[braveheart_clara]

"Whispers are never good, I've found." They always mean something weird is about to happen. "Maybe if we start looking through the outer edges of the library?" She'd gladly give him a lift, if he needed it. But... wait... She squinted at him for a moment and just HAD to ask. "Hey, how do you get around the Library anyhow?"

[braveheart_clara]

His 'Cool' made her smirk. It was nice when people just rolled with things like this, though honestly, if they were all stuck here for mysterious reasons to help, then a person has to be used to some level of strangeness.

"I think I will pass on the dimension hopping, myself. All of time and space is good enough for me right now. But yeah, I think that counts for something at least." She said with a chuckle.

His friend was a trig tutor? Thinking about MATH should not make her heart ache like that. but Math brought up Danny in her mind. Something she shut down swiftly as she paid attention to the kids story.

"Fending off an alien monster attack sounds familiar. Robo-ninja's are new for me though. Though not that far fetched, really. I take it the two of you got out of it alright? You look intact at last. Other than that bruise on your face. I noticed it back in the Marketplace, so I don't figure it's anything to do with the wolves."

[wanna_bash_heads]

Huh?

"Nah, this happened at least a half-year ago." The bruise was from..oh! "Oh, yeah." A sigh, mouth frowning. "I got sucker punched in a nasty way in my dream and when I woke up I was bruised from it this morning."

Not going in to detail beyond that though.

"Anyways, Red--that's April--must've been alright though, as she showed up at the rink after I took out my part of the Robo-ninjas. She was fine. I didn't know at that point she'd made up with her friends, but that's beside things." Continuing his explanations. "Anyways, I knew at this point my city was in trouble, infested. Casey Jones decided to do something about it." A very smug and proud grin there.

[dulcet_cellist]

Sebastian shook his head a little, silently disagreeing and looking around at the bath. "I like listening to you talk."

It was the simple truth. Alec was willing to talk to him and didn't seem to be forcing himself to be nice or social out of sympathy or obligation. He felt real and sincere and Sebastian couldn't remember the last person, other than Jack, who had felt that way.

The only time Christian Scott had felt real or sincere was when he was attacking him. And this time Jack hadn't been there to save him.

That was another thing about Alec. He felt safe. Even now, when he was so exposed, it was his modesty, not his fear keeping him mostly covered by the water. Modesty and Magnus.

"You said Magnus is a Warlock...but he's also half human?"

Re: Multiple-prompts

[dulcet_cellist]

Sebastian ducked his head and turned away enough to hide his face better. He was trying to forget and pretend it was no big deal. Because dreams were stupid, annoying reminders of things that didn't matter when you were awake.

"They're not real. It's just...the...shadows."

Just the shadows moving. Just the shadows shaped like people. Like clouds. You think you see something, but it's not real. Not real. Not a person. Not Christian Scott standing right there just beyond his ability to know for sure.

It could have been anything. His imagination. A long forgotten memory. And when he closed his eyes, just for a moment, he could almost feel the rain on his face right before he physically jerked back from the fist that wasn't there when he opened his eyes and stared into the same shadow. The bat hitting the floor was thankfully louder than the beating of his heart.

[dulcet_cellist]

"Of course." Said before actually thinking. He didn't really know this person so saying yes to anything without more information was not really something he would normally do. Alec and Barry being nice to him was starting to rub off on him he decided.

Not that he wasn't a nice person. He simply didn't trust anyone.

[alec_lightwood]

Alec rolled his eyes when Sebastian refused to accept the compliment. What he'd said was true and eventually Sebastian would figure it out.

Wanting to talk to someone who wasn't his siblings or Magnus was new. He'd never been the center of attention or considered 'interesting'. He'd never understood talking about yourself but with Sebastian it was easy to talk about his world and his life.

He couldn't even talk to Jace like this. His parabatai tried but it wasn't in Jace's nature. And Magnus... Now he could but when they'd first started dating, it had almost been painfully awkward. With Sebastian... if Alec didn't know that Sebastian was still grieving...

At least jealousy wasn't something that he and Magnus worried about anymore.

"Yeah. Warlocks are born from a demon and a human. His mother was human and a demon visited her." Lightly kicking his foot in the water, Alec tried to think of the best way to explain. "I don't think she knew. They sometimes shift shape so she would have thought the demon was her husband." At least that was Alec's guess no matter what Magnus' father had hinted at. Demons lied, especially when it could hurt someone deeply. "There's no way to be sure. It was centuries ago. But he's a good person. That matters more than who his father was."

