fandomhigh | Fandom High Library [4/16]

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Fandom High Library [4/16]

"You lot can march back to your shelves," John said to the children's books that had set themselves up as a display just inside the front door. "The wee rugrats have gone home for the year, thank fuck."

And once again, he had not had a single one calling him 'Da,' so he was rather pleased with himself. That, and there was paperwork in-process for at least one more minion, so there'd be an extra pair of hands around. Maybe he'd get lucky, and get one or two more.

The library was open, sign on the door, and the Librarian was In.

Now Hiring!
Fandom High Library Aides
High School & College Student Work Study Position
PAID
Wanted: ~~Mondays~~, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays

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"...At it again?" Arden asked, puzzled. "I mean, I just came in for some photography books, but you just made it sound like you had to break up a fight between genres."

Forgive her, John. She'd been here two semesters but sometimes she was still very new.

"We don't have a full-on genre war on our hands yet, thank fuck, just a skirmish, but it's best to break these things up before the gremlins can really egg them on," John said dismissively. Because that was a sentence that made perfect sense.

"--but photography books are in the 770s, over that way."

Edited 2024-04-16 20:34 (UTC)

"Dewey Decimal not Library of Congress, got it," Arden said. "...Wait, you knew that right off the top of your head?"

beat.

"Wait, there are actual genre wars? With the books and not just people on the internet?"

"Dewey was a bastard, but trying to reclassify this monster would be a nightmare," he said, gesturing around with a sweep of a hand as he deposited the book-corpses on the counter. "--and I'm going to assume you're new then, yeah. Welcome to the grand old dame, the Fandom Library. She's a beaut, she's bigger on the inside, she's got every book ever written, and much like Fandom is a place where realties converge, she's part of L-Space."

"I'm her warden-magus -- or Librarian, if you prefer -- John Constantine. Feel free to explore, just don't try to open the doors to Special Collections. Since you don't have a pass, the wards on the doors will hurt."

"L-Space? Special Collections? Is that some kind of 'information is too dangerous for anyone to have'?" It was like every sentence he said gave her several more questions. "I'm Arden Finch. And wait, every book ever written?"

She looked around in awe.

"Warden-magus? Why does it need a warden? Because of things like inter-genre warfare? Or does it have to do with the wards on Special Collections? Or yes? Or something else entirely?"

"All libraries are interconnected, sunshine," John said. "--and they all interconnect here. L-Space is the space that connects them, and lets you step from one library on one world to another library on another, if you know where the pathways are and how to walk them."

"And as to why they hired me... Special Collections doesn't just hold dangerous information. It holds dangerous concepts, people...it's a labyrinth and a changeable beast, and it is notoriously foul-tempered at times. If it doesn't want you to find what you're looking for, then it's possible no one is going to find you ever again."

"It needs a Librarian," yes, with a capital L, "--and it just so happens I make an excellent warden for a temperamental liminal space. We're both tricky bastards, and well suited."

"Can anyone learn to do that?" Arden asked. "Step across worlds via libraries? Become a Librarian?"

She was an Othersider. She knew how to listen for capital letters.

Constantine stopped. "You asking after a job then?" he asked, his tone mild. "Willing to grapple and co-exist with a sentient personification of knowledge, as embodied by this library?"

"Well," she hesitated, "that depends on a number of factors." And if John thought she had questions before...

"What are the terms of employment?" she asked. "Is it at-will or will I be agreeing to a specified length of service? Do I have to swear any promises, oaths, vows, compacts, or covenants? Will I be bound to the library in any way, physical, metaphysical, or otherwise? Are there any potential debts I might accrue while working here, either for actions taken, not taken, or undertaken by others? What will my duties entail? Will there be any consequences if I refuse to do something on moral or ethical grounds, and if so, what can I expect? Does working here give anyone or anything a right to me in any way, shape, or form, other than a right to my time and the industrious undertaking of my duties during the agreed upon times of work? If any of the previous questions are answered yes, will I receive a contract answering the question or questions in full? Will I be held responsible in any way for trespasses I make or allow to happen because I was not informed of something in full? Will any of these answers change, and if yet, in what circumstances? Are there any questions I have not asked that would prevent me from giving my full and informed consent to work here? Is there an Arbitrator I can appeal to if I believe you have been disingenuous in your answers here and I find myself bound to a compact I wouldn't have knowingly agreed to?"

She stopped, going over everything she'd asked to see if she'd left anything out. "Oh yeah, will I get paid?"

Edited 2024-04-18 00:01 (UTC)

Constantine gave a bemused snort. "Right, now you're speaking my language, Little Miss Contract. You a devil, a demon, or a djinn?"

His tone was still mild and light, but there was a sharp glint in his gaze that hadn't been there a few moments ago, as he openly sized her up.

"And what should I call you, for the purposes of these theoretical negotiations?"

Did Arden twitch ever so slightly at 'djinn'? She suuuure did.

"I'm Arden Finch," she said. "And none of the above. Just a normal girl." And was apparently playing two truths and a lie with her potential employer. You know, as you do. "Just a careful girl. Had some bad experiences in the past."

"Well then, you've come to the right bastard, Arden Finch, because if you need to learn how to twist contracts to your advantage, I'm the madman you want on your side," he said, leaning on the library counter. He'd absolutely clocked that twitch...he'd seen it more than enough times when people had Regrets.

