unfinishedlibrary | for all the world's a stage

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for all the world's a stage - LIBRARY LOG

Who: The Editors
What: The Library changes once again...
When: January 9- January 22
Where: The Library
Content warnings: Please put them in the comment headers!

The Assistants have vanished into their backroom once again, leaving only the increasingly unbelievable “Back In 5” sign on the Help Desk, but at least they have attempted to impart some knowledge on the Editors before departing (or… attempted to do anything but, depending who you ask). The customary tea cart with drinks and increasingly stale biscuits is parked in its usual spot, though it seems that the quality of the tea at least has improved some. (Still waiting on coffee improvement.)

There’s a new crafting setup in the Maker Space, a table with an iron and machine for making vinyl designs, along with the instructions on how to use it, and a stack of t-shirts in various sizes. Usually there’s something in the correct size, but, well, mistakes happen. While this addition to clothing is a boon, there is the problem that the t-shirts can’t be taken out of the room until some sort of design is put on them. Get creative! Show off your style! Or maybe just steal one of the shirts that are there for display purposes. It’s fine, the Library can make more.

In the second week as the Library begins to change once more, the Lobby’s wooden floor shines with extra polish. The walls make an odd creaking sound as they shift, warping into brick covered with velvet drapings in a rich, dark red. Gold thread twinkles in the stitches, a sense of opulence woven through. The sound of ballroom music drifts by and, while in the Lobby, characters will be taken by the unusual impulse to dance.

Outside, in the Garden, the day/night cycle has paused firmly on a cloudless night. A full moon hangs in the air - literally. About the size of a basketball, it follows the first person who enters the Garden; hovering a couple of meters above their head. A white aura spreads from them, powered by the moon, and those who are caught in its light will find themselves unable to speak anything but the truth.

When the person to whom the moon is attached leaves the garden, the moon and its aura will leave them; and the moon will attach to the next person to enter instead.

On the circulation desk, there is a sign: “This Week’s Recommended Reading: Twilight!” The accompanying sign up sheet waits next to it for those wishing to check it out- though some will receive the movie instead of the book, with no particular rhyme or reason to it. Periodically someone might also receive something else entirely. Whoops? The Assistants at least will fix that quickly. ~~Richard will be embarrassed, while Phillip will be trying not to cackle.~~

While not advertised, various iterations of different stories will be available throughout the Library. In particular, someone seems to have left the projector in one of the meeting rooms running, with a variety of different recorded plays. These range from professional productions, to parodies, to what appear to be high schoolers (of which one production features a sixteen year old version of Phillip running around being an absolutely nuisance.

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[ Nice doesn't say anything, he's too busy shaking uncontrollably in Wreck's arms. It won't be for another 20 minutes before he thinks he can even talk at all. His voice already cracking. ]

You asked... if I missed the way things were.... well... if I go back home... the way I am now... I know I'll end up on the ledge again.

Edited 2026-01-13 05:47 (UTC)

[ Wreck is patient. He waits it out in silence, keeping his arms tight around Nice. Even when he does finally start to speak, he doesn't let go. ]

Then talk to me. You have to trust me when I tell you I won't walk away, and I won't judge you for anything you've done. Because I want to help, but I can't do that when I'm holding jigsaw puzzle with half its pieces missing....

I don't even know where to start....

[ How does he even begin to tell Wreck of all his failings, of all the horrible things he's done, all the people he's hurt. All to appease Shang De, and he couldn't even do it in the end. ]

When... I'm trying to figure things out... I find it helps to start at the end and work my way backwards.

I guess I'll slowly start to look like less and less of a scumbag if I start that way... ]

[ Nice didn't dare try to look at Wreck. he didn't dare do anything right now. ]

Between the two of us, you're the only one thinks that about you.

[ he lets out the most bitter of laughs. If Wreck didn't see anything wrong with him by the time he's finished then maybe there was something wrong with both of them. ]

The the very last thing I remember before coming here... I was contemplating. Why I even became a hero. What good I had even done. What was the point in anything. I was on top of a building near Treeman...and this boy.... was furious with me. he started yelling at an advertisement of mine...

[ Wreck nods, but he keeps quiet. He's afraid if he interrupts Nice, he might stop. ]

You must have seen the advertisements. They were everywhere.... for the Treeman home development plans... There's no way you couldn't have seen them... Well guess who was in charge of getting the plots of land all set up?

[ Go on guess. ]

I saw them. I actually... dropped what I was doing to watch them whenever I saw them.

[ It was, after all, the only "face-to-face" time he got with Nice. ]

Shang De? Since it's his company?

Me. There were still people living there.... and I had to make them all sign over their deeds so Shang De could start his work. I... scammed a bunch of elderly out of their homes... and the only reason why it's still standing is because I failed. I failed and lost to a little girl and her dog.

The... same dog who ended up as rank 8 or whatever...?

[ He's not surprised about what Shang De asked of Nice. Realty is often scummy. ]

During that whole failure... I had.... fear attach to me.... or... at least I thought I did.... and I panicked.... I went to find Shang De.... because I knew he had a way to counter it.... and thats when he told me... the Dog that saved the day.... made it to rank 8, completely ruining my chances...

[ He has no less than five comments to make, and it's difficult to keep his mouth shut. Why was Nice even in a situation where Fear was involved? ]

Maybe Shang De shouldn't have run ads before he had permission to build.

[ . . . ]

Sorry.

[ Nice gives a weak little head shake. He doesn't think Wreck needs to apologize for anything. What did he do wrong other than get paired up with Nice and have his life ruined because of Nice. ]

That's when I went to the roof.... I don't know when I did though.... everything blurred together... before that.... Shang De wanted me to lay low... because of my last failure before that.... The death of Hero Smile..... [ His voice gets very shaky when he mentions smile. ] and how my actions boosted MG's Dragon Boy to the top ten.

Yeah, I... I only saw what was reported on the news. I didn't... know anything more than that, other than... that's when you stopped making public appearances. And... I can't really blame you for that.

[ Smile was Nice's idol, the whole reason Nice became a hero in the first place. ]

He died.... because of me. I tried to help.... despite Shang De's orders.... and I still got him killed....

The... news reported otherwise. They didn't really mention you. Just that... Dragon Boy went overboard and was unnecessarily violent. And I guess the people who were streaming on the bridge... didn't know that "monster" he was fighting was Smile to begin with.

Treeman has amazing PR, don't they? I bet you haven't heard much of my failures, because Shang De gets them all covered up just like that. How pathetic is that....

Okay, but--but I don't... understand. At this point, you're basically the face of his company. Aside from Firm Man, who basically belongs to the Commission, all he has is you. And maybe Blankster....

Why... would he send you to do that kind of stuff? He has people for that. Why would he send the face of his company to do shady work like that when he's supposed to be building up your image positively?

He didn't hire me to smile, to make others smile. He hired me to be a tool. To be his personal tool... and I can't even do that right.

Because you're... not that kind of person. Even if you try to be... I don't think you can really do it. No matter how much Shang De tries to cover it up, at your core, you're a hero.

If I were a real hero, I'd have done something good in my career. One single act that wasn't faked or made on false pretenses.

You're not just a brand. You're a real person. Shang De was always packing your schedule and managing your PR, but... I don't think he let you do the things you wanted to do. And I know I... didn't help with that. But, once you were popular enough to live in Hero Tower, he should have let you just be yourself....

[Nice was silent as he listened to Wreck, only making a sound to let out a shuddered gasp. How could Wreck be so calm about this and not agree how awful he was? It doesn't matter if Shang De ordered him to do it. He still made the decision to do it... ]

You remember the ruins incident?

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