chocolatepot | Network

So my wife (!!) was here for a week, which was lovely, but limited the amount of time I was willing to spend in front of a laptop. So my

candyheartsex reveals post is slightly belated.

Firstly, I received this wonderful fic, with lots of worldbuilding and people trying to sort out cross-cultural relationships and hair petting.

paradise (2522 words) by WolffyLuna
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Original Female Character(s)/Original Male Character(s), Male Drow Used To Being A Disappointment/His Female Captor Who Thinks He's Pretty Great (OW)
Characters: Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s)
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Past Abuse, Age Difference, hair petting, Hugs, Elves, Fantasy setting
Summary:

Rhoklan looked down at the woven liana floor, and held his hands out, palm up.
Every time he apologised, he did that. Real error, false error, something that had nothing to do with him, he always stood like that, hands held out as an offering while he hid his face behind a curtain of white hair.
Suppressed irritation rattled in her chest. The problem was that she could not get angry with him for the habit without him doing it more.
It had taken her a month to work out why. The idea that it would even come up only angered her more. Even if she was purely a heartless pragmatist, why would she strike her secretary’s hands? He needed those to write!

And I wrote for

firecat for the excellent prompt "Fairy Prince/Noir Detective", which I used as an excuse to experiment with contrasting prose styles.

Fae Fatale (524 words) by Violsva
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character, Fairy Prince/Noir Detective
Additional Tags: Pre-Slash, Pastiche, First Meetings, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Candy Hearts Exchange 2026
Summary:

It had been a slow afternoon. There had been a lot of slow afternoons lately.

Excellent exchange experience, as usual.

Now I am considering the Single Syllable Smut Challenge, reveals date April 1st. It would be nice if I could manage Phantom Tollbooth or Alice in Wonderland or some other fandom where it would be thematic, but I'm not sure I'm up to that.

sovay

In the wake of the blizzard, the temperature rose a degree above freezing in the blue-and-white brilliance of sun and the local topography of snow-walls to shoulder-height compressed and calved like ice shelves. I had the impulse to visit the Robbins Cemetery on Mass. Ave. while out running errands and was prevented by absolutely nobody having shoveled within a block of the gates. I took a picture of a leftover slam-dunk of snow instead.

Tickets have hiked considerably in price since the last production of theirs I attended, but I am intrigued that the Apollinaire Theatre Company is currently doing Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge—I assume it was proposed last season because of the topical-political of the undocumented immigrant angle which has only gone Mach 10 in relevance since. I have never seen the play; I read it in 2016 because Van Heflin originated the role of Eddie Carbone in the original 1955 one-act version. I am wondering how I convince their box office that I am actively pursuing a professional arts career.

Current Music: The Pack a.d., "Seasick"

simplyn2deep posting in

1word1day

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Dulcify (verb)
dulcify [duhl-suh-fahy]

verb (used with object), dulcified, dulcifying
1. to make more agreeable; mollify; appease.
2. to sweeten.

Other Word Forms
dulcification noun

See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com

Origin: 1590–1600; < Late Latin dulcificāre, with -fy for -ficāre

Example Sentences
He took mild mercurials, pills of soap, rhubarb, and tartar of vitriol, with soluble tartar and dulcified spirits of nitre in barley water.
From Project Gutenberg

They are dawdling and dulcified to a deplorable degree.
From Project Gutenberg

All the harshness of life will be dulcified; we shall lie dreaming on golden sands, dipping full goblets out of a sea that has been transmuted into lemonade.
From Project Gutenberg

But on this occasion, as she had awakened in an uncommonly pleasant humor, and was further dulcified by her pipe tobacco, she resolved to produce something fine, beautiful, and splendid, rather than hideous and horrible.
From Project Gutenberg

The savage of America, like the savage of the South Sea islands, has learned to dulcify the fecula, by pressing and separating it from its juice.
From Project Gutenberg

wychwood

Last week was all choir all the time (concert went well, but the Concerts Without A Funny Turn card goes back down to zero, annoyingly) and then I went straight into a weekend of Extreme Socialising because

shreena and

quizcustodet came up for a visit. Friday night I went out with

shreena and A for dinner, delicious food at a Vietnamese restaurant (the marmite-and-peanut-butter-coated cauliflower was especially good!).

Saturday was my birthday treat; the Lego Discovery Centre only lets you in if you have children with you, so

shreena and

quizcustodet donated me their children and bought me a ticket to go with them *g*. I really enjoyed it; there's a mix of rides (and a big soft-play area) and a little 3D film and also a big open area where you can, you know, play with Lego. There were stations for building specific models, stations that were just buckets of Lego for you to play with, a tiny zipline where you could build little machines and see if they could make it the whole way along, a car-building area with test track, etc etc. I spent probably half an hour or so building a tiny house (with contributions from

shreena and their older son J), which was extremely soothing.

