Just Create - Box Edition
Feb. 14th, 2026 09:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silvercat17 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
justcreate What are you working on? What have you finished? What do you need encouragement on?
Are there any cool events or challenges happening that you want to hype? I've been neglecting Dreamwidth - tell me what I'm missing!
What do you just want to talk about?
What have you been watching or reading?
Chores and other not-fun things count!
Remember to encourage other commenters and we have a discord where we can do work-alongs and chat, linked in the sticky.
Swords? Swords!
Feb. 14th, 2026 10:43 pmkallowayRight after US Thanksgiving last year, a popular and well-regarded gunpla shop announced it was closing. A bummer, but not a huge surprise. This is not an ideal environment to an import-heavy small business. The plan was for a gradual phase-out but on Friday the owner announced someone will be buying any remaining stock, time for one last sale and the site is closing Monday. While there wasn't much left, I did grab a few things, including an MG 00 Raiser.
That shop is also still running a contest and intends to keep the community discord around for fun, so we'll see how that goes.
The minor cold I mentioned a few days ago has progressed to minor obnoxious coughing, so hopefully I'm towards the tail end and it'll shuffle along in a few days. After how sick I was a year ago, when I had the flu, I'll take this minor annoyance.
Both of my Star Abyss models arrived and their boxes are gigantic. ^^;; I'll need to bust them out at some point later and do runner checks. Finished up the little Trans-Am Clear 00 Diver Ace that I guess I subconsciously built for Valentine's Day. It's really pretty but if I ever do another one or get fussy, I'll change its eye color. Pink eyes when everything else is also pink don't really work. Really pretty kit, incredibly difficult to photograph.
Last... autumn? I had picked up the Daban copy of the unobtainable MG Destiny Astray and promptly did a runner check, planned to build it, and... Anyway, started building it now and yeah, a lot of issues and annoyance but I haven't completely broken anything yet. I expect it to be a bit of a grenade when finished but if it looks good on the shelf, I'll be happy. On the off chance work ever tries to kill me with overtime in the next year or two, I'll buy a real one. (But I'm also still brainstorming/building what I need for the 30MM contest diorama!)
Working slowly on archiving and am going to try to shift to cleaning out what's in the WIP folder instead of mirroring what's on AO3. The latter isn't as important. Though I will keep mirroring KH stuff since there's so much and small-dosing it has been working for me.
Need to do some words (mostly written, need typed) and replies...
That shop is also still running a contest and intends to keep the community discord around for fun, so we'll see how that goes.
The minor cold I mentioned a few days ago has progressed to minor obnoxious coughing, so hopefully I'm towards the tail end and it'll shuffle along in a few days. After how sick I was a year ago, when I had the flu, I'll take this minor annoyance.
Both of my Star Abyss models arrived and their boxes are gigantic. ^^;; I'll need to bust them out at some point later and do runner checks. Finished up the little Trans-Am Clear 00 Diver Ace that I guess I subconsciously built for Valentine's Day. It's really pretty but if I ever do another one or get fussy, I'll change its eye color. Pink eyes when everything else is also pink don't really work. Really pretty kit, incredibly difficult to photograph.
Last... autumn? I had picked up the Daban copy of the unobtainable MG Destiny Astray and promptly did a runner check, planned to build it, and... Anyway, started building it now and yeah, a lot of issues and annoyance but I haven't completely broken anything yet. I expect it to be a bit of a grenade when finished but if it looks good on the shelf, I'll be happy. On the off chance work ever tries to kill me with overtime in the next year or two, I'll buy a real one. (But I'm also still brainstorming/building what I need for the 30MM contest diorama!)
Working slowly on archiving and am going to try to shift to cleaning out what's in the WIP folder instead of mirroring what's on AO3. The latter isn't as important. Though I will keep mirroring KH stuff since there's so much and small-dosing it has been working for me.
Need to do some words (mostly written, need typed) and replies...
Daily Check In.
Feb. 14th, 2026 08:44 pmadafrog posting in fandom_checkinThis is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Saturday to midnight on Sunday (8pm Eastern Time).
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
Poll #34223 Daily poll
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 14
How are you doing?
I am okay
9 (69.2%)
I am not okay, but don't need help right now
4 (30.8%)
I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)
How many other humans are you living with?
