#and it's like the central...for all my posts

[prettymfwrites]

Paige x teammate reader please! I beg of you 😭😔

Yessss babes 🙏🏾 this was sitting in my drafts sorry ❤

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💙 Paige Bueckers x Female Teammate!Reader Headcanons

(ft. UConn Team Shenanigans)

(Not proofread)

🥺 Protective Paige Mode™

Paige is usually calm and goofy, but the second someone fouls you too hard or gets in your face during practice or a game?

> "Back off, that’s my girl."

She’ll walk up slowly, real chill, and stare until the message is received.

You once got shoved hard going for a layup and Paige didn't even let the ref finish their call before she was checking if you were okay.

> "You good? Need me to handle her?"

Teammates joke that when you fall, Paige gets to you before the trainers.

---

📱 TikTok Addict x TikTok Hater

You are obsessed with TikTok. Paige? Not so much.

But she somehow ends up in all your videos... reluctantly.

You’ll catch her coming out the locker room and be like,

> “Okay babe do this dance with me, just the first part.”

Paige: “Baby I got on slides and no rhythm, don’t do this to me.”

One time you did a TikTok where she had to lip sync Megan Thee Stallion and she gave up halfway through and said:

> “Nah I can’t be sexy on camera like that, mama, my mom gon’ see this.”

Aaliyah, Nika, and Ice Brady are your hype squad. They love watching Paige get roped in.

> Aaliyah: "PAIGE did you just do the body roll?? Who ARE you??"

Paige: "I was held at gun point."

---

💘 Nickname Central

Paige lives off the nicknames. You never hear her say your government name unless it’s something serious.

> "Pass me the water, pretty."

"Yo babe, you left your slides in my locker again."

"You seen my charger, mama? You always take mine."

She’ll casually call you “baby” in front of the team and then act confused when they’re teasing.

> Nika: “Oop, baby??”

Paige: “What? I got a baby. Y’all just mad.”

---

🏀 Practice & Locker Room Moments

During scrimmages, Paige will purposely switch teams if you’re dominating too much just to guard you.

> "Nah nah, I got her. No one else touch her. This is personal now."

You once smacked her butt after hitting a shot on her and she dramatically flopped like she was fouled, yelling:

> “Ref! Domestic!”

Paige leaves little notes in your locker on game days like:

> “Go off, pretty. I got rebound duty today if you start missing.”

---

🛋 Lazy Days and Social Media Chaos

Y’all do “get ready with me” TikToks before team events. Paige is in the background struggling to pick an outfit while yelling:

> “Babe, do I wear the hoodie or the other hoodie?”

You: “Neither. You’re wearing the sweater I picked.”

If you post a photo where she thinks you look too good, she’s in the comments:

> “Delete this rn before they start in the comments.”

And then texts: “You tryna make me fight air?? 😤”

---

💤 Post-Game Snuggles

After games, Paige likes to lie on your chest while you scroll on your phone. She pretends she hates the TikToks but lowkey enjoys watching you laugh.

> “You’re cute when you laugh, baby. Don’t change the vid yet.”

---

🏀 Jealous Paige at Practice

The gym echoed with sneakers squeaking and laughter as practice scrimmage started heating up. You’d been matched up against Jaylin, one of the newer players on the team, and let’s just say… she was being a little too friendly.

You hit a nice step-back three right in her face, and Jaylin smiled, holding her hands up.

“Okayyy, I see you,” she said, tapping your waist lightly. “We got a shooter on our hands.”

You laughed, brushing it off, not noticing the way Paige paused mid-dribble on the other side of the court.

She blinked. Once. Twice.

“Yo Nika,” she said slowly, still watching Jaylin, “Switch with me real quick.”

“Why?”

“I’ma guard Y/N.”

“But I’m—”

“Nika.”

“…Got it.”

You raised an eyebrow as Paige jogged over, sliding in front of you with that calm-but-lowkey-murderous expression she gets when she’s annoyed.

“Hi babe,” you grinned, dribbling toward her.

“Hey pretty,” she said, stealing the ball clean. “You flirtin’ today or just hoopin’?”

You snorted. “What?”

“Just wondering,” Paige replied, way too casually, passing the ball behind her back to Aaliyah. “You and Jaylin got some chemistry I ain’t know about?”

You stepped closer, grinning. “Ohhh, is someone jealous?”

“Jealous?” she tilted her head with a smirk. “Nah, I just think people need to keep their hands to themselves unless they paying rent.”

Aaliyah hollered from the sideline.

“NOT THE RENT LINE.”

Jaylin raised her hands. “My bad, Bueckers! I was just playin’.”

Paige nodded, smiling tight. “Play somewhere else.”

You covered your mouth to stop from laughing and leaned into her. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Yeah, but I’m your ridiculous.” She winked. “Now come on, mama. I’m not lettin’ you score again unless you say I’m your favorite teammate.”

You rolled your eyes. “You’re so dramatic.”

“Say it.”

“…Fine. You’re my favorite.”

“Louder for Jaylin in the back.”

“PAIGE!”

[solarstranger]

a/n. wrote this for my drabble writing game but ended up liking it a lot so i'm posting this as an official drabble lol. all thanks to @lostwrlds for the wonderful prompt (i.e., 'honeyed') <3 this is also inspired by my love for the sun, which is a central motif behind my url and blog theme. particularly, this scene revolves around the left image in my current pinned post, which is such a stunning photo. i hope you enjoy this! (0.9k)

c.w. very slightly suggestive themes.

“let me just—”

from where he’s standing at the side—conveniently shielded in the shadows and topless with a fresh shirt slung over his shoulder—bakugou watches you carefully, features riddled with skepticism you refuse to acknowledge as you tinker with the tripod, trying to set the legs at the perfect height.

“there,” you finally announce, satisfied, leaning back so you can admire the contraption in front of you, perched at the top of which is your camera.

“are you sure this is gonna work?” bakugou asks beside you, eyeing you as you pull out your phone to check your hair through your reflection.

at that, you don’t say anything for a beat, focus solely trained on patting down the stray strands, before deciding that this is as good as it’s gonna get and pocketing the device. you then turn to and reach for bakugou, who only lets you fix his hair in anticipatory silence, gaze never leaving your face as you tousle his notoriously unruly locks into place.

“it will,” you reassure him with a smile after a minute, pulling away with a nod that is more for yourself than him. “the sun’s bright enough.”

“whatever you say,” bakugou replies coolly, before tossing the shirt messily to the side. and when you only shoot him a deadpan look: “i’m gonna wear it afterwards, anyway.”

you frown. “you’re not gonna wear it for the photo?”

bakugou pauses for a moment. “nah.”

“…you do know we’re keeping this pg, right?” you chuckle, which makes him flame almost instantaneously.

“of course, dumbass,” he spews, masking his embarrassment with anger the way he always does when you tease him. “it’s just hot, is all.”

“sure,” you quip, and you have to fight to bite back a laugh at the way he sputters in response.

“i was thinking—” you cut him off before he can say anything more, biting your lip to suppress your grin, “we stand at this spot,” you say, pointing to the sunlit space a few feet away from both of you, “and we can, i don’t know, kiss or something.”

“kiss?” he chokes—so blatantly surprised—you’d think the man has never touched your lips, let alone shoved his tongue in your mouth a million times before.

“unless you have a better pose in mind?” you retort defensively, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “and be quick about it,” you say—almost snap, “the sun’s almost setting.”

“okay, okay,” he relents promptly, stepping towards the small, sundrenched area, tugging you along with him by your wrist until you’re standing face-to-face and smack dab behind the camera, at which he glances. “is it on already?”

“yeah. wait, i’ll just set the timer—”

you quickly approach the tripod and crouch down to peer at the screen, making a few clicks before you finally tap the capture button, and the telltale sound of the timer counting down immediately resounds throughout the airbnb, breaking the suspenseful silence.

you instantly straighten up just as bakugou beckons you towards him, and you waste no time in running towards the pro-hero until you’re standing right in front of him, both of you bathed in the honeyed yellow of the sunlight piercing through the beach-facing windows of your room.

and for a brief moment, you freeze. you’ve always known bakugou was beautiful—it was one of the many things that first drew you towards him, after all—that is, before you eventually found out about the even more beautiful things inside of him that made you fall in love with him even more.

but now, as he stands still in front of you, pale skin and ash-blonde hair and bright, crimson eyes all reflecting the sunset bursting through the screens of your window, you can’t help but stare.

because how did you get so lucky?