"The terms of employment are thus: You, the entity known as Arden Finch, would be an at-will employee of the Fandom Library. You will be on-time for your shifts. If you cannot make your shift, you reach out to one of your fellow library aides to cover, or me, if none of them are available. Your employment would terminate upon graduation from Fandom High or Fandom University -- whichever level of the school you're attending, upon my removing you for Cause, or upon your choice, whichever comes first. Neither me nor the library have any claim on your time outside your shifts, except in an instance of island-wide emergency, when you may be called in to assist with research if you are available. There will be no penalty if you are not able to come in, other than I'll be annoyed that you're probably off playing Hero, which is usually a piss-poor decision. If you have a Hero Identity... no fucking spandex or heroics in the library, unless someone's life is in danger. Powers are fine, Heroics--" and he knew Arden heard the capital H, "--for the sake of it are not."

"You swear to maintain the laws of the Library. Shelve the books, shoo the gremlins, manage the chaos, don't pester me about smoking or drinking in my office. Manage library accounts, and contact people if they have overdue items. Books must be returned. Do not meddle with the nature of causality. And no one enters Special Collections without a pass from me."

"If you are a magic-user, don't fucking poke or meddle with the wards on the library or special collections without asking me first. Show me you're responsible. You are not held responsible for any trespasses that happen because you were lied to by another party. You are held responsible for issues that arise because you were not asking the right questions, since it sounds like you know what you should be asking. The Arbitrator for any issues would be the Library itself or Principal Winchester."

"Sound fair?"

And now Arden was wondering if any of the djinn John had run into had been either Grimm or Duke. Or her mother, for that matter, though that one would be a lot harder to find out, because Arden didn't know her name.

"I'm not a hero," Arden said immediately. "No magic, no desire to throw myself in between an unstoppable force and an unmovable object just to see if I can. I'm pretty survival-focused, actually. Playing hero isn't my bag and I've yet to see anybody who actually looks good in all-over spandex." And now she was up to one lie and five truths, a much better ratio!

She debated asking him if he were lying about anything, but then he might ask her the same question and she knew she was, so that just seemed like a bad idea all the way around.

"Four shifts as a trial period and if either of us are unhappy for any reason, I stop working here, no harm no foul?"

"The thing about us survival-focused folks...we often have a radar for threats other folks don't necessarily clock," Constantine said idly. "Almost seems like they follow us around sometimes."

He wasn't going to ask, but he wasn't not asking if there were going to be Problems.

"I would ask that if you become aware of a potential threat to the Library or its staff on the island--"and you were welcome for that free caveat, Arden, "--that you inform me."

From the slight fidget and the way Arden was suddenly fascinated by the pattern on the whatever patterned thing was closest, Constantine's instincts might have, once again, been entirely correct.

"Are you looking to be informed so you can take steps to protect the Library and the other staffers from unanticipated dangers?" she asked slowly. "In case the potential threat to one staffer extends beyond to the rest, or do you want to know about anything?"

You know just clarifying, no reason!

"Depends. Sometimes I just like turning plonkers into frogs," he replied with a wink. "'S usually good for their egos."

"But 's my job to be aware. A threat to one staffer can quickly become a threat to the library, and the rest of the staff, if it's used as leverage. I have all the knowledge of the universe inside Special Collections. Every dream, every secret, every spell, everything that ever has been or ever will be. It might not be easy to find, but its there, and there's people who would jump at the chance to get their claws into some of the tomes I've got locked away."

He fished around in his pockets for a cigarette, before taking one out and tucking it behind his ear. "And in general, I don't fuck with people who fuck with kids. If there's someone I need to pre-emptively ban, it's easier to do it up-front."

Arden spent a few minutes mulling something over and, as Constantine was likely able to clock, choosing her words very carefully. "I ran away from home because my legal guardian informed me that I was indebted to her for the decade I spent under her care and I was going to become responsible for paying those debts off once I turned eighteen. I'm pretty sure she's looking for me and I know two people from home already know where I am, so she might show up sometime. But I don't think that would spread past me because her involving anyone else in our...dispute...would probably get her in trouble with the, ah, local authorities."

Which was a good explanation of what Arden was running from, even if it didn't come close to what she was hiding from.

Edited 2024-04-18 21:31 (UTC)

"Fuck authorities, and fuck her," Constantine said cheerfully. "Hang on, sunshine."

He vanished into his office for a moment, before re-emerging with a piece of parchment that...shifted, oddly, if you looked at it too hard, and a pen.

"Right, as part of your advance compensation for the position, beyond the twenty dollars an hour I pay, you may write the name of this person on that parchment, and then burn it under the next full moon. It will alert me if she attempts to enter the library, and I will come handle it from there." He held them out. "This is a fucking sanctuary. I'll have none of her nonsense in here."

"...Does it have to be her real name?" she asked. "Or will the name I know her by work? Because, um. I'm pretty sure that's not the name she was born with."

If she'd been born. Nobody knew what Callista was. She wasn't an elf, a fae, a vampire, a were, a djinn, a witch, an elemental or anything else anyone recognized.

"True name is best, especially if she's fae or demonic, but the name you know her by will most likely work just fine, especially if she's used it long enough it has started to become part of how she perceives herself," he replied. "--and I tell you now, free and clear, even if you do not stay on past the four shifts, the spell will remain until you ask me to break it."

Everyone needed a sanctuary. Some more than others.

"She's not fae," Arden said immediately. And then gives him a big eyed look because she sounded far too certain of that when she was supposed to be pretending she was a totally normal human with no knowledge of the supernatural. "I mean...umm..." And then she shrugged and gave up. "I don't know anything about demons. I don't think so? But nobody knows what she is."

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