video!

[hellosirs]

[ Angus has the communicator set to video, but he hasn't realized it yet. Anyone watching this transmission will get a blurry close-up of his chin and bowtie as he fiddles with the weird little device, muttering to himself under his breath. ]

It's like a little scrying crystal... or like if a scrying crystal had a baby with a Stone of Farspeech. Huh.

Oh! It's on, I didn't-- Uh... Hello sirs and/or ma'ams!

[ He holds the communicator out at arm's length, straightens his bowtie and adjusts the collar of his sweatervest - yes, sweatervest, he's dressed like a tiny, old-fashioned nerd - and nods politely at the camera. Gotta be polite! ]

My name is Angus McDonald, and I am the World's Greatest Detective. Um... at least, I am where I'm from. I don't want to be presumptuous and assume that I'm the best one in the entire planar system, that'd be silly, but I'm the best one in my world. And I'm not being braggy, that would be rude, I'm just stating a fact.

Anyway, uh... it's nice to meet everyone, I guess I might be here for a little while. Has anybody heard of 'Haphazardous Home's Nellie Dunn's Detective Novels'? They want me to work there as an intern, and I like mystery novels, but I'd rather help solve real mysteries than help someone write stories about them.

[ How do you sign off on these things? Angus stares at the communicator for a few seconds, uncertain, and then gives a little wave. The arm that he's waving with has a large metal bracer on it that almost reaches his elbow. ]

... Thank you, goodbye!

Comments

video;

[helpline]

Dunno, the title of World's Greatest Detective might not be all that impressive depending on which world you're from.

[ he is 100% teasing, with a little grin on his face. ]

Nice bowtie, by the way.

Re: video;

[hellosirs]

Oh! Um... thank you? [ COMPLIMENTS? ON HIS NERDY FASHION?? WHAT IS THIS, he looks very confused! ]

That's a little rude to the other detectives back home, they're all very, very good at their jobs, and they work really hard!

video;

[helpline]

I'm a little rude to begin with, [ said with a little shrug. ] Still, glad to hear there are other detectives. You could technically be the World's Greatest Detective if your world only has one detective in the first place but I don't think it would actually count.

[shittywizard]

You're also world's okayest level one wizard, you forgot that part.

[ He's happy to see you, Ango, really, just roll with it. ]

[hellosirs]

[ LOOK AT HIS FACE LIGHT UP, HE IS SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU TAAKO. LIKE, EXCITED PUPPY LEVELS OF HAPPY!

... Ok, he's so happy and surprised that he kind of drops the communicator, and Taako gets a lurching view of Ango's ceiling, but he recovers pretty quickly and picks it back up again! ]

Taako! Hello sir! I didn't know you were here!

[shittywizard]

[ That's touching and sweet, gross. ]

Yeah, get this: I've been here for weeks already.

[airshow]

Man, where I come from the World's Greatest Detective is some dude who dresses up like a bat. You look way more on theme, if I do say so myself!

[hellosirs]

He... dresses up as a bat? Like in a bat-costume? While he's working? How does he go undercover?

[ This is confusing as hell, but Angus is gonna puzzle this one out! ]

Are bats even good at detecting stuff? I know owls are supposed to be super smart, but bats mostly eat bugs and have really good hearing.

[airshow]

I don't think he really goes undercover? He's pretty much always a huge man-sized bat. Between you and me, he's not even blind.

video

[burlyboy]

Hello, Angus!

[ There's some real enthusiastic waving to go with that great big boom of a welcome. ]

You're coming off as a little braggy.

[ HE'S HAPPY TO SEE YOU, HE SWEARS ]

[hellosirs]

Hello, sir!

[ Have some equally enthusiastic waving back! Ango hasn't figured out the video thing yet, so Magnus mostly gets Angus's palm blurring back and forth across the screen. ]

I didn't mean to, but I'm telling the truth! I tried to make sure that was clear!

[burlyboy]

You know, that could count as just bragging even more. But come to think of it... why wouldn't you want to help out with this whole detective novel stuff? Aren't those, like, your favourite things?

Video;

[snarkbot]

[ That sure is a small, gold robot. He's not super keen on children but he does spend a lot of time on the internet. ]

I believe "Haphazardous Home's Nellie Dunn" has a small but active online fandom consisting of at least two hundred works of fanfiction, several dedicated rumblrs and a handful of dedicated fanartists. You could use the fanbase and your position as intern as leverage in order to gain a network of informants, albeit 80% in the 8-26 age range.

[hellosirs]

[ Hey, one of his favourite co-workers is a big ol' robot! Robots are neat, he's never seen one so small! ]

Um... Thank you, sir, that's very informative! But... I'm not sure what a fandom or a fanfiction or a rumbler is? Or what on-line means? Like a clothesline?

[snarkbot]

[ Long pause. It seems almost irresponsible to explain, but irresponsible not to explain. ]

"Online" refers to the internet, which is a vast interconnected communication system, similar to this but far more expansive. I would strongly recommend only going on with the supervision of an adult.

[ He's looking at the rest of Angus' post in the meantime and notices two particular people he's spoken to before. So he's from their world. ]

Particularly an adult native to a world like this one.

Fandom is a blanket term for the community of fans around something, in this case the novels, while fanfiction and fanart are derivative works based on a preexisting work.

[sleight_of_hand]

'World's Greatest Detective,' hunh?

[ Excuse you, brat? What the hell was with kids moving in on his job? ]

[hellosirs]

[ hello, fellow professional sleuth! ]

Yes, sir! Back home, anyway. I've solved lots of cases!

[sleight_of_hand]

[ He really wants to ask if those cases involved who stole the nerdy kid's lunch money, but he manages to keep that back. Just because Shirogane was one of the youngest detectives on his world, didn't mean they couldn't come younger in other worlds. ]

Unh hunh... what kind of work have you done, kiddo?

[thevictoriandetective]

You've got to be joking.

[What is this child even...He's the world's greatest detective, hmph.]

[hellosirs]

Oh, no sir, I take my career very seriously!

[thevictoriandetective]

You can't possibly be the world's greatest detective.

video;

[marriedmedium]

Hello, little boy! Are there very any detectives where you're from?

[hellosirs]

Yes ma'am, I think we have a good number of them! I'm a bit of a statistical anomaly.

video;

[aboveand]

[Sorry Angus, Terry is trying really hard not to laugh when he turns his feed on. Not because he doesn't believe you, honest, but because--]

I think I know a guy that would fight you on that claim.

[hellosirs]

I'm not trying to salt anyone's game, sir! I'm the world's greatest detective where I'm from, but I'm not claiming to be the best one in the entire planar system, let alone here! In retrospect, I probably should have made that clearer.