“hey.”

at the sound of bakugou’s familiar, gruff voice, you startle, and only then do you remember that you still have a picture to pose for.

bakugou doesn’t wait for you to gather your bearings, taking it upon himself to grab your arms and loop them around his neck, before placing his firm hands on your hips. then, he smirks, an all-too-familiar expression that almost always means ‘kiss me’, and so you do.

kiss him.

lifting yourself on your tippy toes, you crane your neck to meet him, closing your eyes just as you press your lips onto his, the camera shutter going off the moment you do as if on cue.

you let your mouths linger against each other for another beat before you finally make the move to pull away, smiling brightly. bakugou smiles back at you, a shy one he reserves for you and moments like these— a smile that stays on as you step back and detach the camera from the tripod, swiftly clicking on the gallery button.

and you all but gasp when you’re greeted with the artful image of your intertwined silhouettes surrounded by sunlight, just as bakugou barks out a delighted laugh.

you turn to regard bakugou with a look that says, ‘are you seeing this?!’, to which the pro-hero only nods, chuckling. you grin, turning back to study the picture, although bakugou doesn’t follow suit.

instead, he only lets his gaze stay trained on your face, a proud look on his face.

because while you were wondering how you got so lucky, he was already busy being the lucky one.

˗ˏˋ while likes are appreciated, they don’t do much on tumblr! if you want to support me and writers in general, reblogs, replies, and tags are the way to go. feel free to drop an ask, too—i’d love to chat. have a nice day! ´ˎ˗

[comicgeekery]

It's fair to feel complicated about S&C. I admit I go super hot and cold with them where I'll love several adventures and a new, insultingly stupid one will come out. (Usually it's a result of cringe-worthy humor.) It's wild that there still aren't transcripts you can access, as that's one of the Patreon perks. Whenever they release a new story, I get all the episodes and all the transcripts at once. That's just an absurd thing to keep exclusive to paying fans! I admit I have been a little uncertain with how the S&C team handle the fans who want Sherlock and John to get together. I actually got a personal answer from Joel in an AMA on the Patreon. He said that, while Sherlock is gay in this version, they won't being pairing him with John. My hope is that either Joel was lying for the sake of a plot twist or that fan enthusiasm can change their minds. It's just such an obvious decision to me. It's a pairing that's had fans for over 100 years. It's finally public domain. Just let them be queer together already! I mean, look at how successful numerous narrative podcasts have become with the addition of a central queer relationship: Welcome to Night Vale, The Adventure Zone, The Magnus Archives. All shows that revolutionized podcasting and inspired hugely devoted fans through engaging stories, complex characters, detailed world-building, AND EMBRACING THEIR QUEER FANBASE! Honestly, if S&C won't do the same when the option is on a silver platter then it's both stupid and cowardly.

So yeah. I'm hoping this is just a delicate slow-burn. As for Scandal, I did a whole write-up recently about my thoughts. I'll tag you on it, since this post is so long now. And Sherlock might well be the most adapted now! (Especially if we argue that Jesus, as a historical figure, shouldn't count as a "character".) I do wonder how many adaptations he has if you also include all of the cameos, like when he shows up for a joke on The Simpsons or something. Probably thousands! The Wishbone episode should definitely count either way though.

Sherlock Holmes became an adaptation of an adaptation.

By watching several adaptations, it is possible to see how Holmes' personality begins to change over time, and how some adaptations are very similar to each other, not because they are based on the same book, but because they are based on each other instead of being based on the canon.

For example, the stereotype that Holmes is cold and emotionless, even though in the book Watson indeed says that Holmes is "a machine", Watson still describes him as sensitive, gentle, Holmes compassionate towards the clients who need it most. In addition to the explicit affection he has for Watson and how he respects Watson's feelings.

In older adaptations, Holmes has a personality and attitudes that are more faithful to the books, until the 2000s, Holmes' personality was consistent with the canon.

From the 2000s onwards, the adaptations became increasingly distant from the canon and began to be based on existing versions of the character instead of the canon, and thus a whole new perception of the character was created that did NOT match AT ALL with his original counterpart.

(very long post)

And it's not just Holmes' personality that is affected, but his dynamic with Watson and the history and personality of the other characters ends up being affected. For example, Irene Adler.

Although the interpretation of Irene as Holmes' romantic partner has existed for decades, since the 19th century, and even though she appeared in ONE short story, and was the only woman to beat the great detective, her relevance in having been a woman at that time and having been smarter than Holmes was transformed and reduced to her being Holmes' love interest, BUT even then, there isn't THAT many adaptations where Irene is portrayed this way how people think

First, there is Alice Faulkner, Holmes' romantic partner created by William Gillette, an original character inspired by Irene Adler, but very different from Irene. Holmes helps her and falls in love with her, kinda cute. (almost everyone knows) William Gillette is also responsible for the image of Holmes with the big pipe and the famous phrase never said by the canon Holmes "Elementary, my dear Watson". This is where the first influence on the other adaptations begins.

William Gillette's Holmes inspired the adaptations by Clive Brook and John Barrymore. Brook's version Holmes has a wife like Alice, and Barrymore's version is an adaptation of Gillette's film.

‼️This is all referring specifically to visual media such as movies and tv shows.

From decades before until the 1950s (not included), there is no Irene Adler. Of the more than 30 adaptations, four of them have an original female character as a romantic partner to Holmes. From the 50s to the 80s (not included), there are 30 other film and television adaptations. Where Irene only appears in 1976 in “Sherlock Holmes In New York” with Roger Moore as Holmes, and I believe that this is perhaps the FIRST version where Irene and Holmes really have a romance.

In this movie, half of the time, it is shown how Holmes loves Irene Adler and misses her, until a case ends up taking him to New York, to meet the woman he loves so much, BUT in the end, after he discovers that he has a son with Irene, he simply decides that he cannot stay with her and their son, because he has a whole life in London and cannot leave everything like that. Father of the year.

Before that, of course, there is “The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes” in 1970 by Billy Wilder, where he has the character of Gabrielle, which may have been the starting point for Irene Adler's transformation.

There were two adaptations in the 1970s where a man ends up in a type of psychosis that makes him believe he is Sherlock Holmes and a doctor named, by coincidence of course, Watson, and she is the one who helps him. In the first film, “They Might Be Giants,” Holmes and Dr. Watson fall in love.

At this time, it has the movie “The Seven Per-Cent Solution,” where Freud helps Holmes overcome his “aversion to women” and at the end of the movie, Holmes meets a potential female love interest.

Of all the 33 films from this period [50s-80s], there is ONE movie where Holmes is implicitly homosexual, ONE movie where H&W fall in love, ONE movie where Holmes has an original female romantic partner and ONE movie where Holmes and Irene Adler were a couple.

Irene only appears then in the “Soviet Holmes” series from (1979), where although it seems that Holmes may have feelings for her, she is not a love interest.

From the 80s to the 2000s (not included), of the almost 40 film and television adaptations, Irene Adler only appears THREE TIMES.

In 1984 in the film with Peter Cushing “The Mask of Death”, where Holmes seems grumpy with the mere presence of Irene and complains about how he lost to a woman. In the same year also Irene appears in “Granada Holmes” which is probably the most faithful adaptation of the tale of the Scandal in Bohemia.

Irene only appears AGAIN in 1991 in “The Leading Lady” with Christopher Lee, where Irene has no self-respect whatsoever and has only one mission in this movie, which is to marry Holmes. She literally says that she DOESN’T CARE IF HOLMES DOESN’T LOVE HER, she wants to marry him and ends baby trapping him.

In 1994, there was the pilot episode of the series that would be called “Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes Returns”, which is a remake of the 1987 pilot episode “The Return of Sherlock Holmes”. In the first version, Holmes wakes up from cryogenics and meets Watson’s granddaughter, Jane, and from her, he learns that it is okay to be gay in the 80s. In the second version, Holmes is found by a doctor named Winslow who falls in love with him, but Holmes shows no interest in her.

In the late 90s, there is “Shirley Holmes”, who is Holmes' great-great-granddaughter-niece (?), her father is a Holmes and her mother is a doctor named Joanne. There is also “My Dearly Beloved Detective” where H&W kiss, the movie is mainly about love.

From this period, of the three times that Irene appears, only once she is a love interest and other THREE adaptations that put H&W in a romantic position.

So until the 2000s, of the more than one hundred adaptations, Irene is Holmes' love interest ONLY TWICE.

Of about 61 film and series adaptations produced since the 2000s till this day, EIGHT adaptations have Irene Adler as Holmes' romantic partner and another EIGHT adaptations where Holmes has other originals female characters as romantic partners.

And hust because I'm a math teacher:

It's worth noting that the number of adaptations (movies and tv shows) in 25 years is almost equivalent to the number of adaptations (movies and tv shows) in ONE CENTURY.

From the first sample of adaptations (movies and tv shows) from the period 1900-1999, there were 104 adaptations.

