justcreate | Member Posts

... Within reason.

The reason I wish to train myself in the art of not giving a fuck is simple: I struggle with people pleasing. Being a people pleaser absolutely sucks. For me, my people pleasing tendencies are fueled by two things: I am afraid of people seeing me in a negative light and I am afraid of being rejected as a result. Ergo, in order to ensure that I am as well-liked as possible and unlikely to be rejected by others... well what do I do?

I don't do a lot to assert myself
I don't set a lot of personal boundaries
Unless the someone is genuinely being an asshole, I have difficulty telling people "no."
Excessive apologies, even when no apology is needed
Taking the blame for something going wrong, even when I am in no way to blame
Bottling up my opinions--specifically negative/controversial opinions--because I'm afraid of either being attacked or seen as a killjoy/asshole/hater.
Being flaky even when I do state my opinions (IE I say one thing, the person disagrees with me, I go back and realign my opinion so that, while it may not necessarily be the same as theirs, it is still acceptable.)

Basically, I spend pretty much all my time accommodating the needs of others while completely neglecting my own because I'm desperate to avoid social damnation, which isn't healthy in the slightest. Like goddamn, I realized a few months back that part of the reason I struggle with rumination IE getting stuck on a recurring thought is because I sometimes avoid vocalizing my thoughts, usually because the thing that's bothering me is either A) Something petty B) Not particularly important or C) Both. Which, c'mon, it's within human nature to complain. As long as I'm not hurting anyone or making a habit of it, I should be allowed to groan every now and again about The Thing, whatever it is.

This obviously doesn't mean I'm going to stop giving fucks entirely. I've got important responsibilities as an adult and there are many people I love and care about who I want to support, never mind it really does feel nicer to be kind and considerate to others rather than rude and mean. (Plus I am a human being who does make mistakes from time to time, and taking responsibility for my actions, apologizing, and learning from said mistake is the only way to grow and become a better person.) But goddamn, it is IMPOSSIBLE to please everyone and I don't think people realize how suffocating it can be to constantly self-censor yourself just because you're afraid of coming across as mean/whiny. More importantly, having firm boundaries is important because I do not want to let myself become a pushover--not asserting yourself is the fastest way to ending up in a toxic relationship where your friend/partner is constantly exploiting you and I'm not about to let anyone take advantage of me because I was unable to say "no."

Anyway, tl;dr: In training myself to not give a fuck, I am hoping to become a reasonably more authentic version of myself. It might be a little more petty/complain-y, but at least I won't be an anxious wreck constantly second-guessing every social interaction I have because I'm afraid of being disliked/hated. (Especially because, well, I know there are plenty of people out there who already dislike/hate me. It's the internet, damn it.)

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Lilith

overmore

A bit ago I made a request box, mainly for the purpose of people sending ships and prompts to request for writing, mostly as an optional thing to do if I feel like it. Felt like a nice thing to do, especially as it could be a fun way to write for some ship and characters I normally don't, haven't really though of before or simply didn't know what to write about without a prompt or something of the sort.

I've gotten maybe 2 requests, but neither of them are actually specific enough for me, since they don't have an actual prompt. I think people might not be aware what a prompt is, somehow. I think it would be fun to sometimes get those, but I haven't really shared it much besides the initial time when I made it. I'll probably put the link to it in my pinned entry here too. I do need to update the ship lists too, mainly the Limbus one.

With canto 9 now properly done, I am not okay still, lmao. Way too many stuff going on, without saying too much, imma need an intervallo follow up on everything that happened with Gregor because what the fuck? I often joke how I love torturing him in my writing, but after that, the most he's gonna get is mild inconvenience for the next few months. Let the man rest. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but still. Lets just say that the next few fics will be a lot less intense than I initially planned to.

I was initially thinking of writing 'Psyche Luger' once Febuary was done alongside the 'Sinclair lies about his age' fic, but I do think that after all of that I'll move it for later just a little bit. I do have a specific gregclair fic that has been on my mind for a while that I want to write for Gregor's birthday (my boy has the worst case scenario for everything with the birthday being 29th Febuary) which I initially wanted to write for gregclair day. It feels like it fits more for the birthday as it's from his pov and how he feels about Sinclair compared to what I wrote for their ship day. I think it's better this way, not to mention I wasn't particularly in the mood to write that one at the time.