Re: Multiple-prompts

[wanna_bash_heads]

"Bookworm?" Casey asked, eyeing Sebastian as the other closed his eyes, seemed almost to fall asleep right there. The clatter of the bat loud, as Casey watched the other teen for a moment, frown on his face.

Not an unhappy-or-upset-with-Sebastian frown either. A concerned one. "Bookworm? Sebastian..." Moving to pick up the baseball bat, putting it away in its holster at his back. "You've been seeing things too, huh? You alright?" No more playful teasing in the voice; genuine concern.

Casey was a vigilante for a few reasons; one of which WAS helping others. Especially those who couldn't help themselves. (It was a minor reason, compared to wanting to kick the scum out of his city, but it was still there.)

[alec_lightwood]

"No, you're not. Magnus hasn't mentioned nightmares but his scale for them is different than most people's." Years of abuse combined with the ability to have prophetic dreams meant that Magnus didn't react as strongly to nightmares as most people. But he had been worried about the claw marks on Alec and what would happen if the dreams escalated. "We haven't figured it out yet. Bob's tried to get a lock on it but he hasn't had much luck."

The question about the old injuries surprised him. Only a handful of people ever worried about his safety. Even his parents hadn't really shown much concern when he was wounded. Even when those wounds were mortal. "They're not serious now. They weren't when I woke up. If they had been, I probably would be dying right now. I was poisoned the first time I was attacked."

Keeping an eye on the shadows, Alec sighed. "I don't know what's out there. I know what it isn't. At least compared to what I've seen in my world. I don't know where the Librarians are. The Cat usually keeps Bob company but he hasn't been hanging around. I haven't seen the Head Librarian but I thought it was because he had to open the portals."

[likeagerbil]

"How is it possible that we're in a Library that spans worlds that's run by a guy that looks like the Grim Reaper and a talking cat?" It wasn't really that weird. The whole "aliens are trying to take over the world" thing had reset Steve's measure of weird. 'Impossible' was just a word now. "I think in a place like this, anything can happen. Everyone's having strange dreams. Maybe the Library picked up one of yours and found a way to project it."

If that was true, at least it had been a dream about them as kids instead of horrors in Bucky's subconscious.

The comment about not needing to protect Bucky had Steve giving his friend a faux innocent look. "I was like those little dogs that don't know they're little. I thought I was the size of a St. Bernard when I was really a teacup poodle."

Keeping an eye on their surroundings, he wondered how exactly he should guard against something that came out of the mind. Did that mean it could manifest anywhere? "I can tell you if what you remember is right."

Re: Multiple-prompts

[dulcet_cellist]

Sebastian hadn't wanted to think about what it might mean, but part of him wanted to be angry. Why him? And why had the part of his dream with Jack been so horrible? If he could feel the pain, the blood on his face when he woke up, then he could feel good things, too, right? So why him? Why couldn't he dream of good things? Why couldn't it be Jack coming out of the shadows?

"I'm fine." He said quietly. "This isn't the worst thing to happen to me."

It was true. And he smiled a little at Casey because it was true.

Re: Multiple-prompts

[wanna_bash_heads]

That may be, but that's not exactly reassuring to Casey. He's still looking at you skeptically, Sebastian. "If you say so...but man, you're also a bad liar."

Casey was willing to let it lay there though, if Sebastian didn't want to share.

"Besides, we're in a giant magical library with portals to other dimensions. Who says there isn't something in the shadows?" Nevermind that yes, Casey DID have experience with something similar to this. Somethings, to be exact; and if they showed their furry little butts, he was going to show them why he wasn't to be messed with.

[likeagerbil]

Steve had an idea about what 'other noises' might be. Not everyone in his old neighborhood had been as kind as his Ma or Bucky's mother. There had been things going on that had been frightening for a little boy and from what Steve had seen in Bruce's files his friend had lived through them. "She used to sing lullabies and songs that I think were Irish. Sometimes it was things we heard on the neighbor's radio.

"Your mother and the Avengers? I wouldn't think you'd dream about them at the same time."

[braveheart_clara]

She sat up a bit, pushing her legs down to rest her feet on the warm floor, looking over at him with a raised brow. "You woke up from a dream with it?" That's concerning, actually. "You got punched so hard in a dream that you woke up hurting."

