That Unicorn Looks Happy, Eh?

Hi friends!! Just want to make quick note to anyone who attended either the Canadian @ficwritersretreat or the @europeanficwritersretreat this year, and you have posted up your fics either on AO3 or Tumblr, I'm interested in helping promoting your fics again this year in a Fic Rec Sunday post! I'm not sure what the tag is this year for fics, so I haven't been able to find them on my own.

If you'd like to promote your story that you either tweaked, started or jotted down during a Flash Fic session, please send me a DM, a submission (where you can copy-paste stories into if you'd like), or an ask with the link to the fic(s), and I will compile them all into a list for 2026, similar to last year's list. THIS IS FOR ANY FANDOM, ANY PAIRING and CAN BE FOR ORIGINAL STORIES AS WELL (as I believe AO3 does allow original fiction to be posted on there too).

And if I get no submissions, well, at least I tried, LOL 💜

scrapbooked the hell out of his newspapers

put on a hat that was too big for him 

giggled

cried because lestrade was nice to him

got all sappy and romantic by smelling a rose

let a puppy lead him on adventures

“impish mood”

lit his pipe with an ember from the fireplace because he thought it looked cool

told a guy he was giving him secret government documents and then gave him a book about bees instead

Was offended that Watson doesn’t praise his skills as a housekeeper

Waived his fee if his clients are too poor to pay him

Made hot chocolate to wake Watson up on a cold morning

Danced around and bowed to imaginary friends

‘Flushed up with pleasure’ when being praised

Wouldn’t explain how he comes to conclusions because he was worried Watson would think he is ordinary

Grabs Watson’s hand when he’s frightened

deliberately knocked over a table, shattering a glass fruit bowl which sent fruit rolling everywhere, then blamed it on watson and ran away

was not surprised when a dog died after its owner died, due to the “beautiful, faithful nature of dogs”

sent watson a telegram telling him to come over at once so he could tell him his most recent thoughts about dogs and the importance of their emotions to detective work

told Watson anecdotes about his favorite violinist for an hour while they had lunch together

Makes his client wait while he changes into slippers

Has a realistic dummy made of himself and uses it to fool a client

twice

a, the thief cried 

b, the case had been really easy & if the Yard couldn’t solve it then frankly fuck em

• Acted like a jealous petty bitch when Watson got married

• Dressed up as a little old lady to spy on a suspect and tricked him into picking up his little parasol

• Was told to rest by Watson when they went on a vacation, was grumpy, was immediately cheered up upon getting to examine a body

THE AWNING OF A NEW AGE - PT 1 of 3

Thanks to @thetimemoves for the blanket tag and the new word suggestions. You can find their post here.

Words to find (in your WIP folder or published works): stumble, glass, purse, hold, mobile

from The Mole 

Four rumpled and tired-looking players stumble down the stairs to breakfast.  “Help yourselves to coffee,” Mycroft tells them.  “You’ll want to be alert for the next quiz.”

Moriarty, Mrs. Hudson, and John groan.  

Sherlock — who earned an exemption by winning the dance competition — looks smug.  “I’m not worried,” he says.

John kicks him under the table.  Sherlock winks at him. ...

from MJN Ranch 

“I’m glad this isn’t really our honeymoon, because being in the saddle all afternoon may have done permanent damage to the necessary equipment,” Hamish says ruefully.

“Well, then, it’s fortunate that I’m married to my work instead of to you,” William replies with a chuckle.

But when he turns away to look out the window at the starry night, his grin fades to a wistful smile. His expression, reflected in the glass, is mirrored on Hamish’s face. ...

from The Value of Deductions 

Placing the coin in his purse, Sherlock continued along his way. Soon he met with a young man selling chickens. Sherlock took one look at him and deduced:

“Those chickens are not rightfully yours to sell. You pilfered them from your neighbor.”

Once again, Sherlock’s deduction received no response. The young man had disappeared, leaving nothing but a gold coin — and his ill-gotten chickens — behind.

Sherlock retrieved the coin. It was identical to the first. He added it to his purse. ...

from Playfully Planned Parenthood [plus podfic] 

JOHN:  You know that thing we don’t do very often, but save for special occasions?

SHERLOCK:  Special occasions like, for example, our wedding day?

JOHN:  Right. But only after Mrs. Hudson leaves, because someone is a screamer, and I don’t want her phoning 999. Again. 

SHERLOCK:  I hold you entirely responsible for that. ...

from Sherlock in Oz 

“Mrs. Hudson wasn’t kidding about Kansas being flat,” John says with a sigh.

Sherlock can’t argue. The land is flat. The Vacancy/No Vacancy sign in font of this rundown motel is lying flat on the ground at his feet. And the tyre on the rental car they abandoned on the side of the road half a mile away is undeniably flat.

John’s voice is as flat as Kansas when he adds, “I suppose we’d better see if they have any rooms available.”

There is a room — singular. Sherlock takes the key card from the bored-looking young man at the desk and leads the way along the row of numbered doors until they come to 114. 

Inside, it is clean but cramped. A double bed takes up most of the small space. It is flanked by two tiny end tables — one with a lamp on it, the other with a phone. There’s also a chest of drawers with a television bolted to the top, and a single arm chair. The en suite has a shower stall but no bath. 

Sherlock lifts the handset of the ancient phone. No dial tone. He reads the instructions printed on the base and tries to call the front desk. Nothing. He slams it back down.

“Problem?” John asks.

“No service. I don’t know how people communicate in this country, with no mobile reception, and landlines that don’t work. There isn’t even any Wi-Fi here. How are we supposed to contact someone about fixing that flat?”

It happens the same every year. When I finally buckle down to filling out my Philon nominations, I have way too much in every category to nominate them all!

So: I tend to make a longlist first, the stuff that definitely deserves it, which I have to sift among. And then I try to inflict it on other people, in the hopes that whatever I don't nominate, somebody else will. After all, the biggest hurdle in front of every fic is simply getting found and read.

So, here we go. I have not read everything put out this year, not by a long shot, and I am positive I've forgotten some of the things I have read. But here are a few in each category which are definitely worth checking out.