14757/Welcome to the Themysciran New York Library!

Welcome to the Themysciran New York Library!
Date of Scene:	24 April 2023
Location:	Themysciran Arts Center
Synopsis:	Diana and Terry speak of his new job at the Themysciran Library. They also touch on wedding plans for Terry and Gar!
Cast of Characters:	Diana Prince, Terry O'Neil

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Diana Prince has posed:
A few weeks back Diana had presented Terry with the opportunity to sign on as the Head of the Themysciran Arts Center Library. A grand location that had started small in its early days following the Arts Center opening, but had finally reached a point where they were able to put more focus on it, and to fully flesh it out as originally intended.

Two stories in height, with a massive amount of floor space, and seemingly endless shelves of books, manuscripts, and artifacts from the Themysciran society. Not all of them are first editions, most aren't in fact, but some indeed are the real thing, brought in from the mythical island itself. The 'reprints' were done with great care, however, and the library on the whole has a very regal air to it. There are modern ammenities too though, with a computer study area, a lounge area for comfortable reading and private study rooms for those really working on big projects.

Grand chandeliers hang from the roof, providing soft illumination to the huge chamber, and currently it is devoid of people save for a few workers helping with the final touches.

Diana had setup an appointment to meet Terry here today on a Sunday, to show him around and get his impressions of it all. Dressed in a crimson blazer and slacks, her hair tied back in a loose ponytail, with a pair of black framed glasses over her eyes, Diana looks business-casual slanted as she stands just inside the main entrance on the ground floor of the library, speaking with one of the designers who helped with the architectural side of the library's design...

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry enters the center with a reverent and awed air. The notion that he is going to be working at the library was something he still was having a hard time grasping- almost as difficult as the notion that Gar had actually proposed to him. The world was topsy-turvy and new chapters were being opened all over the place for him, whether he was ready for them or not.

He is ready for this meeting, though. A smart long-sleeved blue button-up shirt and black slacks, his hair... is his hair. Even in his human form it tends to revert to a windblown, unruly state no matter how much product is applies to it. The best he can aim for is 'business casual windblown', if that is a thing. And that is the thing here.

Messenger bag over his shoulder, his notebook stashed within in case he needs to take notes, the redhead smiles as he approaches Diana and the designer. "Diana! Sorry, it took mom four drives around the block to be finally convinced that there was no parking and to just drop me off." NYC parking had defeated Agatha's plan to be here at the meeting.

Diana Prince has posed:
The man that Diana was speaking with is on his way back toward the lounging area with a ipad held in his hands in front of him after speaking to Diana, he has a few more things to look in to. It's when Terry arrives that Diana turns to look at him, a smile appearing upon her facial features. She reaches her hands out then to take Terry's, then pull him in to a hug, light and brief but friendly. "I am glad that you made it. Your mother could not find a spot?" She inquires. "Well, make sure she finds me before you leave, I would like to show her around the whole of the facility." She tells the other before looking him over. "You look nice." She states with a continued little smile. "How is Gar? and the others?"

Before receiving an answer though, Diana turns around to motion toward the library. "And well... without fanfare..." She states, her eyes scanning the two story tall chamber, a sense of elegance and serenity flowing through it in the now. "We are just about fully finished with the renovations... but as you can see, it is an extensive layout."

She looks back to him and gives him yet another little smile. "Still interested in the position, I hope?" She asks, arching one of her elegantly delicate brows.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Hee, thanks, I figured I should dress respectably for the job, y'know? Gar's fine, everybody's fine- we've had some... interesting luck recently, but that's what happens when Jinx ends up living in the tower." Long story, that one, and an interesting one.

He pauses to look over the room encompassed by Diana's glance, and he takes a deep breath- a breath that smells of parchment and antiquity and elegant furnishings, and he holds it in for a second, as if reassuring himself it is real.5r
He exhales, and nods, "Oh yes- yes, definitely. I feel I am singularly unqualified for it, but-" he gestures to his satchel and takes out a registration sheet, "I've enrolled in an undergrad degree for library science at NYU- online. So maybe in four years I'll feel slightly more qualified, but it'll be a learn-on-the job situation."

