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.]

[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.

[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.]

[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.

[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 ]

[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. ]

[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?

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]

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) ]

[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,, ]

[midnightcowboy]

[He nods-- well, it could've been fifty-seven maybe? He lost track after fifty-four for one reason or another but that's not worth getting into.

He steps back a bit to give Basil more landing room for his descent-- not that he's really concerned about being too much in the way, but it's the principle of the thing.]

What, you're tellin' me you're the only mouse around here?

[Where there's one there's many, usually, but he's not rude enough to just point that out outright. Then again this place has a way of pulling people away from whoever they were around before, so if this guy's been here long enough... yeah, he guesses it could've been a while.

Jed glances at the book at the same time Basil does, looking back and forth between the two a couple of times before deciding he can shrug if off this time. If he took wild offense to every time somebody acted before looking down then he'd have a hard time getting on friendly terms with anyone at all.]

Nah, don't worry about it none. Had closer calls than that plenty'a times before, rodentia. Lot of folks don't even bother to apologize, so you're already doin' better than most.

[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.

[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.]

[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]

[ ...

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? ]

[not_over_yet]

Mm, far as I'm aware. It's rather tiresome--for instance, my current residence is completely human-scaled. [ Er, ] The larger ones.

[ Finally at a height he can safely drop from, he does so, landing on his (two) feet. Now that he can see this tiny-human, up close... hm. ]

Can't say you look nigh-sixty.

[ "What are you" is not the most socially-acceptable question. Basil glances at the book and back, considering. Hmmmmm... He did kinda just now nearly kill the guy, buuuuut the guy is also taking that pretty well. ..."The guy"--ok almost-manslaughter definitely merits introductions before further questioning.

Slight bow: ] Basil Facilier. Did you arrive with intent, or one of these? [ Motions to his own magicband (which is alternating stripes of pink and vivid violet, it's. not great,,) ]

[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 ]

[midnightcowboy]

Sixty? Nah, I'm supposed to be thirty-two. Least I'm pretty sure. [Age gets. Weird.] And it sounds like you'n I've got the same problem, Laredo. Not impressed with the housing here.

[On one hand he can grudgingly accept that they clearly weren't expecting to have to deal with this problem but. On the other hand. They should have been expecting it. He's been half-tempted to just build his own house out in the park but nobody ever watches where they step.]

One'a those. [He holds up his own magicband to confirm, and even though he hates the damn thing after seeing the colors on Basil's it's. Suddenly not as bad.] Not sure why they can scale these things proper but they can't build a damn house the right size.

[He just shakes his head, brushing the concern off for the moment as he holds out his hand. Do mice even shake hands... he's suddenly not sure but either way that's how you do greetings properly, so.]

Anyway. Jedediah Smith, late'a New York.

[marryapanther]

You could at least have enough sense to check who might be below you before you send books down on their tail. You nearly crushed my skull with one of these.

Why can't you just read the damn things up there? Would save you the whole process of knocking them down.

[tacticalespionageaction]

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

You just missed me.

[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.]

[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?