Thank you for the prompt and it’s my pleasure to write for you! Those ficlets are a lot of fun and I hope you like it 🙂
TinCan Ficlet
Can looked at the bowl in front of him and back at Tin, who was washing his hands in the sink. After he cooked for Can. After his mum had left him to starve.
“Just eat,” Tin said as if he had eyes in the back of his head and could see that Can made a doubtful face.
Can picked up the spoon and moved some of the ingredients in the Pad Thai back and forth. It was nice of Tin to cook after Can had whined at him that his mum didn’t love him and left without cooking him something.
He whined a lot to Tin. Most of the time it was enough that Tin listened and didn’t roll his eyes at him. This time, however, Tin had texted him fifteen minutes after their last phone-call that he was in front of his house, with a bag full of food. No take-out. Ingredients.
“Are rich people even able to cook?”, he asked and Tin finally turned to raise an eyebrow at him. “Say’s the Thai Program who had no idea how to turn on the oven.” Can grinned and ate a spoonful.
He moaned.
“Oh damn it. Oh shit… oh this is good.” He took another bite and wiggled with his whole body out of excitement.
“You can cook! That’s so awesome. You should have told me sooner,” he said with a full mouth because he had to eat the first bowl as quickly as possible. There was more on the stove and that was going to get in his belly and he wouldn’t share a single serving with anyone.
He looked up after a while because there was no comment from Tin about his inability to eat neatly, but Tin just sat opposite him and looked to the side. Almost, as if he wanted to hide his face.
“Ohhhh… you’re blushing!”, Can shouted out with glee. He pointed his spoon at Tin and laughed. The blush spread over Tin’s neck to his cheeks and Can had never seen his boyfriend so flustered. Most of the time nothing faced him, not the things they did in the bedroom, nor the many times someone had found them making-out (or more) in public. He always stared everyone down who dared to imply they had to be ashamed of themselves.
Can stood up and stepped into Tin’s space.
“Oh Tin… it’s so yummy,” he murmured in his ear and laughed when Tin tried to twist away with his body. It was cute.
“The big bad IC student is shy,” Can said and nuzzled behind Tin’s ear. He kissed the sensitive skin and marveled in the fact how warm Tin’s face felt. He coaxed his head around to kiss him on the lips and mhmed satisfied when Tin put his arms around his waist.
“Let me guess,” Tin said after Can pulled away, “you would like to kiss some more but you would have to think about the food on the stove all the time?” Can smiled. The blush was still visible high on Tin’s cheek, so he kissed it. Left first, then right.
“You know me so well.” “I didn’t make a triple amount of the recipe just out of fun.”
Can loved food, but his priorities had shifted so he kissed Tin some more.
learning how not to fish for compliments can really help how you interact with others. here’s some common phrases i’ve noticed:
“here’s my shitty art”
“lol i’m so ugly in this selfie”
“you’re so creative. i’m nowhere near as creative as you”
“your writing is amazing! i wish mine was that good”
what all of these have in common is that they all involve putting yourself down. when you do that, those around you feel obligated to compliment you, which can make them feel frustrated that they have to just to be polite. not only that, but by talking yourself down you feel worse about yourself. the latter two phrases also centre your problems, distracting the attention from the person you’re trying to compliment. that often makes them feel bad!
here’s how to fix those phrases:
“here’s my art”
“selfie time!”
“you’re so creative. how do you do it?”
“your writing is amazing! do you have any tips?”
by cutting out the negativity, you make it so nobody feels obligated to compliment you. you’ll usually get more compliments this way because people don’t feel uncomfortable! the latter two phrases now also centre the artist and their knowledge. not only do they make the artist feel good, they also might score you some good advice.
this strategy will also help to boost your confidence in the long run. if you stop prefacing every compliment with negativity, you’ll be able to internalise them better.
I reread this several times, each time I became more and more upset. This post is slanted to wards the idea that everyone starts with the same level of self esteem and/or confidence, and that is in no way true. Those of us with little to no self esteem or confidence in our own work use that self deprecating language because that genuinely how we feel. We don’t feel as talented or as skilled at the our “peers”, something in our lives has broken us to the point where we can’t value ourselves or anything we produce. It’s not “fishing for compliments”, it’s “look, I made this, I feel no where near as good at this as others because I can’t value myself”. When I preface my offerings with “I’m pretty sure this is garbage” is NOT to have everyone fall all over themselves with “Oh no, it’s the best thing since..” if I was, I’d be stupid. Most things don’t get comments at all. It’s a declaration of “Look, I have no confidence in what I’ve done, but I still managed to find the courage to do it, to offer it to you, to bare myself to you despite feeling like a monkey could have done better.” I don’t demand people try and convince me whatever I’ve done is good. I’m not asking for compliments, what I’m asking for is just for you to realise that this is something I have to deal with, have managed to fight through, to offer you whatever it is. Don’t belittle us for something that we often can’t control, understand it’s the way we are and accept it.
yeah, i definitely wish i’d clarified in the original post. i was thinking about a person i know who really is fishing for compliments and it totally didn’t occur to me that this is a product of low self esteem too.
the thing is that your reasons for doing it don’t actually change the effect. whether you’re fishing or just feel bad, putting yourself down still makes others feel bad as well as reducing your own self confidence even further. insulting yourself is extremely, extremely destructive, and i think it’s flat-out dangerous to accept it and think of it as something you can’t stop doing. i’m still struggling with it too! it’s hard as hell. but it’s not an unbeatable monster, and i absolutely object to the idea of treating it like one.
my point still applies: be neutral instead of negative. you don’t have to talk yourself up, but definitely don’t talk yourself down.
