tell him about Holmes-Lore

[not_over_yet]

Who: Basil and whoever, perhaps you?
What: researching some fictional detective or other
Where: Progress City Library
When: throughout June
Warnings: n/a, will update if needed

[ Ever since Plankton got himself kicked out of office, Basil's been spending a lot of time at the city library. Basil seems to be doing research--in the fiction section of all things.

Sometimes he can be found reading through a human-sized book that's ended up on the floor somehow. He has to walk across the pages to read them fully, but he's fairly adept at turning them despite the scale issues. Other times he can be found climbing up and down the shelves, looking for a new one--if you're tall enough to reach the one he wants, he might ask for assistance getting it down. Or maybe you're really unlucky and he's decided to shove the thing off the shelf on his own--look out below!

Taking a closer look at any of his selected books might notice a theme.

...Yeah, they're all about Sherlock Holmes. ]

Comments

[tacticalespionageaction]

[!]

[Just in the nick of time, Snake rolls out of the way of the falling book, landing into a crouch.]

Hrmh?

[He looks to the book, and then around the shelves for any sign of his assailant.]

[not_over_yet]

[ There's a mouse looking out from between the shelf's other books. ]

...Were you hit or merely startled?

[ how much of an apology is called for here ]

[tacticalespionageaction]

[That's a talking mouse. Okay. Sure.]

You just missed me.

[standingonmyneck]

[There was still a lot of Librarian blood in Daria as she spent so much free time in the library. Daria would spend her time not necessarily being talkative to any patrons but she would eye books people were reading as she stacked them to get a good idea of what they were there for. It helped a lot if people were to ask for help.

Daria had to keep herself from working at the library, instead just removing books she wanted to read and putting them on her desk. Her pile was getting higher and higher.

It would be then she would notice the mouse. The mouse was reading all of this Sherlock Holmes. That was when her Reflex kicked in. She was taller than him, short for a human. Yet she was able to reach up and nab Hound of the Baskervilles.]

If it's good ol' Doyle you want, this is a good one.

[not_over_yet]

[ Just. Activates one of his cards and reaches out. Clearly expects her to hand him a book bigger than he is. ]

Does that one feature Holmes as well? This Doyle fellow does seem a bit focused, but I'm researching something rather specific at the moment.

[ ...Not like ties between those two names would qualify as more than superficial or anything. ]

[standingonmyneck]

Doyle is the author so if it’s written by him then yes, lots of Holmes.

[She got you, she handed him the book.]

[not_over_yet]

"The author."

[ That's an odd way of putting things, to his mind. He considers the point while he somewhat awkwardly carries the book out of the direct line of traffic and off to the side. (Even with card-granted super-strength, maneuvering objects much larger than yourself is. difficult.) He sets the book down in the first acceptably not-underfoot spot on the floor he comes to, and turns back to Daria. ]

He's not the only fellow to have written about Holmes. I take it he... was the first to do so? [ She probably means "he's the creator", but it's--ok maybe he should just explain the problem with that idea. ] I'm currently looking into the matter of someone existing in some worlds as a fictional entity, and in others as--well, not fictional at all. I've encountered differences between worlds before, certainly, but not to this degree.

[midnightcowboy]

[It's rare that Jedediah actually bothers with libraries. They had access to archives in the museum, of course, but the effort involved was never exactly worth it. Even today he's mostly just looking around for the sake of scouting things out rather than actually bothering with retrieving any books-- which works out in his favor, as it turns out, because it means he's paying enough attention to know well in advance when there's a falling book he has to get out of the way of.

It misses him by a good six inches or so, but that doesn't exactly mean he's happy about it, or that he doesn't intend to make his offense known. Taking his hat off to wave it up at the shelves, he cups his free hand around his mouth in order to better project his voice as he shouts.]

Hey! HEY! Watch where you're throwin' those things!

[Sure, he understands having to get a book down from a high place to read it, but they'd always used one of those complicated pulley systems the Romans were so fond of-- no chance of accidentally crushing any of the other similarly stature-challenged exhibits that way.]

[not_over_yet]

[ A mouse sticks his head over the shelf edge, looking around at first but locating Jed pretty quickly. An apology does not immediately happen though. ]

...You're smaller than I am. [ It's been a good while since that's been the case, but. also.

Squints. ] Are you always this size, or...?

[ HUMANS ARE NOT THAT SMALL explain yourself at once ]

[midnightcowboy]

[he's figured out by now that the talking animals thing is just. A Thing That Happens Here but. what in the hell would a mouse wear clothes for-- you know what, never mind, it's not the strangest thing he's ever seen.

Either way, though, being immediately called out on his height is unappreciated.]

Sure am. That's mighty perceptive of ya, rodentia, most folks don't notice.

[Yes, he's absolutely being as sarcastic as possible (listen if the mouse is going to be rude enough to not apologize then he's earned the right to act the same). He leans back to better narrow his eyes at Basil, crossing his arms and shrugging.]

Have been for the past fifty-eight years or so. What's it matter?

[not_over_yet]

Fifty-eight...? [ More squinting, but the combination of distance and scale make it impossible to really judge the tiny-human's apparent age, so Basil heads back down the bookcase. ]

Been a while since I've seen anyone close to my scale... [ aaand stops right there, hanging off a shelf somewhat precariously as he double-checks the distance between said tiny-human and that book. ] ...which, ah.

[ Winces, resumes descent. ]

Bit of a close call, that, wasn't it. Dreadfully sorry--in my defense, it has been ages since that sort of thing mattered. [ (Basil it's been like two months) ]

[whatarenext]

[Mike is doing anything to avoid work so he guesses he has to go to the...book place. Sigh.