Irene as a romantic partner: 2 (± 2%)

Original Female Character: 4 (± 3.8%)

H&W in a romantic situation (corresponding or not, explicit or not): 4 (± 3.8%)

From the second sample of adaptations (movies and tv shows) from the period 2000-2025, there were 61 adaptations.

Irene as a romantic partner: 8 (± 13%)

Original Female Character: 8 (± 13%)

H&W in a romantic situation (corresponding or not, explicit or not): 7 (± 11.5%)

Irene Adler as love interest from the 2000s onwards:

“The Royal Scandal” with Matt Frewer, their relationship is implicit, this movie sucks, but other Frewer movies are good, as is Clive Merrison, Frewer is one of the only actors who has a voice that most closely matches the description of Holmes' voice in the canon. Also in the television film “Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars”, where Irene spends most of the movie disguised as a man, because of course that the ONLY WOMAN Holmes could fall in love with, dresses as a man. And then we have the Robert Downey Jr. films where despite explicitly showing the romantic relationship between Holmes and Irene at the same time it implicitly shows the romantic feelings between Holmes and Watson. And then we have “Elementary” (2012-2019), “Шерлок Холмс” (2013), “Sherlock Gnomes” (2018) and the most recent “CBS Watson” (Holmes is dead but they still made sure to let us know that Irene and Holmes had an affair.)

So, it was here, in the 2000s that the adaptations really began to change and became adaptations of each other. Holmes lost his personality and became another character. The canon stories were replaced by “fanfics” of other adaptations. (Irene Adler case)

I consider that three adaptations are mainly responsible for the CURRENT image of Sherlock Holmes, and that it is from these three adaptations that the image that we have (in the contemporary era) of Sherlock Holmes was perpetuated and is the basis for the adaptations produced more recently.

The first is House M.D. (2004-2012). Although the general public does not know that it is based on Sherlock Holmes, House influenced other adaptations, especially the personality that Holmes has today. The cliché of the super-intelligent, cold, calculating, emotionless male character begins here. Even though House is not exactly that trope. The image of Holmes being insensitive to clients/patients, his arrogance and being an ASSHOLE starts in House. Including the way he treats or mistreats Watson/Wilson.

The second adaptation is the Robert Downey Jr. films as Holmes (2009-2011). He turns Holmes into an action hero, which Holmes is not, his personality does not match the canon at all (in these movies, this is not a problem). But the main influence of RDJ Holmes is Holmes as an action hero, and being SLOPPY. He dresses badly and does not keep a clean appearance. It looks like he has not showered in months. I know he STINKS.

And then we have the third adaptation, which is where the adaptations of other adaptations begin: BBC Sherlock (2010-2017). BBC Sherlock could almost be an adaptation of “The Private of Sherlock Holmes” considering the amount of similarities and references to Billy Wilder's film and the number of times Moffat and Gatiss said that this was their favorite film and INSPIRATION. BBC Sherlock is set in the modern era as Basil Rathbone's film series was then, it also makes references to the 1965 BBC series with a background appearance by Douglas Wilmer, they made reference to “Granada Holmes” in “The Abominable Bride”. And considering that RDJ Holmes is (I believe) the FIRST adaptation that decided to have Irene Adler working for Moriarty, it can be considered that Irene Adler from BBCSH, besides being an adaptation of Gabrielle from “Private Life of Sherlock Holmes”, is also inspired by Irene from the movie.

Still, controversy, but BBC Sherlock also suffers from the influence of House, mainly in Sherlock’s PERSONALITY. He has a personality quite similar to House’s.

So we have BBC Sherlock that is inspired by other adaptations and other adaptations that are inspired by BBC Sherlock. They are adaptations based on others adaptations, where the original Holmes gets lost and it is no longer possible to recognize him.

House influenced BBC Sherlock, Elementary and CBS Watson. Although Elementary suffered from the obvious comparisons to BBC Sherlock, it clearly follows a House approach style, including the opening of the show is inspired by the 1965 BBC series. And even with the influences of other adaptations, Elementary managed to maintain a personality more in keeping with Holmes, despite the sexual appeal that Elementary Holmes has (I believe it's House's fault). This Holmes has character development and takes a more serious approach to being neurodivergent and queer, and to his addiction. Unlike both House and BBCSH, which do not fully address Holmes' autistic, or his sexuality, and in the case of BBCSH at no point does it seriously address Sherlock's addiction problem.

And again, possibly influenced by Irene from the Warner Bros. films, we have an Irene Adler who works with Moriarty, and spoiler alert, not only does she work with Moriarty but is actually Moriarty herself. In addition to having a romantic involvement with Holmes, and Moriarty (her own counterpart) being an obstacle in their relationship (as in the film).

CBS Watson series has a big problem, being from the same producers as Elementary, even though Elementary managed to maintain consistency and a certain fidelity to Holmes' personality, CBS Watson ends up having almost no personality, being similar to House, and with a Watson that seems trying to be Holmes at all times. In a way, CBS Watson is an adaptation of another adaptation: House, which is inspired by Sherlock Holmes.

RDJ Holmes has influenced two Russian adaptations, “Sherlock Holmes” from 2013, where despite expectations that it was inspired by the Soviet series from 1979, the new Russian Holmes is very similar to the ways of RDJ Holmes, sloppy and careless. The series plot is that Watson narrates the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, but the Holmes he writes about is not the same as the real Holmes he lives with. Even though in this context, fidelity to the canon somehow does not need to exist. It still shows the influence of RDJ's films. And again, Irene Adler here is Holmes' romantic partner.

As for the NEW Russian series “Sherlock in Russia” (2020), despite its originality and very well produced, we have an almost sloppy Holmes, long hair and a goatee, that yes, is RDJ's fault.

Being the most influential of the post-2000s adaptations, BBC Sherlock influenced several other adaptations, such as: “Miss Sherlock” (2018) which is not only inspired by BBC Sherlock, but clearly an adaptation of BBC Sherlock in a modern Tokyo setting where Sherlock and John are women. (An adaptation of another adaptation that was inspired by other adaptations). “Sherlock Untold Stories” (2019-2022) which is also heavily inspired by BBC Sherlock visually, but unlike Miss Sherlock it manages to be more original.

Moriarty the Patriot's Sherlock. Both the manga and the anime are, in my opinion, the best adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, both in the original plot and in how they adapted Moriarty and the canon to the context of the manga universe. However, Sherlock is clearly inspired by BBCSH's Sherlock. Some parts of the manga are also very similar to the events of BBC Sherlock.

And the most controversial one: Sherlock and Co. And I say this not as if they deliberately decided this. It's undeniable the impact that BBC Sherlock had on the general public's perception of WHO SHERLOCK HOLMES IS. Considering that the producer himself said that they had three audiences that they had to balance when making this adaptation, one of them being the "Johnlocker Community". Evidencing the HUGE impact that BBC Sherlock has even on the general Sherlock Holmes fandom, and yet, the producer said that he didn't know about queerbaiting when the allegations started that SH&Co. could be queerbaiting, remembering that no adaptation is obligated to make H&W a couple. This fact happened precisely because of the public's perception of how SH&Co. is similar to BBCSH and not just because it is set in the modern era. Observing the fandom, especially in the beginning, it was perceptive that SH&Co. was being treated as an extension of BBC Sherlock. So by EXTERNAL CONSEQUENCES, I will consider that SH&Co. Whether willingly or not, he suffers from the direct influence of BBCSH (and its fandom).

And then there's the Netflix problem. I haven't read the Enola books (yet), and I have no idea how Holmes is adapted in her books. But Henry Cavill Holmes is a consequence of BBCSH and RDJ. It's as if they had a son, but he clearly pulled Sherlock's hair more (BBCSH).

And Irregulars, only Netflix know where they got their inspiration from to do that. And Holmes is sloppy again, it's RDJ's fault. And taking inspiration from Sherlock in New York, Netflix's Holmes also abandons his daughter even though he says he loves the child's mother more than anything. Eleven worse, Irregulars Holmes neglects his daughter for FIFTEEN YEARS, but her mother is the love of his life and could let the world end if they could be together. And for some reason Watson loves that jerk.

(also is like benedict and jonny lee miller had a child)

And the light at the end of the tunnel came, unexpectedly, from the CW. Finally an adaptation that is not based on another adaptation, that despite the original approach, it is still noticeable that it is in fact based on the canon and does not suffer from the influence of other adaptations.

This is based on a twitter discussion, but mostly on a comment from an oomf.

English is not my first language, I am smarter in Brazilian Portuguese

[rainbowcrowley]

Dear Good Omens fandom! Do you want to celebrate the release of S3 together, in person, with some cool activities?

My dear friend @beccibarnes and my humble self started planning a little get-together in the city of Hamburg in Northern Germany.

