[Video, un: alwayswright]

[servesyouwright]

[ First, there's Phoenix's face. He's standing in one of the hallways of the station, so it's all pretty plain. He smiles, waves once, and gets straight to the point: ]

I have a very important question for you.

[ And the camera cuts to show a corner of the hallway instead, where an innocent stepladder is standing. ]

What do you call this object?

Comments

video | un: S.H.

[astudyinviolet]

[ Don't mind the mess of papers with strange writing everywhere behind him. That's just the usual state of a Sherlock's room. Be more concerned at the expression of confused dread on his face. ]

... Is this some some kind of reference from the future?

[ Is this another "rock band" thing? ]

[servesyouwright]

Huh? No, not really. Unless-- I mean, I don't know when these were invented.

[ Is this guy actually from before the time of stepladders? ]

[softshoes]

Of course we know what stepladders are. We aren't that old.

[defending the rights of victorians around these parts]

[servesyouwright]

Hold on, I didn't know what time he's from!

[ So don't you come at him. ]

[softshoes]

We're mostly contemporaries, I'd say? Within a few hundred years of each other? Ladders have existed for thousands of years.

[but not stepladders...]

[servesyouwright]

Wait, they have?

[ Just as he says that, though, and he thinks about the simplicity of the design ... ]

I mean, of course they have.

But I wasn't sure about stepladders. I thought maybe this guy is from like, I don't know, 16th century or something.

video | un: S.H.

[astudyinviolet]

No, that's not what I meant. We have ladders in 1882.

[ He puts a hand to his head, not knowing that he's confusing himself more than he needs to over this. ]

Does this ladder also refer to something else like how "rock" can also be a musical genre?

[servesyouwright]

Oh.

[ 1882. Yeah, he doesn't know much about history, but he knows they had ladders back then--

No.

No.

Two stepladders, one ladder ... He can feel his dreams of beating Maya over the head with an overwhelming majority for 'stepladder' run through his fingers already.

(Like that was ever going to change her opinion anyway.) ]

No. No, that's not what I mean.

[astudyinviolet]

... Then, you are simply asking if that is a ladder? Truly?

[ Why does he feel like he's missing something still? ]

[servesyouwright]

It's... Is it really a ladder?

[ Come on, man. ]

[astudyinviolet]

... Y-Yes...?

[ Dear Lord, is he misinterpreting reality again? ]

Is it a photograph of a ladder? A painting? A well-carved statue of a ladder?

Though arguably, a statue of a ladder could still be a ladder and simply harder to move around.

[servesyouwright]

No, it's definitely a-- Definitely a physical object in front of me. That is used for climbing.

[ And Sherlock is just going to keep calling it a ladder, isn't he? Phoenix heaves a quiet sigh. Victory is slipping from his grasp. ]

video | un: S.H.

[astudyinviolet]

Then... what is, I don't...

[ There has to be some reason for this line of questioning. Or the man has lost his sanity and fixated on ladders of all things. ]

... How is it that something as simple as a ladder has managed to be more obscuring than that of a London particular? And my livelihood depends on observing trifles such as these.

[servesyouwright]

[ That gets a laugh. Now he almost feels bad about being weird and obscure. ]

It's about what sets this ladder apart from other ladders. It's just ... a dumb argument I've had with a friend for a decade.

video | un: S.H.

[astudyinviolet]

If there is a reason for the distinction, then I can see why such specification is necessary, but even a more exact descriptor doesn't change that the object is a ladder.

For example, a rope ladder is still a ladder even if its make differs from a more common ladder. I could call it by either name and be correct. Two ladders present may require more explanation. The ladder on the left or the wooden ladder could suffice. Evidence of scrapes along the ground could suggest a type of ladder, and if that carries importance, then you would be more correct to use a more specific name. But, for all of that, they are all still ladders.

Does... that help the argument any?

[ Or did he just make it more complicated or worse? ]

[servesyouwright]

I mean, you're not wrong, but ... A rope ladder or a wooden or steel ladder have the same general shape, right? They're straight. A stepladder isn't. So I think it's still an important distinction.

[ And not narrow-minded!! So there. ]

[astudyinviolet]

[ A rope ladder? Straight? A rope ladder is about as straight he is, which is to say hardly at all. Someone has clearly never tried to be a pirate climbing among the rigging. ]

A rope ladder doesn't always have the same general shape as a wooden ladder. It can roll up, flex in the wind, and requires anchoring for at least one end to properly function. I would argue then that the distinction between a rope ladder and a rigid ladder to be of greater importance than a wooden ladder and a stepladder.

[ Now he's just arguing to be arguing in petty revenge for something like this making him question his sanity. ]

[servesyouwright]

Never mind what you can do with a rope ladder-- A rope ladder will get you higher up. A stepladder will get you higher and make you safer than either a rope ladder or wooden ladder would do.

[ This isn't even what this argument was ever about for him and Maya. This is kind of fun. ]

[astudyinviolet]

So this is about safety and elevation now, is it? Then need I bring stairs into this argument as well? Stairs will get you higher up much safer than all previously mentioned ladders.

[servesyouwright]

No, no, I'm just saying they have different functions. Stairs won't get you to the ceiling lamp, and a ladder probably won't either. But a stepladder would.

[astudyinviolet]

Then if safety is not an issue, a chair would get you there as well.

[ Says the guy who will jump over a chair. ]

[servesyouwright]

Not as high.

[astudyinviolet]

... Exactly how high are your ceiling lamps to where that is a problem?

[ Even with Victorian ceilings being high up, that seems to a bit extreme. Or Sherlock is much taller than the other man. ]

[servesyouwright]

I mean, I guess it also depends on how low the lamp hangs.

[astudyinviolet]

And the type of lamp. How it creates light factors into how it's utilized.