042 || dictated;

[workaphilic]

[There's no denying that he's been tightly wound, as of late. In need of a major stress relief, of which he doesn't have many. Barring all his other options, Sherlock Holmes has gone back to the tried-and-trusty method of blowing something up in his kitchen.

The journal opens with a POP! and a clatter. The edges of the page curl and singe with brief, intense heat, and there's a splatter of some kind of colorless chemical.

Sherlock's voice is faint, like he's a good distance away from the journal.]

Ah! That was a good one, wasn't it?

[He sounds to be in a good mood, at least, but there's something strained in it, too, happiness laced with anger. Gladstone barks in the background, and continues barking. Sherlock seems to take it as a good sign.]

How would you rate it, residents? On a scale from one to ten?

[He's not actually asking; he's made up his mind. But he sounds pleased with himself regardless.

His voice gets clearer as he comes closer to the journal to pick it up off the floor.]

Oh.

Might want to avoid writing on this page for the moment. [Beat.] And maybe for the next few pages, too.

Comments

dictated;

[ofhope]

Ew.

[workaphilic]

[Cheerfully:]

Please, you didn't even get the worst of it.

dictated;

[both_neither]

I'd give it a nine...

[whistles_the_blues]

Next time could you close the book before you do something stupid?

dictated;

[bluebot]

What was that?! What did you just do?!

[workaphilic]

Almost perfect? [A hum.] Ah, disappointing.

[workaphilic]

[whatever dude you can't harsh his mellow]

No, no, no, go away. The day's going too well, I don't have the patience for you.

[workaphilic]

Just a quick experiment, hardly anything, nothing to get upset over.

[whistles_the_blues]

[Every party needs a pooper that's why they invited Blues.]

And I don't have the patience for what ever you're up to over there.

So knock it off.

[workaphilic]

[Chipper as ever:]

Mmm, no.

[bluebot]

Was it ... successful? [Was it necessary?] You know, you should really warn people before pulling something like that.

[whistles_the_blues]

[Okay, now he's grumbling.]

I hope you get at least a minor burn then.

[ofhope]

Why does it get worse? What are you doing?

[both_neither]

Ten if you'd singed the whole page. Maybe next time.

So what was it? Science experiment? Dinner?

[workaphilic]

Experimenting. I'd fallen behind, and so here I am.

[workaphilic]

The former.

[Dinner is secondary, tertiary, whatever the greater denominations are.]

You only got the edge of it, anyway.

[workaphilic]

Please, I'm much better than that. The best, even.

[workaphilic]

It was alright.

[A successful experiment is one that gives him new information. In that sense, they're always necessary.]

Not much room in my schedule to pander, though, unfortunately. You'll have to deal with this in the journal just as I have to deal with everything else in it.

[whistles_the_blues]

And incredibly modest too.

[ofhope]

Like with a laboratory?

[bluebot]

[Oh, well that... that's real mature. It almost seems like he's passive aggressively lashing out at anyone that ever used the stupid book.]

Will I have to deal with this on a regular basis? Because so far everything else has been a lot... safer.

[workaphilic]

Yes. [Well, like in his kitchen. But since John's been gone, the lab part has pretty much overtaken the kitchen part.] All the equipment and materials are mine.

[workaphilic]

[distastefully:]

Please. Do I sound like I have that much time to waste?

[He has no respect for "modesty."]

[workaphilic]

[Not directly, but it is a fun bonus.]

It's not as if it's going to jump out at you. The journal's magic is sophisticated, but not quite that much.

[ofhope]

[ Rare and tiny kid excitement. ]

I want to see. Can I? But you can't experiment on me.