It all started as a silly idea, but we kept going on, and now we want to make it real. We took heavy inspiration from Prague Omens and Prague Pirates (An OFMD fandom meeting) - two really cool events that have already taken place several times and were massive successes.

It will happen over the span of one weekend. All main activities are set for Saturday + Sunday, with some additional plans for folks who will be arriving on Friday afternoon/evening.

The main part of the event would be a biiig watch party - as in, booking a movie theatre just for us! - and we've already begun to contact several movie theatres in the city.

Besides that - we already have some other activities in mind, which could include, but are not limited to:

a tour through the city

a boat trip on the Elbe river

having lunch and/or dinner together, maybe even breakfast 👀

having a picnic, if the weather allows it

visiting a board game or cat café

belting out some tunes at a karaoke bar

visiting local exhibitions and sightseeing activities

We will keep it as budget friendly as possible, pinky promise!

The biggest problem is: We don't have a release date yet (thanks, amazon). That makes planning very difficult, not just for us - for you too. Second problem is: We have no idea, how many people to expect (if any, besides us). Therefore, we are asking you:

Now, some additional words about Hamburg, in case you've been wondering...

Hamburg is Germany's 2nd biggest (and also the best, but shhh) city. It's easily reachable by car, bus, train and plane. Our airport is comfortably placed right in the middle of the city and has lots of destinations from all over Europe. Hamburg also has train connections into every nook and cranny of Germany + direct connections to Prague, Vienna, Copenhagen and Basel. We also have a huge central bus station... so yeah. Lots of ways to reach the city.

We've also set up a Discord server - so come and join if you are interested and would like to follow our plans + updates.

Thanks for reading! Please reblog and share this post, we want to reach as many fellow Good Omens fans as possible. :)

[fkinkindagauche]

A Monstrous Nature

So excited to finally be able to post my gift fic for the @harringrove-summer-exchange, for @keaganz! She listed the following as things she'd like to see in the fic, and I think I may have got them all: Top Billy/Bottom Steve, Upside-Down shenanigans, angst with a happy ending, smut, hurt/comfort. Hope you like it!

It was absolutely inspired by @safk-art's stunning Demo Steve art, highly encourage everyone to go check that out.

Rating: Explicit Pairing: Billy Hargove/Steve Harrington WC: 6,018 Content Warnings: Blood and gore (canon-typical) Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Angst with a Happy Ending, Billy Hargrove Lives, Demogorgon Steve Harrington, Canon-Typical Violence, Tentacle Sex, Top Billy Hargrove, Bottom Steve Harrington, Monster Steve Harrington, Monsterfucker Billy Hargrove, Light Dom/sub, Bathing/Washing, Insecurity, Blood and Injury, Rimming, Anal Sex Summary:

Billy follows Steve into the Upside Down during one of his patrols, against Steve's wishes. He sees Steve's monstrous side, but the effect is not what Steve expected.

Full fic is on AO3, excerpt is below.

divider by @/strangergraphics

Steve was in a terrible mood as he patrolled the Upside Down looking for demo-creatures to cull. Billy had been livid when Steve left for the evening. He'd been in the trenches of another explosive argument after Billy demanded to come with Steve on his patrol. It was an argument they'd had repeatedly over the year they'd been together. Every time the group located another gate, Steve went in to clear the area in the Upside Down and ensure no demo-creatures leaked into Hawkins. And every time, Billy wanted to come help him.

Steve winced as he went back over the things they'd yelled at each other this time. He was particularly ashamed of calling Billy a "boringly human Upside Down reject". But in his defense, he'd said it after Billy had called him a "deranged flower-faced shit". Steve had slammed the door so hard on his way out of the house that he'd heard glass breaking in the living room.

He didn't understand why Billy insisted on trying to come with him. Steve was uniquely well-suited to this task after all the changes he'd undergone from the demodog bites in the tunnels. Billy, thanks to early intervention from Steve when he'd noticed the creeping presence of the Mind Flayer, was still fully human. He couldn't take on packs of demodogs in the Upside Down and come out unscathed, not the way Steve could.

Steve was pulled from his perseveration by rustling sounds in the trees around him. The gate had appeared near the Henderson house this time, bordering a patch of woods nearby. The human portion of his ears picked up only a vague rustling, and he was unable to accurately place the size and location of whatever was pursuing him.

He focused on the delicate seams along his jaws, instructing his muscles to release the tension holding them together. His head unfurled like a flower, his face opening to reveal a central gaping maw and five petal-like structures lined with razor-sharp teeth.

His senses unfolded along with his head. He could feel the vibrations of the world around him with the thin filaments that filled the spaces between all of the teeth. He could smell so much more with the olfactory organs hidden at the core of the mouth than he could with his human nose.

His brain parsed the new influx of vibrations and scents, sifting through the information to tell him that there were two demodogs in the trees to his right. They weren't even particularly big ones. This would be easy. He flexed his hands, popping his claws out of their sheaths, and waited.

The two demodogs burst from the trees, heading straight toward him. He caught a whiff of an out-of-place scent just before he heard a full-throated human scream. Someone threw themself between Steve and the demodogs.

He placed the scent a moment later - Billy. The fucker had followed Steve in.

Steve felt the vibrations in the air as Billy swung something long and wooden at the closest demodog, hitting it across the torso. He must've stolen Steve's bat. The demodog howled as the conical shape of its head unfurled. The second demodog dove at Billy while he was distracted. Steve sensed the movement in the air as the dog's mouth snapped near Billy's bare arm.

Steve threw himself at the second demodog, driving it to the ground and biting its head off before it could fight back. The first demodog had its mouth wrapped around the bat now, and was slowly pulling Billy toward it.

Steve raked his claws across its torso and it dropped the bat with a startled yelp. He grabbed its head between his two clawed hands, flexing the modified muscles there, and wrenched it sharply to the side. Its neck snapped and the head partially tore free from the body, spurting blood all over Steve.

Steve turned to Billy. He slowly furled the petals of his head, fitting them together to reform his face. Billy stared at him with wide eyes and an indecipherable expression on his face.

Billy hadn't been fully himself during the fight with the Mind Flayer, when the party had come together to save him from its grasp before it could get a firm hold in his mind. He didn't remember what Steve had done then to protect everyone. And since then, Steve had tried to keep this violent, monstrous side of himself from Billy as much as possible. Why had Billy followed him?

Before Steve could descend fully into his burgeoning worries, he picked up on a set of new vibrations with his lingering demo-senses. He could tell even from a distance that it was much bigger than a pair of demodogs.

"We need to go, now!" Steve snapped. He grabbed Billy by the arm and started to run back toward the gate.

Billy shook off his arm and planted his feet. "What? Why? I can help you if there's something else coming!"

Steve grabbed Billy's arm again and tugged. Billy didn't budge. "No, you can't. You're human. What if one of them bites you, and you turn into a fucked up demo-creature?"

Billy shrugged. "Then we'll match."

Steve let out a strangled cry. He gave up on trying to convince Billy. He used his preternatural strength to grab Billy around the waist and throw him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Billy yelled. He beat his fists against Steve's back hard enough to bruise. "Put me down, you sick fuck!"

Steve ignored him and bolted for the gate. He could sense multiple full-grown demogorgons approaching them, probably three, as well as a handful of demodogs. They were getting closer fast. There was no way Steve was going to beat them to the gate with Billy's added weight to carry.

He scanned his surroundings. About 100 feet ahead of them was a large clearing. If Steve could get there, he'd at least be able to fight the hoard with a clear line of sight. He sprinted toward it as he felt the pursuers approaching.

Steve dropped Billy to the ground. Billy's eyes went wide as his limited ears finally picked up on the noises of the demogorgons.

"Shit," he muttered. He stood up, gripping the nail bat.

"Stand with your back to me," Steve said. "Swing as hard as you can whenever they come at you." Dread crept through his veins. He didn't want to lose Billy.

As the first demogorgon crashed into the clearing, Steve unfurled his head and squeezed out his claws. The demogorgon darted straight for Steve. Steve dealt with it easily with a swipe from his claws, knocking it to the side with a gaping wound in its abdomen. It wasn't dead, but that would slow it down considerably.

Steve was stronger and faster than the demogorgons. Taking on three would usually be no problem for him. But adding Billy into the mix was really going to fuck with his methods.

He felt Billy swing his bat at a demodog as the second demogorgon rushed Steve. He tried the same move on this one, but it dodged and swiped at Steve with its own claws. Steve took the hit, not wanting to interfere with Billy's fight by moving back to dodge. Pain seared through his abdomen as the claws tore his skin, but he knew it would heal fast. Demo scratches and bites never stuck around for long on his body.

He feinted with his claws again then lunged for the demogorgon's neck with his mouth as it dodged his claws. He sank his teeth into the meat there and tore, pulling a large amount of circulatory system back out with him. The demogorgon fell to the ground, twitching as it bled out.

