Martin Freeman once punched a fandom in the soul.

"Creeper," 2025 Spook Me Challenge (Sherlock Holmes, Vampire)

Sat, 25 Oct 2025 05:52:24 GMT

Title: Creeper
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD Holmes (“Vermilion Problem” Vampire AU series)
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Word Count: 6612
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: Love can make monkeys of men, or drive them batty.
Author's Notes: For the LJ Comm Spook Me October 2025 Halloween Ficathon. A story in my Vermilion Problem Vampire!Holmes series.

***
( Enter freely and of your own will. )

FURTHER NOTES: The two visual aids provided by the mod:

Dracula by Gene Colan

and

Falkenrath Celebrants by Anna Steinbauer

comments

"Deja Vu" (October 2024 Holmes Minor Monthly Prompt)

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 01:38:16 GMT

Title: Deja Vu
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Word Count: 457
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: It’s a new century, but some things don’t change.
Author's Notes: Written for the October 2024 Holmes Minor monthly prompt, "Cycle."

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"Band," 2024 Spook Me Offering (Sherlock Holmes Vampire AU)

Sat, 26 Oct 2024 08:59:44 GMT

Title: Band
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD Holmes (“Vermilion Problem” Vampire AU series)
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Word Count: 5778
Rating: PG
Warning: Implied physical abuse, off-screen suicide, animal death. Surprisingly little blood considering it’s a vampire story.
Summary: What truly lurks in Stoke Moran?
Author's Notes: For the LJ Comm Spook Me October 2024 Halloween Ficathon. A story in my Vermilion Problem Vampire!Holmes series.

The two visual aids provided by the mod: Dracula by Jakub Jagoda "…Stoker has much to answer for…"

and

Counterattack by Julia Bax "…Gave her one good poke with that pretty knife…"

***
( Enter freely and of your own will. )

comments

"Tally," September 2024 Holmes Minor Monthly Prompt

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 21:44:14 GMT

Title: Tally
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes John Watson
Word Count: 250
Rating: G
Warning: None.
Summary: Holmes pays a promised debt.
Author's Notes: Written for the September 2024 Holmes Minor monthly prompt, "Make up."

***

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"The Roses," June 2024 Holmes Minor Monthly Prompt

Sun, 23 Jun 2024 16:29:42 GMT

Title: The Roses
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Word Count: 221b
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: Holmes has learned that the best route is not always a straight line.
Author's Notes: Written for the June 2024 Holmes Minor monthly prompt, “Border.”

***
( Story below the cut. )

comments

"Washed Up," May 2024 Holmes Minor Monthly Prompt

Tue, 28 May 2024 04:21:55 GMT

Title: Washed Up
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: None
Word Count: 500
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: What happened afterward?
Author's Notes: Written for the May 2024 Holmes Minor monthly prompt “Wash.”

***
( Story below the cut. )

comments

"The Third Man," April 2024 Holmes Minor Monthly Prompt

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 05:19:52 GMT

Title: The Third Man
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD Sherlock Holmes
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Word Count: 400
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: Seating arrangements at a dinner could make or break an event. And could reveal much.
Author's Notes: Written for the April 2024 Holmes Minor monthly prompt “Seat.”

***

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"In the Pocket," March 2024 Holmes Minor Monthly Prompt

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 23:44:57 GMT

Title: In the Pocket
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: None
Word Count: 500
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: In which a pickpocket finds himself pocketed by another.
Author's Notes: Written for the March 2024 Holmes Minor monthly prompt “Pocket.”

***

( Story below the cut. )

Author’s Note: “Flimp,” “tooler” and “dipper” were all Victorian slang terms for pickpockets.

comments

"A Gap in the Resume," February 2024 Holmes Minor Monthly Prompt

Sun, 18 Feb 2024 21:59:45 GMT

Title: A Gap in the Resume
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: None
Word Count: 360
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: Lestrade can explain.
Author's Notes: Written for the February 2024 Holmes Minor monthly prompt “gap.”

***

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"Crestfallen," January 2024 Holmes Minor Monthly Prompt

Sun, 28 Jan 2024 03:42:13 GMT

Title: Crestfallen
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Word Count: 300
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: We’re done here. I’ll send you the bill.
Author's Notes: Written for the January 2024 Holmes Minor monthly prompt “Crest.”

***

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"The Richest Man in London," November 2023 Holmes Minor Monthly Prompt

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 00:38:53 GMT

Title: The Richest Man in London
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Word Count: 500
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: Watson gains a little credit.
Author's Notes: Written for the November 2023 Holmes Minor monthly prompt, "Credit." Inspired by the financial fables contained in the 1929 book The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason.

