#i struggle greatly in learning new languages and I don't know why

[wanderingcritter]

Hey just wanted to come out and say real quick that I think I've confirmed a new kintype. It actually falls under a whole new category of alterhumanity that I've never been in before.

I am Post Apocalyptic Survivor Conceptkin

Trying to figure this out was... certainly a challenge. Quite honestly I'm still not 1000% sure that is exactly what I'm experiencing, but for the time being it feels right.

This is an identity that is very deeply rooted in my sense of self and is a very personal experience. I struggle to even properly explain what this identity feels like, as there aren't really words in the english language (or any other language that I'm aware of) to describe the extremely abstract thoughts and emotions that come with it. The best way I can describe it is it just feels like something that's intertwined with the essence of my being, like I can just sense it all around me in the most subtle ways. I believe it's spiritual in nature, maybe stemming from a past (or future??) life. I think I have some vague memories of it, but it's hard to say because they don't feel like memories from a specific individual, hence why I use the conceptkin label. It's something I've sorta always felt with me, lingering in the background, dropping hints that there's something much bigger than myself out there. But it's grown more and more prevalent in my life as Ive gotten older, usually making itself most apparent in the spring and summer time. It's difficult to define, everytime I try to focus on it and make out any specifics it squirms out of my reach, like trying to remember a hazy dream from the previous night. Sometimes I'll see or hear something that strikes something familiar in me and I'll know Ive found another small piece to the puzzle, but I greatly struggle to make rational sense of it. But there are a few things I think I know for sure about it. Here are some things that remind of and make me feel more connected to it.

☣️🌿• TV Shows/Movies: Kipo and The Age of the Wonderbeasts, Ghostbusters II: Frozen Empire, I Am Legend, Love Death and Robots

☣️🌿• Video Games: The Last of Us

☣️🌿• Books: The 5th Wave

☣️🌿• Music: ACHE by emawk, Tumblr Girls (Christoph Andersson Remix Sped Up) by G-Eazy, Lady Killers II (Slowed Remix) by G-Eazy, Resonance (Sped Up) by Home

☣️🌿• Pics:

I don't see many other conceptkins around so if you're out there hiiiii :3 I'd love to be friends and hear about your experiences! Maybe it will help me to make sense of my own in some way. Also feel free to ask me any questions about it! ^^ I'd love to answer them and it'd probably be helpful for me to try learning to verbally express some of the things I experience lol, thank uuuu <3

[number1villainstan]

19, 22, 34

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

My writing journey? I'm not sure if it can be called that, but if it can be then it started young. Very young. I've always been an imaginative child, and I believe the story I have of mine is from third grade. My writing journey is my entire life, really, jumping from fandom to fandom, daydreaming and writing and daydreaming and stopping and starting in fits and bursts in a chaotic waveform with no overarching pattern except for forward and getting better. "When" and "why" I started are useless questions--I've been a writer since I learned enough language to be a writer. There have always been stories living inside my head. I am a writer because I am a writer. I was born that way. It is a core part of me.

That being said, there are certain specific milestones to remark on:

When I was 11 or so, I often had the constant urge to write down the stories that were in my head, but I ignored this urge too often. I don't remember why. ADHD task initiation struggles? Lack of access to a computer? An unclear path to accomplish the task? This isn't to say that I ignored that urge 100% of the time--this was around the age when I started making Google Docs with story names, or perhaps I did that earlier. I can't quite remember. But the fact of the matter is--I ignored that urge too often, and now it's gone and I do not know how to get that fire back. It would help greatly with my own productivity now.

When I was 12, I found FF.net and subsequently made an account. A lot of old, terrible fic is still on that old account.

When I was 14, in August of 2016, I decided to do a little writing challenge for myself--or rather, "so that my readers know I'm not dead" (even if I didn't really have any readers): I wanted to write a short piece every month. And I am still writing a 'short piece' every month. The earliest of those tend to be 300-500 words; nowadays they're upwards of 1000 words, and I believe the longest out of all of them is a solid 3k words. And while I've skipped a few months by accident here and there, I'm proud to say I've been quite consistent with this series.

When I was around 16 or so, two things happened: number 1, I decided to switch from FF.net to Ao3, and number 2, I got a cellphone. When I switched to Ao3 I decided to port only my monthlies, because I had a lot of basically-abandoned multichapter fics on there that I had no idea how to finish, and I made switching to Ao3 a new start--I was a chronic pantser at that point, and still am in many ways, but that was the point when I started actually writing out notes and small outlines and doing prep work for my stories. Getting a phone was also a notable moment because it enabled me to work on my stories away from a computer, and because of a little journal app called Day One, in which I began to do daily writing practice that wasn't working on a specific WIP.

As I started to close out high school, I wrote and published on Ao3 my very first finished (and currently only) multichapter fic: start living when your heart stops, which was originally supposed to be 5 chapters and ended up 9 chapters. It was my first proper exercise in plotting out a story, and it was made possible in large part by an enforced and regular routine that I lost when COVID hit and when I went to college.

(There were probably certain milestones that I hit while in college--such as participating in my first (and currently only) bang/fic-and-art exchange event, or switching from Google Docs to LibreOffice--but none are jumping out at me as important.)