Billy grunted behind him as a demodog yelped. The final demogorgon circled around in an attempt to go for Billy instead of Steve. That wouldn't do. Steve launched himself at the demogorgon, abandoning Billy in favor of taking this monster down before it got to him.

Steve scuffled with the demogorgon, taking a few more scratches and one nasty bite before he managed to latch onto its neck. He felt several demodogs piling up on his back, biting and scratching. Good, that meant they weren't going for Billy. He ripped out the demogorgon's throat, then grabbed the two demodogs off his back and threw them into the trees. He heard them yelp, then flee into the trees.

He turned back to Billy. He could sense one final demodog circling Billy as the other man waved the bat in front of him. The demodog lunged for Billy, wrenching its jaws open just as Steve reached him.

Steve gripped the last demodog around the head just before its jaws snapped shut on Billy's neck. He shut its mouth and continued to squeeze, increasing pressure with his huge, clawed hands. He kept going until the entire conical head popped beneath his hands in a startling explosion of gore. It sprayed across Billy's face and the front of his body, coating him in blood and brain matter and bits of flesh.

Billy sputtered, spitting chunks of flesh out of his mouth. "Fucking ew," he muttered, wiping a hand across his face.

Steve surveyed the scene. Two demodogs lay dead at Billy's feet in addition to the last one that Steve had killed. The wounded demogorgon was long gone. There were no surviving demodogs in the area.

Steve drew in the petals of his head, but kept his claws unsheathed. "Did you get bit?" Steve asked, once he had a human mouth again.

Billy shook his head. He was covered in gore, but Steve hoped it was mostly demo-blood.

"Let's get out of here," Steve said. He'd done what he came here to do - cleared the area around the floating gate of creatures before they could make their way into Hawkins. They needed to get back before the gate closed. No one had been able to figure out why these floating gates kept appearing, but they never stayed open for more than a day. Steve tried to only spend two hours tops on the inside, to make sure he didn't get stuck.

Steve couldn't decipher the look on Billy's face, but after what he had just seen Steve do, it couldn't mean anything good. He'd get Billy back to safety and make sure to take care of any of his wounds before Billy inevitably broke up with him.

Billy followed Steve silently to the gate and back into Hawkins.

Looking for the comfort? Finish the fic on AO3!

[ussrs-wife]

Trying to coin a umbrella term but i’m lowkey inexperienced

Metaminzu is a term for those who experience race, ethnicity, and/or nationality in a trans or deemed unconventional way

• Meta- (from metamorphosis) — change and personal transformation.

• Minzu (民族) — a Chinese word meaning race, ethnicity, and nation depending on context.

Flag meaning.

black stripes on top and bottom — refusing to fade away + anyone whose express their metaminzu identity in a non-conforming way

red stripes (below and above the black ones) — anyone who identifies as “metaminzu” and wasnt mentioned on the other stripes

yellow stripes (above and below the red stripes) — xeno- identities that fall under the metaminzu umbrella

pink stripes (above and below the yellow stripes) — nationality, countries, landmasses, territories, transnation (transnationality + some translocation identities) umbrella

cyan stripe (above one of the pink stripes) — ethnicity, ethnic groups,

blue stripe (below one of the pink stripes) — race, racial groups, trace umbrella

blue stripe (bigger one, above the white one) — europe and everything about it

white stripe on the middle — antarctica and everything about it

green stripe (below the white one) — africa and everything about it

yellow stripe (large one on the middle) — asia and everything about it

red stripe (right besides the yellow one on the middle) — north america and everything about it

orange stripe (right besides the yellow one on the middle) — south america, central america and everything about them

Pinkish-redish stripes (besides the principal red one and the principal yellow one) — australia and everything about it

purple stripes — oceania and everything about it

circle with symbol on the middle — symbol is the mix of the earth symbol with a butterfly, that represents change, rebirth and/or transformation. Black also represents refusing to fade away, white represents harmlessness and acceptance. Symbol being colorful represents diversity.

symbol (both transparent, no color / colorful versions)

+

symbols used to make it

i hope this all makes sense and iam not just tweaking

BTW my blog got termed for the second time and this is my first post 😭

i heavely disliked that there were no umbrella term for those so i made this

tell me if ya feel like i should add anything,,

[mellosdrawings]

Hey, I got more to say about KPop Demon Hunters, and like half of it is ideas for a rewrite of the things that I think were a bit mid.

I was vague in the OG post coz first day and all that but now I've had time to think a bit.

I'd say this movie is a solid 14/20. Like, not best movie of the year but it's got some strong points. But it also has two major issues.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

My main issue would be that it's basically "Rumi & Jinu: the story". They are so central to the plot that even Mira and Zoey are supporting characters at best. Zoey being biracial (from what I understood) and stuck between the US and Korea would have been interesting to hear more about. Mira's rebelling side/anger issues that she vents through fighting demons would have been interesting to hear more about. But there was nothing about it.

And don't get me started on the other Saja Boys. Why did they even follow Jinu? Sometimes they look close and sometimes they look like disinterested coworkers, it's a bit of a shame.

Those are the weak spots in my opinion.

And, while I absolutely love the last two songs, I honestly would've loved a duet between Huntr/x and Saja Boys.

Like, bear with me. Rewrite time.

Imagine we got to see more of the other boys, and have them develop a bit more of a teasing/love-hate/rival relationship with Mira and Zoey. Flesh them all out through each other. Yeah? Ok. Now, when Jinu starts rebelling, conflicts happen amongst the boys. They manage to convince Jinu to go on with the OG plot. Then we go to Huntr/x breaking up.

But like make it a bit better/less rushed, coz as much as I understand being lied to your whole life hurts, Mira and Zoey sure turned against their bestie super fast (I'm just... not fond of that trope sorry). Maybe actually play on Mira being a problem child for this one. Coz why would Zoey, someone who knows what it's like to be stuck between two worlds, not feel at least a bit of compassion for Rumi, who's quite literally stuck between two worlds? So yeah, have Mira actually become an antagonist here, and then Zoey who once more has to chose between two worlds (Mira or Rumi), but who simply can't. Instead of having Rumi on one side and Mira and Zoey on the other, you have all three of them breaking up.

(But anyway, with all that you got the parallel between the new group fighting but managing to stay together, and the older group that's supposed to have a stronger bond breaking up. I'm cooking folks.)

And by the climax, Jinu joins Rumi's song. Power of love and whatever. And because the boys would have been shown to have grown an actual bond during the whole movie instead of just being pretty faces, you can have Jinu and/or the girls convincing them to join them.

Thus you got a beautiful song with both Huntr/x and Saja Boys singing.

And if we want to keep the ending as it is, the Saja Boys can still all vanish because they gave their souls/powers to a song that would basically eradicate them. But at least they feel like they made the right choice or something.

There.

Fleshing the boys, Mira, and Zoey more, and getting my Huntr/x-Saja Boys duet. That was easy.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I needed a day to cook it up.

Watched K-pop Demon Hunters.

I had such a blast. I won't spoil anything, just gonna say that I loved the songs, the visuals are top tier (as expected from Sony Animation, they're the ones who made Spiderverse after all), I found it very funny and touching, and the story was pretty cool too.

I really like what they did with Jinu too. Wasn't expecting to like him much but he grew on me. Really liked the end of his character arc.

And, kind of a side tangent, but I'm glad we're seeing more and more animated movies where the girl cast just. Gets to be whacky and cringe and over the top. These girls have fun and get to look stupid and I love that for them.

So yeah. Good vibes, nice movie. Will re-watch.

Sidenote: If you plan on watching the movie, please watch until the end of the first credits! The voice actresses have been filmed singing and they're just the cutest and coolest I love them.

