[Open] At the top of your game, keep on rolling

[astudyinviolet]

Who: Sherlock Holmes and others
Status: Open
Where: Eltrut, MANTRA Board locations
What: Catch all for Sherlock this month: forcing Sherlock to deal with his inability to sleep, coping with a sudden gay awakening (see: Alhaitham's survey chaos); MANTA Board quests: A Wishing Tree, The Haunting of Forgotten Cay, Bashful Bunnies, Crab Curry
Warnings: potential talking about Cthulhu-esque night terrors and drowning, Sherlock's horrible sleeping habits, second-hand embarrassment over this boy

What I would give for a dreamless night

[ Sherlock has not been sleeping. He's exhausted, and yet he pushes himself. Every attempt to sleep soon turns to tossing and turning, muttering and whimpering. He can't stop having nightmares related to his last case which startle him awake, terrified. So... his solution has been to avoid sleeping as much as possible. Consuming untold amounts of coffee can only do so much. His body has needed rest since before arriving in this world. The redness around his eyes can't get anymore pronounced. He's past the limit a baby burgeoning consulting detective can have. In the following days, Sherlock can be found completely passed out in various locations such as:

• hunched over a cafe table with a cup of coffee beside him
• on the ground beside a set of strange footprints with magnifying glass in hand
• walking down the street and then collapsing mid-stride without warning

Despite the location, it soon becomes clear that his sleep is anything but peaceful and restorative. Sherlock needs outside intervention because he cannot carry on like this without serious consequence. ]

Knowledge of Love and Romance - Nil

[ Never did Sherlock think that answering a survey would cause him to question a part of himself he never thought to or had to question. He is a man of science, of logic and reason. He's been raised to suppress his emotions. Women never held any attraction to him, so he was supposed to be free of this perceived folly and danger. (Love can truly drive someone to madness. He's seen it.)

It's almost comical how thrown off he is over the idea that he can harbor those softer emotions towards another. Sherlock's friendship with John Watson is unprecedented for him already. To discover that he doesn't reject the possibility of attraction to the man and the strange feeling in his chest leaves him feeling lost without a guide or anyone to turn to. As such, Sherlock turns to the only resource he can think of: books.

He's incredibly flustered and embarrassed to be caught with romantic materials when he has been so critical about them and romance in the past. These aren't even risque stories, poetry, or plays. Regardless, Sherlock pulls his deerstalker cap low in a failed attempt to hide flushed cheeks and perhaps hide in general without sacrificing one of his disguises over this. He purchases a number of books at once and hopes that the more romantic titles are hidden among the more scientific ones. Catch him fidgeting at the shelves, maybe bump into him on his way to his residence and send books sprawling across the ground, or just wonder what is up with this 23-year-old acting like a teenager. ]

MANTA Board

General: A Wishing Tree

[ Sherlock isn't interested in the reward or even the legend of unbreakable vows. He has no friend or lover with him. (He still can't believe he's not wholly unaffected by those emotions.) Instead, he's studying the blossoms of this tree, sketching the flowers in various stages of opening, and sampling a petal or a bit of pollen to study under better light later. Maybe tell him to leave and let the couples share their promises. Or join in for science? ]

General: The Haunting of Forgotten Cay

[ Who gets lost reading all the waterlogged pages scattered about? This guy. Sherlock carefully navigates his way over the treacherous landscape, giving wide berths to any open water. The air is heavy, and he's fighting the feeling of déjà vu he gets from the scenery. Had there been a lighthouse, Sherlock would have considered staying on the ship. But this is just a haunted island, supposedly. ]

Have you found anything yet?

Bounties: Bashful Bunnies

[ Upon realizing just what the bounty was for, Sherlock's motivation has changed. He's fond of bees. These are bee and bunny hybrids. They need to be saved, not treated as pests. Since then, he's been locating the nests but not following through with dispelling them. ]

There must be an alternative to banishing these creatures. They are merely trying to find a home.

[ He sits on the ground in front of a nest, quietly with his casebook open. Is he trying to sketch one? He may be. ]

Special: Crab Curry

[ Sherlock is helping to rescue the baby crabs by climbing up Norhpip's shell, but everything from his expression to his posture hints at how upset he is at the reasons for being back on Norhpip. Nothing like having one's efforts go to waste because certain people failed to stop and think about what they were doing before speaking. He's completely civil towards the crabs, but he's not suffering any fools. He spots one crab over a ledge above where they currently are. ]

I'll go for that one. Stay here and watch over the rest.

