#COUGH COUGH THAT ONE GIRL SHE LITERALLY NAMED ‘CHO CHANG’

[dontmindme2600]

I think it’s funny how Jk Rowling hypes herself up as like one of the most feminist writers ever but her few female characters either barely impact the plot or just have violently sexist (and/or racist) writing

[bccksmarts]

   ❝I didn't say anything, Harry. You're the one assuming!❞ She snapped with a huff, rolling her eyes at him before taking another sip of her coffee. He had to just jump on her for it, didn't he? She said nothing of the sort... not that she really needed to, but alas.

   The thing that got her the most was his own little admission which had her coughing as her drink went down her throat clearly wrong, ❝You—You literally can't say anything! You just said it yourself! He called me nasty names, called you some too, and did terrible things. It didn't stop him from looking the way he did!❞ She hissed, her cup now back safely on the table before she crossed her arms over her chest. ❝...Just fancied, if you must know.❞

   Sighing, Hermione shifted her gaze away before finally relaxing herself against her chair, ❝You were too busy giving Cho Chang attention that she clearly wasn't up for giving you in return, or did you forget?❞ Sounded a lot like Ron when he finally noticed she was a girl in fourth year... the nerve.

hermione granger ( @bccksmarts ) gets a starter based on a thing she posted about harry and hermione having coffee where hermione accidentally admitted a thing

“You fancied Malfoy?” Harry exclaimed, loudly enough that people in the coffee shop’s attentions were drawn to them. For a moment, his coffee cup hung precariously upon two of his fingers, looking as if it might fall and crash upon the table as he regarded his best friend. “Wait… just fancied him? Or did something happen?” Harry honestly couldn’t believe it either way. He had called her a mudblood, for Merlin’s sake!

Then again… Harry took a drink of his coffee. “I mean fair enough - me too - but come on, Mione. What the bloody hell?” He hoped the ‘me too’ of it all was said quickly enough that it would get lost in the sound of the rest of his voice. “Why couldn’t you just keep fancying me? It would have saved you a lot of heartache.”

[jbbarnesnnoble]

Battle

Summary:  You see the way Bucky looks at her and decide to end things before you get your heart torn to shreds. 

Features:  Mild angst; Cameo appearances by America Chavez and Doreen Green

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Reader

Request: “Hope you can do an angsty fic for Bucky or Sebastian and Reader, where she gives him up because she feels that he's in love with someone else - a colleague perhaps. But a month after they separated, he realizes that his life is a living hell without her. “

Notes: This took me a bit. I unexpectedly moved back home on Sunday from Ireland. I packed up most of my things Friday and Saturday and flew home to the States on Sunday. If you have requests feel free to send them. I still have schoolwork to do, but I also need the distraction. 

Word Count: 1672

You caught the glances he shared with her. Saw the lunch she brought to him when you were going to see if he wanted to go grab a bite to eat. Anxiety and insecurity twisted in the pit of your stomach. You’d gone down this road before. You knew where it ended. You sat on the couch of the common area of the compound, staring at the television that was playing some Hallmark Channel movie you weren’t engrossed in. Your mind was wandering to what you knew you had to do. Bucky sat down beside you, putting an arm around your shoulder. You shrugged it off. You saw the look of confusion on his face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. You sighed. That was the million dollar question. Your eyes were watering.

“We need to break up,” you said, not turning to look at him. You were struggling to keep it together, to not fall to pieces over one of the hardest things you’d had to do. Sure, you could take down HYDRA operatives with no issue. But ending things with Bucky, that was uncharted waters you never saw yourself entering. He frowned.

“What?” he asked.

“I know where this ends, James. And it ends with me getting hurt. I asked for a transfer to the west coast. Might be temporary, might not be,” you said, managing to keep your voice steady, turning to face him.

“Doll,” he said, reaching up to cup your face. You flinched away. There was no denying the hurt on his face. 

“I see how she looks at you. I can’t go through that, again, Buck. As cliche as it is, if you love something, or someone, let them go,” you told him before standing up.

“Can we talk about this?” he asked, his voice raising. You shook your head. You had already packed a bag and a quinjet was waiting for you. It wasn’t the mature route, but you couldn’t let yourself fall to pieces again. Not after the last time you let someone in. You never wanted to hurt him. But if ending things before you lost him to someone else meant you could protect your heart in the long run, you would do what you needed. You stood up, grabbing the bag that you had set next to the couch. You didn’t look back as you walked away. 

And so began the care and keeping of you. You were doing your best to keep it together. When you spoke to Natasha, she avoided the subject. She checked in on you daily, worried about you and about how you were coping. You broke your own heart to keep someone else from breaking it. 

The first week had been hard. You opened and closed your texts with Bucky more times than you could count, doing your best to ignore the last message he sent, asking you to come home. Home. You felt like the compound could never be home again, not when he was your home. You wanted to believe it was a misunderstanding, that he hadn’t been pulling away and toward someone else, that it wasn’t your insecurity. 

Three weeks into your move to the west, your division was working with the team on a mission. You landed at the compound with two of the group you’d dubbed the babies, the teenagers who were part of the west coast initiative. America and Doreen. You saw the looks they gave Bucky as the three of you entered the room. She was with him. You felt your heart crack a little more. 

“Why are there children with you?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow. You just smirked.

“Trust me, Cap. This is America Chavez and Doreen Green. Miss America and Squirrel Girl,” you said.

“Squirrel Girl? What kind of name is Squirrel Girl?” Sam asked with a laugh. You and America shared a look before you heard Sam let out an “oof” as Doreen’s fist connected with his gut.

“Like I said. Trust me,” you said. You heard a high pitched laugh from the other room, your arrival going unnoticed by the pair. You just rolled your eyes. 

“A few days,” Nat said quietly when your group entered the conference room, answering your unasked questions. 

“I figured as much,” you told her. Bucky wasn’t part of this mission. Clint, Nat, Sam, and Steve were going with the three of you. Some alien tech had fallen into the wrong hands and once Captain Marvel arrived, the eight of you would be preparing to head out, anticipating at least a week if not more, of being on the mission. Once Carol arrived, Steve started the briefing.

“We don’t know who this group is. It’s not HYDRA. We’re flying blind and I don’t like it. We’ll recon the best that we can, try to get the advantage. We know they have alien tech, we don’t know what,” Steve said. 

“Whatever it is, it isn’t leftovers from the 2012 invasion. Chemical composition of the scraps we found didn’t match,” you said. The eight of you charted out a game plan over the next hour and a half. Steve wasn’t keen on the two youngest joining the mission, but you insisted. The two of you were left in the conference room as the others left, with the two girls talking excitedly with Nat who insisted on getting a training session in with them before the group of you left for the Canadian wilderness that night. 

