I am the Chimerical Librarian who walks by herself…

From Lira

The Amazing Catwoman left a note on my new coffee table. It was just lying there when I came in from getting coffee. I hadn’t noticed it before, but then I hadn’t been looking at the coffee table before, so I have no idea when she might have left it, except I know it was not there last night before I went to bed and I am a little disturbed to think of her coming into the house when I am asleep but it’s not like it’s my house or anything, and she is kind of my boss, except wait; that almost makes it worse.

Sorry. I’m all jittery because I haven’t had enough coffee, I think. Humans are always going on about how coffee wakes them up, but I think of coffee as a calming thing. Maybe it’s something about chimerical physiology. That leads me to wonder what else about my physiology is different from regular folk.

Right: the note.

Lira,
I hope you’re settling in OK. Love the bears on the shelf. Now that you are mostly unpacked, take some time for yourself and go visit one of the Pride festivals that are going on in Realm parks. I think you might enjoy the vibe. Slap on some rainbow stuff, and you will blend right in.
Oh, and to prove to you that I do read, here is a quote from Voltaire: “We are rarely proud when we are alone.”
More later,
TAC

Of course, I had no choice but to sit on the couch and argue about the whole thing with myself, after I’d found what I hoped was suitably rainbowed attire. Like, why does she get to tell me what to do in my (admittedly silent) social life? Ari once told me, like it was a big deal, “She’s a virgin, you know,” about TAC. “I don’t know what that means,” I replied. “Can you explain it, please?” She got this pained expression on her face and told me to look it up in a dictionary or something, because she was not explaining the birds and the bees to her boss. I don’t know what birds and bees have to do with any of this, but I did know after that the common usage of the word “virgin” suggests that TAC has never had sexual intercourse, and I don’t know why I should care about that and also why it pops into my head when I wonder about why she tries to tell me what to do in my (admittedly silent) social life.

Oh! I have just made a brain connect! No; never mind. Lost it. I think I got distracted by laughing at the little sign I found in a box of stuff labeled Trinkets and Curios. I thought curios were more expensive than trinkets, but maybe some folk think of them as the same thing? Anyway, it’s the silliest thing: It’s just a black square with white writing on it. The writing says, PLEASE DO NOT THE CAT. I do not know what this means, but it makes me laugh. There is a little etching on the bottom of it that just says “LORE.” Does this mean something? I know what lore is, but I have never heard “please do not the cat” in the context of lore. Perhaps it is some strange artifact that, when combined with its sibling artifacts, produces a spectacular magical effect. The possibilities are dizzying.

The question remained, though: was I going to let TAC goad me — isn’t “goad” a great word? It comes from lots of words that basically mean arrowheads or spears, also “to prick.” Connotatively, it is not a positive word. It implies coercion, which, yeah, I guess if you’re going after someone with a spear, whether it’s made of flint or a pen-is-mightier-than-the-sword style letter, that’s not very nice.

I think my idiomatic language is becoming richer. This pleases me.

But. Was I going to let TAC goad me into going to Pride? I have seen images of Pride that mostly include many happy, dancing, shouting folk, dressed up in every colour imaginable, celebrating accepting one another as individuals and as groups. Are Chimerical Librarians welcomed at Pride? I mean, it’s not like folk can tell right away that I am a created being, although I do get some odd reactions to some of the things I say sometimes.

And then of course I realised that I’d probably made the decision hours ago, since I was wearing tights with rainbow hearts on them and my hoodie had a Pride Progress flag.

So, I summoned a DracoCab with my mobile phone (now working, you will be pleased to — well I was pleased about it; your reaction is unimportant), and off we went to what he said was a nice little Pride festival not far away, Pride At Home. I wondered out loud how it could be Pride At Home since I had to travel to get there, but he waved my concerns away with a whisker flick and told me not to worry about it.

This of course meant that I did worry about it. Would I be entering some strange pocket universe that was both home and away from home? Would the people at Pride At Home be able to see my house?

And then we were there, and I hopped off the saddle and waved as the DracoCab sped away.

Well. It was loud. And there was a girl group singing in Korean. They weren’t half bad, but it takes me a minute to hook into a language, so I didn’t understand anything for a few seconds. I am far better at reading Korean than I am at speaking it, and I don’t get much call to read Korean anyway, since my duties mostly centre on Western dragons.

People were dancing. I do not know how to dance. Someone hugged me without permission. I didn’t notice they were holding up a “free hugs” sign until I basically bumped into them, so probably they thought they did have permission.

