Word Association

The Word Association was a metafictional aspect of the Land of Fiction. It was made of seven men with stuffed shirts, suits, umbrellas, and black bowler hats seated behind a semi-circular oak table, acting as a court.

They handled cases of individual characters based on their suspension from continuity, status as an active character, potential future circulation, and their use of language (if their book was intended for minors). If they were found to be no longer of interest, their audience bored, then the character's existence would no longer be countenanced. The character and any mention of them would be erased from all stories in which they participated, and this could be done retroactively so that they never existed in the first place.

The Master of the Land sent Ace to the Word Association to be erased, but she was able to concentrate hard enough and look past the unreality. (PROSE: Conundrum)