oneblueumbrella

[oneblueumbrella]

FirstPrince x Moonlight by Kali Uchis

[oneblueumbrella]

by OneBlueUmbrella (bigblueboxat221b)

“Seriously?” Greg sighed, looking at his CO. “You want me to…” he hesitated, hardly able to believe this was what he had been summoned for. “You want me to write anonymous relationship advice on behalf of the Met Police Twitter account?”

“I know,” his boss said, rolling their eyes. “But I have to pick someone, the Commissioner is determined we get at least one good piece of news coverage this month, and I know you won’t fuck it up.”

+++

Greg figured he’d do a few advice columns and the whole thing would quietly fade away. Unfortunately for him, his co-workers are clambering to work out who in their midst is offering their advice, John almost snorted beer out his nose when Greg told him, and if this gets out, Greg will never live it down.

And if he ever thought he’d have the slightest shot with Mycroft, one sniff of this will definitely tank his chances.

Words: 2511, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Greg Lestrade, Sally Donovan, Mycroft Holmes, John Watson

Relationships: Sally Donovan & Greg Lestrade, Greg Lestrade & John Watson, Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade

Additional Tags: Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, POV Greg Lestrade, Greg Lestrade & John Watson Friendship, Relationship Advice, Secret Identity, Co-workers, Twitter

[oneblueumbrella]

by OneBlueUmbrella (bigblueboxat221b)

Accessible version of this story. No images or screenshots.

“Seriously?” Greg sighed, looking at his CO. “You want me to…” he hesitated, hardly able to believe this was what he had been summoned for. “You want me to write anonymous relationship advice on behalf of the Met Police Twitter account?”

“I know,” his boss said, rolling their eyes. “But I have to pick someone, the Commissioner is determined we get at least one good piece of news coverage this month, and I know you won’t fuck it up.”

+++

Greg figured he’d do a few advice columns and the whole thing would quietly fade away. Unfortunately for him, his co-workers are clambering to work out who in their midst is offering their advice, John almost snorted beer out his nose when Greg told him, and if this gets out, Greg will never live it down.

And if he ever thought he’d have the slightest shot with Mycroft, one sniff of this will definitely tank his chances.

Words: 2639, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Greg Lestrade, Sally Donovan, Mycroft Holmes, John Watson

Relationships: Sally Donovan & Greg Lestrade, Greg Lestrade & John Watson, Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade

Additional Tags: Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, POV Greg Lestrade, Greg Lestrade & John Watson Friendship, Relationship Advice, Secret Identity, Co-workers, Twitter

[oneblueumbrella]

I thought I'd given the 360MG format a try. Thank you to @oneblueumbrella and @englandwouldfalljohn for suggesting this Mystrade specific format. 😊

"Are you ready for this?"

“Try to relax a bit. There’s no one else in the drive.”

“Right. Relax.”

“Just focus on the feel of the transmission in your feet.”

“Focus. Feet.”

“Ease up with the left and ease down with the right. Are you ready for this?”

“Up. Down.”

His face fierce with concentration, Mycroft gunned the motor slightly, and then ever so slowly, the car began to creep forward. His eyes wide with surprise and delight, Mycroft risked a glance at Greg, who was grinning madly at him. The car picked up speed as it motored down the lane. Mycroft gave it a bit more gas, and the engine began to whine a little. The gates to the estate were coming closer.

Read the rest on AO3

[oneblueumbrella]

This is one of my favourite Insta accounts. He’s a fucking KING.

yes

[oneblueumbrella]

360MG ficlet format

Want to write short, structured ficlets for Mystrade, but feel 221b is more of a Johnlock thing?

Join us writing 360MG instead!

360 words, the last two of which begin with M and G in any order.

Inspired by ACD’s description of Mycroft as ‘omniscient’, the 360 represents all points of the compass, while M and G are, well, you probably get that bit.

@englandwouldfalljohn and I have kicked it off on AO3 - 360MG format is the tag, and on twitter the tag is #360MG.

My first 360MG here - the first chapter of a 5 times fluff-fest!

We’d love to see what you come up with! Please share and tag, and if the mood strikes, get writing! :)

@mottlemoth @hastalux @lavenderandvanilla @green-violin-bow @paialovespie @daisyfairy1 @merindab @vulpesmellifera @notjustamumj

[oneblueumbrella]

Mystrade Fic Recs - Mycroft as Greg’s Fake Boyfriend!