Wildcard

[ Want to do something else? Write a prompt or drop me a line at Sherry's journal, aviekokyre, Discord @ aviekokyre, or his plotting comment, and we can plot something out. ]

Comments

[emet_sulk]

[ He, of course, fully expects this man to be oblivious to the connotations of being presented with a bouquet but it doesn't make it less humorous. After surrendering the flowers, he sits upon a large, raised root and observes their work for a little while. ]

I wonder if I should have pulled them out roots and all as well. Some could have medicinal properties.

[astudyinviolet]

[ Science > that silly things like potential flirtations from a man he just met. ]

That will have to be another study, perhaps by someone with more of a medical background. Regardless, I think were we to undergo such a study at the present time, we would be barred from even gathering those samples. This is a less evasive intrusion to the festivities.

[ And even then, some may argue it is too much of one. ]

[emet_sulk]

Oh, I don't know - a few of them have been giving you the most terrible scowls. I presume for maintaining an oblivious presence during their most ardent declarations of love and loyalty.

[ He glances at one such couple now, who quickly look away. ]

evasive =/= invasive, self

[astudyinviolet]

They should be happy that I've shown the restraint I have.

[ Sherlock at least tries to look at the flowers when people are not in the immediate area. If they move to where he is as he's looking at them, then that is their problem. He was there first. ]

However, they will soon be happier as the dwindling light means I won't be able to continue with my observations in much the same way.

I understood what you meant :P

[emet_sulk]

I could leave you with a small light.

[ He snaps his fingers and a gently glowing ball of light appears between them, hovering just slightly above Sherlock's head.

Does he care that this is even more intrusive to the couples? No. ]

<3

[astudyinviolet]

That's kind of you.

[ That is a convenient trick. Sherlock's snaps help him visualize recreations of crime scenes and to think, but this is practical in its own right. ]

I have a hypothesis that the increase in bee rabbits is linked to the prolific blooms around Eltrut. You've seen the bounty for the creatures, have you not? They would not be in the area presently with this much commotion, but that does not eliminate the possibility they are still connected.

sorry for the wait!!

[emet_sulk]

[ It's unclear whether Emet-Selch snaps his fingers for the same reason or simply for dramatic effect - perhaps it's both. Perhaps, after all this time, it's now simply an ingrained habit. ]

The rabbits... Ah, those.

[ A 'bee rabbit' had sounded like some cursed creation one of his people might have come up with once upon a time. He struggles to imagine how the combination is beneficial. Perhaps the intent was that the speed of the rabbit helped in taking the bee away from predators...? ]

I couldn't say for sure but rabbits are prolific by nature, aye? If anything, the pollinators should be the ones influencing the blooms, not the other way around.

Likewise

[astudyinviolet]

[ Sherlock might focus on the bee aspect more than the rabbit aspect. Do the bee rabbits have a queen? Are their nests intended to function like miniature hives? He has so many questions he wants to study and answer. ]

Exactly, there has been increase in the flower blooms, and the bee rabbits have shown to enjoy eating flowers and sweet pollen. They are pollinators. As such, the bounty may harm the very thing they are celebrating now.

[ However, he needs data to know for sure. ]

[emet_sulk]

Then I suppose your next point of research ought to be finding their hive. Or nest.

[ Which is more effort than he wants to expend tonight but he would be curious as to the results. ]

Anything else you would like a hand with? Or shall I leave you to it?

[astudyinviolet]

I have located a number of their nests and am part of a small effort in relocating them to a safe haven.

[ So if the worse comes to pass with many people carrying out the bounty, then at least there will still be some of the bee bunnies somewhere. ]

I won't keep you if you have other things to attend to. I believe I have things here and will leave shortly myself.

[ If only because he doesn't want one of these couples to take enough offense to his presence that he risks losing the samples they have gathered. ]

[emet_sulk]

[ Interesting. He wonders if the crew's professor is amongst the relocation effort given their affinity for animals. ]

Alright. Smother the light when you're done and it will disappear.

[ It wouldn't do to have it hanging indefinitely, right? Emet-Selch gives a lazy, limp-wristed wave over his shoulder as he turns away. He takes only a few steps before literally vanishing from sight. As if by magic. ]

[astudyinviolet]

Smother? What do you mean--

[ The man is gone. Just like that. Sherlock stares at the place where he had been, hoping that he had indeed seen a man there. ]

...

[ This now seems as good of a spot as any to end for the night because Sherlock is just going to do his best not second-guess himself. ]