I also went back to the project moon kink meme after a while, I'm already seeing canto 9 stuff. That last one as of the day I'm posting with Gregor is quite interesting, I'm not gonna lie, but I don't think I have the skills for that. I would love to write some of the fills from there (i have some marked for writing but I haven't gotten around them yet) but I always feel like my personal ideas kinda go first. There are some neat ones I'd like to do sooner or later though.

paperghost

This is old news, but Stickermule has shown their asses again by giving away free pro-ICE merchandise, so people have been scrambling for other suppliers for custom stickers. I'm thinking about ordering stickers of my art by Harmonycon. I can't keep up with a million tweets and my Bluesky feed is already scrambled, so here's what I've found:

https://www.standoutstickers.com/
https://stickerguy.com/
https://thestickybrand.com/en-ca (limited time deals page is worth looking at)
https://thestickerlad.com/home (website looks like a WIP but furry-owned. Prices are ok)
https://stickerninja.com/ (this looks like Stickermule's biggest rival)
https://unionmadestickers.com/en-ca (you can probably use them for non-union stuff lol)
https://stickerblitz.com/ (another rival with good prices)
Vograce orders from China but I've had a good experience ordering sample packs and one-off keychains from them. YMMV. It's better for physical goods. Not sure of any alternatives that let you do one-off orders.

After I edit some art with a signature, I might "trial run" some of these? I have a few paychecks before Harmonycon... Hours are tight but some of these are cheap enough.

This issue with Stickermule is it's the only option I know that lets you print one-off tshirts. I don't know who else does that. Redbubble's prices for making a private design and buying it yourself are inflated.

Side note, is there an external program or some other way to mass-edit DW entire? I have some cleaning up to do and want to mass-private / lock posts without viewing each one individually....

maevedarcy

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purplecat

A single standing stone. Straight edges and a diagonal at the top. Field, sea, hills beyond in the background.

A Stone of Stenness, Orkney

svgurl

Snowflake Challenge: A flatlay of a snowflake shaped shortbread cake, a mug with coffee, and a string of holiday lights on top of a rustic napkin.

Challenge #8
Talk about your creative process.

A lot of my process involves staring at a blinking cursor and wishing for the will to write. Does that count? But seriously, it depends on whether I'm writing for myself or am working on something related to an exchange. The former hasn't happened in a while and I keep hoping for that to change but there is a difference. When it comes to writing for myself, a lot of my fics do end up starting with me daydreaming about a particular scene and then end up thinking of a whole story to work around it. Sometimes a 'what if' idea will hit me. Like currently, I've been brainstorming a 9-1-1 (TV) story about platonic Hanahaki, centered around Christopher & Eddie (with Buck/Eddie) and it really came to me because I was thinking about Hanahaki and that led to me wondering about the platonic version and from there, the Eddie & Chris plot bunny struck. I'm sure many other people can relate to having their ideas and motivation to write at the worst possible time too! When I'm in front of a screen it is easier to get distracted by my phone or other tabs.

When it comes to writing for other people, I'm working based of their likes and any possible prompts they may have so I tend to let it linger in my head before narrowing it down to an idea and then I just sit down and write.

If I want to get into a certain mood to write, I will often listen to the type of songs that will help a little. I can't write with music though unfortunately, or at least not when I'm not a deadline. If I have a lot of time, then possibly, but if I am wanting to focus, I need silence. Sometimes, I just need to force myself to write and then I put myself on timed increments and just turn my phone face down and write. It will be something like "okay, I'm going to write for about ten to fifteen minutes straight and then take a couple of minutes break". Once I can get started, I can usually just keep going. If I need a breather, I'll take the break, but often times, I might not need that first one or I'll take the first one and then won't need as many subsequently because I'll be into the story.

