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]

Oh dear. That's a scary thought. What sort of memory loss?

There always is.

[animator]

General knowledge didn't seem to be effected, but all personal memories? Gone. It was temporary, but still.

[burlap]

What happened? Did you do okay with it?

[animator]

I managed. Someone who hadn't been effected was able to tell me my name, at least, and there were no lasting side-effects. Nobody is sure what caused it, but island-wide events like that happen all the time, apparently.

Can't wait for the next one.

[burlap]

What a horribly exciting place I've wound up in.

[animator]

You probably won't be bored for long in this place, that's for damn sure.

[burlap]

I would hate to get bored.

[animator]

Yeah. You kind of strike me as that type.

Something about the speech pattern. Analytic. Reminds me a little of someone.

[burlap]

Really? Who?
I'm usually told I speak like a doctor.

[animator]

Someone I occasionally work with through the police department, named Holmes. Brilliant mind.

Are you a doctor?

[burlap]

Brilliant Holmes. Well then I'll take it as a compliment. Are you an officer?

I am.

[animator]

I'm an officer here, anyway. Back home, I'm just on retainer. Anita Blake, preternatural specialist.

What kind of doctor?

[burlap]

Prenatural specialization fits right at home here, doesn't it? Nice to meet you, Miss Blake.

Psychologist.

[animator]

Ms. Blake, if you don't mind.

It serves me well. I haven't had to put it to use as much as I would at home, but it still comes in handy now and then.

Really? I'm sure there will be plenty to interest you in this place, then.

[burlap]

It's a useful skill to have, in any case.

I wouldn't doubt that. The situation is very unique.

[animator]

All sorts of people to analyze.

You don't seem at all surprised about the preternatural part. Aside from being yanked into a whole new world, any experience with that kind of thing?

[burlap]

Don't assume I'm going to go analyzing everyone I meant now.

Like you said, it seems to suit you. Me? No. Reasoning by patients goes in that direction sometimes.

[animator]

Oh, I won't. That just sounds exhausting, honestly.

I couldn't help being curious. With so many different people here, it's always interesting to hear about what our places of origin do and don't have in common. Some people are shocked to hear about the existence of zombies or magic, for others, it's all old hat.

[burlap]

It really is.

Have you ever run into a zombie?

[animator]

I raise them for a living. Or I did.

[burlap]

That's fascinating. Truly. Which kind of zombie? Did they listen to you?

[animator]

They do. Usually they're used for legal reasons, or because a client wants a last chance to say goodbye to a loved one. It's a great way to solve a contested will or something of that nature. They retain their memories, so as long as you ask them very specific questions, they can usually answer. Sometimes they can testify in court, but that's tricky.

Murder victims and magic users are no-go, though. They need to stay in the ground.

[burlap]

What other sort of beings do you deal with?

Why not them?

[animator]

Vampires, lycanthropes, ghouls, spirits, you name it, I've probably seen it. I'm the licensed vampire executioner for St. Louis, though that doesn't mean much here.

Murder victims usually just freak out when you raise them and go on a rampage, aiming directly for the person who killed them. They're almost impossible to control, and people always get hurt. It would be nice if they could be raised and simply point out their killer, but it's inhumane to try, in my opinion. If you raise a magic user, specifically another animator, they rise as a flesh-eating zombie that can't be controlled, even by the most powerful necromancers. They have too much power of their own.

[burlap]

Does anything mean much here? Credentials would be difficult to come by, wouldn't they?

How interesting. Can anyone learn to do these things or just you?