There is a moment where she looks startled, a bit scared. She lets her hand reach up to touch her temple of her forehead, checking for that ice cream brain freeze burn. It's not there. It hasn't been there for a while, but... his conversation made her suddenly remember that problem. What if this fantastical place was a dream within those dreams... again.

No. No. they solved that one...

She shook her head a bit, and watched his proud grin as he told her more of his story. "Is that what all the gear is for? Fighting?" SHe had to ask, settling in more once again. "Does your friend, Red... April, have sports gear like this too?"

[wanna_bash_heads]

"It is. Made myself." A matter-of-fact look, and while Casey wasn't book-smart he was clever. "I can't exactly go buying armor or to the cops or anything, can I?" The cops couldn't do anything about the Kraang, or the mutants.

"April doesn't. She has some kind of ninja-hand fan made of metal, and she's pretty skilled with it. Her friends, their father is also their teacher, a ninja master. He's teaching her."

Letting that sink in. Casey really had no teacher, except his own experience and what he was picking up from the guys. Maybe he should start asking Splinter for help. Of course, doing so without the others finding out would be the hard part. Not something he wanted them to know about, just yet; he was awesome on his own so far.

"Anyways, I was stopping some gang members, the purple dragons, from mugging someone. Raph caught me then, and thought I was being too hard on them. SO we clashed."

[braveheart_clara]

She's trying to follow his story. The people. Picking up names and things. She can understand the armor, she supposes. He looks more like a punk kid then a street fighter out to correct crimes. Which is good, she supposed. Though she doesn't think fighting is that great.

She leaned back and let him tell his story, purple dragons, someone named Raph, a friends ninja master father training her. It seemed like something out of a story book or cartoon, but she can't really place it at all. Then again everything seemed out of a story book in this place. She met HP Lovecraft. Anything can happen.

"So, you have a friend learning to be a lady ninja. And another person who stopped you from hurting some thugs. What about family? Or, who taught you how to do that thing with the pucks back there? What's your friend like? Maybe they'll ask her to come and help, if you think she'd have the personality to want to help."

[wanna_bash_heads]

"April would love it here. I know she'd want to help. So would the others, as they really are good guys." Casey grinned at the thought, then smirked. "Donnie'd love it. Then I would get to tell him they brought ME here first." Smug at that, clear this was one of his friends. Sort of. Mostly.

"Do what with the pucks?" Seriously, that was just his hockey-skills. "No one taught me. I mean, I play Hockey for the school team. That's part of how I met April. I needed to not fail off the team." He had a father, and a little sister...and the Turtles and Splinter and April, as family.

[braveheart_clara]

She was relaxing again, feeling the burn of the pool and trying to let the aches out. He seemed like a good kid. Even with that smug smile. "Well, maybe you'll get lucky and your three friends will show up also. I'm hoping mine will as well, as I think he'd find this place really interesting."

"And yeah, the pucks. You're pretty talented with how you directed them. I might not have seen a lot for the simple fact that I was running. Sorry, by the way, for letting you deal with most of that. I swear I'm not that helpless all the time." She said with a chuckle.

[wanna_bash_heads]

Confidence had never been Casey's weakspot, that was certain. Tipping her a salute and a grin. "Anytime. Slaying mutant monsters, saving damsels in distress, just call Casey Jones." Playing again, as he really wasn't a knight type. April could hold her own, which Casey also found really cool. She was often right there fighting along with him and the others. Not just waiting around to be rescued; heck they saved each other as often as not.

"Lots of practice at the rink?" Casey shrugged, kind of blushing a bit with the praise, but he would so blame it on the heat of the bath. "So alien with two hearts. Used to saving galaxies and stuff. Why isn't he here already do you think?"

Would be a perfect candidate to help, if the Librarians wanted to save this place.

[braveheart_clara]

"Well, don't get used to it. I won't be a damsel in distress if I can help it." She said with a large smile. He seems cocky, and that was alright. She knew someone else with an ego and a whiteknight complex too, even if he wont admit it.

At his question though, she frowned. Yes, why ISN'T he here? She raised a hand out of the water to rub at her face, running water over it and scrubbing her cheeks a bit. "Mmm, I'm not sure. He's a bit of a 'show up when he wants to' kind of guy. Or so he says. I think he just doesn't know how to drive his TARDIS. Or maybe he just missed the call, so they settled for me."