As for where I am now? I'm still working on prep work, and I still don't have a good routine for writing. But the ideas that I have are evolving. I've entered an experimental era of sorts, dipping my toes into things I'm not practiced at writing, even with my extensive history of wild AUs, such as symbolism, real-world critiques, longer narratives and more complex narrative structures. I am also attempting to (at least sometimes) force myself to write more than one draft, because I know full well that my writing improves dramatically with more than one draft, but without a solid routine for writing (and with ADHD on top of that) it's difficult to make myself do so. Still, I'm hopeful.

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

Not incredibly. I use mostly my computer and LibreOffice to write my stories, and my usual method of organization is to have an Outline/Notes section at the top of the document (or Brainstorming, if it's an MSP) and an Actual Writing section below that, with subheaders for different chapters or scenes. It allows me to make notes of things that may not be said outright in the story but would still inform character's decisions or plot events and to jump around and write scenes out of order without messing things up or losing track of the story.

I also have Day One, a journal app, which I use for daily writing practice--a lot of random ideas and snippets get written down and stored there, and the consistency of writing in it has (I believe) greatly improved my writing-related microskills, like sentence structure and word choice.

34. Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:

I love it. Can't get enough of it. It adds so much clarity and conciseness--why isn't it mandatory?

[digitalintelligigencearchive]

Hello, this is the fanfic writer anon. The reason I'm anonymous is because I'm secretly one of the top bosses of Chimera. I'm embarrassed about being a fanfiction writer and I don't want my underlings to find my A03 account. So please give me your backstory? Anyway my access code is 389135181.

I have no idea what that is so you must be from the future, Time is… I can not understand it right now.. OOC NOTE: TW FOR WAR, IMPLIED HOMOPHOBIA, AND A LOT MORE PERIOD TYPICAL IMPLIED STUFF

Well I was born in 19## in London to two… well two very straight laced parents  with a whole future laid out, a whole future that consisted on me finding success and a good life with a wife and a stable job. They both came from well off families but fell into poverty after he had to serve in the first war and the depression started and you can guess that a son and a new war did not help.

My father suffered greatly from his experiences but he always said it was the right thing to do, serving the country and all that.. It’s what makes a man a man according to him.

Either way- I did well without my father, my mother wasn’t much help either  but I was determined to rise to the occasion by myself and help us, I stayed up late studying, training both my body and my mind..I learned to fulfil my father’s criteria of a man, I learned to understand people through cues and body language like a cipher since I struggled to do so in the same way as my peers.

 I learned to stay calm and always be aware of the nearest basement or underground entrance.. Eventually you see enough ruins that it stops affecting you and you start thinking of a solution.

The war stopped by the time I grew up (thank goodness) but my ambitions to serve the country and make sure something like this never happens again remained, that’s why I became a spy. I mean the other option was acting and my parents wouldn’t have been particularly happy about that-

I joined MI6 incredibly young, barely an adult and  I quickly proved myself as a reliable agent during my first mission in which I stopped an assassination attempt on the queen.

I had many thrilling missions, I met Curt- Agent Mega during one and we became… close

I’m guessing you know the rest.

[ask-remy-lebeau]

please remy you can start a conversation with what anon said.... mainly about the fact anon made a mistake in every word of that expression (I'm french). like "it's sacrebleu for one and why you talking like a granny?" or "you need an acute accent on the first e, not a grave one, and you forgot an e to make the word bleu (translates as blue)." or " did you know bleu is supposed to replace god? it's like how gosh is said instead of God around some young kids in english to avoid blasphemy"

To play devil's advocate, I have no clue if they were using a laptop or phone and most computers don't automatically let you type with accents, you have to turn that on in settings and then remember which accents are wear on the keyboard that's written exclusively in English here in the states. I also don't know where they actually learned french from, they could just be learning from Disney movies like Beauty and the Beast, because they definitely didn't learn that in my class. Also, if they are learning in a school setting I've heard that language classes in American schools are pretty shit, for instance I have a student who's stepmother insists on the student calling her ma grand-mére thinking it means my great mother, the student refuses to correct her because she hates her stepmother due to the controlling, emotionally manipulative, and spiteful behavior she's always aimed at the student. The student enjoys calling her an old lady in French every time she sees her. The student's younger brother mispronounces it as merde instead of mére, which makes the student even happier. The student has an actual French to English dictionary because they were so deeply interested in learning French and happened to have a middle school french teacher who had lived in France for a while and did her best to teach the students in the same way you learn to speak it as your first language when you're a child, making it easier for the students to learn. This student has issues making new connections with words, though, so they don't remember most of what they learned conversationally, but their vocabulary is the best I've seen for a student who can't speak anything but English. She's able to recognize lots of written french words and what they translate to, especially if you give her context like an image, but she can't use her vocabulary conversationally. She can't form sentences in French. The words she recognizes best are food and makeup related, because that's what was easiest for her to practice with at home, most makeup brands include French on their labels and you can buy French foods at certain stores where English labels aren't used

[pedropascalssimp]

More then you'll ever know

Din djarin x fem reader

Summary: the reader and din have a hard to get along with relationship, mostly because her teasing and joke cracking nature. But one night din realizes he can't keep pushing his true feelings for reader aside.

Warnings: mild language. Fluff.

Since I said I'd write more for din. I gift you... DIN!!!!