I love fake dating fics! There are lots where Greg pretends to be Mycroft’s boyfriend for whatever reason (keeping Mummy happy is a favorite), and a few where the two have mutual reasons for pretending (holiday loneliness, a case), but here are several where Mycroft pretends to be Greg’s partner.

Mycroft goes with Greg on vacation with his family in France in “The Façade” by CommunionNimrod (37K words, T) https://archiveofourown.org/works/7145669

“Upgrade” by bigblueboxat221b is set in an airplane’s first class section. It starts as a rom-com before turning a bit dark, as Greg’s ex-wife tries for a nasty revenge. (22K, M) https://archiveofourown.org/works/15395049

Mycroft goes with Greg on a weekend with old school friends to show up the ex-wife in “Just for a Weekend” by janto321 (4K, M) https://archiveofourown.org/works/14477514

An insecure Mycroft goes to a school reunion party with an anxious Greg where they spar with his ex-wife (I sense a theme) in “The favour” by ylc (11K, T) https://archiveofourown.org/works/18033785

Greg has been describing an imaginary partner to his family, and when an aunt meets Mycroft, he’s mistaken for the made-up date in “The Case of the Invented Boyfriend” by OldDVS (6K, T) https://archiveofourown.org/works/20483516

A younger Mycroft comes to the rescue when Greg’s date is abusive in “Intervention” by MerKat (5K, E) https://archiveofourown.org/works/2073438

And one I commissioned, in which Mycroft takes care of Greg when he’s sick, playing nice in front of Greg’s mom in “A Trip to the Museum” by BrynTWedge (1900, G) https://archiveofourown.org/works/21366244

[oneblueumbrella]

Hi there! You see to know a lot about mystrade fics, got any 'fake relationship' faves you could recommend?

Hello! So glad you asked. Yes, I have read a lot of Mystrade, and I love to provide pointers. 

I’ve previously written about a number of fake relationship recommendations: 

This one’s set at Christmas

A whole group where Mycroft pretends to be Greg’s boyfriend

One where Greg pretends to be dating Mycroft

But here’s some fresh ones, pulled from my Best Of list, since I adore the concept of fake dating! 

A rom-com setup turns into something more serious, as Greg and Mycroft wind up in airline first class together in “Upgrade” by @oneblueumbrella

Greg pretends to be married to Mycroft to get him out of hospital in the funny and sexy “Ringing in Christmas Eve” by @sherlock-nanowrimo

In “Negotiations in the Land of Fire and Ice” by @daltongraham, Mycroft whisks Greg off to Iceland to help him with international negotiations by serving as his partner and entertaining the spouses. Things move along when there’s only one bed. 

My very most favorite of this type is “Old Fashioned” by green_violin_bow, which is a casefic where Greg and Mycroft pretend to be partners to catch a murderer. 

[oneblueumbrella]

Wait I remembered another good ship dynamic

[oneblueumbrella]

educational youtube channels:

for when the burnout is real and all you really wanna do is lie in bed and watch things but you gotta at least try to study. these are mostly channels i’ve watched and subscribed to! (updated 17/12/2015)

sciences

veritasium

it’s okay to be smart

pbs space time

crash course: astronomy

crash course: ecology

crash course: biology

crash course: chemistry

crash course: anatomy and physiology 

crash course: psychology

the school of life: sociology

the school of life: psychotherapy

scishow

scishow space

asapscience

minute physics

minute earth

khan academy

the brain scoop

sexplanations 

healthcare triage

sixty symbols

periodic videos

deep sky videos

literature / art

crash course: literature

the school of life: literature

the school of life: art/architecture

art assignment

thug notes: shakespeare explained

thug notes: classic literature

history / geography / government

crash course: world history (season one)

crash course: world history (season two)

crash course: us history

it’s history: the industrial revolution

it’s history: the history of pirates

it’s history: battlefields (military history)

it’s history: the cold war

the school of life: history

alternate history hub

crash course: intellectual property

crash course: economics

crash course: u.s. government and politics

geography now

the school of life: political theory

it’s history: the history of china

it’s history: weapons of mass destruction

it’s history: the history of sex

extra credits: extra history

khan academy: history

khan academy: american civics

the great war

tom richey: ap euro review

tom richey: ap us history review

cgp grey

math

numberphile

khan academy

vihart

philosophy

the school of life: philosophy

the school of life: eastern philosophy

philosophy tube

8-bit philosophy

misc / no particular subject

crash course: big history

ted-ed

smarter every day

in a nutshell

vsauce

dnews

test tube news

test tube plus

seeker daily

the good stuff

thoughty2

how to adult

mental floss

[oneblueumbrella]

Just The Business Guy: Complete

My current WIP is no longer a WIP!