“Trust me on this one, Cap. We need them. They both have superhuman strength. Doreen can jump several stories, America can literally kick through reality,” you said. Steve sighed.

“Why did you ask that Bucky not be on this mission?” he asked. You stared at him.

“Steve...you know things ended. And he seems happy with Emilia...Evelyn? Emma?” you asked.

“Emalyn. She invited herself up, by the way. She has access as Tony’s assistant. Buck’s just too nice to brush her off,” he said. You glared at him.

“Try that again with a little more honesty. Nat told me,” you said plainly. Steve sighed.

“He doesn’t like her. She’s convient. He misses you, you know. We all miss you. He still doesn’t understand why you walked away. Why did you leave?” he asked. You scoffed.

“He was clearly falling for her. I’d go ask if he wanted to grab lunch and she brought him lunch. I saw the looks they shared. I wasn’t about to get my heart broken again, Steve,” you said. He shook his head.

“He only accepted a date with her because he was miserable. He’s still miserable. I know him. He loves you. More than anything,” he said. 

“We’re done, Rogers. This conversation is over. We have work to do,” you said. 

What was meant to be a one week mission stretched into two and a half. You found the base of operations and made a plan, but one of the men you were chasing down managed to get the drop on you. THe next thing you saw were the bright white walls of the medical wing of the compound. You heard the movement of metal, the sound that Bucky’s arm made. But that couldn’t be right. Bucky and you had broken up. He wouldn’t be at your bedside. It took a couple minutes for your eyes to adjust enough to fully open. You saw Dr. Cho watching you and then you turned your head. Bucky was sat beside you, eyes bloodshot, whether from emotion or a lack of sleep you weren’t sure. There were deep, dark circles under his eyes that screamed he was exhausted. And you were confused.

“What--,” you were cut off by a coughing fit. Bucky was quick to have a cup of water with a straw, holding it to your lips as you took a sip.

“Easy doll, you’ve been out a few days,” he said.

“Why are you here?” you asked. Your voice was soft, far from having the bite you so desperately wanted to have. You were the one to end things, that much was true. But it still hurt. He frowned.

“When Nat said you needed medical...and when I saw you...I can’t lose you. The past month has been hell,” he said.

“What about Emmylou?” you asked. He just shook his head.

“Emalyn was there. I was lonely. I was hurt. Doll, I never, I never wanted to hurt you. Why didn’t you just tell me what you were feeling?” he asked. You sighed.

“You know my history Buck. I didn’t want to get hurt again,” you said.

“So you broke both of our hearts instead,” he said. 

“You have to understand how it looked from where I stood, Bucky. She brought you lunch multiple times. She was constantly flirting with you and the way you’d look at her,” you said.

“I always turned her down. I’d see you coming, and smile before seeing you walk away. This last month has been hell. You chose to walk away instead of talk. You made that decision on your own. Never gave me to chance to say my piece,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” you said. He sighed, 

“So am I. She and I...I was hurting. I’m not proud of it. I ended it after you left on the mission. Seeing you again...even if you hadn’t gotten hurt, I was determined to talk to you, talk this out, talk about us, if there could still be an us,” he said. 

“Let’s take it one day at a time, yeah? Starting with me getting out of here. You know how much I hate the medbay,” you replied, sending him into a fit of laughter. The two of you sat talking for a while, until a crash from the doorway drew your attention. America, Doreen, Natasha and Steve laid in a pile in the doorway. You and Bucky stifled your laughter as you looked at the group.

“Some things really do never change around here,” you said.

[mirdance]

No Matter How You Look at it, My Loving Girlfriend is a Cat Now!

Working with Gam has been such an honor! Her art is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm so glad she enjoyed my whimsical cat idea enough to draw it. Working with her MC, Cho, was a lovely experience, and I hope Cho forgives me for turning her into a cat. <3Thank you to @mysme-rbb for providing this opportunity! Link to Gam's art Instagram: gammam0n Read the story on A03 Summary: Saeran and Cho have been living together for a couple weeks in their new apartment. Co-habitation has had its up and downs, but Saeran thinks he has started to get the hang of everything. He’s even able to cook her favorite breakfast and separate the laundry. Things are looking swell. That is, until his girlfriend turns into a cat.

Saeran’s life really was something out of a fairy tale, if you gathered all the Brothers Grimm tales and mashed them into one horrifying short story with a Snow White happy ending. He thought he had his shit together by this point; who wouldn’t after helping run a cult and years of therapy? You kinda learn something about life in all that mess. But the love of his life, his one and only, Cho, turning into a cat, was something life nor therapy taught him how to deal with. While cute for fiction, the actuality of seeing her curled on the bed, white fluffy tail around her body, sent his eyes twitching.

Earlier, he’d been making them omelettes. She was always waking up early to cook them breakfast, so he’d wanted to do something for her for a change. They’d been living together in their new apartment for just a short while, but she seemed much more put together and relaxed in the fresh environment. He admired her strength, even if he was a tad jealous of her ability to adapt. She was independent, something he could never be, no matter how much he strove. Even with his progress, he still found himself leaning on her too much. Hell, when they’d first met, he’d been running around in the rain for so long, trying to figure out the bus schedule, when she’d stopped to help. She never asked for help, though.

He flopped his finished creation on a plate. Ray nudged the forefront of his mind. Saeran sighed as he prepared a glass of orange juice. All things considered; he was doing so much better than he could have ever imagined. Waking up to cook, laundry, working, they were hard, but he’d endured more and could get through this. He made his way down their tiny hallway with a skip in his step. Just thinking about how it was theirs, and how he was no longer alone. Sure, he had his family and his friends, but having Cho to hold him on those rough nights was simply different. A different kind of home.

He pushed open the bedroom door with his hip. “Time to wake,” he whispered with a grin. “I’ve made you—”

The plate fell to the floor with a clatter. Eggs flew across the floor and landed near the foot of the bed. Saeran coughed. His throat began to itch, and he pulled on his collar. “I…I’m sorry,” he reached down and began cleaning up the mess. “I thought…thought. We were going to pick out one of the kittens from the shelter next week? Because they’re overrun and all…”

Sleeping on the bed was a fluffy, white, cat. It resembled Elizabeth the 3rd in some ways, but its fur was not nearly as long, and its eyes glowed amber in the sunrise of the window. It stretched and yawned before jumping off the bed and eating the eggs off the floor.

Saeran bapped it away. “I don’t know if you can eat everything in this…”

Much to his dismay, the cat did not listen and only ate faster. What was this, a dog in a cats body? He lifted the cat as he stood and stepped over the egg mess. “Cho? Did my brother put you up to this?” He glanced around the corners of the room to find the hidden camera. There was nothing in the bed or closet. His heartbeat throbbed throughout his skull.

“Cho?”