For me, it's easy to just fall off writing, even if I enjoy it, so I'm hoping to find some sense of consistency this year. I tried last year but I was a little all over the place so my goal to write a bit every day, just so I can keep it going and not get into the habit of not writing unless I need to. Also I am going to try to remember that not every idea has to be a big story and then just stick to a scene that I want to write, and hope that takes off some of the pressure. Maybe in doing so, some of my routines will change as well.

Hoping for a productive and fun (because this is a hobby and should be fun!) 2026 either way! :D

lb_lee

From Friday, January 16-Monday January 19th, at the Hyatt Regency Boston/Cambridge (575 Memorial Dr, Cambridge, MA 02139), we are tabling at Arisia in Author's Alley/the Dealer's Room in and doing the following panels:

Saturday at 12:30 pm: Whips, Chains, and Capes: Superheroes and Kink.

Sunday at 10:00 am: Making a Living in a Creative Field

Crossposts: https://lb-lee.insanejournal.com/7626.html

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy and chilly. It snowed last night, just enough to leave a blanket of white over everything. Most of it has already melted away.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/16/26 -- I saw a mourning dove.

EDIT 1/16/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

olivermoss

* Babygirl has been sent back down to the AHL. I would be distraught, but I doubt he'll be there long.

* There is a team-building aspect to hockey, the inter-league weirdness and contracts that I am not looking into right now. There is a lot to the sport and I am trying to take a balanced approach... except when it comes to arena conversion videos. I will watch footage of areas switching back and forth between rink mode endlessly.

But, it is weird to me that Canada, who are so serious about player development, pretty much force NHL teams to roster Canadian draftees early or lose them to their juniors teams. And sometimes that means keeping then on the NHL roster and just scratching them every night, so no ice time. Top Canadian talent don't get a stepping stone between juniors and NHL the way other prospects do. We need to either not play them while they train and bulk up with no real play, or let them be penalty bait. We've gotten goals off of how hard other teams go after our youngest player, but that's not great.

ysabetwordsmith

This post has war pictures from Ukraine focused on anti-drone netting. Back when people first started talking about building drones and how cool they would be, I pointed out how much it would suck because they would very quickly wind up spying on and shooting at people. Nobody believed me. And here we are. >_<

Current Mood: busy

jlumen

I forgot how exhausting working full time can be. Add on top of it, I'm no longer in a small studio apartment but a house with a yard, and a toddler... Y'all I am tired.
But I must admit, in pretty good spirits. Perhaps because I'm so busy getting through life that I don't have the spoons to engage with *gestures at everything* all of that. Although there's no hiding from it really when you're an American.
( a quick detour into current events )

Work has had me busy, Tableau is making feel, well less than tech-savvy. (Why do you have to download a new version of Tableau every time it updates? Are patches not a thing anymore?)

I finished up "Darkstalker" from the Wings of Fire Legends series by Tui Sutherland. It was really good, exploring the journey of the mindset of a would-be villain's consumption with power. I thought the epilogue was a little hokey but when I really think about it, I guess it was an obvious choice for the author.

Now I'm back to the original series on book 3 "The hidden kingdom", the books have been out awhile but I don't want to give spoilers. I'll just say that I feel for Glory.

There's word it might snow Sunday, we shall see.

Current Mood: chipper
Current Location: Home

innitmarvelous_og

For the first time In 12 or 13 years, I am not a member of

getyourwordsout for the year and that's okay.

zenigotchas

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overmore

Talk about your creative process.

It's kinda all over the place really. I usually don't outline much, but rather have a general idea of how I want the story to go. How it starts and how it ends is usually the main thing that I need to get the story going, and how I get from point A to B can change during the writing process. This is very noticeable with my longer works, since they change their overall shape a lot more. One shots are more stable as they take less time and aren't as broad as longer works. I've been trying to outline some things, as it might help with actually sticking to a more cohesive plot, but it's still rather loose.

vriddy

1. If there was a K-9 comm, I would post stuff like the translations there. And if there were like at least TWO just two other Dreamwidthers as much into it as I am, I'd go for it and create it. But most people I got my claws into are on Discord only/mainly, and thus so it goes. I don't have it in me right now to create another comm where I end up doing most of the posting XD But it's funny to imagine creating a weekly reaction post for the new chapter, then the only reply is a self-reply of me losing my shit on my own. Actually not that far from reality really. I shall continue monitoring the Dreamwidth K-9 temperature XD

2. I'm posting a lot right now both here and on AO3, but I assume it will all go very quiet again once I return to working on the novel(la)s?? Takes longer to form insights and also no finished projects to share heh.