[akajustmerry]

I just wanna say because my post about it blew up a bit that one of the reasons I personally really connect to and appreciate queer storytelling that doesn't have a primary focus on romance and intimacy is because I'm a bisexual who's been single for most of my life. romance and intimacy for myself is not a priority for me (no I am not ace, I'd appreciate this post not be derailed as a post about being ace thanks). it's just not something I prioritise, and some of that is by choice and some of it is honestly just luck not being on my side. I love stories about how being queer affects your whole life because despite being single it really affects mine. Being queer informs how I dress, what I talk about, how people see me, how I see them, where I work, who I'm friends with, etc. and that's not me saying that queer intimacy or portrayals of it are not important or a central part of queerness - they are. It is. gay sex and intimacy is beautiful and radical and so fucking important to celebrate in a world that generally does the opposite. But what bugs me on a personal level when ppl say films about gay characters who don't engage in gay intimacy "aren't gay enough" is that...yk being gay is something big and inherent and true about me in so many ways as it is for so many people. So it's nice to see that reflected back to you, and I don't like that the comment "not gay enough" implies that queerness is only a very narrowly defined experience. When I watch queer shows or movies where intimacy is not the primary focus, it's comforting for me to know that, as well as my romantic and sexual desires, the other things that being gay defines for me are also experiences that connect me to this community. whether that's something as complex as shame, or as frightening as navigating homophobic environments, or as fun as hanging out with other gay ppl, or as interesting as discovering a new way your queerness impacts your life, or just figuring out how to express yourself - it's all a part of queer life too. The earliest queer media I related to was movies with queer subtexts like high school musical, Billy Elliot and whip it that were about how being bisexual or gay in general impacts your relationship with gender expectations. And this is honestly still a major thing I look for in queer stories and the main thing that speaks to me because that's a huge thing in my life that's inseperable from being gay. I agree everything can be gayer, but also just because gays aren't having sex in whatever you're watching that doesn't mean it's gay enough. it means you've got a skill issue. idk sorry that every aspect of my life being enriched and irrevocably changed by being gay doesn't make you horny so it's not gay enough I guess

[creature-wizard]

Why do you think so many people online - especially kids - believe in RAMCOA conspiracy theories and are so into making it central to their identity when there’s no evidence for it?

A big reason is that people and resources promoting the stuff about ritual abuse and alter programming are extremely easy to find. And from what I gather, a few years back someone came on Tumblr promoting The Courage To Heal, which promoted this kind of stuff.

There are also plenty of resources out there created by people with PhDs, which makes it all look more credible. And these people have also spun this narrative that there's actually tons of evidence for this but nobody takes them seriously because the False Memory Syndrome Foundation came along and convinced everybody that false memories are a thing, but actually false memories are a fake thing they made up to protect abusers and the conspiracy and yadda yadda yadda. (Don't think too hard about the people who remember past lives in pseudohistorical places or remember alien abductions using the same techniques these therapists are using to help people remember ritual abuse, now!)

Also, these conspiracy theories provide explanations for things that don't always have a clear explanation. Numerous health issues that are often difficult to pinpoint causes for are claimed to be symptoms of TBMC. So are general feelings of unease and seemingly inexplicable anxiety and depression.

They also provide explanation for parental behaviors that we might not fully understand or don't find the explanation fully satisfying, like why a parent kept leaving you with a babysitter who treated you horribly. Someone might not realize or not feel satisfied with the explanation that the parent just didn't have any good options, or didn't realize the babysitter was treating them like this. If part of you feels like your parent must have known or must have had better choices, "actually, the babysitter was my programmer" feels like a more sensible explanation.

They also let people feel like they have problems worthy of sympathy. A lot of people just aren't really sympathetic to the problems of teenagers and young adults, and there's a lot of stuff that just isn't recognized as hurtful behavior. A lot of parental abuse and cruelty is often not recognized as such, and people who try to talk about how it made them feel and how much it affected them are often told that they're overreacting and their parents meant well. The methods allegedly used in TBMC are terrible enough that absolutely nobody could tell you that you're just overreacting.

It also provides explanation for people who have internalized that they don't have any real problems, or can't identify an obvious problem. Like it's easy to just not be aware of, say, how stressful it is to just exist under late stage capitalism while hearing about terrible violence around the world and feeling powerless to change anything.

Plus like, a lot of these people's friends are in support groups that believe in these conspiracy theories, so giving them up would mean giving up their friends. And believers teach members not to trust outsiders and critics, whether from a general "critics are all just misinformed by the Grey Faction and r/SystemsCringe" standpoint, or from a "critics have been misinformed by the Illuminati" standpoint.

Basically, I think it's a combination of all these factors. And I think the actual solutions to the problem will include creating better mental and physical health resources, making it easier to access said resources, getting people out of the Trauma Olympics mindset, raising awareness that "minor" things can hurt worse than you think, educating people on conspiracy theories and where they come from, and teaching better critical thinking skills.

This post is referring to alter programming conspiracy theories, which are commonly promoted under the umbrella term "Ritual Abuse, Mind Control, and Organized Abuse" - RAMCOA for short. To learn more about how we know they're conspiracy theories, click here.

[seattlesellie]

Hiii sweets! ♡︎ i have a few things i wanted to say so i apologize if this is just yap central!

i only recently discovered your blog & I’m completely obsessed with your works! Like… i used to write on tumblr for a handful of fandoms and ended up leaving for over a year due to burnout and my gosh. Some of your pieces (especially the one i’m about to talk about) have heavilyyyyy inspired me to get to typing omg… 😦

You’re a wonderful writer!!!! And i need you to know that!!! i ended up spending like two hours just reading through your works during my accidental all nighter LOL

One of my FAVORITE works i have ever read on this app is “don’t cross the line.” And like… i’ve been on this app for yearsss and i just read it yesterday 🤭 Genuinely, the burn and tension had me utterly BREATHLESS! It was all consuming and it is one of those pieces of writing that sucks you in, completely entrancing you, only to make you crave more & more. I know you published that a few years ago, but gosh, i would literally sell a limb and an organ for a part 2. Like a part of me wants to help write it (if you’d still even consider another part) because i was overthinking about what different scenarios could’ve taken place after that night…. ugh…. you’ve got me obsessed and inspired and my brain running laps with ideas

But changing the topic, i saw a recent post about your situationship & the mental struggle you were/are going through. You shouldn’t beat yourself up over that, because it’s truly a difficult situation to be in—and that it’s much easier to criticize yourself than take action or allow yourself peace. I’m unsure if you’ve ever read the book or have seen the movie, but Perks of Being a Wallflower has a very important quote that is held dearly by so many people, including me. “we accept the love we think we deserve.” I think the fact that you acknowledge that she isn’t good for you is a really good thing, by the way! It’s a step towards growth and knowing yourself, even if you can’t let her go. I hope this kinda helps even a lil bit, because i understand about doing things or being with people that aren’t necessarily good for you. You aren’t alone & you aren’t messed up or horrible because of it

Take care of yourself! and i hope to indulge in more of your content! 🫶

um genuine question do you happen to be an actual angel or something because this helped so much and oh my gosh sometimes u can like feel peoples auras through the screen and i feel like u have a white and pink one does that make sense???? thank u so much for this my love. also don’t cross the line is one of my favs of mine too although i wish i could rewrite it… maybe i should… ur so so so kind. i love that quote from pobaw!!! i have never read the book but watched the film n i forgot about that quote :(( and!!!!! yes i actually would love for u to help me write omg u can send me a pm orrrr just write ideas here ily

[diaryoku]

How to Outline a Story

#1. Brainstorm

Start with a blank document, usually titled something non-committal like “Free Write” or “Brain Dump,” and jot down any and all ideas you have. If it helps, you can start chronologically with the basic premise of the story and then build off of that. Eventually, you’ll have a whole bunch of little data points that you can start connecting. Try to keep things super short in this phase, but don’t limit yourself if you feel like writing more.

Here are a few examples of what that might look like:

MC goes to town, but then they meet someone else ("what are you doing here?”)

MC spills their coffee on their sweater in shock and embarrasses themselves in front of the whole town

TIP: Try to capture as much of the vibe and general tone of the story as possible. So if you think of any quotes, images, little scenes, etc., include those here to remind yourself of the tone later on.

#2. Basic Organization

So you’ve got the general idea, now it’s time to put it in the right order! There are plenty of story structures out there you can use, with varying degrees of complexity and difficulty. The only thing that matters is what works for you, your story, and your work style.

Here are a few examples:

3 Act Structure

5 Act Structure

Save the Cat Beat Sheet

Dan Harmon’s Story Circle

NOTE: Sometimes the structure of your story will already be obvious by the time you’ve finished brainstorming. If that’s the case, go forth and outline as you see fit! If not, start with a story structures, and then branch out as you become more familiar with the story and where you want it to go.

#3. Get Inspired

At some point in the outlining process, you will realize that your plot is missing something, or you don’t know what to write for a key scene. IMO, there are two ways to handle this:

Start writing: Sometimes you just need to start writing the story, and the plot hole will sort itself out! You may start writing, and a piece of dialogue or object will inspire you.

Look for inspiration: Read, watch a show or movie, listen to music, go for a walk and people watch, whatever you do, you need to be receiving some fresh input that gets your creative gears turning. Your brain will keep working on the story in the background, and you can return to your outline with fresh eyes and new ideas.

Other useful tools: Pinterest, Instagram, Libby, TikTok, Spotify

#4. Key Story Elements

Every story will vary, but these are things every plot should have (in my opinion):

An interesting beginning: Captivate your reader from the first page!

Conflict that matters: The central conflict of your story must matter to readers, or they won’t keep reading.