He called her name several more times. She’d just been right here, sleeping under the covers. He hadn’t heard her move from the room. The window was intact. This had to be some joke his brother put her up to. Instinctively, he kissed the top of the cat’s head, and it rubbed its chin along his jawline. He couldn’t help but smile even through his disappointment.

“We said we’d pick one out together. I know, it’s probably dumb of me, but I’m kind of let down. It’s nothing against you, I promise.” He sat the cat on the bed and scratched behind its ear. “Please stay here while I clean this mess. I need to find Cho and see what’s going on.”

As Saeran bent to place the omelette back onto the plate, the cat jumped down once again and dove into the food. He lifted the plate into the air. “You must be hungry. I think we have some wet food.” He grimaced and checked around the floor once more. Cho hadn’t even set up a litter box. Hopefully, it hadn’t peed anywhere.

“I’ll be back.”

He’d said that, but the cat followed him to the kitchen, anyway. Were cats always so friendly? Well, in his experience, some were, but only after lots of food and getting to know one another. Maybe there was a reason Cho picked this one out? He didn’t want to assume anything bad. She was probably on her way to get emergency supplies or something. He discarded the eggs. The cat pawed at the trash can.

“I’m getting you food, hold on.”

He rummaged through the cabinets as the cat circled between his legs. They kept wet food for the stray cats that ran around and were hoping to prepare for a kitten of their own. “I hope you like chicken flavor,” he murmured as he popped open the lid. He dumped the food on a saucer before setting it on the ground.

“There you go. Doesn’t that look yummy?” The cat turned its nose up, and Saeran swore it shook its head. It turned its back to him and sat on the ground. Saeran cleared his throat. “Well, I guess it might be a bit hard to eat.” He grabbed a fork from the cabinet and began cutting the wet food into bite sized pieces. “I guess it does kinda stink, huh?”

The cat squeaked somewhat but did not meow. It jumped onto the counter and stared down at him.

“Oh, do you want to eat it up there?” He sat the plate before the cat.

The cat knocked it to the floor.

Thankfully, it was a plastic plate.

Saeran took a deep breath before anyone impatient could co-front. Maybe Ray would be better at dealing with this. “Okay, chicken is out of the question. Unfortunately, that’s all we have at the moment. The big stray Bo outside loves beef flavor and ate it all up. I think…we have turkey? For sandwiches. Hold on.”

It was a good thing he was off work today. How could Cho leave a cat behind with nothing to eat? He was still expecting his brother to pop out of a corner, but the apartment was eerily silent. Cho had never been so unprepared. He quickly grabbed his cell phone from the top of the fridge (Why was it on top of the fridge? Who left it there? Somehow, he remembered it being up there, so one of his brain mates was probably laughing their ass off.) He dialed Cho.

And it rang.

And rang

And rang

Saeran stared at his phone for far too long until he realized her phone was ringing in the bedroom. He darted for the room, only to find the phone buzzing on top of the dresser, still charging from the night before.

“Cho, this isn’t funny anymore.”

Saeran lunged for the phone and tried to type in the password. Wasn’t it her birthday? Not that they went through each other’s phones all the time, but occasionally they played games together and traded. The phone vibrated in defiance. He didn’t want to lock himself out. He logged into messenger on his own phone, but no one was awake. Not even Jumin Han or Jaehee.

Clattering noises echoed from the kitchen. Crap. He jogged back to the cat to find it…on the table, turkey on bread. A literal sandwich laid before a cat with the cat nibbling the edges. He laughed. Had he made this cat a sandwich and forgot? No, he simply thought about feeding it turkey. Maybe Ray had? No, Ray didn’t show up as far as Saeran could remember. Wait, were cats supposed to have bread?

He set the phones on the table and slid the turkey from the bread slices. “Not for kitties,” he mumbled. “I don’t know how you made yourself a sandwich, but you’re one smart animal.”

A low growl rumbled from the cat’s throat as it sat on its haunches, but otherwise it seemed at peace. Its ears were perked normally, and its tail rested softly at its side. At least it hadn’t mauled him. Maybe Cho had noticed how picky it was and ran out to get groceries. Maybe she’d forgotten her phone? He couldn’t see it, but it was possible.

“Hm, I wonder if you’re a boy or a girl?” He was tired of calling it ‘it’. It didn’t have a collar. “Excuse me,” he went behind the cat and lifted its leg. Both Cho and Saeran had learned to tell the differences between sexes while volunteering for Yoosung’s vet office, so this was nothing but procedure at this point. Its ears laid flat against its head. Saeran apologized once again before putting the cat’s leg down and allowing it freedom. “Well, it’s a girl,” he said, smiling and scratching behind her ear. “I wonder when your mom will be back. Should I got out and look for her? I’m super worried.”

She ignored him, walking past him and to the phones that lie on the table. Her tiny paws tapped the screen of Cho’s phone before it lit to life. Saeran sat down at one of the chairs and blocked the corners of the table with his hands. “Please don’t start knocking over more stuff,” he begged.

His phone began ringing. He quickly picked it up, only to find Cho’s profile across the screen. His eyes darted from Cho’s phone to his. This cat…had called him. Wait, this cat had unlocked the phone!

“I guess you got lucky,” Saeran said, hanging up both phones. He began looking through Cho’s. Everything was normal, her schedule, the menus. He sighed and sat the phone back down. “I guess I’m going to have to go out and find her myself. She’s probably just at the corner store looking for…”

Once again, the cat called him. He jerked the phone out of the cat’s paws and hung everything up. He wasn’t one to believe in the supernatural, but hell if this wasn’t weird. Against his better judgement, he locked Cho’s phone and set it back down. There, cat. See if you can unlock it again.

The cat seamlessly tapped its little paws on the screen, unlocking the phone with what seemed to be Cho’s birthday. Saeran wanted to smack his head on the table. “You can’t be serious. I swear to god if my brother is in here, he will not live to see tomorrow.”

The cat used its nose to click around, smudging the screen in the process. Sarean wiped it with his sleeve. “You’re going to ruin the screen.”

The cat, resigned to its fate of only using its paws, eventually opened up notes and tapped at the keyboard. Saeran--still not believing that the cat knew what it was doing because how could it—chuckled and pet its flank.

Hhji itds mje cvho I lolve u

Saeran slid the phone over to himself and read the garbled message. What…no. Ha. Hahahhahahahhaa. No. That looked an awful too much like Hi it’s me, Cho, I love you but typed with fat cat toes.

Everything was too much of a match for Saeran to doubt. Even the cat’s eyes were the same color. “Cho…is that really you?”

The cat placed a paw on his hand and nodded…cats didn’t nod. Well, unless they were in some cartoon, which Saeran was very much beginning to feel like the protagonist of. Did someone sneak elixir in his juice? Had he taken too much medication?

He gulped. “If…if you’re really Cho, spin around two times.” He wanted to laugh more, but part of him was deathly afraid of his own mental state. The other part of him was afraid for hers.