I am living single
4 (28.6%)
One other person
8 (57.1%)
More than one other person
2 (14.3%)
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
today the post brought Many Things
Feb. 14th, 2026 11:52 pmkaberettOne (1) duplicate letter from the DWP, which I had actually requested, because the council is apparently incapable of giving me the concessionary rate on the basis of disability without me providing one letter per year from the DWP telling them I'm still disabled, despite the fact that for anything that is not the allotment rent they can work this out from all the other information available to them without needing me to have Special Executive function;
three (3) rolls of washi tape from Sweden, one of which I have been Tempted By for probably actual years at this point and the other two of which are relevant for this year's notebook set-up and I was sad and wanted a treat;
and one (1) book, Citrus: A History, because it was £4.56, on a topic I have previously been interested in, and Interest Has Been Expressed in me yelling about it. (When will I get to it? Unclear, because once I've finished reading The Rose Field I should probably do some more pain reading, but. Eventually.)
(And why have I been sad? I genuinely do not know; my brain has just been having a Sustained Patch of Uncooperative. I would like it to stop. In addition to post, today's efforts in that direction have included a batch of pineapple upside-down banana bread, this time with some of the flour replaced with almond meal.)
for this was on seynt Valentynes day
Feb. 14th, 2026 01:41 pmmuccamukkNenya's summary of an early account of St Valentine's Day as a romantic festival: "So it was RPF written during lockdown, which contained endless jousting sprinkled with #relatable? Whomst among us?"
Wild tonal shift to follow:
It's also the day that Frederick Douglass chose as his birthday, which is very sweetly illustrated here: What, to a Country, Is a Child’s Birthday? | Talk & Draw with Liza Donnelly & Heather Cox Richardson (video: 3 minutes).
Yesterday, we went to a No More Stolen Sisters march, which was very touching, especially given how many women were their with pictures of missing and murdered relatives. A lot of red cloaks and traditional woven cedar hats.
It was organised by the student union, and I appreciated how much care they put into cultural safety and looking out for family members.
We listened to the DNTO podcast "The Story She Carries: Lorelei Williams and her fight for justice" for class, and my professor said she'd gone to residential school with Williams' mother. It's all very close here.
Wild tonal shift to follow:
It's also the day that Frederick Douglass chose as his birthday, which is very sweetly illustrated here: What, to a Country, Is a Child’s Birthday? | Talk & Draw with Liza Donnelly & Heather Cox Richardson (video: 3 minutes).
Yesterday, we went to a No More Stolen Sisters march, which was very touching, especially given how many women were their with pictures of missing and murdered relatives. A lot of red cloaks and traditional woven cedar hats.
It was organised by the student union, and I appreciated how much care they put into cultural safety and looking out for family members.
We listened to the DNTO podcast "The Story She Carries: Lorelei Williams and her fight for justice" for class, and my professor said she'd gone to residential school with Williams' mother. It's all very close here.
US Politics: Be Trans Kids' Valentine - Public comments on gender-affirmation bans
Feb. 14th, 2026 03:54 pmpetraTake action today because the public comment period on two gender-affirming care bans at the federal level closes 2/17. Anonymous comments are allowed. More details at the link.
ETA: If we share a fandom, I will write for you if you make a public comment on this subject. If you make two, I will write for you twice!
See this post for details.
ETA: If we share a fandom, I will write for you if you make a public comment on this subject. If you make two, I will write for you twice!
See this post for details.
2026 Schedule
Feb. 14th, 2026 12:29 pmfirebatvillain posting in sufficiently_advanced_ex
Greetings!
We are pleased to announce that Sufficiently Advanced will return for 2026. Because of the nature of this exchange -- focusing on print canons -- we are kicking off with a promo period before nominations begin, to give everyone time to pick up something new or reread something old. The canon promo post for this year can be found here.
As a reminder, here are the freely available canons and promo post for all years.
The Ao3 collection can be found here.
The Ao3 tagset can be found here.
2026 Schedule
Nominations: February 21-March 7
Signups: March 8-21
Assignments: No later than March 25
Creation Period: March 22-May 3
Works Due: May 3 at 10 PM EDT (UTC-4)
Work Reveals: May 10 at 10 PM EDT (UTC-4)
Creator Reveals: May 17 at 10 PM EDT (UTC-4)
Mod email: sufficiently.advanced.ex@gmail.com
2026 Canon Promo Post
Feb. 14th, 2026 03:20 pmkeita52 posting in sufficiently_advanced_exUse the comments of this post to promote your favorite canon(s). Please use one comment per canon. You can use the template provided here or whatever format you wish.
If it is freely available online, consider adding it to the Freely Available Canons spreadsheet.
Name:
Author:
Length (pages or words, whichever is more relevant):
Sub-genre:
Why it's awesome:
Any other important information to know about:
If it is freely available online, consider adding it to the Freely Available Canons spreadsheet.
Name:
Author:
Length (pages or words, whichever is more relevant):
Sub-genre:
Why it's awesome:
Any other important information to know about:
Roses are red, violets are blue
Feb. 14th, 2026 02:54 pmauthor_by_night posting in fan_writers Good morning, afternoon, whatever time it is for you when you find this post!
