Summary: Finally you catch up with Five, however it’s not the meeting you imagined when you gave him that note.
Words: 1,414
Warnings: Slight Misogyny per era, Embarrassment.
It’d been a few days before you’d caught Five again, however you have to physically catch him in the lunchroom. He’s sitting at the end of one of the tables alone. The rest of the room buzzing with excitement as employees mingle with one another. A group of men sitting a few feet down the long table eye him weirdly. Across the room at another table, a group of girls stare at him curiously. Sliding into the seat right in front of him, you slap your tray down with a thudthat surprisingly doesn’t even come close to the tumultuous volume of the cafeteria. “You’re ignoring me,” you state plainly, glaring at him as he slowly raises his eyes from his sandwich to you, “we still have work to do, Five.”
i really like how you write five five being an asshole is always fun to read lol
@deathcure5 thank you so much! Haha, I totally agree. He’s the most fun to read when he’s like that and I feel like that’s just- how he is a lot of the time.
Three times the #charm.. I didn’t want the #rain here in #LA to get me down & #blue so I made my own #happyday! Needed some #drama so why not create it with my #eyeshadow…? I received so many #compliments on my #makeuplook- I #love to push the envelope with my #makeupartistry* I used @makeupgeektv #gelliner in #fame as eyeshadow with #urbandecay #stila eyeshadow’s #flamingo & #chiffon #liqiudtomatte #lipstick @gerardcosmetics in #gravity #lockittattoofoundation #kvdbeauty #beauty #fulllips
“Well, thanks I guess…” There was an awkward pause… “Sorry, I’m… not really all that great with taking direct compliments haha…” he gave a bit of a nervous laugh and sheepishly glaced down at the ground.
“You don’t have to take it,” I replied with a warm smile, “But you do have to hear it…” He glanced back up and gave that smile that only served to prove my point…
When you face a moment where it would help to dish out a compliment, say to a male partner or a friend or a friend’s son, China Simplified wants you to be armed and ready!
The current trendy expressions – 小鲜肉 xiǎo xiān ròu a hot guy (lit. little fresh meat), 男神 nán shén male god, and 高富帅 gāofù shuài tall, rich and handsome – are great among friends to show you know the latest pop culture sayings. In other settings, however, you may want to reach for a more sophisticated compliment, one able to communicate a degree of respect and intellectual substance.
Styles of expression come and go. Check out this translation from one of China’s greatest novels in description of Baoyu, its popular male protagonist:
“His face resembles the mid-autumn moon. His features hover like a flower on a spring morning. Sideburns trimmed sharp, as if cut by a knife. Eyebrows as if painted in ink. His cheeks are like peach blossoms, eyes like autumn ripples. When angry he seems to smile, and when he frowns, he still endears.”
— from Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin (1715-1763)
One time I tried complimenting a cute girl, and I was trying to tell her that she was really nice and sweet but I wanted to sound romantic so instead I blabbered out, confidently, “You are the kind of person who will not make it to judgement day.” And we never spoke again :)
Do you find it hard to take compliments? I do. A more socially adept friend once explained that it is rudetoargue with someone when they compliment you. I’ve taught myself to muster an unenthusiastic “thanks” and change the subject instead; many compliments still make me feel awkward as hell.
My own instinctive bristling at compliments makes me wary of dishing them out. One of my favourite books on communication, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish 1, gives some very evocative hypotheticals illustrating awkward compliments 2:
This is a problem. If I compliment someone else, it’s because I think they’re great! They’ve done some thing or been some way that made me feel good and I want them to feel good in turn. I don’t want them to be doubtful or threatened or to zero in on the parts of my praise that ring untrue.
Thankfully, the book offers a solution: shift your compliments from evaluation to description. This is what I call specific positivity. Here’s an example of it from Faber & Mazlish:
In this example, the evaluation- “you write good poetry”- though intended as a compliment, just makes the would-be poet unsure. The descriptive praise, by contrast, leaves evaluation of the poet to themselves. Its aims simply to share a concrete, positive experience of reading the poem.