Saeran almost reached out to stop her as the cat spun around twice. She sat and seemed to glower at him, as if daring him to ask for more party tricks. Saeran lifted his hands in the air in defeat. “Okay, okay, Miss Cho. I believe you. I’m either high as a kite or you’ve somehow turned yourself into a cat, but either way, I trust you.”

Cho nudged his arm with the side of her cheek. God, it was so cute. He couldn’t think like that, though. He had to gather his thoughts. How could they turn her back? Whether he was off his rocker or not, it was important to settle the matter. Cho was a cat for a reason, and even though it was super cute, it was probably not the most comfortable. After all, how could she go to the bathroom? Would he need to get a litter box? Or maybe keeping the lid up on toilet was enough. Could she eat human food, or would that hurt her stomach? While they get to the bottom of this, maybe it would be best to try and get her to eat cat food. Should he take her to the vet?

“Merow.” Cho rolled onto her back, and Saeran’s heart thumped against his ribcage.

“Ha…you’re so cute. I know cats down like belly rubs but…” He reached out tentatively and gently ran his fingers across her belly fur. So…soft. She put her paws around his hand and nibbled his knuckles. “Is that too much?” He tried to pull his hand back, but she bit down harder. “Hey, that’s not fair. Stop that.”

Cho licked his hand apologetically with her sandpaper tongue and let go. Saeran would have to remember not to give too many belly rubs. Hopefully, she would poof back into a human any time, but it would be good to take mental notes of her likes and dislikes. It sort of reminded him of the fairy tales his brother used to tell to put him to sleep.

“Oh, maybe the princess needs a kiss from the prince?” He rested his head on the table and pushed his nose against her wet nose. But how was he to kiss a cat? He pecked her nose and mouth area, but nothing happened. “Well, it was worth a try.”

Cho licked him on the mouth; her sandpaper tongue felt pretty gross, but he tried not to grimace. He thanked her for the kiss and sighed. Maybe whatever was wrong with her would eventually wear off? He’d need to make a list of quality-of-life necessities and see if she agreed with them. In addition to food and toiletries, she probably needed toys. Maybe Jumin could recommend some cat trees.

Jesus Christ, he was beginning to sound like the man himself.

“I’m going to take care of you, Cho. Even if we can’t figure out how to change you back, I’ll love you. Just the way you are.”

Cho stretched into a stand and rammed her head against his several times. He couldn’t help but laugh as fur danced around his nostrils. They’d need several lint rollers, too. Would she want to go out on walks? He couldn’t keep her cooped up in the house, no matter how much he wanted to protect her. It would be fun if she could speak to other cats.

“By the way,” he whispered as he ran his fingers along her back. “I didn’t get to mention it the other day before I left for work. But thank you. You’ve worked really hard to help me despite my struggles. I know it’s not easy living with me. I can be an airhead sometimes, and I shouldn’t have put your shirt in the wash like you said. I just wanted to get it clean because it’s your favorite. Now it’s ruined. Gah, I don’t know anything about this stuff.” He ran his fingers through his hair, and Cho placed a paw on his cheek. He smiled shakily into her paw and pecked it.

Her paw grew warm until it was almost scalding. Before Saeran could freak out, cat paws turned to fingers. Her nose turned human, and the rest of her body followed, save for the cat ears on top of her head. Saeran’s face tingled, and he quickly looked away from her naked form.

“Omelette is ready,” she said. It almost sounded like a morphed meow, but he could tell it was her voice.

Saeran cocked his head to the side. “What?”

“Merowwake up.”

The top of his head began tingling and sent a cool sensation down his neck; he went to scratch his head, but his hands were fuzzy. As he stared at them, they grew into paws. He sneezed as fur tickled his nose. Wait, no. He didn’t want to be a cat, either! How could he learn to cook with his girlfriend? Pick out the kitten together?

As he cried out, only meows echoed against his skull. The kitchen stretched into ginormous walls as he shrunk and shrunk and shrunk. He reached his little paws as far as he could to grab hold of Cho, but he fell off the chair.

Before he hit the ground, his surroundings changed. Bedsheets stuck to his back, and his fingers gripped the comforter. Fingers. Good. He stretched them out in front of his face to make sure he hadn’t grown paws. There were no ears on the top of his head, either.

“You’re acting lively,” Cho said. She set a glass of orange juice on the nightstand. “I hope that means your fever is down.”

Saeran rolled his head over on the pillow. Cho held a plate of omelettes and sat next to him. The bed creaked as she crossed her legs and stabbed the food with a spoon. She wasn’t a cat. He wasn’t a cat. And in the end, he hadn’t even woken up to make her breakfast.

“I’m sorry I’m so useless,” he mumbled. “I meant to wake up and make you something since you’re always doing it.”

She rolled her eyes. “You went to bed with a fever, don’t even start. And I enjoy doing these things. It gives me a sense of freedom.”

She pushed the spoon towards Saeran, and he took the food without complaint. He’d stayed up all night over the toilet; no wonder his dreams were whack. He debated on telling her, but the thought embarrassed him. He didn’t want to seem as cat obsessed as Jumin. Saeran couldn’t lie, though. He was a bit nervous about taking care of something totally reliant upon him, but Cho said they were ready.

After his meal, Cho gave him cold medicine and ran her fingers through his hair. “I know you’re stressed about postponing with the shelter,” she said, gathering the dishes. “But it’s no big deal. Just get some rest.” She leaned down and kissed his nose.

He closed his eyes and touched where she had kissed, making sure to imprint it into his memory. “I’m sorry about your shirt,” he mumbled.

She sighed and pushed a strand of hair behind his ear. “Don’t worry about it. Make it up to me by feeling better soon, okay?”

He nodded as she left the room with dishes in tow. His eyes were heavy even though he had just slept. Part of him wanted to jump up and offer to do the dishes. Offer to make her food. Offer something, anything. Yet his body fought against his mind. There was no energy left in his limbs. He’d make it up to her eventually. He’d promised her that he’d take better care of himself. Thus, he allowed the voices to quiet down in his mind and sleep peacefully.

[innotherlands]

This week has been a constant back and forth for me in regards to whether I think Bellarke will be canon/not canon, and I just don’t know what to think anymore.

I was feeling pretty negative up until the episode yesterday and then made a complete 180 back to believing in Bellarke endgame after I saw Echo’s Roan apparition. It appeared to me that what we have been saying about B/echo’s relationship this whole time, i.e. It is not equal and Echo sees Bellamy just as another master (and frankly, that Bellamy also does not value her opinion like he does other people’s *cough* Clarke *cough*) is finally being addressed and will hopefully lead to a breakup and result in E/cho finding an identity as an individual rather than a follower. I saw that and thought, okay here we go, they’re finally taking the necessary steps to get to Bellarke canon.