3. I am thinking about those original projects again, which is good!! Unfortunately my mind is looking for wider, very high-level themes unifying the drafts of every original novella/novel I ever finished and oh my god I found it and I need to stop thinking about it or I will never write again. Feels like strolling down main street in my underwear even just mentally.

4. You! Do you write fic? Are you suffering reception anxiety after posting?? Try This One Neat Trick: read or watch something obscure, then create a new AO3 fandom tag for it and write! Obviously, I'd like to connect with readers, but there's also something liberating to posting something that has a single digit audience at best. Possibly literally, as in max one digit on one hand XD

5. A friend gifted me a really cute 2026 late last year. It's about the size of my palm. I knew I wasn't gonna use it for my actual TODOs because incredibly, my Bullet Journal system is still working super well for me, and as cute as it is it would be a downgrade. I thought I'd use it for something writing-related, since writing is happy-inducing and so is this little planner thing but... I can't figure out what, still T_T I thought I might jot down notes on what projects I do or times or word counts, but that feels like a chore and not joy-sparky. I'm already tracking the few writing stats I'm actually interested in. And now we're mid-January and every day is a missed page opportunity and I still don't know what to use it for orz Suggestions welcome! Even if not writing related at this point. I guess maybe I could do a gratitude journal...? I like to do that randomly in my paper journal though, rather than on command daily. Hmmmm.

6. If you like Wind Breaker and are looking for icons, there's been quite a few posted over on

malagraphic lately! I snagged crying praying Endou as used on this post :D To be used when Grateful, keeping in theme here.

Current Mood: calm

ysabetwordsmith

This poem is spillover from the June 4, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from

see_also_friend,

rix_scaedu, and

wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "Activism" square in my 6-1-24 card for the Pride Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by

fuzzyred. It belongs to the Rutledge thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ladythmpr

Tuesday

Walked K to school with the puppy
Chopped ingredients for spaghetti sauce and tossed them into the slow cooker
Washed, hung-to-dry/ dried a load of F's laundry
Put away the advent tree banner and the advent wreaths (from the list)
Watched a bunch of the Mandalorian
Worked on darning a hole in a sock
Closed eyes rest
Played spades, notably won a Footsie tourney

JotD: a Crescent moon and heart that says "mom" that F gave to me one Mother's Day

Wednesday

Walked K to school with the puppy; tried to play fetch with her at the complex on the way back, but she kept getting distracted by wanting to play with other dogs out walking that didn't want to play with her.
Mixed up bread dough and baked bread
Folded and put away four loads of kids' clothing
Watched more Mandalorian
Played spades tourneys: Made it to finals in Option and Blood
Attended stitch in, where I wound a plastic grocery bag full of yarn for washing
Showered
Date night with Pizza delivered, The Wheel of Time, and BG3, where we beat **** and the gang

JotD: (don't remember, will ETA later)

Thursday

Both kids home sick :/
Went for a SDW with GB and puppy
Chopped ingredients for chicken noodle soup and tossed them into the slow cooker
Binged a bunch of Bridgerton with F; K hung out with us a lot of the time
Refilled my LDN
Played ACNL and ACNH
I was supposed to go to K's school caregiver night, but GB didn't go down to horsing,and I was really tired, so he went in my stead
Waited on children a lot, as they were sick
GB made us ice cream

JotD: Beaded lanyard I made decades ago, in blues, greens, and purples

I have been so tired... and hot flashes at night.. and wed morning, back to waking up too early, even though I've been doing pretty well at getting to bed in decent time....

ysabetwordsmith

Today's theme is Leverage.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

sasha_feather

Gratitude / Self-reassurance / fighting against negativity bias!