*Not my gifs!*

If you had a coin for every time din wrecked his ship, you'd be a rich woman. He was a good pilot, he could maneuver his way through a canyon and manage to survive, but he was a little reckless. And whenever someone could easily go over that canyon, his mind never seen that ruote and instead takes the hardest path possible. Which is what left you, him, and little Grogu standing outside the razor crest while you chuckle at his pacing, hands on his hips while his visor was focused on the ground.

The planet he crash landed on was a icey cold snow planet, it was freezing out, and the fact the sun was long gone and replaced by the moon didn't help.

"oh c'mon din, I can fix this ship tomorrow morning... A slight delay to tython won't hurt our adventure" you try and reassure him, amusement thick in your voice. This little crash gave you the opportunity to further more tease him and his piloting skills, something he hated. But it was fun seeing him get all defensive over his flying, you'd even say cute.

"we can't stay out here, the ships inoperative. We'll freeze to death out here" he stresses, finally coming to a stop as he looks at you, then his gaze falling on the innocent little child that plays in the snow.

"before you crashed us all the way out here I thought I saw a town that way" you point in the direction where you had thought you seen a town while you spiraled out of control. Thankfully though the ship wasn't damaged to bad and no one was hurt. "we can rent a place to sleep tonight and I'll wake up early in the morning and fix the ship" you shrug while scooping Grogu up and taking his icey little hands in yours and warming them.

Din sighs, something he seemed to do a lot you've noticed ever since you started working for him. Not only did you serve as a mechanic and caretaker for Grogu, but also a skilled medic. It was no secret din loathed droids, sometimes he found himself struggling to patch his own self up when injured greatly, so he hired you to assist him in medical ways instead of seeking help from a med Droid. You helped him greatly in medical and mechanical ways, soon he found the child and you helped in nanny ways.

Din turns around, back facing you now as he looks towards where you said a town was. The sky just barely illuminated by the dim glow of lights from the civilization. Facing you once more now he walks closer through the snow, gloved thump stroking Grogu's cold cheek.

"it will be a long walk... Probably even a days time..." he trailed of in thought, taking his cape off in the process and handing it to you so you can wrap Grogu up. "we'd have to use my jetpack to make it there tonight" he sighed out, watching how you wrap the cape around the little one. Covering up his mouth and ears along with his little body. He was swaddled up snugly.

You grin at din, "you're just looking for an excuse to hold me aren't you Mando?" you tease him, loving how he always stuttered and got nervous. He always retaliated with a harsh comment or the silent treatment, brushing your harmless flirting off.

Oh how you fell hard for the man though, he was something special. He acted like the toughest bounty hunter in the galaxy, he was really, but once you got to know the man under the armor? He was a big sweetheart, a softie who was passionate about little things and protective over the ones he considered friends, the one's he loved. You grew feelings for him one particular night spent on Nevarro, he was meeting with karga, in a cantina. You had joined him of course because you needed a drink, once you was both in there this one man wouldn't leave you alone, flirting, eyeing you like he was a starved man and you was a feast, his hands shortly falling on the small of your back and trailing down lower much to your dismay.

Now you was a good fighter, but before you had the chance to break the man's wrist? Din had done it for you, grabbing the man's hand and twisting it, showing his vibroblade against the man's throat, "touch her again and I'll kill you" was what made the man flee without a word. Wrist broke. He offered you a nod and made you stay by his side. It had made you fall for him hard, the feelings only growing as time went on.

"I could always leave you out here to freeze" din shot back at your earlier comment, he said it more teasingly, a welcome surprise to you.

"like you could do that, I know under all that beskar you have a soft spot for me din" you smile at him innocently, Grogu smiling as if he agrees with you.

"for him maybe" din was blushing hard under the helmet, heart beating rapidly as if he was afraid. Truly he was, he feared that if he let himself love you like he so desperately wanted, you'd leave him, that the galaxy would rip you away from him like every one else he ever loved.

Perhaps that's why he put up the facade he wore good when you flirted with him, acting as if he couldn't stand you, as if he loathed your presence. If only you could see the way his brown eyes sparkle with wonder and longing when he watches you work or play with Grogu.

You scoff with a smile, acting as if his little retort didn't sting a little. "let's get going before we freeze to death then" you say, hating how your heart skips a beat at how close he stood now, shuffling in the snow to jerk you flush against his warm side. The beskar was ice cold though, making you gasp with a shiver.

"hold on to Grogu tightly" he warns, worried you'd drop him. You wrap him up in your right arm, holding him against your chest tightly, little green hands fisting your short tightly as he snuggled up against your chest.

Din wraps a arm around your waist, his other placing a gloved hand over your arm that held Grogu. "are you ready?" he asks, pulling you against him tightly. You felt a little nervous, not to fond of heights. Din noticed and chuckles. "don't worry mesh'la, I won't drop you... Maybe" he teased. Saying the nickname he gave you, you had yet to learn.

Snapping your head towards him with wide eye's you give him a fearful look, "maybe!?" you didn't get a response because he had already taken off, forcing a shriek from you and your arm to hold him tighter. Heart rapidly beating as you closed your eyes shut. You try and ignore how his touch sends a tingling warmth through your whole body, how you wished he'd hold you more....

Grogu squeaks out what sounds to be a laugh, his smile and wide eye's enjoying being high up like this, but once you open your eye's and look down, you knew you'd made a mistake. "oh no, no, no, no" you muttered, burying your face in din's neck.