With specific positivity, you try to give someone evidence that they should be praised, rather than praise itself. They don’t bristle or argue, because all you’ve given them is a description of your own experience. The recipient of your compliment can then use your descriptive evidence to compliment themselves. This is the goal, anyway- get them to feel good by recognizing the good they’ve done or been. Another book I’ve enjoyed recently had similar recommendations for showing appreciation:
Be specific and precise. Instead of saying, for instance, ‘I love being with you’, be specific about what it is you love. For example, ‘I love the way you ring me at midday to see how I am. It makes me feel cared for.’ - How to Stay Sane, Phillipa Perry
Even though the first phrasing doesn’t evaluate the listener, it’s remarkably easier to feel appreciated by the second, specific phrasing. I think much of what people find lacking in platitudes is detail. Without specifics, attempts at complimenting or comforting come out as sprays of positivity to be deflected.
So, how to make it easier for others to take your compliments? Take a moment first to find the action that inspired you to compliment someone. Now, describe your positive experience of that action. Offer evidence that the person has done something good, rather than asserting this to be so. Give specific positivity and make compliments less awkward for all of us
yes, it’s a parenting book that I first read when I was eight, but it has a lot of transferable knowledge, okay ↩︎
Table adapted from content of Faber & Mazlish pages 178-179. ↩︎
Hello, everyone! So, I’m very excited to finally post this. I’ve been working on it for such a long time! This is my first multi-chapter acotar fic. it’got three different time settings, and follows nesta’s exile to illyria (canon and canon compliant there), her leaving to a little country across the sea, and the inner circle finding her there with three Illyrian-winged children. she’s no longer interested in them, but cassian’s lost her too many times to do so again, and this time, he has more at stake than ever before, if those three Illyrian-winged children have got anything to do with it.
you can read like pristine glass on ao3andff.net as well. enjoy!!
—
October 12 - 4 years after
It seems autumn has surrendered early to winter this year. The first cool drizzle had arrived in early September and the sun had immediately fled behind a cover of clouds and had not been seen since.
The unseasonable heavy rain has robbed Velaris’ people of their last few weeks enjoying the outdoors but Elain does not mind so much, as Feyre’s riverfront home has a beautiful dining room with a carved table she had helped picked out, and she is so excited to see her friends–now more like family–all gathered together, she does not care where the meeting commences.
“Oh, am I here before Feyre?” Mor says brightly from behind her. “Excellent. I thought I’d have to make up some excuse for being late.”
“What were you thinking of?” Elain asks her, turning around to greet her with a kiss on her cheek.
“Caught in the storm, or something? I don’t know.”
“That’s not very creative,” Cassian says, coming into the dining room with Amren behind him. “And the least you could’ve done was let yourself get wet. Try and sell it. Hello, Elain.”
A flurry of hellos and I’ve missed yous and hadn’t realized how long it’s beens, combined with hugs, followed, and within fifteen minutes, they are only waiting for one of their Circle to arrive.
Elain sits down near the head of the table, eyes fixed down, able to see the doorway in her periphery. Perfectly prepared, if anyone were to walk in… she hopes no one notices the faint blush she can feel growing on her cheeks–ah, but they are arguing about the food.
You have one of those faces that simultaneously looks as spritely as a child, and as warm and patient as a grandmother. I hope you don’t take this offensively.
-
I have always wanted to adopt lady friends that are pregnant so their offspring can call me grandma.
Challenge 29 is Stand Kind with We Day! Kindness is contagious and a compliment is one of the easiest ways to pass it on, so give one to a friend today. Post a pic of them with your compliment in the caption and #MonthOfAction. A few heartfelt words could make their day.
Going into #Thanksgiving grateful for all of you. ⭐ Remember to compliment the ones you #love! Who are YOU #thankful for this holiday season? Link in bio to shop @boymeetsgirlusa x @theotherkendra. #boymeetsgirl #boymeetsgirlusa #bmgxkendra #kendracunningham #compliments #aloha . . . . . . . . . . . . #comedian #comedy #collaboration #bekind #kindness #artist #funny #humor #lol #jokes #funnymemes #bekind #happy #family #holiday #fall #grateful #food #holidays #givethanks #gratitude (at New York City, N.Y.) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWqmCVAl8L7/?utm_medium=tumblr
Is it just my imagination, or are you working overtime at finding and posting, nasty, brutal catfight photos? They are fantastic!! Especially all the crotch shots, face forced into pussies. Keep it up!
Thanks for the encouraging words! I’m glad you dig what I’m posting. Enjoy!