No one goes here or so he thinks when he's walking along and suddenly a book beans him on the head, causing a catastrophic collapse from Mike. This is weird given that he's wearing the bucket helmet still.

Suffice to say Mike is a moron and this could have been easily avoided.]

Oh my head bone.

[not_over_yet]

[ Damn, again? Basil quickly checks out the damage situation--but on comparing the human's size to the book's, and taking into account the headgear... Yeah, that should not have hurt to the extent of this reaction. Concern dispelled.

Basil starts the process of climbing back down the shelves. ] And would that be referring to your skull or the bucket?

Bit hungover, I take it.

[whatarenext]

[I'm sorry, what were you saying?

Mike is completely distracted by the fact there's a tiny mouse in a little Victorian outfit.]

Oh my god, someone dressed up a mouse in a cute little British outfit. It's like that episode of Star Trek where Data and Geordi act out that one detective guy in the holodeck.

[not_over_yet]

[ ...

Yknow what, fine. He gets this from sober humans, "drunk out of your mind" is at least AN excuse, nevermind its quality. ]

Mhm. That would be my own doing. [ Lets just. ignore that long string of gibberish at the end there. ] Are you merely still drunk, or did you manage to get into something stronger?

[ Sniffing the air, does the human smell like liquor? ]

look out!

[marryapanther]

[Bagheera still can't read. At most, he can recognize a few words thanks to Della, but overall a library isn't the type of place he'd normally spend his time.

But he has figured out that it is very quiet- blissfully so, in fact. Which is why Bagheera can occasionally be found napping on the floor in the library, curled up lying against one of the bookshelves, providing a very large obstacle to anyone trying to reach the authors on the bottom.

The first book startles him awake, slamming into the ground a few inches from his face. He tenses, his lips curling into a snarl, and before he can say a word, the second book crashes down on his tail.

Basil miiiiight be a little startled by the furious roar down below.]

[not_over_yet]

[ YUP DEFINITELY NOT EXPECTING ANY ROARS. Instinctive freezing cause mouse.

...Then pushing that instinct aside and sneaking forward to locate the source cause Basil,, ]

[marryapanther]

[Congratulations, Basil! If you peek your head down from the bookshelf you'll find a very angry panther glaring up, his eyes locking on at the first sign of movement. His tail lashes irritably.] What, exactly, are you doing up there, and why does it involve sending projectiles down upon me?

[not_over_yet]

[ HM. That sure is an enormous and angry cat staring right at him.

...

On the other, more important hand, how dare anyone be indignant at him. ]

Gathering books, what else would I be doing? Their size makes getting one off the shelf any other way rather PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE for me.

[ how dare you sir ]

[beakie]

[Beaker had just been planning on a nice, peaceful day in which he could actually accomplish some personal research. Working for Bill has him investing most of his time in Bill's research, which is...frankly, questionable at best. Beaker has been scanning the lower shelves for a book on mechanics when--]

MEEP?!

[If it weren't for the fact that his head was reinforced with corrugated cardboard and, like, an actual hand, the book would've probably smashed right through his skull. Rubbing the side of his head, Beaker stoops down to pick up the book. He squints at the title, then up at the empty spot between the books.]

[not_over_yet]

[ And soon that spot has a mouse looking back at Beaker, because what kind of a sound is "meep"?

...Ah. There's an. orange noodle. being-of-some-nature.

......Basil's certain that he's heard that meeping before though, when-- ] Weren't you hanging about Plankton during that mayoral debacle?

[ Granted, Basil hadn't paid much attention to Plankton--not before the fellow managed to win, somehow--but he's pretty sure there was more meeping in Plankton's vicinity than away from it. ...Does any of that really matter? At least insofar as to affect the specifics of an apology?

Hm.

He'll think it over a bit longer. Your move, noodly-meep-being. ]

[beakie]

[A mouse. Well, as long as he's not as tricky as Rizzo, Beaker should be fine with this. For some reason, mice tend to be more trustworthy than rats. Maybe it's a rodent society thing or something?]

Meep. Meep meemiimeep, meep meemoo meep meemiimeep.

[Beaker nods. He was there, yes, but only as a moderator. He had to run out halfway through the debate to check on something and ended up getting caught up in some work.

Beaker scratches the side of his head, frowning. Well, moreso than usual.]

Meep meemiimeep meemoo meep. Meep meemiimeep...meep moo.

[He's only hung out with Plankton whenever he drags him into becoming his employee, and those few incidents have been...well, unfortunate.]

[faciliheir]

-- Hey, I just bought this hat!

[mousedad your dumb book crushed her incredibly small haunted mansion mickey hat why this]

[not_over_yet]

[ ...whoops.

THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING A LOT LATELY?? but he kinda cares more automatically when it's his kid, which. iiiis probably just normal, lets not think too much about how and when his ability to care kicks in.

Mousedad appears, peeking down from a high shelf. ]

...I'll, er. get you another...? [ HOW MUCH TROUBLE IS HE IN ] Although, the hat aside, I must say it's good to see you again. It's been a while.

[ Quite a while. A good-two-months-or-so while. ]

When are you coming back?

[faciliheir]

It's good to see you, too. [and she allows herself a real smile in this moment of sincerity bc she feels like there won't be too many coming up with this.]

... I don't know. [shrugs slightly] I think I've figured out how I feel. Had enough time to think it over, at least. Now there's just the matter of actually telling her, and... that part is kinda scaring me.