"don't worry, we're almost at the town, I can see it" din reassures you, although he wanted to tease and poke fun at your silly fear like you do him most time's. He would never do such a thing to you, he hated how your small whimper tumbled from your lips. Soon though, you arrived at the town and he landed, only stumbled a little.

Practically clinging to him you refuse to let go, "are we on the ground?" you murmur, Grogu making a little sad noise upon the adventure in the sky ending.

"yes, you can let go now" he pulls you off of him and backs away. You open your eyes and sigh, happy to be on the ground again. Holding Grogu with both hands now, you walk with din to town.

The place wasn't that big, but it also wasn't small. There was markets, houses and one small place that looked like a cantina. The people all wore heavy duty clothes, prepared for the cold. But you wore a flimsy old t-shirt and cargo pants. You shiver while walking behind din, people giving you looks.

Din finally comes across a large building, entering the building you sigh at the slight warmth it provides. The room was near empty besides a fireplace and two chairs, a large door by the left wall. Behind a counter a older woman worked, Grey hair and aged face. She gives you and din a kind smile.

"hello! Are you looking to rent a room?" she asks. Din leans on the counter and nods.

"two rooms" he spoke with his stoic tone, the modulater making his voice sound deeper, more intimidating.

"I'm afraid there is only one room... We've gotten a lot of traveler's this week" the older woman said, watching how din sighs and his shoulders slump.

Were you really that annoying to be around? You shake the thought away and sigh, looking down at Grogu who let's his gaze flicker across the room curiously.

"I guess we'll take that one then" he huffed while sliding some credits across the table, soon taking the card to enter the room he just bought for the night.

He walks over to the door you spotted earlier and opens it with a swip of the card, leading you to a hallway full of various other doors. Following him he stops in front of a certain one, swiping the card as the whoosh was heard and the door slides open.

He sighs and flips the lights on, stopping instantly. His abrupt stop makes you walk into his back. "owe! You nearly made me fall" you snap and walk beside him, "why did you stop all the su -

"there's only one bed?" he spoke as if someone had just slapped him across the face, you look up and noticed that there was indeed, one bed.

"I can always sleep in the floor" you shrug and set Grogu down, letting him explore the room. He instantly crawls in bed though. "not anything new" you flash him a sarcastic smile. Referring to how din made you sleep in the floor of the crest during your early days of knowing him. Finally though he noticed how stiff and in pain you was and bought you a small cot to keep in the cargo area of the crest.

"I can take the floor, you sleep in the bed" he starts taking his cape from Grogu, tucking him into the large bed fit for almost three people as he folds the fabric up and sits in the floor.

Scoffing you stand before him with a hand on your hip, "like hell I'm letting you sleep in the floor, we can both obviously fit in the bed" you point out, not having a problem with sharing the bed with him. Not one problem at all in fact.

"like hell I'm sleeping beside you" he retorts coldly, his words striking you hard as your face fell. Turning away from him so he doesn't see his words sting, you shrug.

"I for one don't have a problem with sharing a bed, but if you want you're back hurting you tomorrow that's fine by me" you crawl into the bed after kicking your boots off, Grogu fast asleep already. Once under the covers you turn your back toward din.

Why he hated you so much was beyond you, but alas, he hates you.

You try and not let it bother you, but after a few minutes of silence you turn on your side to face him again. He wore his beskar still, it had to be uncomfortable. "do you always sleep in the armor?" you mutter while hoping he wasn't asleep.

"only whenever people are around" he grumbled while his visor falls on you. You knew he refused to show his face, something you always respected, but you hated for him to sleep uncomfortably because you....

"you can take it off din and sleep in the bed... I know how you're back hurts you, you old man" you joke lightly, knowing he was older then you. And although he hated how you always cracked jokes either with him or about him, he knew it was harmless teasing. So.... He sighs and stands up.

"I'm leaving the helmet on" he grunts while slowly taking his beskar off, gently setting it down neatly. You watch with a adoring look, mind to tired to realize you was doing so, but din saw it. The sight of your dazzling eyes practically glued to him making his face flush in a beautiful shade of red. But thank the maker beyond that he wore a helmet to hide it.

"okay but if you ever decide it's uncomfortable to sleep in you can trust me enough to take it off....I'd never look at you without it on y'know" you say while he now stood in his underclothes. A long sleeved black sweater and heavy duty pants. Taking his gloves off your eyes are met with the familiar tanned skin you loved, having seen his abdomen and arms bare before do to attending his wounds countless times. It seemed he wasn't only reckless when flying the razor crest, but aslo fighting a bounty apparently.

Din slowly walks shuffles over to the bed, almost shyly. Waiting for you to scoot to the other side. You do so after scooping Grogu up, being sure not to wake him as you placed him in the middle of the bed, him snuggling up to you in his sleep. Din crawls in bed shortly and makes himself comfortable under the covers, laid out on his back. His head though turns toward you.

"I know I can trust you, you haven't given me reason not to.... I just - I don't want to risk taking it off" he stuttered, you could easily detect he was indeed nervous. But why? You was determined to find out.

"I understand, I'm not pressuring you into taking it off" you giggle, subconsciously stroking Grogu's little hand.

"I know...." he whispers, his visor still on you as you looked at him with soft eye's. "I'm sorry if I've ever been... Harsh with you" he forced the words out, eye's locked on your own, the y/e/c eye's he'd always find himself lost in....