At least, that’s what it seemed until the second script to screen came out with low key romantic vibes between Clarke and G/aia. Lines such as (I’m paraphrasing) “more personal” “they moved apart” “and Indra senses” indicate that scene was trying (emphasis on trying) to portray a budding romance between the two. The thing is, when I watched that scene I saw nothing but friendship. I don’t know if I interpreted it wrong, they failed in translating what they really wanted to say from script to scene, or if it was just a weirdly worded way to say that they are developing a friendship and respect for each other. When I read that script my stomach sank, and so I went back to thinking that Bellarke isn’t happening.

At this point I honestly don’t know what to think. I was so sure before the season started (before the Bob/Bellamy drama) that Bellarke is going to be canon. The season premier just seemed to be communicating two different things at the same time.

Yet every time I think about it, I see Bellarke endgame as inevitable. It goes against the story that they have been telling for 6 seasons to end any other way, especially after the obvious romance in season 6. I was not at all confident in canon Bellarke post season five, but season six managed to completely change my mind. I just can’t see why they would write what would be interpreted as blantantly romantic scenes in any other couple and the foundations of a B/echo breakup if they weren’t intending to go there. Things like:

Clarke looking high key scared when Bellamy mentions the radio calls, and visibly relaxing when he reveals that Madi told him; what, pray tell did she say in those calls that she was so scared of Bellamy having heard? A love confession?

Paralleling Bellamy and Clarke with Gabriel and Josephine - they literally ended the season in their clothes

Bellamy dismissing every idea that E/cho suggests while championing Clarke as a leader/ agreeing with her suggestions

Emphasizing that E/cho doesn’t care about “doing better” like Bellamy and Clarke

Clarke listing “leaving Bellamy in Polis” as her biggest regret. She’s had to do so many terrible things, and that’s her biggest regret? Even though it all turned out okay? I see you girl.

Showing that B/echo don’t really know each other, even after spending 6 years together on the ring (although we don’t know how long they’ve actually been together, all we know is that he forgave her after 3 years; they read as a relatively new relationship to me) - Bellamy had to tell E/cho that Octavia got arrested at a party, which she should have known as it’s pivotal to his character. E/cho also has been lying about her past/identity (and I once again ask, how did he even forgive her if he didn’t know anything about why she was actually so loyal to Azgeda?)

The consistent blocking and framing of E/cho between Bellamy and Clarke. In the first episode Clarke even completely blocks E/cho from the camera’s view while Bellamy and Clarke gaze at one another

The absolutely adoring way that Clarke looked at Bellamy when he brought Madi back to her

Bellamy picking a fight with E/cho over not being emotional enough just after having an emotional and cathartic conversation with Clarke (and watching her dance with another dude)

Clarke understanding what Bellamy needs re: Octavia, juxtaposed with his obvious annoyance with E/cho’s attempts to get him to forigive her

Bellamy being the first one (and only one without help) to figure out that Clarke has been body snatched.

E/cho spending an entire episode worrying about Bellamy while he was - at the same time - ready to burn sanctum down over Clarke and forgo a peace deal without sparing a thought for E/cho (and the rest of his family)

“Don’t you remember what it’s like to lose someone you love?”- Russel talking to a Josephine about (presumably) Gabriel

Paralleling Russel and Simone to Bellamy and Clarke (remember when Simone said Russel uses his heart, implying that she uses her head? Or when Bellamy and Clarke exited the Sanctum bar the exact same way as Russel and Simone had moments before (if I had a gif I would use it, but believe me it’s obviously intentional when you look at it)

The camera moving from Lexa (her past love interest) to Bellamy (her current love interest) in Clarke’s mind space

Clarke’s unwillingness to face Bellamy in her mind space for fear that he hadn’t actually forgiven her for her actions

How Clarke gave up on herself when she thought that Bellamy had given up on her.

How Bellamy was the first person to realize that Clarke was still alive, through Morse code no less. How attentive to somebody do you have to be to notice something like that?

Bellamy abandoning everything at just the slightest chance that Clarke could be alive; he knew that taking Josephine!Clarke would anger Russel and likely lead to a perilous situation for his family and girlfriend, and yet he did it anyway. There are so many variables that could have lead to failure, i.e. running out of time before Clarke and Josephine merge, Josephine herself, the CoG, the location of Gabriel, whether or not Gabriel would actually help him, etc. Bellamy had everything to lose if he didn’t succeed, but he ultimately decided a loss of Clarke is worse than risking his entire family’s safety over the long shot of saving Clarke.

Bellamy staring angstly at Josephine!Clarke and waiting what felt like forever to say “I won’t let you die” (which we and likely Josephine took as “I love you”).

How Bellamy instinctively knew when Clarke had returned in the cave

“Clarke, you gotta run” “No, I’m not leaving you!”

The CPR scene. There are so many things here: Bellamy finally admitting he needs Clarke after denying it during the red sun, including himself and Madi as the people that need Clarke (not Abby?), the repeating of the head and the heart (the symbolic representation of their relationship) as almost a mantra, Bellamy’s words inspiring Clarke to fight back (we all know his crappy CPR didn’t do the trick), Bellamy beating Clarke’s heart for her - symbolically being her heart when she was stuck in her head, the way that everybody thought they were going to kiss after she woke up (we know our girl wanted to, but she’s not a cheater), the fact that Octavia tried to tell Bellamy that he should let Clarke go but he wouldn’t accept it, how Clarke literally nuzzles his shoulder after she wakes up.

Gabriel saying “I have to let you go now” and Bellamy later saying “I won’t let you go” - it’s a symbolic passing of the torch and proof of Bellamy’s devotion to Clarke

The music during the CPR scene being the same (albeit more emotional) as when Abby was doing CPR on Kane

The increase in intimacy the episode after Clarke was revived: Bellamy’s hand on Clarke’s thigh, the gazing into eachother’s eyes, the casual touching, Bellamy’s “I didn’t protect you” and obvious guilt over choosing to save Clarke over his family’s safety (not that he regrets saving her - his guilt is his acknowledgment that he chose Clarke over everybody), his adamant refusal to let Clarke go into danger even though it was the best way to save their friends, Gabriel’s intrisic knowledge that Bellamy wouldn’t want Clarke to be put in danger, the way they stared at each other after Clarke took off their gags, etc.

“E/cho’s in trouble too, I’ll do what I can for her” followed by a less than emotional stare and the stark realization that he actually has a girlfriend and her name isn’t Clarke

The absolutely lovestruck way that Clarke stared at Bellamy when he was giving his speech about the primes

The way E/cho and Bellamy reunited after he heard she was in danger and we Clarke’s bittersweet reaction to the hug but not E/cho’s face. Also, a pat on the back and no kiss? That’s funny.