And then on Sunday we went to ( Cadbury World )

All-in-all a pretty good weekend, but an inevitably exhausting one. I am now attempting to live a deeply regulated life to try and get back to normal and untrash my sleep cycle, etc etc, so we'll see how that goes...

goodbyebird

+ There's a fun YouTube telethon/donation drive beginning in 4 and a half hours I'm strongly considering staying up for.

Why watch the State of the Union, when you could watch your favorite unhinged Bluesky posters share their weird hobbies, niche obsessions, and scorching hot takes?
(streamed here and I'm assuming directly on yt but couldn't find the link)

It's at 2.30 for me, but my sleep schedule is kind of fucked atm anyways. If I watch this and then just get up early, there's a chance I can flip it.

+ Curious Travels Tarot arrived today, and I don't think I've ever handled a deck that felt this good. I'm astounded this is mass market, it's so buttery smooth but textured at the same time; a joy to hold. I just keep fondling the cards lol.

+ In other things that bring joy: I started watching Starfleet Academy and it is full of precious characters whose faces I'd like to smoosh and keep safe forever. A bit heavy on the For Teens stuff, and sadly one character has been heavily relegated to The Girl category which I am extremely bored by, but otherwise excellent faces and much invading of personal space yay.

+ Posted some icons, yes I did!

01-04 the x-files
05-12 starfleet academy
13-16 st voyager + discovery
17-20 sw prequel movies + mandalorian
21-26 fallout
27-31 comics
32-36 misc tv
37-40 movies (eileen, inside out, batman returns)

H E R E

goodbyebird posting in

fandom_icons

01-04 the x-files
05-12 starfleet academy
13-16 st voyager + discovery
17-20 sw prequel movies + mandalorian
21-26 fallout
27-31 comics
32-36 misc tv
37-40 movies (eileen, inside out, batman returns)

H E R E

Current Music: Ane Brun - Fingerprints

stonepicnicking_okapi

I haven't done a proper News & Views in several weeks so here goes.

1. We got a couple of inches of snow Sunday night. I was terrified Monday morning but I made it to jazz man in one piece and it melted enough for me to take Indian lady to physical therapy. Also, in the middle of making myself sick about whether I was going to survive my commute, my body decided it would be a great time to start menstruating. WHAT?!

2. On the heels of

spikedluv's death, one of the members of my meditation circle died on Friday. She had had several rounds of chemo AND remission over the years but two weeks ago went into the hospital with severe dehydration (c-diff) and never rallied. She had a tremendous amount of energy (she was 70) and 5 young grandchildren. An amazing person.

So I am feeling my mortality. Nobody knows how much time we have, do we? I feel more urgency about some things. I want to see BTS perform in August and I want to get to 221B Baker Street as soon as I can. Also, given my work (home care for the elderly) I am sensitive to quality of life and what that means to me.

3. Speaking of quality of life, I signed up for another weight loss program (not Weight Watchers, which I've tried THREE times and not Noom, which I did once). I am not going to describe it, because I just started like 20 minutes ago but it isn't a drug (and a British lady runs it so I like her voice, this is important to me). No judgement, but those drugs scare me. We'll see how it goes.

4. Annoying things. Air force guy's family didn't cancel my session today so I drove out there suspecting they'd gone to chemo...and I was right. The door was locked. And granddaughter told me to go home. Then I talked to my sister and she insisted on mis-using pronouns for someone in a story she was telling, finally tell me (after I corrected her five times) that 'they' was plural and to use it singularly was arrogant. The co-worker my sister was talking about went MISSING. Sheesh.

5. Boys are switching from winter sports to spring sports this week and next. Winter running to track and indoor soccer to outdoor soccer. Let's hope Mother Nature cooperates.

6. I got to run outside today at the lake because of cancelled session. Yay. Now I am headed to my Alzheimer lady.

March is coming very soon!

---

( 1-23 )
24. love of animals
25. unconditional love
26. forbidden love
27. ecstasy
28. the beloved

--

Day 24: love of animals

I have known for a long time I am missing the gene (or synapses) that allows me to connect with pets but I do love animals (and wish them the best, wherever they are). And I love this series: how about frog making a valentine for toady?

Watch on YouTube

badly_knitted posting in

get_knitted

Hello to all members, passers-by, curious onlookers, and shy lurkers, and welcome to our regular daily check-in post. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your current projects are progressing, or even if they're not.

Checking in is NOT compulsory, check in as often or as seldom as you want, this community isn't about pressure it's about encouragement, motivation, and support. Crafting is meant to be fun, and what's more fun than sharing achievements and seeing the wonderful things everyone else is creating?