You was speechless, didn't know how to respond to his abrupt apology. It was unexpected, here you thought he hated you, found you to be nothing to him but a medic, mechanic, and caretaker for Grogu. Whereas you saw din as a friend, someone to rely on, someone to talk to whenever need be. Sure you teased him a lot and made some jokes up about little things he does, like being a big softie or cute when he plays with Grogu. You never meant no harm, but din always made it out that way, pushing you away or making harsh remarks whenever you had done so....

Blinking at him you let a soft grin tug at your lips, "you don't have to apologize, I know I'm a little irritating and a pain in the ass to be around" you shrug and look down at Grogu, heart full of love at the sight of his peaceful slumber.

"you're not that bad... Maybe a little bit of a pain in the ass" although he was hidden by the helmet, you could hear the smile in his voice. You chuckle quietly and look back up at him.

"you're something else din..." you whisper do to Grogu shifting around, rolling over towards din. His heart swells at how Grogu laid his little hand on his bicep, a smile on the little one's face as he slept.

"is that a good thing or bad thing?" din spoke just as quiet as you did, modulater making his voice even deeper as he whispers, a husky sound you found yourself hanging onto with a undeniable yearning. How you wish you could hear it without the helmet....

"it's a good thing, definitely a good thing" you smile up at him, the sight enough to make his heart flutter wildy. "you big softie" you murmur, unable to stop yourself from letting the words roll off your tongue.

"I'm not a softie, I'm a bounty hunter" he knew you didn't mean anything bad by the nickname you've given him. But he couldn't help the way it sometimes irked him, why? He didn't know. Because sometimes he saw what you meant when you called him a softie, deep down inside he knew it was slightly true.

"to the galaxy yes, but to him... You're a softie. You spoil him rotten din!" you laugh a little loudly but managed to stifle them. "you treat him as if he's the most fragile, precious cargo to ever be created, you always buy him little things whenever you come back from hunts, and you always let him cuddle you" you grin at him with so much fondness din's heart nearly beats out of his chest with how gorgeous you are, glowing with joy, smile as bright as any star he's ever seen. "you're a softie, no denying it"

"and you are definitely a pain in the ass" he chuckles and shakes his head, visor still looking over at you as he laid on his back. "but even though you can really get on my nerves...i do have a soft spot for you" he confessed, nervous all the sudden as his hands fiddle with the end of his long sleeve shirt.

The smile on your face widens into one of pure happiness, eye's staring at din with love. He knew you was fond of him, and he was quite smitten with you, but he was afraid.... Afraid of losing you, afraid of watching you leave him in more ways then one.

But he was done being afraid, he couldn't live another day without holding you close, staring into those eyes of yours he adores. He wanted to hold you forever, kiss you until his lungs beg him for air, love you for as long as you or the galaxy will let him. Because din djarin was didn't want to spend another day without doing any of these things again.

"I love you" he blurts out, desperately. His voice holding nothing but truth, he sits up in the bed, careful not to wake Grogu as he does so, back pressed against the headboard while he only looks down at you with love. "I - I love you so much...." his voice cracks at the end as he stuttered.

You sit up fast, smile morphing into a more dazed gap, like a fish who was taken out of water. "din... I love you too. I've -

"Im so sorry I pushed you away and would always give you the cold shoulder but dank farrik y/n I can't go another day without saying it.... I love you" he rushed out, cutting your words off.

Tears fill your eye's, ones of joy, happiness. Heart overflowing with love for him. You smile so wide it hurts as you can see how nervous he has become. You gently grab his hand to stop his fidgeting, placing a kiss to each of his fingers. The act sends electricity through his veins, warmth over his whole being as his heart swells at the softness of your lips against his skin.

"I love you din... I always have, ever since you had asked me to work for you, I love you so damn much" you laugh breathlessly, tears threatening to fall.

"you and him" he nods down at Grogu, "are the only things in this galaxy that mean more to me then anyone could ever know...." he muttered, taking his hand out of your own, your eye's widen as you see him place both hands on his helmet, ready to take it off. Upon reflex, you screw your eyes shut, making din feel a wave of affection wash over him knowing you had so much respect for him. "open you're eye's" he said, but it sounded so much more different, much more richer and real.

Reluctantly, you open your eye's. Heart skipping a beat at the sight before you, two brown eye's full of love staring back at you, glossy. His dark hair a mess as his scruffy face was one purely adorable, handsome nose and charming jaw. Maker was din djarin a beautiful, handsome man. You slowly crawl more towards him, sitting in his lap, being sure not to disturb Grogu as you gently trace every detail of his face, starting at the few lines on his forehead, down his gorgeous nose, giggling once you find your fingertips brush against his mustache. He smiles, revealing his dimples. You smile up into his brown eyes and can't resist anymore.

You press a firm but gentle kiss on his lips, soft and warm as you always imagined them to be. Your palms press flush against his cheeks, scruffy little patches of hair tickling them. Din's hand lands on the nape of your neck as his other finds purchase on your hip. His eyes fluttering shut as his nose bumbs against yours. This kiss was perfect, as if it was the seal to your and his fate. You never wanted to live without him by your side. Hesitantly, you pull away from his soft lips, giggling whenever he chases your own.

