Story: "Seeing Things" (Part 2 of 6)
Nov. 14th, 2012 02:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis story fills a square on my card for the ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
hc_bingo fest. This fest encourages the creation of boundary-pushing material that explores what happens when things go horribly wrong and people actually care about each other. I'm hoping to attract some new readers for my writing.
The following story belongs to Schrodinger's Heroes, featuring an apocryphal television show supported by an imaginary fandom. It's science fiction about quantum physics and saving the world from alternate dimensions. It features a very mixed cast in terms of ethnicity and sexual orientation. This project developed with input from multiple people, and it's open for everyone to play in. You can read more about the background, the characters, and a bunch of assorted content on the menu page.
Begin with Part 1 or skip to Part 4, Part 5, Part 6. This is a crossover with BBC Sherlock. You can read how these characters found each other in "THE Woman," and the beginning of the morning after in "Texas Sunrise." Additional inspiration came from a thread withsiliconshaman, jeshyr, and thnidu.
Fandoms: BBC Sherlock / Original: Schrodinger's Heroes
H/C: Panic attacks
Medium: Fiction
Summary/Preview: Sherlock, who does not deal well with bizarre surprises, has moved into a place where those are ubiquitous. Also he is hungover. Won't this be fun?
Content Notes: Spoilers for BBC Sherlock Season 2. Home cooking. Friendship. Tentacles. Happy ending.
"Seeing Things" Part 2
"What are you drinking?" Sherlock demanded, ignoring John's advice as usual. "It's too pale to be pure orange juice."
"Hangover remedy," Morgan said. John perked up at that, because he'd said remedy instead of cure, which suggested a more precise degree of awareness. "Try some if you want," Morgan continued. He pushed the glass carefully in Sherlock's direction.
Sherlock took a tentative sip. "Oh, clever," he said.
"Mind if I have a go, then?" John said, and plucked the glass out of Sherlock's grasp without waiting for permission.
John tilted the glass just enough to wet his lips. It was orange juice, at least in part -- presumably for the sugar and reviving flavor -- though it had been watered down with something else, enough to keep the acidic juice from upsetting a delicate stomach. Not ginger ale, for it wasn't fizzy, although there was quite a bit of ginger in it. Clever, indeed. Club soda? Tonic water? It could have been either, or even both.
John took a larger sip. Now he could detect some other fruit besides orange, something mellower, possibly pureed instead of juiced. Tropical, soothing. A bright, almost metallic note at the very back of his mouth alerted him to the presence of mineral additives. One of those sport-drink mixes, I wager, he thought to himself, something to replace lost nutrients and reset the body's electrolyte balance. The furry texture could have come from protein powder or fibre powder, either of which would further buffer the acidic juice. Nothing could really cure a hangover, but this was the most practical aftercare he'd encountered.
"Brilliant," John pronounced. He passed the glass back to Sherlock, who took another gulp before grudgingly surrendering it to Morgan. "I don't suppose we could get the recipe?"
Morgan shrugged. "Ask Pat. He keeps changing it."
"He'll have the current copy on the server, in the kitchen sector with the other recipes," Quinn said. "It's no secret."
"I wonder if something could be added to clear one's head," John mused. "Ginkgo or ginseng, perhaps, certainly not caffeine..."
"Bad idea," Morgan said instantly. "Pat put ginkgo in the mix once. It makes your mind vividly alert to the status of your body. That was the most miserable morning after of my life."
"Best stick with what works, then," John said.
Pat brought out more toast and a glass of hangover remedy for Sherlock, who actually said "Thank you" to him while John was still reaching to kick Sherlock under the table. Yes, John would definitely need to get that recipe. Sherlock even munched his way through a piece of toast.
Presently Quinn cleared away the breakfast things. Morgan retreated, muttering something about a shower. John was starting to wonder if he could get a tour of the compound.
Then Tim came into the room, several of his tentacles tapping busily at a tablet computer. John felt Sherlock stiffen.
[To be continued in Part 3 ...]
hc_bingo fest. This fest encourages the creation of boundary-pushing material that explores what happens when things go horribly wrong and people actually care about each other. I'm hoping to attract some new readers for my writing.The following story belongs to Schrodinger's Heroes, featuring an apocryphal television show supported by an imaginary fandom. It's science fiction about quantum physics and saving the world from alternate dimensions. It features a very mixed cast in terms of ethnicity and sexual orientation. This project developed with input from multiple people, and it's open for everyone to play in. You can read more about the background, the characters, and a bunch of assorted content on the menu page.
Begin with Part 1 or skip to Part 4, Part 5, Part 6. This is a crossover with BBC Sherlock. You can read how these characters found each other in "THE Woman," and the beginning of the morning after in "Texas Sunrise." Additional inspiration came from a thread with
siliconshaman, jeshyr, and thnidu.Fandoms: BBC Sherlock / Original: Schrodinger's Heroes
H/C: Panic attacks
Medium: Fiction
Summary/Preview: Sherlock, who does not deal well with bizarre surprises, has moved into a place where those are ubiquitous. Also he is hungover. Won't this be fun?