The emotional Bellarke hug(s) at the end of the season where they are shrouded in golden light and are silhouetted with sun spots reaching over their entwined bodies - this is a tried an true romance trope and the director had to have known when shooting the scene

All of this happened in season 6, and that isn’t even mentioning the stuff from previous seasons like “a traitor who you love” “the hostage taker and his girlfriend,” the radio calls, “I’ve got you for that!”, “we can’t! lose! Clarke!”, etc. that just scream Bellarke romance. I look at all of it and just think that the story can’t possibly end any other way than Bellarke canon. There’s too much evidence supporting a Bellarke romance and B/echo breakup. E/cho could find herself away from Bellamy and Clarke will go to the ends of the earth to save him. But with the potential C/laia stuff now I am so anxious and stressed. This season could honestly go either way, and I wish I could skip forward to the ending so I could just know once and for all. These next months are going to feel like forever. For now I’m going to watch and hope for the best, trusting what my eyes have been telling me all these years to be true. I just hope Jason can follow through.

[drunklander]

Drunj!Der Yells About Outlander

Thoughts on Ep. 313

Ermagherd guys, Droughtlander. It’s here. But it’s here with Hamilton stuck in our heads, cheesetastic secksi times and the knowledge that the beginning of next season is probs the most like the oh-so-high-up-on-that-pedestal-S1A than anything else in the series. (In a strange new place! Trying to build a home! Except this time they’re doing it together! With the kiddos! Plus a doggo! *grabby hands*)

I know I’ve been on the *cough* less than positive *cough* side of things a lot this season. And last season, if we’re being honest. And I was going to apologize for that, but honestly, I’m not sorry. That’s just how I fan. I flail about what I love, I rant about what I don’t. I’m *very* aware that’s not everyone’s cup of tea and that I’m the sort of fan the cast and crew shit on in interviews and on twitter. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But I enjoyed the finale for what it was. I squee’ed! I yelled things at the teevee! I side-eyed like whoa! So basically the same-ish reaction I’ve had to most of the episodes.

(I never bothered doing a full S2 rewatch, but I might do one for S3 just to see if it flows any better when watched all in one go, but I have a feeling it’ll still feel more like individual units than a cohesive whole.)

Anywho, beer-fueled nonsense that offers nothing of substance under the cut.

Finding more and more that I miss the old-style title cards.

Hard pass on doing this VO twice, tbh. Like we know obvi she’s not going to die. Just have it be where it plays out in the story.

Ok but all I can think about when the carriage stops and the crowd of people walk by is the part in The Mummy when they’re all like zombified and chanting Im-Ho-Tep.

I was just about to snark on Claire apparently having a change of clothes in the damn carriage but alas, we didn’t have to headcanon that she went and changed somewhere. No snarking for me.

Although for fucking serious? She changed back into the same damn outfit?! Ffs. Let the damn woman wear a different dress.

Aw, Fergus lets his wife come with him and doesn’t leave her behind in the woods with Willie. (I heart Marsali.)

“I’ll gut you” is apparently Young Ian’s go-to threat. It’s cute he already has a signature murder-style. Now you just need a rad serial killer name, dude. Take the hiatus to think about it.

This whole thing with Claire and Geillis is like ♬ I know, you know that I’m not telling the truth. ♬

I love that the Army/Navy rivalry spans both time and country.

But for real. Lord John in this scene is my goddamn everything. Sorry, Captain Babyface. I like you, but I need my dude out of those handcuffs and LJG is fucking *bringing it* right now. Can Jamie keep the handcuffs though? They might come in handy once he’s back on the Artemis... ;)

Ok but the final lingering shot of the pining face. Why. It was such a great scene. Lord John helping his buddy. Jamie being like yep, I still get in trouble, thanks for the assist. A nice goodbye. And it could have just ended there and been perfect, but nah, gotta smack everyone over the head with 1000% commitment to my least favorite trope.

#GetJohnABoyfriend2k18

Ah a “why are you here” callback to ep. 111.

For real though, Geillis is fucking nuts. Claire knows Geillis is fucking nuts. Claire knows Geillis has Young Ian. WHY ARE YOU LIKE HAVING CASUAL STORY TIME WITH HER, CLAIRE! DON’T TELL HER THINGS!

CLAIRE WHY ARE YOU TELLING GEILLIS ABOUT GOING BACK TO THE FUTURE! WHY ARE YOU TELLING HER ABOUT BREE! THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA! STOP SHARING THINGS WITH PSYCHOPATHS!

Also, we’re just casually talking about time travel in front of Hercules? I mean, I guess since he’s enslaved, no one gives a shit what he hears because it’s not like he can do anything?

“He was one of my favorites.” She’s fucking nuts but I still do love Geillis.

*zones out through discussions about the mechanics of time travel*

Did you really think you *weren’t* going to get locked in, Claire? YOU KNOW WHAT GEILLIS HAS DONE, YOU WERE CLEARLY GOING TO BE LOCKED IN. BREAK THE FUCKING WINDOW OR SOMETHING IF YOU WANT TO GET OUT.

I get that this is a parallel to the pilot when Claire’s watching the dancers at Craigh na Dun with Frank from the grass, but part of me is still wicked uncomfortable that they’re again using Black people as basically set dressing. I know it’s in the book, I wasn’t a fan of it there either.

How I think of Margaret during her Visions R Us office hours, basically.

Man, they really committed to this damn rabbit and bird thing. Maybe it’s some folks’ jam, but it never really struck a chord for me and the more they kept bringing it up, the more it makes me roll my eyes. Maybe because birds and rabbits were never a thing with Jamie and Claire? So it just seemed wicked random and kind of forced? Whatevs.

Hated Margaret channeling Bree in the book, hate it here.

This whole thing is so much weirder in the book, but just because they made it less weird for the show doesn’t make it good.

Like if we’re getting an exposition dump from Archibald about the prophecy, we really don’t need the weird Bree thing about someone coming to get her.

Yi Tien Cho channeling Inigo Montoya is kind of my everything. “I’m Yi Tien Cho. You are not worthy of this woman. Prepare to die.”

Petition for Rihanna’s “We Found Love” to be Yi Tien Cho and Margaret’s wedding song.

Omg so much explaining what we’ve already all figured out. We need to headcanon like 75% of Jamie and Claire’s reconciliation, but let’s spell out 2378235 different ways what Geillis’ plan is. (Maybe it wasn’t that many ways. But we’re doing a fuckton of exposition dumping in this episode.)

Ok seriously. The guy with the alligator head drinking chicken blood. Ugh. We got white savior stuff last week, but at least Temeraire had a part in the plot and got some agency at the end? Still problematic, but (maybe?) as minimally problematic as it could be if it was going to be included? This is literally just a backdrop for a conversation with Margaret. Blergh...

And then they have them carry off Archibald Campbell as Yi Tien Cho and Margaret look on in horror and omfg this is not good.