Diana Prince has posed:
The response that Terry provides Diana just makes her smile more widely again. She looks at what he'd brought, then regards him again as her head tilts slightly to the right. "You know the offer was not given because of your wealth of experience with running a library, it was given because you are who you are. It is your passion, your kindness, your achieved love within the Titans, and thus in to that of the Themysciran people themselves, including me."

She shows him a grin before she moves her left hand up to touch his right shoulder softly. "Come."

With that, Diana starts to walk, her heeled shoes clicking softly on the polished marble floors. She'll lead him in to the main floor area, where the light from the chandeliers fall down from above, dappling them with varying degrees of soft yellow light as they walk beneath them. Reaching a table, Diana pulls up a tablet computer from a stack of books, which she offers to Terry. "This is a floor plan of what we have laid out so far. We have the shelves stocked, but not all of them are the final shipments of books from the island, most of them... in fact are just place holders. I wanted you to go over the plans and decide where you wanted various sections to be stacked, stored and kept safe..."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry takes the tablet and gives the floorplan a glance. "It makes sense for the rare and restricted tomes to be placed in the higher floors and towards the back, probably in a special collections section. Any tome that might be rare and irreplaceable, on temporary loan from the island, things of that sort! And... you know," he glances up at Diana, "I had an idea, but I wanted to see what you thought about it. Aside from your written tradition, you have your poets- your storytellers. I was thinking that maybe, once a month, we could get one of your poets or storytellers from the island to do a traditional recitation- they could recite some of your Themysciran epics, or other stories... because here-" he gestures towards where the majority of the tomes will be stored, "We have the 'frozen' tradition... you know, what gets written down. But if we had some of your rhapsodes performing here, we'll get a glimpse of the /living/ tradition... we get to see what gets added to stories in the retelling, what flourishes are added by each different rhapsode. We could have a small stage set up outside in the courtyard and connect the entrance to here... that way you can have the recitation, and afterwards people can come in and read."

Diana Prince has posed:
While Terry looks over the computer, and responds, Diana moves to perch herself on the edge of the table. She drops her eyes to it as she gathers up a glossy black folder that she lifts up, flips open and looks through for a second before she looks back to him. She shows a soft smile and glances toward the library's grand entrance hall. "The courtyard is just on the other side of the corridor outside. So that should be more than doable." She tells him then before she turns the folder around, and offers it to him as well.

"I have begun a list of various books and manuscripts that we are to have brought in from the island. I have had some help from some of our other sisters who are here now too, since we are at around three hundred women between here and the Starport facility. There are quite a few of us here already who would meet what you just suggested, criteria wise, so I think that would be more than acceptable... and honestly, it is precisely the kind of thing that I wished to see have happening here."

The Princess casts her eyes about the large space around them. "I hope to see gaggles of wide eyed children here experiencing everything within the library's domain, I want to see smiles, hear laughter and feel their imaginations working in overdrive." She shows another slight grin then before she nods once to him.

"You have an office too," she states before pointing to the tablet. "Right there in the northwest corner." Which would be over Diana's left shoulder now.

"I am really glad you were in to this idea. It was originally Donna's, but when she suggested it, I knew it was the right choice."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I want to see that happen, too! In fact, we should start with the recitations and then build up to performing full-fledged Themysciran plays here. And concerts, and-"

Diana's words are enough to derail him, as he clears his throat. "Wait. I have an office?" He ponders this. It never even dawned on him that this would be a thing. He already had thoughts about what would be in it- but before he could get overwhelmed, he decides to think of something else! "Now that the library is getting established, we really should consider having a scholar-in-residence from one of the universities. I imagine you have received countless offers and requests to let scholars, historians, etc, collaborate to work on academic papers and studies and even books about Themysciran culture, and it'll be important to have someone here who will be an authoritative voice to oversee that process..."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana's hands come together over her lap as she listens to him, watching his eyes as he formulates ideas and plans. She shows a little smile, dips her chin in a nod before she motions to the tablet computer again. "This is yours." She indicates. "On it are the contacts who have reached out, along with all the information on each of them... from what they expressed interest in, and what we are hoping to colaborate with them on. Now that the Queen, and the Senate, are more open to visitors to the island... with restrictions... we can allow the very people that you just described schedule time on the island where they can write ... well, all manner of new experiences that we can also populate the shelves with here." She states, using her right hand to motion around them before it joins her other again where it was before.