1. The animals seem happy and content. I don't go to the barn every day and sometimes I feel bad about that, but I suspect I'm stressing over nothing, or channeling other stress into this area. The cat and dog make me laugh and are good companions. Again I stress sometimes with Sally the dog, but, it's probably easier to be crabby with her than with my family.

2. The house is reasonably clean, it's warm inside, the hot water is working, etc.

3. I have some friendly and wonderful neighbors.

4. My parents are doing well. My mom is so much better now that she's in the assisted living place rather than the nursing home. Just a huge relief.

5. I got to chat with two good friends today, Jesse and Emily, and it was a real mood lifter.

6. TV I'm enjoying: The Pitt, FallOut, Heated Rivalry.

7. On YouTube I watch the Handsome Podcast almost every single day. This is 3 queer comedians (Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster, and Mae Martin) chatting and being silly.

8. I've been playing Terra Nil on my laptop and I can't rec it highly enough. I feel like it is meditative in the best way and really helps my brain chill out. The game play is very similar to Sim City, but instead of building a city you get to reclaim wasteland and turn it into wilderness. Very easy to learn, but challenging enough to keep me engaged. Click-only means it's easy to play in bed with my beloved Left-handed mouse, and doesn't bother my right shoulder. Sound design is relaxing, the graphics are pretty. Minimal reading makes it migraine compatible for me, and i can control the motion. It's not timed. Thank you to my friend eruthros for buying this game for me.

svgurl

cultivativity is a community for cultivating creativity.

5soulmates is a prompt table writing challenge that focused on the soulmate theme

kingstoken has posted their 2026 Book Bingo Challenge.

kitarella_imagines is running Funuary, a fun/funny themed prompt challenge, through the month of January.

traumaticexperiences, a (psychological) trauma themed multifandom exchange, is open for sign-ups until January 16th, 8PM PST.

threesentenceficathon has posted their 2026 schedule. Prompting will open on January 17th.

seasonsofdrabbles, an exchange for the creation of drabbles and drabble variants which runs 4 times a year, is open for sign-ups until January 18th, 11:59PM EST. Nominations will also remain open until sign-ups close.

seasonalremix is a quarterly, trope-based multifandom event where you sign-up and write a 1-5k work that is a remix of some sort. The Winter Round is currently open for sign-ups until January 24th, 11:59PM GMT and you can find out more info (including where to sign up) HERE.

lul_soulmatesex, a soulmate themed exchange, is accepting nominations until January 25th, 11:59PM AM CST.

smallfandombang, a big bang for small fandoms, is open for artist sign-ups until January 31st.

ksspringfever, a Kirk/Spock community, is open for sign-ups and prompt collecting for Kirk/Spock Spring Fever until January 31st.

wipbigbang is running International Fanworks Day Mini Bang for works that are too short for the regular big bang (has to be less than 7.5k). The writing period started on January 9th and the earliest posting is February 1st and will go till the 15th.

crackthewip, a challenge to help you finish your WIPs, is running and accepting sign-ups during the first half of the year.

Profile

Time to sit down and make it!

January 2026

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31

Page Summary

springsodas - 2026 is going to be the year I train myself in the art of "not giving a fuck..."
overmore - request box, future writing
paperghost - sticker alternatives
maevedarcy - Snowflake Challenge #7
purplecat - Random Neolithic Stones on a Friday
svgurl - snowflake challenge #7
lb_lee - We are tabling at Arisia!
ysabetwordsmith - Birdfeeding
olivermoss - (no subject)
ysabetwordsmith - War Stories
jlumen - Tired but chipper
innitmarvelous_og - For the first time In 12 or 13 years
zenigotchas - sick (vent. feel free to skip)
overmore - Snowflake challenge #8
vriddy - Bag of thoughts
ysabetwordsmith - Poem: "People of Every Ethnic Persuasion"
ladythmpr - Yatta! for 2026 01 13-15 Highlights
ysabetwordsmith - Follow Friday 1-16-26: Leverage
sasha_feather - Gratitude / Self-reassurance / fighting against negativity bias!
svgurl - current fandom events

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