Content Notes: Spoilers for BBC Sherlock Season 2. Home cooking. Friendship. Tentacles. Happy ending.
"Seeing Things" Part 2
"What are you drinking?" Sherlock demanded, ignoring John's advice as usual. "It's too pale to be pure orange juice."
"Hangover remedy," Morgan said. John perked up at that, because he'd said remedy instead of cure, which suggested a more precise degree of awareness. "Try some if you want," Morgan continued. He pushed the glass carefully in Sherlock's direction.
Sherlock took a tentative sip. "Oh, clever," he said.
"Mind if I have a go, then?" John said, and plucked the glass out of Sherlock's grasp without waiting for permission.
John tilted the glass just enough to wet his lips. It was orange juice, at least in part -- presumably for the sugar and reviving flavor -- though it had been watered down with something else, enough to keep the acidic juice from upsetting a delicate stomach. Not ginger ale, for it wasn't fizzy, although there was quite a bit of ginger in it. Clever, indeed. Club soda? Tonic water? It could have been either, or even both.
John took a larger sip. Now he could detect some other fruit besides orange, something mellower, possibly pureed instead of juiced. Tropical, soothing. A bright, almost metallic note at the very back of his mouth alerted him to the presence of mineral additives. One of those sport-drink mixes, I wager, he thought to himself, something to replace lost nutrients and reset the body's electrolyte balance. The furry texture could have come from protein powder or fibre powder, either of which would further buffer the acidic juice. Nothing could really cure a hangover, but this was the most practical aftercare he'd encountered.
"Brilliant," John pronounced. He passed the glass back to Sherlock, who took another gulp before grudgingly surrendering it to Morgan. "I don't suppose we could get the recipe?"
Morgan shrugged. "Ask Pat. He keeps changing it."
"He'll have the current copy on the server, in the kitchen sector with the other recipes," Quinn said. "It's no secret."
"I wonder if something could be added to clear one's head," John mused. "Ginkgo or ginseng, perhaps, certainly not caffeine..."
"Bad idea," Morgan said instantly. "Pat put ginkgo in the mix once. It makes your mind vividly alert to the status of your body. That was the most miserable morning after of my life."
"Best stick with what works, then," John said.
Pat brought out more toast and a glass of hangover remedy for Sherlock, who actually said "Thank you" to him while John was still reaching to kick Sherlock under the table. Yes, John would definitely need to get that recipe. Sherlock even munched his way through a piece of toast.
Presently Quinn cleared away the breakfast things. Morgan retreated, muttering something about a shower. John was starting to wonder if he could get a tour of the compound.
Then Tim came into the room, several of his tentacles tapping busily at a tablet computer. John felt Sherlock stiffen.
[To be continued in Part 3 ...]
(no subject)
Date: 2012-11-14 03:10 pm (UTC)Oh, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.... *painful giggle* Poor Morgan's been here before...
as for me, I *hope* that's club soda; quinine EWWWW... and that's my not-morning-after reaction. Although I suspect John may be more sympathetic to such a taste...
Thoughts
Date: 2012-11-15 04:08 am (UTC)Quinine seems to be one of those things that people either love or hate. I'm quite fond of it myself, and I've met a very few others who are. It's excellent for quenching thirst and settling queasiness. It blends exceptionally well with other things, which is why it goes in a liquor cabinet. But some people can't stand the taste of it.
Conversely club soda has the traits of being less fizzy than most flavored sodas, also blends well, and loses its fizz pretty fast. So if you want it without bubbles, all you have to do is let it air briefly, and you have a flat mixer with just enough flavor that a drink won't taste watered down.
to quinine or not to quinine?
Date: 2017-03-09 04:20 am (UTC)Re: to quinine or not to quinine?
Date: 2017-03-09 04:26 am (UTC)Re: to quinine or not to quinine?
Date: 2017-03-09 06:01 am (UTC)I've been meaning to make an excursion to BevMo anyway, now I'll have to see if they offer the flavored tonic water - which I didn't know existed. Thanks for the tip!
Also, I realized just *why* I like my little concoction so much: it reminds me of my grandmother's wedding punch recipe ... which was designed to be made in large batches. IIRC, it involves one 64 oz can (yes, can) of pineapple juice, one 64 oz can of orange juice, 1 gallon of tea, and one 2-liter container of 7-Up. Mine has a lot of the tropical note imparted by the combination of orange, pineapple, and citrus, but can be made glass-by-glass. Everybody wins!
Re: to quinine or not to quinine?
Date: 2017-03-09 06:19 am (UTC)Friar Tuck's has several different flavors, most of which I want to try. I think this is one of the brands:
http://www.fever-tree.com/our-drinks
Here's a lime one:
http://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/