221b_recs | Fic Rec: The Vast Profundity Obscure

Title: The Vast Profundity Obscure
Author: Mistyzeo
Pairing: John Watson/Sherlock Holmes
Length: 20,613 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: None
Verse: ACD's Holmes and Watson fused with Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials
Author's summary: More than a year after Sherlock Holmes's return from the dead, his cohabitation with the good Doctor has more or less returned to normal. With their daemons at their sides, Holmes and Watson are as keen a pair of crime solvers as they ever were. Deep in the winter of 1895, their limits as a team are tested when a young woman's daemon is stolen from her side and destroyed. It is not the first of such attacks, Watson learns, and he and Holmes immediately set out to find the culprit of the horrifying deed. They are led into a web of back alleys and gambling debt that leads ultimately to the heart of the government, all in the pursuit of the elusive element of Dust. But their investigation is not a secret one, and the duo's fame in the city of London brings them more trouble than expected and forces them to take some measures to protect one another that violate many a social taboo.

Reccer's comments: Mistyzeo is well-known by followers of this community and for good reason. However, this story hasn't yet been recommended, which I find a shame. I love Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials and have read many Sherlock Holmes fusions with that universe, all of which I love (I keep a list of such stories so I can easily find them to re-read).

The story begins after Holmes's return, with Watson still engaged in the difficult process of forgiving him. They are called by a distraught husband to investigate what has happened to his beloved wife, and from that are drawn into a terrible evil. If you know HDM, you know what this evil turns out to be and how utterly horrific it is to Holmes and Watson and their daemons.

I thought the author did a good job of capturing ACD's style as well as the era in which this is set (though I do not pretend to be an expert). She includes many allusions to ACD canon, and has some lovely turns of phrase, such as when Watson scolds Holmes for planning to smoke the night away in thought: He ignored me, lighting a cigarette. It was insolence and acquiescence in one: he would smoke and damn my eyes, but the cigarettes never accumulated like the pipe smoke did.

Her choice of animals for the characters daemons fits well, as do the daemons' behavior toward their other halves and toward each other. I especially fell in love with Watson's daemon, Razia. Mistyzeo also pulls in a few quirks from the BBC's version, such as Sherlock stealing Lestrade's badge.

Even if you haven't read His Dark Materials, I think you will enjoy this exciting and touching story.