She has a playful expression grace her visage as she considers the earlier bits of what he'd said. "We do plan to have a theater evening as often as possible, and that could directly tie in to the library. Even if you feel so inspired, you could design something to put on for the public based on what we have here. Stories, myths, legends, it can all be crafted in to public festivities that will draw people in to our culture. Whatever can create a positive impact on those who come here..."

She draws a little breath before she smiles once more to him. "You are the Head Librarian, the head Curator of this place now. How you wish to take what information that resides within these walls, and see it brought to the people... that is choices that are yours now. So yes, please do help decide on the visitors to the island that will be related to all of this, and send your schedules, recommendations, and so on to me directly."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Being curious as he is, he flicks through the contacts and oohs- "You got a request from Professor Julia Kapatellis. She's, like, Themysciran fangirl number one. She's written multiple articles you can find on J-Stor. She's the one that posited the theory that a lost tribe of Amazons might have ended up in the Black Sea area and intermarried with the Scythians... she'd definitely be at the top of my list. But if she ends up being the one chosen, you might have to sedate her before going onto the island."

He smirks just a little. Yes. he knows exactly what he just said, and is quite aware of how ironic that is coming from him.

But the notion that his voice will be counted in curating the list of visitors to the island, that's heavy. That's a /responsibility/. "I will consider my recommendations with the care that such a thing merits." After all, you needed to introduce the Amazons to the world by degrees. Then it dawns on him that Harley has been to the island, and he's always forgotten to ask what the Amazons thought of her.

He's totally going to have to ask Donna.

"Oh... that gives me an idea, Diana. We should commission one of the poets to write a play about the Titans and the Amazons together fighting the hordes of King Ixion in Tartarus! Diana, Diana!" he reaches over and grabs Diana's arm, full of excitement, "And we must insist that DONNA perform in the play as herself!"

Diana Prince has posed:
The name that Terry drops is one that Diana is familiar with, she doesn't comment on it though, she merely grins at the sedated part since... well, yes, he covered the irony! She does softly nod her head two quick times to it though before she listens to what he says next.

It's that last part though that garners a melodic laugh to bubble out from within the Princess. She has to slowly shake her head side to side a couple times though before she tosses back a response. "That is entirely up to you to put together. I would love to see it, make no mistake, but... I do not want to bare witness to any potential whining or reluctance to perform." She's teasing her sister of course before she levels her chin again, and draws in a breath through her nose.

"But I agree, that subject would be a great one to create a live performance for. It represents Themysciran culture breaking in to the larger world,a nd vice versa. I think it would be a great project to put to play, as well as find someone who would like to catalogue it, and record it for our coffers here."

A pair of people walk past the two of them, both of them male workers and both of them offering waves to the two seated and standing beside the table. Diana smiles to them, waves to them before she looks back to Terry.

""If you do get her to say yes to such a proposition though, I will be sure to be front row center for it." She adds with a big grin.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"It was kind of an important event, wasn't it?" Terry muses, "Being one of the first men to set foot on the island in so many thousand years is... kind of heavy. I never even thought I'd ever get to /see/ the island. Now I'm connected to it in a way I didn't even expect. Maybe someday I'll actually be able to meet your mother without clamming up. But yes... that play should happen, as a way of explaining to the public about one of the events that started the change in Themyscira."

He ponders, and grows silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. He taps the tablet, putting it into sleep mode for the moment as he clearly starts to think about something...

Diana Prince has posed:
The words that Terry speaks gets Diana to hold on to her grin as she rises up from her table's edge again. Steve Trevor had been the first man on the island in thousands of years, Terry was one of the first in a hundred years... But she doesn't speak that, let him have his cake party!

Her left hand comes up to touch his shoulder once more. "I am glad to have you here onboard with this. The point of this whole Center is to bring Amazons, and the rest of the world, a little closer together. I could not have a better person for a integral role in it, like this one, than you." She tells him before she drops her hand again to her side.