Related subplot: What’s better than one plot? Two! This adds complexity while still furthering the main storyline.

A satisfying ending: It doesn’t have to be happy, but it must leave your reader with a sense of satisfaction, or they won’t want to read anything else you write.

For more information, check out my “Things Every Story Should Have” post (coming soon!), where I go into each of these in more depth (and with examples!).

[boundwithpurple]

there’s this really grating post on here about how at the end of it all rhaenyra and alicent will attempt to flee from king’s landing to essos together and how this is the beautiful triumph of lesbian love over duty and it is. so annoying! it’s not that i don’t think it could happen but rhaenyra at any point in canon wanting to give up on the power she’s longed for her entire life to run away with alicent into the sunset would be incredibly regressive lol yes even if it’s gay. and it would piss me off pretty bad unless it was played as the tragedy it is.

it’s easy to get tripped up on this bc we’re like WOAH! feudal monarchy…bad. so wanting to leave it to not be bad is good :) but in a society where having power at all is tied to this to think women alone should give it up is not actually revolutionary in some way. wanting them to run off for shipping reasons is cool i just grate at the argument this is like radical lesbian rejection of power. ok even if this did happen on the show it would be because rhaenyra has been hounded violently from a public or political existence. her selling her crown and attempting to flee to essos with alicent would be enormously bittersweet to tragic AT BEST even if she succeeded. her family is dead and everything she’s ever wanted is in ashes! trying to live a life in that aftermath would be very compelling but like that is actually enormously depressing even if she can scissor now. idk i have goals in my life beyond just romance and sex and so does rhaenyra. rhaenyra’s desire to be queen is not false or compensating for love or lack of pussy eating and it’s enormously sexist to argue it is.

it is like a reasonable desire to want to wield power and shape the course of human events bc it’s a human desire and women are human. and so some women will want that especially if she’s been raised from birth to consider it a central structuring value of her existence personally. like she does reject alicent’s proposal in 2.08 when she thinks she has all the cards. accepting it means she has literally nothing left. it can be romantic in its way but only if like how tragic it is is accepted. and alicent only makes that proposal…because she has been denied her political existence! they have ambitions! they are high status political agents in a high risk political culture! wanting them to realize all ambition is pointless for lesbian domestic bliss/renunciation of social life is an antifeminist opp and i’m serious.

[jackalopc]

What do you do when the proverbial prince of gotham throws a couple grand worth of fine liquor on one of the most powerful crime bosses in the city and leaves the party? You follow him out and introduce yourself, of course.

inspired by this post by @bruciemilf including their fancast for harvey because um obviously it's perfect (and also a fair bit of influence from the a wild battinson series by @emo-batboy because i'm obsessed with it and it's canon in my heart).

It's early autumn; which means it's the start of the rainy season in Gotham (or rather more rain) and of Harvey's latest semester at Gotham University (GothU, affectionately). Harvey isn't entirely sure how he ended up at this shindig, if he's being honest, and the person who even invited him as his plus one has vanished. He's in law school but he's still only in pre-law, he hasn't even made a name for himself yet as some sort of future threat.

(It's still early enough that about 50% of students he's going through with are still starry eyed and haven't entirely given up on the idea of making Gotham a better place.)

The weird intersection of various gangs, businessmen, politicians (corrupt or otherwise), and local celebs is there on full display; and Harvey just wants to get the fuck out of there, but he has no idea where his ride is and frankly he's a broke law student he does not have the money for a cab all the way back into central Gotham from where they are.

But then, something catches his eye-- or rather, someone:

Bruce Wayne.

Bruce Wayne had recently crossed the threshold into being the richest man in the world (just surpassing the much older Lex Luthor), with the biggest company in the world (again surpassing Luthor's own corporation), and the closest thing Gotham has to true and actual royalty.

The same Bruce Wayne that was also in two of Harvey's classes this semester at GothU for reasons he did not understand.

Harvey is admittedly, briefly entranced. Sure they share classes and like him, Bruce attends every single one, but Harvey is pretty sure he's never been this close to the man still (or maybe it just feels closer compared to the large university lecture halls). Heads turn whenever and wherever Bruce goes; and it wasn't just because he was so unfathomably rich or because nearly all of Gotham was protective of the young man. From adorable child, to cute (if sullen) pre-teen, and now into an attractive (if sullen) young man-- Bruce was hot. Sure, in a kinda funky have we confirmed he's not a Victorian vampire way but honestly maybe it was just the classical Gotham influence that made him read that way.

Harvey, even in his trance, can tell that Bruce Wayne looks uncomfortable. He can't tell if it's the social interaction or the people he's surrounded by, but either way Bruce didn't look happy to be there really. Harvey can't help but find himself compelled to watch the billionaire, because he knew the public reputation of Bruce Wayne (generous to a fault, prince of gotham but king of social anxiety and awkwardness, person you could trust to leave your small children around); but what was he like at these weird little parties where it was almost all folks who were deeply corrupt and entrenched? Was it all just a persona? Would he start doing that weird haughty laugh a lot of these other rich fucks seemed to do?

Harvey was still one of those starry-eyed pre-law students, he wanted to make a real and lasting change in this godforsaken city. Bruce Wayne held the most power and influence here. Would he be an potential ally, or Harvey's biggest obstacle?

A figure was suavely bee-lining towards Bruce, the crowd parting way for him. Harvey didn't see who the person was until they stopped before the prince, and Harvey nearly dropped the expensive, crystal glass in his hand. Carmine Falcone. Not one of his lieutenants, not some people just associated with the crime boss, no. Falcone himself. Christ, what did I get dragged into? I'll pay another semester worth of tuition if it gets me outta here--

"Bruce, my dear boy! I'm soo glad you decided to join us," Falcone practically croons, and approaches with two glasses in hand. Harvey thinks he see's a slight twitch to Bruce's eye, but the man's expression doesn't change really even with the man's arrival. Falcone pushes the fresh glass of alcohol into Bruce's hand, then swiftly and smoothly wraps a long arm around Bruce's shoulders.

Harvey watches as Bruce looks from the glass, as if trying to determine it's contents then up to Falcone, eyebrow slowly arching. Harvey can't hear everything, the crowd just barely too loud. But Falcone starts steering Bruce further into the party. Right, I need to stop gawking and find my ride--

Harvey gulps down the last of his drink, though the taste makes him want to gag. Maybe he's just not sophisticated yet enough to appreciate the morbidly expensive alcohol. He hastily sets the glass down on the nearest passing waiter's tray, and starts to look for his ride.

The search brings him closer to Falcone, which isn't thrilling, but necessary in order to sweep the room. Harvey mentally swears because the place is huge and he's probably going to have to go room by room and--

"-- my boy, just think of the potential!" Falcone's voice floats so easily over the crowd, and the guy makes Harvey's skin crawl but even he has to admit the man has his own weird ass charisma. Harvey's attention is drawn back, involuntarily, to the crime boss and Bruce Wayne. The younger man hasn't touched his drink, if Harvey had to guess; and Falcone is staying practically plastered to his side. The younger man looks so so uncomfortable and frustrated? Annoyed? Mad? It's hard for Harvey to place, because somehow Bruce Wayne also continues to look sullen and exhausted.

The crowd around Falcone is a delicate balance of men and women clearly are comfortable around him; and people who were trying to find a way to get near while not incur the wrath of his many bodyguards. Then there was Harvey, who wants nothing to do with anyone here thankyouverymuch. Harvey scans the area one last time, not finding his so-called friend; his eyes land briefly at Bruce again before he starts to turn.

"-- I mean... you're father--" Falcone can't finish his sentence and Harvey turns back just in time to see Bruce Wayne splash the insanely expensive alcohol directly into Falcone's face.

Besides a few gasps, it goes quiet in the immediate area and quickly radiates out. Everyone is shocked, including Harvey, but he also is amazed byt he sight of Bruce. He looks as unimpressed by Falcone as he is angered. Bruce says nothing, and Harvey watches as he turns on his heel and starts calmly leaving; politely placing his glass on a waitresses tray on his way out.

Harvey has no idea what compels him to do so, but he follows the billionaire out.

"Wayne! Mr. Wayne!" Harvey calls as he jogs to catch up; the man has a surprisingly fast pace and while a crowd will part for the prince, it's not about to make way for some punk pre-law student they don't even know the name of.

Bruce Wayne stops, steps away from the gleaming black car that's running. His famous butler by his side, umbrella open above their heads.

Both men look to Harvey, curious and expecting, as he skids to a stop. Harvey realizes he didn't think far enough ahead, and swallows thickly. Thankfully though, Bruce speaks first.

"Harvey, Right? Harvey Dent?" Bruce says and Harvey blinks.

"You- wait, you know who I am?"