(ETA -- In which Roxane Gay says it better than I could: “It’s all very colonial fever dream, not so vaguely racist, and I honestly forced myself to let it go so I could continue with the episode.”)

“We lost Faith. We will not lose Brianna.” This line sure would have hit home a little harder had we actually seen Jamie give a crap about Bree at any point during the season. In the moment it works, but looking over the whole season *weakly gestures, tired of wishing things had been done differently*.

The goodbye kiss just in case though hits me in the feels. 

Well isn’t Geillis telling Claire “a life for a life” a nice perversion of Claire telling Jamie that he owed her a life in season two.

And then Jamie grabs her hand all gently and I have feelings about the two of them at the stones/pool, guys.

Why does dead!Geillis look super fake? I have questions.

Slash Young Ian is gathering up jewels or something, right? Before he runs out of the cave? He’s like picking shit up off the ground...

Still could have done without the bones in Joe’s office bit, tbh. But whatever.

I know she’s like a bit traumatized, but Claire holding a bloody machete is my aesthetic.

Awwww, lookit that lil family. *heart eyes*

Omg but the stuff on the ship is the eye of the storm. Like the episode is the storm. And the sex is the eye. Because in the eye of the hurricane, there is quiet. For just a moment. GET IT?! GET IT GUYS?! OK FINE I’LL JUST KEEP SINGING HAMILTON OVER HERE BY MYSELF.

I’m way too proud of myself for this tweet though:

“Surprised I dinna have a full head of white hair, after all I’ve suffered these past few months.” ONE LAST WTF, JAMIE *SIDE-EYE* FOR THE ROAD! (I know Jamie has been through some shit. But literally ever since Claire showed back up, he’s managed to make almost everything about him so even though it’s a little joke, this line is just icing on the omfg, you’re killing me Smalls cake.)

#TeamClairesVeryFineSkin

I for real thought this wasn’t going to make it into the show. I didn’t think the quickie in ep. 309 was going to make it either. Glad they both did.

Claire being like yep, I can remedy the I’m still wearing clothes situation, stat, is my everything.

It’s so cheesy, guys. I love cheese.

Jamie’s bangs though, guys. Can we get the man a new wig haircut before next season?

Omg, that ass grab. That ass grab is my everything. Idk why. But omg. RIP me.

They def have made the sex a little less explicit this year. Except for the rape that they decided to shoot like a softcore porn, wtaf. But like, that doesn’t matter? It’s never been about the amount of skin showing? It’s about showing the two characters being wicked into each other, because if they weren’t then going through all the shit they go through wouldn’t be worth it? I’m *rull* glad that the show has finally realized that that’s an important thing to actually have on screen instead of condescendingly telling us that it doesn’t matter or we should headcanon it like they did all last year.

Ok, here for Claire going full mama bear at Young Ian, but girl. How much doctoring do you really thing you’re going to be able to do in this exact moment if you go up on deck.

Slash, what was she waiting for the whole time everyone else, including the two people she was with, was clearing the deck? I know, I need to just go with it, but this is silly.

Ok this is the only time we needed to see this/hear this VO. Beautifully shot. The Faith music is gorgeous, but like I’m not reading anything into it like she’s watching over them or anything. More just like Claire’s in a liminal state between alive and dead like she was when Faith died.

Dude, kiss your wife when you’re both on the surface and it’s been established she’s alive. (I mean, it’s super sweet, but SWIM, JAMMF, SWIM!)

All snark aside, there’s something a little beautiful about Claire spending half the season basically drowning, unable to really save herself and no one else around who cares enough to save her. And now here she is again, literally drowning and unable to save herself, but this time there’s a handy ginger around to lend a hand. Because she’s not alone anymore. And I have feelings. So many feelings. All the feelings. Feelings.

As they’re floating on their scrap of wood, let me take the obligatory detour into the 20 year old grumble that there was definitely enough room on the door for Jack too. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, ROSE.

The thought of crawling around in the sand in wet clothes gives me hives.

“I told you I’d never leave you again.” ilu, claire bear.

Ok but they’re both so sad that the ship went down and everyone’s dead and stuff and it’s moving and yay for hugs, but like. You know nothing about where you are? Why jump to the worst case scenario? The beach is literally littered with stuff from the ship? You made it so other people might have too? Also, clearly all of the important people lived because otherwise this whole half of the season was pointless?

That being said, these two are really good at making their faces show feelings.

It’s really not a strange question to ask where you are, Jamie. You were in a shipwreck. GPS isn’t a thing. I’d say it’s a pretty normal question to have, bro.

OK BUT LOOK AT CLAIRE’S FACE WHEN SHE SAYS AMERICA HERE COMPARED TO HOW SHE WAS FEELING THE LAST TIME SHE ARRIVED THERE. EVERYTHING IS OK NOW, CLAIRE! I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT THE FRASERS GETTING TO FINALLY START A LIFE TOGETHER, GUYS.

Literaloling over the rando family just walking away like yeah, uh, you guys do you.

fin.

[freelanews-blog]

