Sarissa (ladyofsummer) wrote in saveatlantisic, @ 2017-05-29 18:18:00 |
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Entry tags: | jess mariano, sarissa |
WHO: Jess Mariano and Sarissa
WHERE: Library
WHEN: Before the Divergent plot
WHAT: Nerding out over books
RATING: G
STATUS: log; completed
Sarissa had intended to visit the library and meet Jess a few weeks ago, but between the face-changing and the loss of her powers, she'd been too caught up to get out much. It had taken her a few days to recover from getting the Mantle’s powers back. Being a human had been so refreshingly uncomplicated without the Mantle’s subtle influence, and getting it back made her realize just how much extra weight she was carrying. There was nothing for it, however. Unless the Atlantean magic took the Mantle away from her permanently, she was stuck with it. She'd just have to learn how to live with it. And that meant not letting it keep her from doing things she actually liked, like going to the library to check out the books. Sarissa had been an avid reader ever since books had books had stopped being the exclusive domain of the church, and Atlantis’s access to books from all worlds had opened up options she'd never known existed. It was a little overwhelming at times, which was why knowing a librarian was handy. She found Jess behind the librarian’s desk, identified by his name plate, and offered him a smile. “Good morning. Are you Jess? I'm Sarissa; we talked on the network a few weeks back.” When she'd been just a Changeling, she had been quite pretty. Now, as the Summer Lady, she held the warmth and brightness of sunshine in her. *** He weirdly hadn’t known about her before he’d met her. He’d considered reading her story but felt that maybe it would be rude to do that. His opinion of people watching that show and knowing his history was that it was more trouble than it was worth. He couldn’t begrudge people that had already watched it but he wished he could lock it away for 90% of the time. Why care about that after all when he had this library. Full of everything. Everything he could have considered, fiction, non fiction and everything in between. He was reading again, feet casually resting against the desk when Sarissa arrived. He sat up with a nod before he noticed it. She wasn’t just pretty, she was...something otherworldly. There was practically a summer's day in her gaze and it took him a moment to work out what to do with that. In the end he decided to focus on the books. “I’m Jess.” he confirmed, figuring words might help. She’d wanted to look around the library and he was more than willing to help with that.It was his actual job after all, and he loved it. “Any ideas where you’d want to begin here?” he asked, gesturing to the rooms ahead, all choc full of books *** “You said you'd show me some of your favourite books?” Sarissa asked. “There's so much out there available to be read, I rely on recommendations to keep my to-read list manageable.” Her gaze moved past him to look towards the rooms full of books. Even in the NeverNever, she'd never seen anything like it. “It's hard to know where to even start.” *** He was always happy to give reading advice and showing off the library made him weirdly happy. And he’d been writing again. He loved it here. “See that’s a problem. Manageable reading lists. Not sure I understand the concept.” he said with a smile, getting to his feet and gesturing toward the books. “Pick a genre. Or a century, or a theme. We’ll find something you like” *** “Oh good lord.” She peered down the rows, which seemed to go on forever. It was exciting, actually. The thing with being alive when most of the classics were written was that...well, she’d read them all. But this library had books from all worlds, not just hers. “How about something not from Earth?” she asked. “I’ve never ventured into those ones before.” *** Not from Earth. “You know a while ago I would have had no idea what to do with that sentence, this place kind of grows on you huh? But yeah, okay, not earth.” He led her down a few aisles. So many books, so many genres. And different worlds. He found himself reading some of the Babylon 5 stuff weirdly the Narn wrote some pretty good stuff. He found holding it out to her. “This race were occupied, twice. They’ve had a hard time of it but they wrote some pretty amazing poetry” he said. “It’s definitely somewhere to start outside earth. One of my favourites and I only found it by chance. Give it a try” *** “Nothing like hardship and oppression to bring out a group’s emotional resonance and cultural identity,” Sarissa murmured as she reviewed the spines of the books. She shouldn’t have been surprised that many of them had been translated from their original language, but she was still pleased to see it. “Thank you,” she said, picking one off the shelf at random. She showed it to him. “Have you read this one?” *** “It’s true in any civilisation. And horrible as it is it's where the best work comes from. The things they write...doesn’t matter the culture, you find the same themes.” He glanced at the book she’d picked up. “I did. This one and that should keep you going for a little while. They’re a fascinating people. I think you’ll enjoy it. After that I’ll show you stuff by the occupying race. It’s pretty powerful to read them together.” *** “Then I’d better read fast,” Sarissa said, already looking forward to reading the opposing view. He was right: being able to read tracts from both sides would be a fascinating venture. Everyone wrote from their own perspective and usually tried to make themselves look better; the truth was usually some variation on their accounts. “What was it about this particular culture that got your attention?” *** Jess had been impressed with the Narn since watching and denying he watched the show as a teenager. Didn't match the attitude problem he'd honed to a fine art back then “They stayed true to themselves. Kept their culture alive through the worst times. And they fought back. Never capitulated. I guess I admire that” He smiled “Glad I could find something you liked” *** Sarissa nodded thoughtfully. “There’s definitely something admirable about an indomitable spirit.” She lifted the book to him in a sort of salute. “I’ll get started on this and let you know when I’m done. Thanks for the recommendation.” He nodded, “I want to know what you think about it when you’re done, and when you compare them. Like a little book club. Which is the nerdiest thing I’ve said in a while so...y’know…” He turned back toward the desk. “Let me check that out for you?” |