"you are the most handsome man in the galaxy din" you breathlessly say, his eye's sparkling. It's then you noticed the golden specks, amber swirls amongst the brown of his gorgeous eyes

"I'm not much of a sight cyar'ika" he strokes your cheek with his thumb, so much affection swimming in his eye's. His soft smile bringing out his dimples again, he was truly something special....

"you're more then a sight din... You're more beautiful then anything else in the galaxy" you say, running a hand through his hair, fingers lightly scratching at his scalp. He relaxes with a content sigh.

"you're the beautiful one here" he smiles up at you adorably, your heart fluttering. You lean your forehead on his and grin. "i love you..." he whispers in his husky deep voice you couldn't ever tire of.

"I love you more" you say back while placing a kiss atop his nose. He scrunched his face up and chuckles at you, the sound even more beautiful now that it came out natural. "but we better get sleep since I've got a long day of mechanic work tomorrow, because a certain brown eyed beauty is a reckless flyer" you poke his cheek while crawling out of his lap, crawling back into your spot in the bed.

Din scoffs before scooting closer, his forehead nearly touching yours now as you both placed your hands on Grogu gently. "I'm a good pilot, you have to admit it" he grins at you, loving how you roll your eye's at him.

"I know you're a good pilot, but you're reckless din... No denying it" you kiss his nose again making him sigh dreamily, "I love you're nose..." you yawn, smiling at him afterwards with a sleepy grin.

"I've noticed, if you don't stop kissing it I'm gonna put the helmet back on" he jokes while he yawns himself now, eye's drooping as sleep crept up on him slowly.

"oh, do you want me to stop kissing you?" you say with your usual teasing tone.

"no! I'm not saying that" he instantly said, almost to loud. You laugh at his reaction and shake your head.

"I was joking din... I'd never stop kissing you" you peck his lips, pulling away to quick for his liking. But he watches as your eyes slowly flutter shut, no matter how hard you tried to keep them open.

This was exactly what din wanted, his little family in his arms. He smiles down at Grogu who snores lightly and then looks to you, who slept peacefully now. He was beyond lucky to have both of you, and he'd do whatever it takes to keep you both safe, because he loved you both more then anyone would ever know...

___________________________________________

[yandere-daze]

1-So I don't know if you open for request but could I ask for a yandere match from jjba for oc the is werewolf and witch wasn't born but bitten and have traum of it and because this she makes sure no one knows what she's and fight the evil creatures and in her adventures she became interested in magic and spells

Sure! I hope this is okay! Since you didn´t specify I chose Part 1 Dio for it because I thought it was more fitting combined with the Jonathan one ^^

Jonathan

I think most of all, Jonathan would be drawn to her spirit and resolve to help defeat evil creatures and to make the world a better place. He enjoys seeing her paint, it´s very relaxing to him and he would fully support her desire to learn new languages.

Maybe they met during the events of Part 1 and she decided to help Jonathan in his quest to defeat Dio. While he appreciates her desire to help, he can´t help but be worried about her. What if she got hurt? What if something happened to her? These are all thoughts he has in his mind. Jonathan thought about maybe proposing the idea of moving in together after everything was over but after seeing so many people around him die, he doesn´t think he can wait any longer. Your character is so precious and important to Jonathan so how could he possibly risk you getting hurt?? When he asks her to go back home to safety, she obviously refuses. She won´t rest until justice is served!

This, of course is a problem to Jonathan. He just wants her to be safe and out here is anything BUT safe with Dio´s minions roaming around everywhere. He might try to find more information on these creatures of the night by reading through books, all in an attempt to show her how terrifying they can be and to convince her to settle down. What he finds though is something completely different. He finds an old report on Werewolves and how to spot them. The differences between born Werewolves and bitten once. Reading more and more, he finally comes to a conclusion: His darling is a Werewolf. A bitten one at that. He can tell that she most definitely feels pain and anger because of this fact and decides once again that she shouldn´t be out and about now. While I don´t think Jonathan would be someone to use her pain against her and manipulate her this way, he would be more forceful with his proposal, practically pushing her into moving in as soon as possible. Her stubbornness will just further serve as proof to him that she needs his help. She clearly doesn´t see the danger of the situation so he needs to keep her safe at all costs! Doesn´t matter if he needs to lock her up for that, she will surely come to understand!

Dio

Now Dio I think would be quite different from Jonathan on how he would handle her “stubbornness”. He almost immediately can tell that your character is no mere mortal. He can tell from the smell of her blood that something is different about her. The moment she sets foot into the castle with Jonathan, he is intrigued. He at first planned to just use her as a blood supply but after some deliberation, he decided to keep her as a pet. He doesn´t quite understand why he acts the way he does around her. He almost feels….calm and….content around her. A warmth he is unfamiliar with. And though it takes some getting used to, he doesn´t want to let go of that tingly feeling. He doesn´t want to let her go.

He immediately notices that she´s not human but it takes some time for him to figure out what is really going on. He notices that when he first tries to bite her to taste her sweet blood, she very visibly flinches away. While that may be normal behavior for mostly anyone, it greatly contrasted the way she usually acted. Usually she just tried her best to ignore him and stay quiet. On other days she was struggling and fighting him off with all of her might, even unleashing some spells on him. But this was different. A great fear was visible in her eyes but it was not the fear of pain. It was enough to make Dio pause.