***

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"The Master of Baskerville Hall," (Sherlock Holmes ACD, Vampire AU), Spook Me 2023 Offering

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 04:59:25 GMT

Title: The Master of Baskerville Hall
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD Holmes (“Vermilion Problem” Vampire AU series)
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Word Count: 9045
Rating: PG (blood, harm to animals)
Warning: Animals were harmed in the making of this story. Possibly a few humans as well.
Summary: Not even a vampire thinks there’s a demonic dog on the moors.
Author's Notes: For the LJ Comm Spook Me October 2023 Halloween Ficathon. A story in my Vermilion Problem Vampire!Holmes series.

***

( Enter freely and of your own will. )

#

The two visual aids provided by the mod:

Vampire Speed by Martin de Diego

and

Artwork by Suehiro Maruo

comments

"Tying the Knot," Our Flag Means Death (Spoilers for Season 2)

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 04:20:18 GMT

Title: Tying the Knot
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: Our Flag Means Death
Pairing: Edward Teach (Blackbeard) / Stede Bonnet; Lucius Spriggs / Black Pete
Word Count: 487
Rating: PG (language)
Warning: Piratical language. Spoilers for Season 2 of OFMD.
Summary: Turns out that pirates take that literally.

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"Reciprocity," September 2023 Holmes Minor Monthly Prompt

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 04:08:07 GMT

Title: Reciprocity
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: None
Word Count: 250
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: In which one of Moriarty's murder plots is foiled by a sugar cube.
Author's Notes: Written for the September 2023 Holmes Minor monthly prompt, "Connection."

***

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"Cartography," August 2023 Holmes Minor Monthly Prompt

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 04:24:59 GMT

Title: Cartography
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: None
Word Count: 500
Rating: PG (language)
Warning: Profanity.
Summary: "Don't peach" is the first rule of the street. How to break that rule?
Author's Notes: Written for the August 2023 Holmes Minor monthly prompt, "talk."

***

( Story below the cut. )

comments

Gardnerhill's Master List - 2023 July Watson's Woes Promptfest

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 05:02:56 GMT

Here's my master list of prompt responses for the 2023 (final) July Watson's Woes Promptfest. Links go to the Watson's Woes comm where I posted.

2023 JWP Prompts:
(Watson's Woes Dreamwidth links)
7/1: And the Vermin of the World Inhabit It (ACD)
7/2: Though the World Explode (Rathbone RPF)
7/3: Niu (Wakakana AU series)
7/4: There Can Be Only One (Retirement, "One Queen" series)
7/5: THE PERILS OF JOHNNIE (BBC Sherlock)
7/6 Toffee (ACD, "Lighthouse Keepers" series)
7/7: My Shot (Elementary, "Joan's Beez" series)
7/8: Two Herrings (Rathbone, "Aloha a Hawaii" series)
7/9: Operation Bremen ("Cats & Dogs" series)
7/10: Bluebonnets ("Welcome to Bakerstown" series)
7/11: Twa Corbies ("Birblock" series)
7/12: A Pirate's Fate For Me ("Study in Crimson" pirate AU series)
7/13: Cabbie Number Two (ACD)
7/14: Science News (Ritchie!Verse)
7/15: The Mother of Invention (Prehistoric "Stonelock" series)
7/16: Collectives (Howard/Crawford Holmes)
7/17: Kumo (Miss Sherlock)
7/18: Gaydar Secret Service (Furtive Festivity)
7/19: Pretty in Pink ("Brighton Memoirs" series)
7/20: Katarraktiphobia (Granada)
7/21: Bouquet (ACD)
7/22: Snapdragon (ACD)
7/23: Found Family ("Women and Whiskey" series)
7/24: Zooming In ("Watson and Holmes" comic)
7/25: Man of the Cloth (Puppet!Holmes)
7/26: House-Mouse (GMD)
7/27: Cataract ("Oubliette" series)
7/28: January 1924 ("Vermilion Problem" series)
7/29: Off the Clock (GMD)
7/30: The Price of a Goat (ACD)
7/31: Time for Living (ACD, 221b)

comments

"Time for Living" (ACD, 221b), 2023 JWP Prompt #31

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 04:11:43 GMT

Title: Time for Living
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: None
Word Count: 221b
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: "I took off my watch, and found I had all the time in the world." – The Association
Author's Notes: For Day 31 of the 2023 July Watson's Woes Promptfest. So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye. Saying goodbye to someone, whether temporarily or permanently.