"I will let you wander around a bit, get your feet wet in your new space. I will come find you in a few minutes, okay? And we will try to find your mother, hopefully she has found a parking space..."

Another sweet smile is offered before Diana moves to join some of the decorators again who are speaking to two Themysciran women who have arrived, dressed in native attire to the island...

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Oh, Oh, Di, before you go!" Terry reaches out, "There are two things I need to discuss with you that are kinda important! The first one is... an assistant librarian. I need someone with an academic background and a fast mind, and I was thinking..." he grins, "What do you think of Kaida? I think she would be perfect. And they love her at the island!" He waits for her reaction, before he says, "The next one is... a personal thing."

He takes a breath. "It's... about the wedding. My wedding. With Gar. I mean."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana pauses when she hears the questions, her fingers lacing together in front of her lap. She pulls in her bottom lip to bite down n it for a moment before he speaks of Kaida and it draws out another smile from her. "I love Kaida. She is a sweet soul. If you would like to involve her, then please, by all means... do so. It would be nothing but a boon for her to be."

The last part has the Princess tilting her head to the side as she stares at him. "What of the wedding? You know that I am here for you however needs may be for it."

One of the two Amazons in the native attire motions to Diana, who offers her a soft wave in return before she looks back on to Terry.

"Are you making preparations already?" She inquires.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Oh, excellent! I'll let Kaida know right away- she will be thrilled!" the redhead grins, and then returns to the topic at hand, rubbing the back of his head. "Well... we are planning, yeah. Lots of details to plan out... we've decided we're going to hold it in Wonderland because- well, it's the /safest/ place, believe it or not. A wedding between superheroes is like a beacon for villains to show up. But they can't, if they don't know the way to Wonderland, right?" He grins.

"But there it comes the bit about the ceremony itself, and what it'll look like... well." He smiles a little, "I'm not really comfortable doing the Christian thing. Neither is Gar, really. And, well... I remember that at one point I read you aimed to be licensed to officiate weddings in every state and country that allowed you to..." He flushes, "What I'm trying to say is... would you do me the honor of... would , er..."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana shows a happy expression at knowing that Kaida would also be excited to work here, and she just gently nods her head to that before Terry feeds in to the next part. She is not exactly slow on her feet either, already grinning to him before he even started to stammer out the last parts ahead of the question.

"Of course I will." She tells him. "To be honest, I would have thought you would have asked Donna, but all the same, I am more than happy to do that part for the two of you." She raises her arms up then and leans in to offer him a hug.

"Wonderland could not be a more perfect setting either." She says whilst initiating a good squeezing hug on the young man before her. When she pulls back, both of his shoulders are given the same-- if smaller in nature --treatment.

"Put together a rundown of what it is you would like, and I will look it over, then fill it in with some of my own flare and flavor, along with Themysciran culture as well, of course." She states with a bigger grin showing once again for him.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Well, that's because Donna is going to be my Dame of Honor, so I can't ask her-" he grins, clearly over the moon at this, "And Harley is going to be my Best Woman, and I really, really wanted you there as well!" He hugs Diana and lets out a little 'whoop', "This is going to be... the best ever!" He beams, "We don't have a date set yet, but... yeah!" He is still flushed, first from the nerves, and later from the excitement, but he does his best to get himself under control.

"But... yes, I should let you go and talk to the designers while I roam..." he gestures to the library, "And get familiarized. But... Diana?" He pauses, and his grin gets bigger. "Thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me.'

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana watches him with her full attention, she just smiles with a glowing happiness for him on her face. Her chin lowers very slightly there at the end of what he says and she speaks in a warm tone of her accented English. "I love you both. I am very pleased to be there for you in such a capacity. I am excited for it too."

Another soft touch to his shoulder is offered then before she starts to step away.

"Absorb your new library now, and do not hesitate to suggest alterations, or ideas that come to your mind. This is your place now, Terry."

And with that, the Princess does turn to walk toward the two robed Amazons speaking to the decorators who seem to be waiting for Diana all together. Ever the 'check with Diana' resolutions to problems!