Lockdown Brings out Old muses

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

[ooc: his current timeline is pre-"Final Problem", also rusty muse is rusty, apologies.]

There's a new person in the Nexus today. A very confused new person, who isn't sure exactly how he got here. Could be drugs. No, it can't be drugs. He has been more or less in lockdown during his detox, unable to access any drugs of any kind. John isn't even allowing him paracetamol right now. Which makes his detox headaches nearly too much to handle. Maybe that's what this place is...

Could be his mind palace, though it has never appeared like this before. He shakes his head to clear it of that idea.

He looks around, with complete confusion on his features. He reads the signs and takes in the population wandering around. None of it really takes away the confusion upon his features. He's not sure how to react to the information he's being flooded with...

His lips twitch as a song comes to mind. Lestrade had been the last person he remembered 'babysitting' him. He had brought a collection of music for them to listen to, so they could pass the time. So, one of those lyrics came to mind "Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?"

Comments

[royalastronomer]

"New here, I take it? You aren't the only one to get lost, between us. This place is a damned labyrinth."

Sherlock is approached by a middle-aged man in a top hat and a shock of blond hair. Sir Timothy Stent looks the other gentleman up, then down. Well. He isn't quite sure what to make of this stranger. Clothing style's unfamiliar, but pretty much everyone he's seen in the Nexus is some flavor of strange.

As for Stent, he's wearing Edwardian clothes, and the style and grooming indicates the man is quite well-off. Or he was. Stent's unemployed in the Nexus, and he figures his position as Astronomer Royal back home means next to nothing here. At least he's not the only one who's lost. This man's even more lost than he is.

"Now, what to do. I believe the standard procedure here is to see Captain Rogers' announcement, though this should do the trick if you missed it." Stent rummages in his coat, drawing out his pamphlet and offering it to the newcomer. "It'll explain the basics. Not much in the way of rules here, for better and for worse."

He takes off his hat and formally introduces himself.

"Sir Timothy Stent, formerly Astronomer Royal at Greenwich Observatory."

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

[Also, forgive the crap icons, this used to be a paid account and of course, the good icons aren't the ones that remain active :(]

Sherlock is wearing his traditional Belstaff coat, and his black jacket, trousers, and a white shirt with the top buttons undone.

He tries to be patient. He really does. But fine. He accepts the pamphlet, though he's already read it from others. Wait. Manners. He's been getting better with those. "Sherlock Holmes."

He doesn't offer his hand just yet, mostly because he's never been impressed with titles. Those are earned in his mind, and people need to prove to him they've earned them. He holds up the pamphlet. "Yes, I read it. And the announcement. But if you have an exceptionally brilliant mind, such things can easily be invented. And doesn't really help with the question."

He knows from experience, his mind will protect him as much as possible.

He looks the other man up and down, trying to take in as much information as he can. It's sadly not as much as he's used to. He doesn't know if that's an effect of whatever is going on, or because the man is trying to be something he's not. He needs more data. He latches on to the only piece of information that might give him a better clue to this place. "Formerly. In what way are you former?"

Could be retired. Could be death. Could be something about this place. He doesn't know. He has to ask. He hates having to ask.

[royalastronomer]

"Mr. Holmes. Well met." Stent notices the lack of handshake, but holds back on commenting on Holmes's manners.

The name means nothing to Stent, though he's sure his name means nothing to the other man, either. He figures he'll just have to get used to not being heard of. There may be advantages to his obscurity here later, but for now it represents a loss of pride. As if he hasn't had quite enough of that. He worked hard for his position as the youngest Astronomer Royal in history, the protege of Jean Lavelle.

His pride may be all he has left at this point, so he's clinging to it.

"In my universe, there was a Martian invasion, 1900. I was present when the creatures' craft first landed in Surrey, and led a small diplomatic team to attempt communication with them. They turned their weapons on us without warning, and we were killed."

He assumes that the people of England would have bigger priorities than appointing his successor. One probably came up eventually, and Stent's vaguely curious about who it was. But, like them, he has other matters at hand as a new arrival himself, like getting settled and seeing if there's a place for astronomers here. Unfortunately, he doesn't have as much in the way of practical skills.