In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought we might talk about writing relationships. A few questions:
I've provided my own answers in the comments.
In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought we might talk about writing relationships. A few questions:
- Is there anything you find challenging about writing relationships?
- What do you love about writing relationships?
- Have you ever tried writing for a ship (or even just a trope) you normally don't? What was the outcome?*
- Favorite tropes/tags/themes to write?
- Any other observations?
I've provided my own answers in the comments.
Melt: Original: Baking: Melting Moments
Feb. 14th, 2026 06:37 pmsmallhobbit posting in fan_flashworksTitle: Melting Moments
Fandom: Original
Rating: G
Length: 7 photos
Summary: I baked 24 melting moments
Fandom: Original
Rating: G
Length: 7 photos
Summary: I baked 24 melting moments
( Melting moments )
Not a good kind of PSA, I'm afraid
Feb. 14th, 2026 02:43 pmumadoshiIn the comments of spikedluv's final post, which she made on Feb. 2, there's info saying that she died unexpectedly later that day, with a link to her obituary. :( No cause of death given.
Thank you,shipperslist, for the heads-up.
ETA:lunabee34 confirms in comments. ;_;
(Note: I'm taking the info in good faith as posted; I don't know the person who shared it, and while spikedluv and I were mutuals for a long time, I never knew her wallet name. But the obit info matches what I did know and she was an extremely regular poster, so even a day or two of silence was worrying.)
spikedluv's final post, which she made on Feb. 2, there's info saying that she died unexpectedly later that day, with a link to her obituary. :( No cause of death given.Thank you,
shipperslist, for the heads-up.ETA:
lunabee34 confirms in comments. ;_;spikedluv and I were mutuals for a long time, I never knew her wallet name. But the obit info matches what I did know and she was an extremely regular poster, so even a day or two of silence was worrying.)
Spikedluv
Feb. 14th, 2026 12:06 pmkingstokenHi, for anyone who is not aware, it appears that spikedluv passed away unexpectedly near the beginning of the month. The information is shared here on a comment on her last post, https://spikedluv.dreamwidth.org/2143159.html#comments, and has a link to her obituary.
spikedluv and I would often comment on each other's posts. I also had the honour of making art for multiple of her fics. She often bid on my offers for Fandom Trumps Hate and other fandom auctions. She was always such a pleasure to work with, and was always delighted by the graphics I created for her.
She loved Hudson & Rex and Murder She Wrote, among many other fandoms.
She will be missed.
spikedluv passed away unexpectedly near the beginning of the month. The information is shared here on a comment on her last post, https://spikedluv.dreamwidth.org/2143159.html#comments, and has a link to her obituary.spikedluv and I would often comment on each other's posts. I also had the honour of making art for multiple of her fics. She often bid on my offers for Fandom Trumps Hate and other fandom auctions. She was always such a pleasure to work with, and was always delighted by the graphics I created for her.
She loved Hudson & Rex and Murder She Wrote, among many other fandoms.
She will be missed.
Is it really only the scribbling sisterhood who do this, hmmmmm?
Feb. 14th, 2026 04:59 pmoursinOr are they just more conscious about it, eh?
‘There’s only one bed’, ‘fake dating’ and ‘opposites attract’: how tropes took over romance
You know, I'm a lot happier about engaging with the work of someone who's aware of the tropes they're playing with and maybe riffing around with them, and that there is maybe a tradition? - rather than somebody who thinks they're doing something Rad and New and boy, is it Same Old Same Old.
(And just let's not go to Male Midlife Crisis novel....)
Maybe not so much in romance genre, but have I not whinged on mightily about crime fiction and the trope of the hawkshaw with complicated emotional backstory, substance abuse issues, difficulties with The Hierarchy, etc etc?
And honestly, while we are on crime fiction, can anyone tell me, with any plausible accuracy, how many works there are in which, literally, The Butler Actually Did It? Because whoah, massive cliche that I find it hard to match with my own reading. Though admittedly, over the years I have been reading, and some of that was very forgettable mysteries, maybe I have just elided from memory a whole swathe of murderous butlers.
Mass Effect: Andromeda: Fanfiction: Ice Melts
Feb. 14th, 2026 10:10 aminfinitum_noctem posting in fan_flashworksTitle: Ice Melts
Fandom: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Rating: G
Length: 75 words
Summary: 3 sentence fic. The Andromeda Initiative encounters another obstacle.
( Read more... )
Fandom: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Rating: G
Length: 75 words
Summary: 3 sentence fic. The Andromeda Initiative encounters another obstacle.
( Read more... )