After some more time he does figure it out eventually and uses it to his full advantage. He knows she´s scared and feels like there is someone else in her mind at times. So he will manipulate her into staying complacent, telling her that her other, more primal side might appear if she keeps fighting back. It´s enough to lessen her efforts to escape, which is all he wants. He doesn´t want his precious little pet to ever leave him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Matchups are closed! Please don´t send in new ones!

[witchescauldron]

Sagittarius Sun is an adventurous soul, they hate to be tied down by anything be it a job, responsibilities, friends, family and especially lovers. To love a Sagittarius is to never fully embrace them, you have to love their willful, adventurous nature. They have many friends in many different social circles, they like the odd array of people they know with different hobbies and likings, this suits them best. In their younger years as a teenager and young adult they could easily have been known as a party animal, at an age of not much personal freedom, partying and drinking gave them a moment's freedom from family, responsibility, and school. They are wild in their youth, chasing their hearts whims without a second thought. They feel their emotions deeply like any other fire sign but rag is especially present in this fire sign, it starts off as a small flicker and quickly builds into a full on dumpster fire, their rage can be messy and violent, braking things is a common outlet, or driving fast. Once a Sagittarius grows older typically they calm down and can better control their anger. Sagittarius make for great teachers, they give life lessons to others through storytelling, and all the stories are true, because they have lived the life lessons they give out. They make mistakes because they are so eager to jump before looking but they think that is half the fun never knowing where they will land, but they are always taking mental notes and improving upon themselves and a situation. They love to learn new things, this sign must always be stimulated physically and mentally they can't just lay a idle, they must be learning something or doing something. Up for some rock climbing? Then after while you let your body rest why not go for a local tour and learn somethings about the culture and town. Sagittarius is always looking for a new joke, they love to laugh and they love to tease. Teasing is their own love language. Sagittarius are rather optimistic and have a blind faith in many people and situations that's why they're so confident that they can just jump into any situation and everything will work out. They have surprisingly good luck so most of the time things go their way, but when things do go awry they have an exceptionally calm attitude and level head and to easily get out of most situations. They get along with almost everyone, but if you want to attract a Sagittarius or catch their interest offer them some interesting facts, they're very curious and always loved learning any new information you can provide them is greatly appreciated and will definitely peak their interest in you.

Gemini Moon is a very knowledgeable, intuitive, and curious individual. They're most happy when they're learning something be it from a book, documentary, surfing the web at 3 a.m. because they just never fell asleep, poor people. they love learning about all different kinds of things about Mayan civilization, aliens, other worlds, physics, and human behaviour. Gemini Moons have a very calming effect on others, they can be soft-spoken and gentle putting others at ease when they are on edge. Unfortunately, many Gemini moons experience anxiety, and stress getting too many sleepless nights and a few existential crisis. Your mind is always working and never wants to shut off, this wears them down and sends them into spirals. Gemini moons are very witty and charismatic finding it very easy to get along with others and to attract people towards them. They tend to have a different collection of friends they don't stick to one specific group they get along well with a lot of people almost anyone who mentally stimulates them is considered a friend. As I mentioned before Gemini moons have a tendency to overthink, they also have a tendency to talk a lot, and read a fair amount. They're generally well-informed and can go on quite a bit of a few tanjuns but most people around them enjoy these long-winded explanations in philosophical moments hanging onto every word the lunar Gemini has to say. They're not big fans of chores, their tastes always change so their home is in a constant state of in progress. their house can be a bit messy from the neglect of chores, but they call it home they feel comfortable in the disorganization. Lunar Gemini's are we and sociable, fun and easy to pick up a conversation with a complete stranger to pass the time. When irritated or upset this usually friendly whitty do you sign can become snappy, and impatient, using their silver tongue to cut through even the toughest of skin.

Pisces Rising is a kind, perspective, and lost looking individual. And their younger days they often struggled I was feeling like they didn't belong, feeling different, and trying to understand why they felt as if the world was multi-dimensional. The experience spirital things a bit deeper than others, often feeling drawn to the unexplained, and Mystikal. Artistic by nature and a little bit of an oddball they follow the beat of their own drum, it's hard to tie a Pisces Rising down there is fluid as water, and very hard to control. Almost constantly in a rebellious stage they tend to enjoy body art, piercings, darker fashion, and colourful hair. Mini mistake a Pisces for being a soft child, but many with a Pisces in their chart realize that Pisces is more like a spiritually mature teenager. They act on their whims, feeling the greatest satisfaction from fulfilling their own needs. They are kind and caring soul, often to a fault. Having a hard time saying no to giving to a charity, always helping out whenever they can, we're even going out of their way to pick something up for somebody they they enjoy doing Small deeds no matter how small it fills them with a self of accomplishment, and most believe even just subconsciously one good act can make a difference to somebody. Very artistic you need a source for an outlet comedy writing, poetry, singing, painting anyting. Pisces Rising has a lot swirling in their mind and then their hearts that's why a group of supportive friends and family are almost imperative for the sign to make heads or tails of their emotions and thoughts. Many people are just drawn to a Pisces Rising, they're soft and caring nature pull many towards them.