"I didn't hold the position for long, only a few years. My predecessor was Sir George Airey, though given the whole multiverse issue one or both of us may not have existed in your universe at all."

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

Sherlock's expression gets more and more confused as the man continues to speak. On the one hand, he read the information. He thought it was ridiculous. But this? This is right out. Not anywhere near his scope of comprehension. But then, he doesn't really understand the solar system or astronomy. So, being in this place is so far out of his depth he thinks it's drugs. More likely than his mind palace at this point.

"Several George Aireys have existed in.... my... universe."

He's going to have to get used to this language. Dull.

"But if we aren't from the same universe, and by your comment about martians, we aren't, name dropping is hardly helpful. How do I know that this place is real?"

[skeksisheretic]

This wouldn't be the first time skekGra the Heretic encountered a wanderer somewhere in the Nexus. The Skeksis smiles when he sees a human stranger, showing pointy teeth. He's well-familiar with human beings by now, though there's still the touch of the alien when he talks to them. They aren't from either his original home planet or his adopted one.

"Hello!" He waves a clawed hand, though he doesn't approach the stranger. Most humans he's encountered have been unfamiliar with Skeksis. "New to the Nexus, I'd guess? Welcome, welcome!" The Heretic's tail is twitching with excitement behind his ragged clothes. He loves meeting new people and helping them learn about this place. It's something that gives him purpose here.

The presence of a giant scaly bird-creature probably won't help Sherlock determine whether the Nexus is real or not, but skekGra decides to try and be friendly anyway. He does enjoy taking it on himself to greet newcomers.

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

Sherlock has no idea what he is looking at. So much so that he backs up and as he does so, he trips over his own feet. Falling on his back - and not hitting his head - he holds his hands up in a defensive move.

"D-don't hurt me..."

[skeksisheretic]

"Hurt you?" skekGra is confused for a moment, then steps back. He holds his clawed hands out to show the human he's unarmed. "No, no, no. Please, don't be afraid. I've got no intention of doing any such thing."

Yes, this human was definitely unfamiliar with Skeksis. He's not very good at calming people down. That's urGoh's job, and he's never there when skekGra needs him.

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

"You have claws and a beak. Weapons enough if wielded properly."

Which is all Sherlock is seeing right now. Logic kind of goes out the window when he isn't sure if he's high or in his Mind Palace.

[sohoangel]

The wording of the question is what catches the attention of the soft-looking man in the cream jacket. Aziraphale has heard that somewhere before, hasn't he...?

"The Nexus is quite real, I can assure you," he replies, smiling politely at the stranger. "But it is certainly a lot to take in, especially if you are new here. Have you read the pamphlets?"

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

Sherlock just gives the man The Look. "Of course I have. I'm not an idiot."

He's very prickly when he doesn't know or understand something.

"How do you know it's real?"

[sohoangel]

"I wasn't implying that you were," Aziraphale replies mildly. "I simply thought it appropriate to ask."

He folds his hands in front of him and tilts his head like a confused dog. "Uh... because it feels real?" Realizing that's not much of an answer, he adds, "I don't sleep, and I can't go mad, so this isn't a dream or a hallucination. And I have taken things from here back to my own world, so I suppose that serves as sufficient proof, if I were truly doubting my senses."

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

Sherlock scowls. "That proves nothing. In fact, that is more proof that this place isn't real."

Sherlock never needed sleep in his Mind Palace. And his that combined with drugs was always a hallucination or a dream.

[delphicbooksandbaubles]

Aal's ears perk up ooh, Bohemian Rhapsody but yes quite fitting for the Nexus. She softly coughs trying to swallow the slightly bemused sound. As she finds the wording choice so..not.Her face instantly softens..Just cause someone looks like an old dear friend does not mean..She reminds herself. Even a smidgen of happiness warms her heart. Especially hereabouts.

"Ello," She murmurs in a friendly tone. She does her best to help new folks out when she can etc as it is. She does her best to try and keep the wistfulness out of her face. She scents the air subtlely, this wasn't Squeaky..no scents of mouse for one thing. She'd met Dopples before. But he definitely reminds her a little of when she first met 'William 'Basil' Scott' Back in the day.