So. Technically I did go to Pride. TAC did not stipulate how long I had to stay. I felt lucky that I got a different DragonCab for the trip home.

I keep thinking I should like things like this. I should like getting out and meeting folk. I should want to make friends. But maybe it’s not as straightforward as that. I do like meeting folk: in small, intimate numbers. Most of the folk I’ve met whom I actually like were met completely by accident. I even liked meeting Cherish, although I found out later our meeting was much less of an accident than she made it out to be.

And when I got home, I was so tired. I barely had the energy to put some kibble into Slaine’s bowl and sink down onto the couch to read. I do like this couch, although I think TAC said it wasn’t permanent: maybe she is moving furniture around as part of her shadier dealings these days? Who knows.

And why’d she want me to go to Pride, anyway? I don’t think I’m wanting to do sex with folk. I know it’s not all about sex, or that’s what folk tell me, anyway. I just want … I don’t know. I want to make friends, maybe, a few friends, and have a nice library to curate, and be able to see beautiful things, preferably often.

Finally, I just lay down on the couch with the book on the table, but even that was too much. I took off my glasses because they were pinching my nose, and then I started thinking about cats, and horses, and books, and whether or not it’s always cats who walk by themselves, or if chimerical librarians can do that too. I barely registered the thunk of Slaine jumping onto the couch and making herself comfortable behind my knees. I could feel her purring through my body, and she was just so warm and lovely, and why did I ever think I didn’t need a cat. And when is Uggla coming home? And I really should take Dorcha out for a nice long ride. I should get to know him generally. He’s not as pushy as Slaine. But Slaine feels really nice and warm, and Dorcha is too big to sleep on the couch with me and Uggla doesn’t like to be touched and Slaine’s purring right through my tights and it’s really nice. OK. I’m falling asleep.

Notes & Credits:

Delightful Featured Items (sponsored items denoted with a “*”)

Fabulous Pride Rainbow Eyes: Hexumbra, Audre Eyes*. These are also at the Hexumbra Main Store on a 99L$ promo, but hurry, because the price goes up to a completely reasonable 275L$ soon.
Gorgeous Pride Face Paint: Hexumbra, Marsha Pride Glitter. This is a Group Gift you can get at the Hexumbra Main Store.
Eyeshadow and Lipstick: Hexumbra, Chaos Collection, v3*, available at the Hexumbra Main Store.
Seriously, just go to the Hexumbra Main Store. You’ll like it there!
Yeats Quote Chest Tattoo: Safe For Mortals, Dancer. It’s not in any shop or on Marketplace, but if you IM me in world I’ll tell you how to get a copy.
The absolutely stunning skin: EnLight, Jon. This beautiful, slightly androgynous skin is EnLight’s creation for Pride this year. It was released at Uber, but you’ll find it at the EnLight Main Store within the next week or two.

Other Fancy Stuff:

That Hair: Sintiklia, Reina
Septum Ring: Opalite, Moth Septum Ring
Earrings: FaeTal, BeYou (and a generally huge shout-out to FaeTal for nearly always making earring versions that work with pointy ears!)
Glasses: Random Matter, Alminas Glasses
Choker: Web Dew, Twilight Collar
Nails: Eventyra, Pride & Love
Dress: Neve, Summer Pride (this was a gift a couple of years ago)
Tights: Pity Party, Soiree Stockings, White {Pride}
Shoes & Socks: Cult, Celine
Lira is styled on a Legacy body and a Lelutka EvoX Raven mesh head. Her signature ring is Kunglers’ Phoebe ring, and her character hairbase is Addon+ Angel

On the Set:

Couch Lira Actually Likes: Moss & Luna, Solano Chaise Sofa
Bookshelf: Safe For Mortals, Dark Horse Stair Shelf (work in progress)
Please Do Not The Cat/Goth: These are group gifts at Lore. I’m still laughing.
Single Snowglobe: Souvenir of Harshland and Belle Epoque’s Harmonious Glade region, Fantasy Faire 2025
Two Snowglobes: Souvenirs of Static’s recent two regions at Fantasy Faire 2025 and 2026: Yuum Balaal Grotto and Canny Valley, respectively
Two Ancient Mole “bears” from the last two SLB celebrations
The bears along the bottom shelf are from a Bellatech Gacha at the Age of Avalon Fantasy Gacha Event. They’re super cute. I… have some extras; hit me up in world if you want some!
Glowy Book: Enchanted Book Whispers, a souvenir of SL’s 22nd birthday celebration, 2025