Just The Business Guy is a David/Patrick (Schitt’s Creek) AU in which David had already opened the store before he met Patrick. For his part, Patrick had a very uncomfortable conversation with Rachel before leaving Toronto, and he landed at random in Schitt’s Creek.

[oneblueumbrella]

[oneblueumbrella]

I will be 70 years old and I still will never have gotten over the time the Mythbusters used a rocket powered steel wall to - and I use this word as literally as possible - vaporize an entire car into red mist

[oneblueumbrella]

I am in for this! Anyone who wants to remind me about it next week so I remember to sign up that would be delightful 😂🥰

@poutini are you in?

ANNOUNCING SCHITT'S CREEK TROPEFEST!!

If you've ever dreamed of writing or reading the tropiest fic, in which there was only one bed in a coffeeshop owned by your greatest enemy.... turned lover... this fest is for you!

Join us in celebrating fandom's favorite tropes, alternate universes, character pairings, crackfics, and more! We'll have broad claiming categories that include: character archetypes, romantic tropes, platonic tropes, locations, fantasy and fandom tropes, Canadian tropes, and multi-trope works. There's a category for everyone!

Participation sign-ups run from January 26- February 14.

Works are due April 25.

Posting begins April 28.

See you at TROPEFEST!

[oneblueumbrella]

Not to be gay on main.... But all I want is to live in a small medieval town. I'm the town baker. My bakery is my home and I'm always wearing an apron and covered in flour.

Nextdoor is a forge, and I am very close with the blacksmith that works there. Every morning I bring him a freshly baked loaf of bread. As I hand it to him our hands touch briefly. His hands are rough, yet they're so careful and gentle with everything he touches. I secretly want him to be that gentle with me.

One day, he walks into my bakery, he's still sweaty from the intense heat of the forge. In his hands is a small dagger in it's sheath. He hands it to me and tells me it's to protect myself if needed.

I take the dagger out of it's sheath. It's beautifully made. There are intricate designs engraved into the metal. It's so much more complicated than anything else yeah blacksmith has ever made. It must've been so time consuming to make.

I look up at him and with just one look I understand why he's giving it to me. With one look we both understand that we love each other. He leans in and kisses me. It's so soft and sweet, and gentle.

He comes by every day to get a loaf of bread and kiss me. We keep our relationship a secret. And everyone wonders why neither of us have found wives. But we know exactly why. And we're completely content with being secret lovers.

Is that really too much to ask?

[oneblueumbrella]

This is what Rasputin would've wanted.

[oneblueumbrella]

Ways to find a plot when you have characters and a setting

… but only characters and a setting. 

You have a world. A universe. A setting. Good! Describe what happens in it normally - describe your main character(s)’s daily life. Now, what would destabilize this routine completely? If many things could, write them all down. Pick your favourite idea(s). Plots are born from change: everything was going normally… until it wasn’t.

Make a list with all the goals/motivations of your main characters. Can the plot revolve around your characters going after these goals? 

Which goals are more important? Focus on those. 

Are different characters’ goals in conflict with each other? Conflict is usually what propels a story forward. 

What could go wrong in your character’s pursuit of their goal? Make it go wrong.

If you don’t know your characters’ goals, go back to the drawing board; they probably need more development.

If there’s not enough conflict of different motivations, make a new character who creates conflict!

How do you want your main character to have changed by the end of the story? Do you want them to be less selfish? To have come to terms with a part of themself? To have learned something new? Write down ideas that could accomplish this change. 

If you can’t think of any way your character could be changed (read: improved) by the end of the story, go back to the drawing board. They might be “too perfect”.

Notes: 

The change that triggers your plot can be anything. It doesn’t have to be the start of an epic war that will bring forth the apocalypse, it can be your character meeting a new person who shakes things up in their life, or anything you want!

Motivations can be anything. It doesn’t have to be something grand - if your character’s motivation is to just live a quiet life, you can still come up with a plot that will get in the way of that goal! 

Character development can be anything, as well - you don’t need a cliché moral to the story; your character doesn’t even need to change in a good way, if that’s not what you want for your story!

This is what I’ve found works for me, but if you try it and it doesn’t, or if it sounds way too sententious and strict for you - that’s okay! Take it with a grain of salt! Maybe you think your characters are just fine and don’t need more developing even in the situations in which I recommended you “go back to the drawing board”, or maybe you have better ways of coming up with a plot. That’s fine, the writing process can be very personal!