There may also occasionally be questions, but again you don't have to answer them, they're just a way of getting to know each other a bit better.

This Week's Question: What is your favourite thing to make?

If anyone has any questions of their own about the community, or suggestions for tags, questions to be asked on the check-in posts, or if anyone is interested in playing check-in host for a week here on the community, which would entail putting up the daily check-in posts and responding to comments, go to the Questions & Suggestions post and leave a comment.

I now declare this Check-In OPEN!

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

prisca posting in

fic_promptly

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

badly_knitted

Title: Overrated
Fandom: FAKE
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG
Written For: Challenge 490: Amnesty 49 at

drabble_zone, using Challenge 487: Stars.
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: Ryo is happy being an ordinary detective.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: Double drabble.

( Overrated... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

smallhobbit posting in

fan_flashworks

Title: Bertie's New Socks
Fandom: Jeeves & Wooster
Rating: G
Length: 750 words
Summary: Bertie is delighted with his new socks, others are not.

( Jeeves, I called )

badly_knitted

Title: Faux Pas
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Donna Noble, Tenth Doctor, OFC.
Rating: G
Written For: Challenge 1003: ‘Earring’ at

dw100.
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Donna has good reason to be annoyed with the Doctor.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Doctor Who, or the characters.

( Faux Pas... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

badly_knitted

Title: Party Doubts
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto.
Rating: PG
Written For: Challenge 906: Sour, at

torchwood100.
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Jack and Ianto are getting ready for the twins’ birthday party.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Double drabble.

( Party Doubts... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

angrboda

My previous post has turned into a bit of a collection of other people's experiences with arranging funerals and their customs, which was unintended but which I've actually been finding quite helpful. There is a surprising amount of comfort in it, even if I haven't been replying (and am unlikely to do, sorry). I hadn't expected that. Aside from grandparents, it's the first time for me that it has been quite so close a relation.

oursin

'I'm so glad I didn't die with the measles when I was little!'

Thinking a bit further about that education meme and the line You were in relatively good physical and mental health.

Well, on the one hand, I had my vaccinations for smallpox, diphtheria and whooping cough all in order at a young age.

I did, however, get measles, chickenpox and mumps once I started school and they were going around. And in those days if you had an infectious disease you were obliged to stay off school for a designated quarantine period (and return your library books to the Public Health Department for fumigation).

I think scarlet fever was still around though rare, and I have a vague recollection of some child at the school actually dying from it?

Polio vaccination only came in when I was 7 or 8.

I suffered from severe tonsillitis until they removed them when I was 6, I am not at all sure, in the light of present thinking on the subject, that this was necessary, but it was very common.

In less dramatic health interventions, I mention the free codliver oil, orange juice and milk bestowed by a munificent government.

I am a little surprised, in retrospect, that my short sight wasn't picked up through testing at school, but in fact my mother noticed me squinting at things and took me for an eye-test.

I feel that I had fair amounts of time off from school being ill one way and another (besides the aforementioned epidemic diseases and operation) - not to mention the appendectomy and its after-effects when I was at uni - but that this didn't have any major adverse impact.

At the grammar school I was tagged for remedial exercises to do with the way I walked (on the outsides of my feet?): am not sure this had any effect whatsoever.

My migraines were not identified as such.

Period pains were after the way of womanhood, pretty much.

On the whole, relatively good health. A certain amount of mental stress, especially at uni.

yourlibrarian posting in

tv_talk

Laptop-TV combo with DVDs on top and smartphone on the desk

Heated Rivalry is one of the most talked about recent shows of the past year. Are there lessons to be learned in how a story can draw in different demographics who wouldn’t normally have been interested in certain genres? Or as the article notes: “It turns policy into something you can explain to a child, not because you’re trying to teach them politics, but because you are invested in sharing the joy of the characters.”

lirazel

Fic: take whatever you need to take and leave the rest
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Pitt (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Melissa “Mel” King & Frank Langdon, Becca King & Melissa “Mel” King, Becca King & Frank Langdon
Characters: Frank Langdon, Melissa “Mel” King, Becca King, Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, Baran Al-Hashimi
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, well just slightly, set during season 2, branches off after episode 5, who is mel going to trust to treat her sister?, do you really need to ask?, frank needs someone to trust him, mel needs someone to reassure her, good thing they’re in the same space again
Summary:

“I’ll look her over,” Robby says.

“Um, thank you,” Mel says. “But, um, can Dr. Langdon do it?”

Frank isn’t sure which is more gratifying: Mel’s request or the expression on Robby’s face.

“Oh, we want Ms. King to have the very best care,” Robby says, voice a bit tight behind the jocularity. “She’s family, after all. I think I can spare a few minutes to make sure she’s okay.”