I understand where you’re coming from, and yes, I agree it’s completely unhealthy for us to spiral in our self-negativity and push it on other people. Here’s the thing, though, we can’t stop it just because it makes other people uncomfortable. Believe me, if it were that easy to stop, no one would do it. No one is forcing anyone to read or view or comment on anything prefaced with “I know it sucks..”. I don’t ever feel that I owe someone a comment or a compliment unless I genuinely feel it or I think it warrants it, and I wouldn’t expect anyone else to do it. Is it unbeatable monster? No. But I doubt that if years of therapy can’t prevent it, just saying “Well, just don’t do it” helps. It’s a mental illness like any other, telling someone with depression to stop being depressed because it makes others uncomfortable or we should just “cheer up” doesn’t work. I have empathy for anyone who feels their work is not good, so I will go out of my way to read it and if it IS good, tell them so. NO ONE is obligated to do the same. Don’t like to feel the negativity, don’t interact with it. It’s simple.
The duo of Osine Ikhianosime and Anesi Ikhianosime have rekindled
hope in the future of nigeria as they entered their names in the
catalogue of application developers when they built a mobile web browser
that is already in use globally. Osine Ikhianosime 13, and Anesi
Ikhianosime 15 who co-developed ‘Crocodile Browser Lite’ were born of
same parents and both are Year nine and 11 students of Greensprings
School, Anthony Campus, Lagos. While both brothers write code, Anesi
designs the user interface.
Osine Ikhianosine and Anesi Ikhianosime
Osine and Anesi launched the mobile browser on the Mobango app store
before moving to Google Play Store to try and reach a wider audience. As
you read this piece, the browser currently has around 100 to 500
downloads and they do not have ads in the app yet. They both began
developing an Android web browser, which they named Crocodile Browser
Lite, about a year ago out of boredom.
Due to their strong interest in technology, they decided to create a
functional, fast browser for feature and low end phones because,
according to them, “We were fed up with Google Chrome.” Osine who told
TechCabal in his pitch mail said: ‘’I write the code, my brother designs
it.”
Born April 28, 2001, his interest in computers began at age seven. It
was also at this age that he and his brother, Anesi Ikhianosime, who
was 9 at the time, came up with the idea of starting a company.
Recalling how it started, Osine said, they first named it ‘Doors’
with Microsoft’s Windows, but when they discovered that the name was
already in use, they had to change the name to BluDoors. Relating his
experience, Osine said: ‘’When we decided to learn to code at age 12 and
14 respectively, I didn’t let my uncle’s belief that it would be a
tough feat to achieve deter me.”
On his part, Anesi said: “I learnt to code by myself. I started in
2013, I used sites like Code Academy, Code Avengers and books like
‘Android for Game Development’ and ‘Games for Dummies’,” said Anesi.
Meanwhile their mother, Mrs Ngozi Ikhianosime, who is a Mathematics
teacher said: “Osine could already use a PC before he could read at age
three. It is all he does since he learnt to code.”
The mother who ascribed the success to Greensprings Schools, said
students of the school have access to computer and internet facilities,
just as personal laptops are made available to each of them at home.
“After Anesi is through with his secondary school education, he will
attend A levels, after which he will go to MIT in Boston for his first
degree, because the university has the facilities he needs to learn.”
She said.
Their father Mr Philip Ikhianosime, who is the Head of Management
Services and Human Resource Manager at an Insurance Company says the
boys developed interest in PC usage very early. He agrees as well, that
his children’s school is very instrumental in their continued interest
in programming.
Anesi says that he’d like to develop another app that solves real
social problems, such as traffic and communication. The brothers are
releasing a new version of Crocodile Browser Lite 3.0 this April.
Are you an artist that wants to get your work out there! Are you a woman of color that wants to get your work out there? If so, now is your time to shine! Essence of Color is opening up submissions for creativity.
There will be Four categories; short stories, poetry, art, and photography. If you submitted to the previous section, you are still allowed to submit into this section.
We will only be accepting 4 submissions for each sections (4 short stories, 4 poems, 4 art pieces, 4 photography pieces). So if you want to get your work out there, this is your chance! Spaces are limited so jump on it!
*You must be 18 years or older to submit.