Breeding Science Students

🎼🎼🎼 Won ti po chemical po, awon mo science students Kosewe, kosegbo, kosewe, kosegbo Kosewe, kosegbo, kosewe, kosegbo Won ti po'mi gutter po, oju ti dirty🎼🎼🎼 The popular hip hop artiste, Olamide a.k.a Baddo, is one musician that has sung songs on drugs and people are torn between accusing him promoting drug abuse and creating awareness about the scourge. Olamide is one musician I like any time, any day and any mood I find myself. So, forgive me if it appears I am going to be subjective in this regards. Personally, I believe he has done more in creating awareness of the vibrant, even thriving ‘drug abuse industry’ out there by people of all ages, all socio-economic standing, religions, across all ethnic divides. This abuse takes the form of people using different pharmaceutical and psychochemical substances- pawpaw leaves, Indian Hemp Marijuana--igbo, heroin, Tramadol, alcohol, cough syrup and ‘omi gutter’ (some go as far as inhaling gases from sewage soakaway/septic tanks) included, among others. My focus, however, as it has been since I started inundating you with my thoughts on children, is on how they are readily getting into drugs these days. That is where the title from Olamide’s song, Science Students, comes in. Society seems to be creating a time-bomb, a tsunami it is seemingly oblivious of. From parents to friends, opinion moulders to celebrities, etc., through our actions, inactions, reactions, negligence, silence and complacence, we are complicit in ‘breeding science students’ and creating juvenile junkies at an alarming rate. Olamide’s Science Students are actually the army of growing junkies and drug addicts in our society today. In recent times, a BBC documentary brought to the fore the very endemic nature of this scourge in Nigeria How so? A disturbing video surfaced on Facebook some days ago. A mother who presumably carried her child-a boy, for nine solid months; a mother who I feel should naturally want the best for her child; a mother who should strive towards making her child ‘somebody’ in life, was feeding him a bottle of Hero lager. For those who don’t know, Hero is a beer brand from the stables of SABMiller Plc. The proud mother in the video was quick to tell onlookers who seem to have a kind of bemused amusement at the ‘child drinking prodigy’s prowess, that her little boy, who is not more than four, consumes two bottles of that lager at a sitting! For an adult I know pegging the limit of his beer consumption to three bottles at most, I must certainly doff my hat even though it is for something I consider very negative. Yet another video showed a man from one of these East Asian countries feeding a toddler beer. This toddler has grown to like the 'beverage' so much that she (I think it’s a girl) will not drink from her feeding bottle. For the avoidance of doubt, these little children are already into drugs. A few years back, I told a group of people that alcohol generally is a drug. “No way,” they disagreed. So I had to unearth Wikipedia’s definition of what drugs are: “A drug is any substance (other than food that provides nutritional support) that, when inhaled, injected, smoked, consumed, absorbed via a patch on the skin, or dissolved under the tongue causes a physiological (and often psychological) change in the body. Key words for me there are physiological and psychological change. When beer is consumed, does it cause physiological and psychological change? The answer is a definite yes! Now that we have established that fact, I go back on track. I have seen what drugs can do to adults first hand, let alone what it can do to children. I can relate an experience of a young boy who had the unfortunate experience of getting addicted to smoking cigarettes at a very young age. He was barely seven when he began to smoke it. Something that started as ‘catching harmless fun’ with playmates using sticks of grasses in the cold of Jos, Plateau State, soon blossomed into trying a real cigarette one day, and the rest, as they say, is history. To maintain his newly found addiction, he had to steal from both parents to make ends meet. He graduated to finishing a pack in less than two days at a time! Unfortunately for him-or so he thought at that time, he got caught. Interestingly, and according to the young adult, his father who had beat the addiction to cigarettes was on hand to guide me out of the habit. The process, I assure you is a tale for another day. Now, you will agree with me that these children have been led to drugs by the very people God has made their custodians, their parents. If you follow Pastor Tony Rapu, a medical doctor, filmmaker, life coach and the Senior Pastor of the House of Freedom and the works he does with drug abuse victims on Instagram, you will understand that the problem at hand is endemic! No one is spared, no matter the disposition, bias and echelon of life they belong. Some of the victims he worked on were runaways from very rich families. Permit me to share a very insightful and of course, incisive account from an unknown author. The source, Whatsapp: I'm probably one if not the youngest here so permit me to speak up. I attended Kings College Lagos and graduated in the 1990's. A lot of our parents had no clue how some of us were already drunk by 10am in school or how we smoked a pack of Benson and Hedges per day at age 15. They had no clue how we scaled fences from our Victoria Island campus to Bar beach in the mornings to smoke weed and visit prostitutes at Lekki beach, literally waking them up to lay with them. I smoked weed once at age 16 for the first time when a classmate named Danjuma took us to Bar-beach and introduced us to it. That day happened to be my last time by some stroke of luck or my mother’s prayers. For some weird reason I despised the uncontrolled actions of my friends after we returned to school and vowed not to be like them. I was told I didn't smoke the weed well hence my calmness so I was invited back the next day but I declined. Danjuma never finished school. Mo is dead. John is a nuisance till date and a full junkie. Atu who was raised at 1004 is roaming the streets of the Island raving mad. This all started in 1994. This is 25 years after and it's amazing how naive some parents are- end of story. The truth is, drugs abuse has evolved assuming different dimension. Interestingly however, the peer pressure and influence still remain. Children have a daunting task in school facing peer pressure influence to do drugs. Songs, movies and television programmes are not helping matters. With more internet connected mobile phones at hand and the fast rising presence of children on social media (some parents actually encourage their children to use more of it), among others, parents have their work cut out for them. As the times gets harder, parents, like the hunter that must learn to shoot without missing, need to do more, become more vigilant and take more interest in the affairs of their children. As a psychologist myself, the major work of parenting is done by the time the child is 13 years old, even though they only become confident enough to show their true character much later. The truth of this position is one I can readily relate to. During an enlightenment engagement, I was at a loss on how I would pass ‘sensitive’ information on drug use and sexual health to most of my students who will come from the junior classes. You can imagine my shock when I found out that my trepidation was unfounded as many of my students have crossed the Rubicon as far as these issues were concerned! Imagine my students schooling me on the new ingenious ways of getting ‘high’! The truth is these children, at some point, know so much more than we give them credit for and they have seen or even experienced more than we imagine possible! As a child, I knew much more than my parents gave me credit for. We need to be extra vigilant and engage our children like never before not in arguments but from a place of knowledge about repercussions of certain actions. Drug abuse prevention starts with parents learning how to talk with their children about difficult topics. Equip them enough to be able to answer any question friends may ask in a bid to sway them or bend them to do their bidding. Believe me, this is very important. It makes absolutely no sense to lie to them. They will try to find out from their friends and then expose your lies. As an example, a young innocent boy, let us call him Tayo, once asked his mom where babies came from. Without hesitation, she told him that when couples get married, they pray to God every day and when they are asleep in the night, an angel drops the child at their house before they wake. He believed her story wholeheartedly- why wouldn’t he? His mother will not lie to him… or so he thought. Well, it happened he entered into an argument with his friend, whose father recently remarried after the death of his mother. He gave him the graphical details of what married couples do before they have children. How did he know? He peeped when his parents were at it. Other friends corroborated his story, and that was it! So Tayo came into the conclusion that if he needed genuine answers to his questions, his friends will readily provide them. Also, parents should learn to become their children’s best friends… listen to them and talk to them. I have vowed to become my own children’s best friends because mine were not to be. My father is over sixty and retired, yet, when I talk with him, I punctuate with ‘sir’ and still hold this air of formal reverence for him. I have never hugged that man-now this was never a problem. Thankfully, I didn’t grow to become something negative but I was never able to share things I consider sensitive with him. Do help your child make good choices and good friends. Children are more easily influenced by those they move with. Help them choose their friends. As a child, I never liked that my parents chose my friends for me: but today, I am grateful they did as some of the persons they warned me against ended up on the wrong side of society and the law. Teach your child different ways to say “No!” and mean it. More importantly, you as their parents are the strongest influence that they have. There is no guarantee that your child will not do drugs, but drug use is much less likely to happen if you provide guidance and clear rules about not using drugs, spend time with them and avoid using tobacco or other drugs yourself. Popular American Novelist, James Baldwin once noted that children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them. How fittingly true! More importantly, after we have done all these, we must pray for them too. It's a tough time to be a parent but it was never easy in the first place. I hope you enjoyed and learnt from this week’s reflections? Please leave your comments below or reach me on ….. Enjoy the week(end). Read the full article