Fuck him. Frank’s hand flexes just as Mel’s jaw tightens. Becca’s eyes are darting around anxiously and she’s flapping both of her hands now.

“I appreciate that,” Mel says. “But I’d like Dr. Langdon to be the one to treat her.”

Her voice is steely in a way that Frank hasn’t heard from her before, her eyes fierce as she holds Robby’s gaze. A little shudder passes through Frank and he sucks in a deep breath even as he fights to keep his face neutral.

cakewrecks_feed

Posted by john (the hubby of Jen)

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/face-meet-palm-2026

Thanks to Ellen K., Kathryn E., Julie V., Louise H., Alexander O., Jessica D., and Lauren H. for today's self-confidence booster.

*****

P.S. My "related searches" kind of got away from me today, but I think you'll approve:

"Hiss" Punny Cats Parody T-Shirt

Lots more colors and shirt styles available at the link.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/face-meet-palm-2026

lirazel

So yeah, I finished Stone Butch Blues last week and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I had braced myself for endless suffering, and there was so much suffering, but I am still so glad I read it.

There was almost nothing in it I related to (except being very pro-union lol) and much that I found perplexing (mostly the sex stuff--no shock there--and some of the ideas about gender that are quite dated but important), but I also learned a ton. I struggled with the first few chapters because I found the prose too...simple? That's not the right word. It just wasn't stylistically what I enjoy. Too many short sentences in a row. But I came to appreciate it as a way of evoking the voice of a working-class, (formally) uneducated woman who is struggling to find her place in the world.

The episodic nature of the book creates its own rhythm; it's essentially a book about a woman finding community and/or stability, then losing it (often in incredibly violent circumstances), sinking into depression, then fighting for it again, repeat repeat repeat. Jess and her friends are living their lives in a constant state of danger, and they know it. Most of the violence comes from the state (the police are the truest villains in the book) or through the powers of capital. It's a communist book, though it's not as overtly communist as I kind of expected being familiar with Leslie's politics and life. I thought it did a great job of handling the political stuff. I was particularly moved by the queerplatonic relationship between Jess and her neighbor, who is a transwoman, and I think it's significant that after a book about Jess trying to find a sexual/romantic partnership that works for her, the (hopeful) ending is found in this friendship and work in labor organizing. Community is complicated and messy but absolutely vital and the lines between romantic/sexual relationships, friendships, solidarity partnerships, etc. are blurred in ways that I think is really realistic.

I appreciated talking about this book in community with a bunch of queer women/nonbinary folks, and I was fascinated by the very different ways that we read Jess's gender identity in particular. Jess didn't fit into the categories offered by the time in which she was living (late 50s through late 70s), but even though we have a lot more categories and labels now, I don't think she really fits into any of them either, which I really appreciated.

Shoutout to the two scenes that made me cry:

the fire where Jess loses everything and the scene where she goes to the institution to visit the older butch who had inspired her as a kid. That last one TORE ME UP

.

So yes, I have now read an important queer novel, and I'm glad I did.

brickhousewench

I have absolutely no idea how much total snow we got yesterday. Things blew around way too much. I had maybe two inches of snow on the roof of one car, maybe an inch of snow on the roof of the other car, and drifts on the hoods and between cars.

My best guesstimate is that we didn't get more than six inches. But I have no way to verify that, other than my best guess.

Profile

Enchanted

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

Style Credit

Base style: Blanket by sforzinda
Theme: Sand and Seaweed by dancing_serpent

Page generated Mar. 8th, 2026 04:38 am

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page Summary

violsva - Candy Hearts Reveals
sovay - None of us are traitors till we are
simplyn2deep in 1word1day - Tuesday word: Dulcify
wychwood - to exist in the face of suffering and death and somehow still keep singing
goodbyebird - We tried fun security, but nobody felt safe.
goodbyebird in fandom_icons - multi-fandom post
stonepicnicking_okapi - February LOVE-Fest: Day 24: Love of Animals
badly_knitted in get_knitted - Check-In Post - Feb 24th 2026
prisca in fic_promptly - Tuesday, February 24 - Promotion Day Reminder
badly_knitted - FAKE Double Drabble: Overrated
smallhobbit in fan_flashworks - Sock Challenge: Jeeves & Wooster: Fanfic: Bertie's New Socks
badly_knitted - Doctor Who Drabble: Faux Pas
badly_knitted - Double Drabble: Party Doubts
angrboda - (no subject)
oursin - As Rose Red said in the Katy books -
yourlibrarian in tv_talk - TV Tuesday: Is This My Bag?
lirazel - fic: take whatever you need to take and leave the rest
cakewrecks_feed - Face, Meet Palm
lirazel - (no subject)
brickhousewench - snow totals?

Fashion's been a Passion

Network

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

Page Summary