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"The Price of a Goat" (ACD), 2023 JWP Prompt #30

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 04:48:11 GMT

Title: The Price of a Goat
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: None
Word Count: 350
Rating: PG (subject matter)
Warning: Disturbing subject matter. Kids of both kinds are involved.
Summary: A Swiss lad.
Author's Notes: For Day 30 of the 2023 July Watson's Woes Promptfest. Another Perspective. Give a minor character’s point of view to something going wrong (a case with injuries, Reichenbach, an unfortunate encounter with a box of bananas, etc). This could be an Irregular, a servant, someone unnamed - whoever, just so long as it's a minor character.

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"Off the Clock" (Great Mouse Detective, 221b), 2023 JWP Prompt #29

Sun, 30 Jul 2023 04:23:40 GMT

Title: Off the Clock
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: Great Mouse Detective
Pairing: Basil & Dawson
Word Count: 221b
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: Basil's saved the day. But at what cost?
Author's Notes: For Day 29 of the 2023 July Watson's Woes Promptfest. Slave to Time. Whether present or mentioned, real or fictional, slip a clock into today’s entry.

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"January 1924" (ACD, my "Vermilion Problem" Vampire AU), 2023 JWP Prompt #28

Sat, 29 Jul 2023 06:55:27 GMT

Title: January 1924
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: My Vermilion Problem Vampire AU
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Word Count: 1252
Rating: PG (subject matter)
Warning: Supernatural stuff. Blood. Death mentioned.
Summary: Watson's learned one trick from Edgar Allen Poe.
Author's Notes: For Day 28 of the 2023 July Watson's Woes Promptfest. Alternate. Make today's entry an AU of some kind.

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"Cataract" (ACD, my "Oubliette" series, 221b), 2023 JWP Prompt #27

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 03:36:25 GMT

Title: Cataract
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD (in my Oubliette series)
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Word Count: 221b
Rating: G
Warning: You may get a little watery on this ride.
Summary: Every year, he remembers.
Author's Notes: For Day 27 of the 2023 July Watson's Woes Promptfest. Come and do your will. It's a musical prompt day. Use the title or the music (or any other aspect) as your inspiration today. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfoPBtwtZZs&list=OLAK5uy_meBaLZ0XP2TVi2rPFgtL2dvHMHa4VkfT8&index=3

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"House-Mouse" (Great Mouse Detective, 221b), 2023 JWP Prompt #26

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 05:18:09 GMT

Title: House-Mouse
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: Great Mouse Detective
Pairing: None
Word Count: 221b
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: Mrs. Judson has her say.
Author's Notes: For Day 26 of the 2023 July Watson's Woes Promptfest. A Strange Regard. What does Mrs Hudson really think of her lodgers? Answer this question (partially or completely) in some fashion today.

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"Man of the Cloth" (Puppet!Holmes, 221b), 2023 JWP Prompt #25

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 04:59:03 GMT

Title: Man of the Cloth
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: Puppet!Holmes (see "Notes" below)
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Word Count: 221b
Rating: G
Warning: Crack
Summary: Puppet Englishfolk swear by other saints and angels.
Author's Notes: For Day 25 of the 2023 July Watson's Woes Promptfest. Yoiks and Away!. Feature an unusual battle cry in your work today.
Notes: Spookhouse Theater made three Puppet!Holmes shorts. The episodes can still be found on YouTube here: Episode 1.
Episode 2
Episode 3.

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"Zooming In" ("Watson and Holmes" comics, 221b), 2023 JWP Prompt #24

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 04:33:16 GMT

Title: Zooming In
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: The comic book series Watson and Holmes
Pairing: None
Word Count: 221b
Rating: G
Warning: None
Summary: A found-family moment.
Author's Notes: For Day 24 of the 2023 July Watson's Woes Promptfest. The Pandemic. The featured fandom today is the Eisner Award-winning comic book series Watson & Holmes featuring African-American protagonists and set in modern-day Harlem, NYC.

( Story below the cut. )

comments

"Four Score," July 2023 Holmes Minor Monthly Prompt

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:46:13 GMT

Title: Four Score
Author: gardnerhill
Fandom: ACD
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Word Count: 221b
Rating: G
Warning: Unadulterated mush.
Summary: Four separate and very meaningful definitions.
Author's Notes: Written for the July 2023 Holmes Minor monthly prompt, " Score."

***
( Story below the cut. )

comments