"Sure," Bruce says easily, like his name is worth remembering to a man like him. The rain is still falling, steadily and soaking Harvey. "You're the only one saying stuff worth listening to in those classes," he adds.

Harvey blinks, and he's glad the light is shit in the overcast weather, because his face warms at the acknowledgement. "Oh..."

"I didn't expect you at a place like this," Bruce says, voice curious as he watches Harvey closely in a way that makes him want to squirm a little under the scrutiny. It's not malicious feeling, though--- Harvey thinks it seems more curious, than anything.

"My friend dragged me here, didn't tell me what was going on..." Harvey admits.

Alfred leans in and whispers something to Bruce. Bruce nods, not taking his eyes off Harvey. "Would you like a ride home, Mr. Dent?" Alfred asks.

They don't go directly to Harvey's place, and Alfred doesn't even drop Bruce off first. Instead--

"Bat Burger?" Bruce asks, as he settles fully into the seat next to Harvey. "I'm starving."

"Oh! Uh, sure?" Harvey blinks, and then looks down as Bruce pulls out a towel of all things, from-- somewhere? and offers it to him. Harvey takes it, starting to dry off how best he can.

"Alfred?"

"Of course, sir," Alfred says easily from the driver seat ahead. "So, what glorious exit did you make this time, Master Bruce?"

Bruce makes a strangled noise, scoffing. "Who says I did anything?" He replies, and Harvey stifles a laugh-- not because of the denial so much as the billionaire sounds like a kid trying to hide the mess he just made.

Harvey can see in the rear view mirror Alfred raise an eyebrow.

"He threw his very expensive drink in Falcone's face," he provides and Bruce sends him a scowl but it has no bite and he's even smiling a little.

"Oh, Bruce, really?" Alfred chides like an exhausted parent.

"Don't worry, it was expensive, not good," Bruce says in his defense; and Harvey laughs.

to be continued? maybe? IDEK.

[mbta-unofficial]

Realizing that I am still mad about this.

I’m writing a book of history. When I did all that research on brutalism, I realized not for the first time but more fully and completely than ever before the extent to which historical fact is often really disruptive to the stories we tell about it. Most “history” doesn’t even survive the barest investigation of the facts because most “history” is political storytelling.

“brutalism is communist” is one of the biggest stories about Brutalism, and it’s why people both love and hate it, but it’s really not true. Communists invented the word Brutalism to mock American tenement housing which by the mid 50s was collapsing and lacked anything resembling modern amenities. They contrasted it to “the new humanism,” the soviet school of architecture’s high ceilinged, centrally heated, public transit accessible public urban housing. Those apartments built under Stalin are still in high demand in Moscow and st. Petersburg because the architects and the builders did a good job. They’re old, but still decent places to live. Brutalism was a slur for designs that centered cost-cutting over safety or liveability. Meanwhile, architects like Miese or Le Corbusier were designing buildings that centered neither the occupant nor the financier, and were pushing this radical view that material science could make architecture the new great center of artistic expression. “Béton Brut” or raw concrete became the medium of the post war reconstruction because it was cheap but you could mold it into anything. architecture could experiment structurally with techniques that had previously been limited to sculpture and you could get buildings that truly seemed to defy gravity.

The Brut of art brut and Béton Brut was confused with the Brutal conditions of cheap american tenements and then reclaimed homophonically by a bunch of edgy British architects to make a style that is permanently misunderstood even by the people who like it because it was born from this condensation of two separate meanings of the word “Brut(e).” Brutalism only gets its socialist associations in the 70s and 80s when tory politicians started mongering conspiracies about the inherent socialism of public housing (cheap, made of concrete) because poor people lived there. the “commie block” of eastern europe was far more common in yugoslavia than russia until the late 60s and 70s when brezhnev built more of them for, again, cost reasons.

All art is political. All of it. And politics has been moving at the speed of sound even since the first proto-human said “you can’t sit with us” at the lunch table. Renaissance faires are a kind of public art that exists because of a political movement that killed or destroyed the careers of thousands of queer people and communists. Those people, working in hollywood, were trying to live lives, be free, and change minds about what society could accept and when they were blacklisted by HUAC and Joe Mccarthy and Ronald Reagan, they went out into the woods and made their own party so they could stay working and living and making art.

“Historical accuracy” was not the goal. Surviving a political purge was the goal. Now, not everyone who studies history cares about the same things. My roommate in grad school was working on lightbulbs. Just lightbulbs. nothing else. It would have killed me, to be honest. He loved it. But if you are going to complain about historical inaccuracies in the folk tradition that was created to survive a political purge you better damn well be right about what you’re fucking talking about.

Historical reenactment is always about the present. This is true of cotillion and morris and HEMA. This is true of SCA. It’s true of those horrifying plantation weddings and Colonial Williamsburg and the lexington and concord people. But what these things say about the present is very different. And choosing to criticize the ren fair because it has people dressed as “guy fairy” instead of the monty python syndicalist dirt peasants like you expected isn’t standing up for historical accuracy. it’s wishing you were at a plantation wedding where all the things you don’t like can be scrubbed from “the aesthetic”

Leave it to a guy being a grump about the ren faire to almost make me log in to my defunct reddit account.

For someone concerned about "historical accuracy" you would think they would know that rennaisance faires were started by the Rennaisance Pleasure Faire of Southern California in 1962 by blacklisted Hollywood fags and commies. If you didn't want to dance around with fairies in the woods you should have joined your local civil war reenactors

[lmaowh-at]

Lanns n Starks lineups/costumes sketches that I will probably add other houses to. Tywin and Joff & the rest aren't here because I was lazy and Cerseis dress took all of my energy. Don't ask me about inspiration or historical basis for these

[wonder-worker]

A central element of the myth of [Eleanor of Aquitaine] is that of her exceptionalism. Historians and Eleanor biographers have tended to take literally Richard of Devizes’s conventional panegyric of her as ‘an incomparable woman’. She is assumed to be a woman out of her time. […] Amazement at Eleanor’s power and independence is born from a presentism that assumes generally that the Middle Ages were a backward age, and specifically that medieval women were all downtrodden and marginalized. Eleanor’s career can, from such a perspective, only be explained by assuming that she was an exception who rose by sheer force of personality above the restrictions placed upon twelfth-century women.

— Michael R. Evans, Inventing Eleanor: The Medieval and Post-Medieval Image of Eleanor of Aquitaine

The idea of Eleanor’s exceptionalism rests on an assumption that women of her age were powerless. On the contrary, in Western Europe before the twelfth century there were ‘no really effective barriers to the capacity of women to exercise power; they appear as military leaders, judges, castellans, controllers of property’. […] In an important article published in 1992, Jane Martindale sought to locate Eleanor in context, stripping away much of the conjecture that had grown up around her, and returning to primary sources, including her charters. Martindale also demonstrated how Eleanor was not out of the ordinary for a twelfth-century queen either in the extent of her power or in the criticisms levelled against her.

If we look at Eleanor’s predecessors as Anglo-Norman queens of England, we find many examples of women wielding political power. Matilda of Flanders (wife of William the Conqueror) acted as regent in Normandy during his frequent absences in England following the Conquest, and [the first wife of Henry I, Matilda of Scotland, played some role in governing England during her husband's absences], while during the civil war of Stephen’s reign Matilda of Boulogne led the fight for a time on behalf of her royal husband, who had been captured by the forces of the empress. And if we wish to seek a rebel woman, we need look no further than Juliana, illegitimate daughter of Henry I, who attempted to assassinate him with a crossbow, or Adèle of Champagne, the third wife of Louis VII, who ‘[a]t the moment when Henry II held Eleanor of Aquitaine in jail for her revolt … led a revolt with her brothers against her son, Philip II'.

Eleanor is, therefore, less the exception than the rule – albeit an extreme example of that rule. This can be illustrated by comparing her with a twelfth century woman who has attracted less literary and historical attention. Adela of Blois died in 1137, the year of Eleanor’s marriage to Louis VII. […] The chronicle and charter evidence reveals Adela to have ‘legitimately exercised the powers of comital lordship’ in the domains of Blois-Champagne, both in consort with her husband and alone during his absence on crusade and after his death. […] There was, however, nothing atypical about the nature of Adela’s power. In the words of her biographer Kimberley LoPrete, ‘while the extent of Adela’s powers and the political impact of her actions were exceptional for a woman of her day (and indeed for most men), the sources of her powers and the activities she engaged in were not fundamentally different from those of other women of lordly rank’. These words could equally apply to Eleanor; the extent of her power, as heiress to the richest lordship in France, wife of two kings and mother of two or three more, was remarkable, but the nature of her power was not exceptional. Other noble or royal women governed, arranged marriages and alliances, and were patrons of the church. Eleanor represents one end of a continuum, not an isolated outlier.