THE DEADLINE IS NOVEMBER 26TH, 2018.
The rules and requirements are as followed.
Short Stories Requirements: Must be 600-1000 words Picture of yourself or character A small “About the Author” A summary and title of your work A link so that we can receive more information regarding your work. Must be a woman of color
Poetry Requirements:
Must be half a page to a page long Picture of the poet or logo that represents you A small “About the poet” A summary of the poem (the type, the style, the inspaion) A link to your social media or area where we can receive more regarding your work Must be submitted by a woman of color
Art requirements (traditional or digital): 1 piece per an artist An artist statement (write about your style, your concentration, your focus) About the artist Link to your online gallery Must be submitted by a woman of color
Photography requirements:
1 piece per artist An artist statement About the artist Link to your online gallery Must be submitted by a woman of color
Feel free to ask any questions regarding this! Please reblog and share!
Please submit ASAP! There are people from our fb and irl who will be submitting also. Hurry and submit if you want!!
Summary: Pick being nervous before a very important event.
( for my lovely @ctl-yuejie ! idk if this is what you wanted , but this is what i did – so here you go jfkdjfkdjfkdjfkkdjf )
——————————————–
Pick wasn’t used
to getting nervous. He was a pretty confident chill guy, so it was
quite weird for him to be bursting with anxiety. He did have a good
reason, though. Who wouldn’t be dying of stress and anticipation on
their own wedding day?
Pick and Rome have
been dating for years, and one day Pick just decided it was time. It
was an early morning – one of those romantic ones you read about in
the books. The sun was softly shining through the window, the curtains were slowly rocking back in forth, but most importantly – there was
a boy laying right next to him. And when Pick looked at that boy, he
fell in love with him all over again. He fell in love with his soft
hair, rosy cheeks, pretty eyelashes, and kissable lips. He fell in
love with his hand wrapped around his waist, and with everything that
he’s ever done for him. Pick looked at Rome and thought: ‘This is
the person I want to spend the rest of my life with’. And, what do
good men, who believe in the institution of marriage do in case of
such thoughts? That’s right! They propose.
The proposal was
both the sweetest thing Pick has ever done in his entire life, and
the sweetest thing Rome has ever experienced in his. Pick decided against pulling the classic suit-restaurant-ring-in-the-champagne situation.
Instead, he invited Rome for a simple walk in the park, where they
sat next to an artificial lake and Pick told Rome – for their first
time, in full, looking him right in his beautiful brown eyes – how
much he loved him and every little thing he loved about him. Rome
started crying way before Pick pulled a ring out of his pocket. What
happened after the ring appeared in Pick’s hand we won’t tell in
order to save the last shreds of the other groom’s dignity.
Now, on the day of
the wedding, it seemed like it was Pick’s time to cry a little.
‘So’, Pick heard
a familiar voice near the door of his room, ‘You ready to become a
married man?’
‘Just because you
married Emma a year ago, Porsche’, Pick turned around to face his
friend, ‘Doesn’t mean you are allowed to sound so patronizing.
Besides – who knows? Maybe you’ll fuck it up again’.
‘You’d fuck it
up earlier for sure’, Porsche smirked, but Pick seemed to take it
more seriously.
‘Look’, he said,
putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder, ‘If I fuck it up,
promise to kick my ass and then make sure I do everything in my power
to unfuck it up. Or fuck it unup. Unfuck it down? Whichever one’s
right’.
Porsche laughed and
nodded, ‘It’s time to go, you idiot. Your fiance is
waiting’.
Pick took a deep breath, nodded and headed to
the main hall. The closer he got to it, the more nervous he became.
He could barely breathe, when he and Porsche reached the huge
entrance doors of the hall, where the ceremony was supposed to be
happening.
‘Hey’, Pick’s
friend said softly, putting his hand on his shoulder, ‘I know
you’re nervous. But you can’t pass out right now, and you look
like you’re about to, so just take a deep breath and focus on the
moment. I know it’s exhilarating, but you gotta hold yourself
together. Or you’re going to embarrass yourself and your future
husband, and the wedding hasn’t even started yet!’
Pick nodded again
smiling a little and trying to focus on his breathing. The love of
his life was waiting for him behind those doors on the other end of
the aisle, and that was the only thing that really meant anything.
Everything else didn’t matter, and how could Pick feel nervous
about that? He felt happy. Nothing, but happy. So, he nodded again,
signaling Porsche to open up the doors, took a deep breath and
stepped into the hall.
Pick thought it
would feel more surreal. He thought he would look around, see all the
guests, make sure he knows where everyone’s seated, see their
reaction. But, when he actually stepped on that blue aisle between
those white chairs filled with his and Rome’s friends, the only
thing he could see was the person on the other end of the aisle. The
only thing he could see was Rome. And in that moment he knew that he
will feel like that for the rest of his life. He couldn’t be
happier about it.
The Last Good Bar 
You must be logged in to post a comment.