I get inspiration from basically everything! movies, tv shows, books, music, art, real life experiences, or stories I've been told by other people. the pool of inspiration is endless and I try to keep in mind all the things I find interesting to further explore in a story.

sometimes, though, having an idea isn't enough so I actively look for inspiration in different media (especially when I'm having trouble solving a plot point) and it's really interesting when I end up connecting stuff or getting inspo from things I hadn't even considered.

like, last year I wrote a comic horror fic. I knew from the start that I wanted it to take place in a theater, centered around a cursed performance, and I had a scene in mind that was inspired by a painting, but I didn't have much else. So I watched a ton of youtube videos about cosmic horror to get a grasp on the genre, and in one of those videos I came across a book (the king in yellow) that has different stories, all connected by fictional cursed theater play that drives mad. and even though it wasn't what I was looking for and I didn't want my story to go in that direction, it was a massive inspiration.

so yeah, inspiration comes from everywhere and it's a messy thing, but that's how I do it