Oh my word, this is beautifully thought out. A steampunk Sherlock Holmes story with a warm, beating heart at the center of it all.
It is so perfectly, typically Holmes that upon seeing Watson's detached arm - once the pain is dealt with - he wants to tinker with the mechanism. He's such a Victorian! His reaction to the news that Watson plugs his arm into his lamp socket was almost laugh-out-loud funny. (Also a hat-tip to current plug-in prostheses.)
The steampunk details of the arm - especially the leather outer skin and the spring-hooks - remind us that it's Victorian and not futuristic droid-Watson. Some steampunk is so enamoured of the gears and clockworks side of the tale that they forget the people behind them, but not this one. Neither man, nor the reader, forgets that their purpose here is to find a stolen child. And Watson very realistically goes from being shamed or shy about his appendage to reminding Holmes with some exasperation that he'll eventually want his arm BACK so don't just mess around with it and forget it like some of his other projects...
Here's some gorgeous art by Nitefise on Tumblr that could almost be an illustration of your story. I love her work - and you must have channelled that love into this story!
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2017-10-27 05:34 am (UTC)It is so perfectly, typically Holmes that upon seeing Watson's detached arm - once the pain is dealt with - he wants to tinker with the mechanism. He's such a Victorian! His reaction to the news that Watson plugs his arm into his lamp socket was almost laugh-out-loud funny. (Also a hat-tip to current plug-in prostheses.)
The steampunk details of the arm - especially the leather outer skin and the spring-hooks - remind us that it's Victorian and not futuristic droid-Watson. Some steampunk is so enamoured of the gears and clockworks side of the tale that they forget the people behind them, but not this one. Neither man, nor the reader, forgets that their purpose here is to find a stolen child. And Watson very realistically goes from being shamed or shy about his appendage to reminding Holmes with some exasperation that he'll eventually want his arm BACK so don't just mess around with it and forget it like some of his other projects...
Here's some gorgeous art by Nitefise on Tumblr that could almost be an illustration of your story. I love her work - and you must have channelled that love into this story!
A lovely and unique piece of fiction. Well done.