"Might I be of assistance?" She murmurs making sure not to get too close but least within handshake distance if he was so inclined.

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

Sherlock turns to the person speaking. He's now completely unsure of everything in this place. It's like his confusion over the imaginary woman he created to be Faith Smith. Which doesn't help him to decide if this is reality or not.

"I don't know. Can you prove this place is real?"

[delphicbooksandbaubles]

She hums softly. "Well have you tried pinching yourself yet?" She asks softly. "There's ah something to do with the unconscious and pain aye?" She half asks half states. If he's some variant of any Holmes he should be smart as a whip...Though whether or not he has a 'Watson' yet she's not certain. But Logically was probably the best way to help him work his way toward a solution.

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

In a frustrated manner, he runs his hands through his hair. "That hardly helps. Even in dreams, pain can manifest into reality."

That was something he learnt during his two years dismantling Moriarty's Network... and in the time when he returned. Those dark nights he never mentioned to John.

I'm so sorry, Sherlock.

[outrageous_liar]

"There's a difference?"

Have a gander at a seemingly extremely elderly old man, tottering towards him on a cane. He'd seen someone else appear, and that smelled of potential adventure to him. Thus, here he was.

"Welcome, lad, and don't worry about anything. It's all delightful nonsense here."

given it's been years since we RP'd any of our muses together, not sure I care :P

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

Sherlock raises an eyebrow. And pauses a long while before he replies. "Of course there's a difference."

His features settle into a near frown. "There's nothing delightful about nonsense. I never liked the Adventures of Alice in Wonderland."

At this point, he's decided to just give up on trying to do deductions. If he's in his Mind Palace, it's gone wrong and it will take an outside force to fix it.

Well so long as me showing up again is a positive thing for you, what happens to him is.... :P

[outrageous_liar]

"Feh!" is all the Baron musters up in response to that, waving it away as just plain wrong.

"Oh, you're one of those, are you? All about reason and logic and...and...railroad timetables! Balderdash, the lot of it!"

[wannabedisney]

🎵 Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality~ 🎵

(Did Sherlock expect someone near by to sing out the next lyric? Maybe, maybe not. But Charlie here is a theater person. So much so that she believes the best way for her to express herself is through song. One of the things he will definitely notice about her is her height. Charlie is almost six foot due to well, she is a demon. And all the demons in her world/Hell are massive in height.)

(Despite it, she is all smiles as she skips over to him. Her hands are behind her back; fingers entwine together as she hums the lyrics.)

Hey there! -- That's a pretty good song choice!

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

[No. He didn't. Hadn't even sung it. Didn't quite know where the words came from, well not completely. He has to delete some things. But even then, some break through.]

I... wasn't singing.

[wannabedisney]

Oh, I know! ...Wait, did I spook you just now? Gosh, I'm sorry!!

(She really should remember that there are humans here and one might not be use to voodoo or dark magic. So clearing her throat, Charlie tries to take a few steps back in this conversation.)

A-Annnnyywaay, are you new here? -- I don't think I've seen you around before.

[andshesaid_i_amnotapuppet]

"Are you writing a song?"

A teen anthropomorphic duck girl asks, midly curious.

"Could use some work. Unless you've just gotten started."

[highfunctioning_sociopath]

“No. I’m singing a song that....”

He backs away. Because this is worse than an acid trip. He’s about to turn and run. He hadn’t even done any drugs that he could remember. Not since Culverton had been caught. This wasn’t fair.

“What are you?”

Poor Sherlock, but I just had to. XD Also. Yay, Sherlock! I'm watching season 2 for first time :)

[andshesaid_i_amnotapuppet]

"I'm a duck. Duh."

But then Lena reconsiders. It's only in Nexus that she's met humans. Never before. Maybe this human man's never met a duck before in his life?

"Sorry, this place is a weird as the Shadow Realm sometimes, almost, I know. I'm a girl. And, as said, a duck. And you're a human guy. Right?"

If this is the first time the guy's seen a duck, she's not gonna stay irritated with him for no reason. Of course. So she smiles.