text;

[burlap]

Those other doctors certainly picked a very festive time to take me out of my "fictional reality", as they put it. Luckily, I didn't have any plans to disturb. I got a 'Merry Christmas' right before my I'd imagine standard 'Hello, you're fictional' speech yesterday.

Help a poor new arrival out, will you?
On a scale of one to ten: How upset should I be that I'm here? It's so hard to make a clear judgement a place when it's decorated for the holidays.

Comments

[burlap]

Thank you for such a warm welcome.

You seem quite optimistic about the situation.

[librariansheart]

After all that doom and gloom, I really think people need at least one person to let them know that it's not quite as hellish as people make it out to be. Who would want to come to a new place and be immediately depressed?

Ah, but yes! I don't really know if it's true, but isn't it just a little intriguing to think that we might have been in a book and brought to life? You never know when someone you might know from home may turn up, or someone you've met here might vanish - though I'm not sure if it's as miraculous as they'd have us believe.

[burlap]

Who indeed. You're certainly a breath of fresh air.

Wouldn't that be uncomfortable though? Being a book brought to life... Anyone who has read it would know anything about you and you wouldn't know anything back. Is anyone you know here?

[librariansheart]

Well, I suppose it depends on where you were pulled from within the book. Wouldn't it be exciting to think that you might be a hero? The agent of some great victory, or the one who discoveres something important? Someone who saves lives? I haven't met anyone who recognizes me from anything, and my life isn't anything to speak of, so I'm sure I wasn't a main character by any means, but... It's still rather an exciting thought to me. I don't have anything to hide, and if they're right, any enemies I might make (though I hope I don't, of course) couldn't get to any of those I left at home. So in a way, it's rather a relief.

There were... some that I knew. Here for a while. But they didn't stay long before getting released. We're still not entirely certain what that means.

[burlap]

You sound like you have an affinity for books since you haven't listed any other media in there. I'd prefer being a book character myself. Nothing really compares, does it?

Those are good points. I'm curious as to what makes you think you wouldn't be a main character at all. Perhaps you have yet to start the exciting storyline, hm?

[librariansheart]

Oh dear, it is rather obvious, isn't it. I love books, and we didn't have televisions, where I'm from originally, so I don't know much about that kind of material. I've heard a few radio programs! But as they were mostly news broadcasts, I don't really think of them as fiction. I grew up with novels, though. I used to have quite the collection, I'm afraid.

That's certainly a possibility! There were just so many more interesting people around me all my life, that I feel more like a member of the secondary or tertiary cast rather than a leading role. I don't have any extraordinary abilities - I can't even use alchemy, like most of the officers in Central. But I don't really mind as much. I appreciated their company while they blew through on their way to their adventures.

[burlap]

Have you been able to gather anything from your old collection here? I had a lovely one at home and it'd be a shame not being able to replace any of it.

Your officers use alchemy? Is this not something you can learn?

[librariansheart]

A while ago, some things turned up rather unexpectedly - my set of encyclopedia from home, for one! And I have a few things... not from my collection, but from that of a friend. He was released, but the books stayed. It's less the information that I miss and more the feeling and smell of the books. Being able to settle down with one of them, like catching up with an old friend. Even if they tell me the same story they have every time, it was comforting. I'm in the process of rebuilding. I still haven't been able to find anywhere where they sell novels and short stories, though. Everything seems to be non-fiction. Which I certainly appreciate! It's just not quite the same.

Oh, alchemy can be learned - it's a science, after all - but I'm afraid I haven't the knack for it. I can memorize diagrams and ingredient lists forever, but I can't seem to get it right. I don't really mind too much, though.