@kiko-kanari

[lololollywrites]

I have a GenZ neighbor who just started her undergrad degree. She once called me over to help with an essay. I love her - she's so sweet - and I currently work as a college professor (at a different university), so obviously I came over. This story is not to disparage her intelligence (I think she's very smart; knowledge and intelligence are unrelated), but the technological illiteracy she displayed - as well as the lack of awareness of academic writing conventions - was shocking to me. She had hit "enter" after each line to make it double-spaced (she'd never heard of that), which obviously capitalized each new line of writing. There were *immensely* long run-on sentences, full of misspellings that autocorrect wasn't there to fix, improper/random capitalization, and informal language. I sat down and explained the requirements to her (we reviewed the assignment description together, which her professor had never fully done), then wrote what I hoped was a thoughtful checklist of things to keep in mind (the structure of an essay, formatting, how to double-space, etc.). The next day, she called me panicking that she tried to submit her assignment online but that it had been deleted. She said it was nowhere on her computer because it didn't appear when she clicked the "Browse" button to select the file. On the phone, I asked her "Where did you save it? To your desktop, your documents, or to a specific folder in your documents? You have to navigate there first." She had no idea what I meant; she just said "I clicked ‘save’". I asked her if the file appeared in her "Recents" when she opened Word, as that would tell her it hadn't been deleted (and even if it had been deleted, it would be in her Mac's recycle bin), but - again - she didn't know what I was talking about. I'm almost 33 years old and she's more than a decade younger (having taken a few years off after high school before college). She's part of the generation that we all say "grew up" with technology, but it's not in the way we did. She only uses her phone; she sees her laptop as only for school. I learned on a computer and didn't get a smart phone until I was 24. This isn't better or worse, of course, but all of the things we take for granted (file folders, Word formatting, multiple tabs, optimized searches, avoiding plagiarism) are all things learned on computers. This isn't her fault. There are no longer required typing courses, Microsoft certification courses (which I took in high school), or even explanations given by professors when we ask students to submit assignments to certain specifications. We assume they know what citing sources means. What "Double-spaced, size 12, Times New Roman" means. Well, I don't, but that's because I've learned otherwise. The same problems plague my graduate students. I see some insane interpretations of APA citations, and blatant (but usually accidental) plagiarism all over the place. Along with some wonderful writing, of course, I'm not trying to be fatalistic, but that's beside the point. We can't assume knowledge based upon age. This is all true, yes, but it still worried me greatly in terms of the experience she was yet to have in college. It's going to be such an uphill battle, and that's entirely unfair to her. I don't understand what she did in high school if not write essays and learn how to use Word. So many things are just done on shared Docs now or accomplished via online quizzes/text boxes. I think we're losing a lot here without even realizing it. It's like being caught in the middle: colleagues my age are always trying to figure out how to best support our younger students as they struggle with technology, and we're also being called over to help tenured professors who've been teaching for decades figure out how to submit their grades, attach a file to an email, or use Cloud/Google Drive. I had a 20-minute conversation with a super-intelligent, highly-esteemed professor the other day about why her flash drive was obsolete and how I could make her life easier, but she simply didn't understand. Which is fine - she makes things work, and has learned how to do so. It's just... an odd feeling. And YES, there are exceptions. There are plenty of super tech-savvy GenZs and GenXers. Obviously. My neighbor is just one person, but I've taught dozens of students now as a professor (and hundreds beforehand in the decade I taught in a different capacity), and this is all based on what I've observed.

ALT

View on Twitter

[ID: A tweet by Popbase that reads, "Nearly half of Gen Z is using TikTok and Instagram as a search engine instead of Google, new data shows.". Below the tweet is a pic of a poorly drawn Goomba from Super Mario Bros with text below him that reads "are you out of your fucking mind".]

[lizabethstucker]

Asimov's Science Fiction (March/April 2017)

Digging into my backlot of science fiction magazines. A mixture of verse and stories. I've only reviewed and rated the stories. This particular issue is the 40th Anniversary one! 3.8 out of 5 "Soulmates.com" by Will McIntosh Daniel wants someone to share his life with, to love and be loved by. When he meets Winnie through a dating app, he thinks she could be the one almost immediately. Emily, his former girlfriend and current best friend, is more suspicious, doing a deep dive on who Winnie could be. Which, considering they never meet in person despite Winnie being in Atlanta and Daniel in Athens, not that long a drive, is valid. Starts extremely slowly, assumingly to establish the characters. Not my favorite way as most writers don't do a good job at it. I'm not entirely certain that this is actually science fiction, despite the use of Artificial Intelligence. As to Daniel, I found him to be incredibly childish, blind, immature, and boring. He learned absolutely nothing from his experience. I struggled to complete this novella. 2.5 out of 5 "Number Thirty-Nine Skink" by Suzanne Palmer It started simply enough, an expedition designed to bring life in balance to an empty planet. Then the humans left suddenly, leaving Mike willingly behind with Kadey whose programming makes the creatures populating the area. When Mike dies of cancer, Kadey continues her work. Until the night something changes. Poor Kadey, struggling with loneliness, possibly incomplete programming, and the knowledge hidden from her regarding why the humans left. Sad, yes, but with a more hopeful ending that is also a beginning. Lovely story, so well written. 4.5 out of 5 "Three Can Keep a Secret..." by Bill Johnson & Gregory Frost A convoluted tale of assassins, misdirection, love, greed, and con-artistry with an almost noir feel to it. It's almost impossible to give a synopsis that isn't chockful of spoilers. The first person narrator isn't totally reliable, but still intriguing in what he shares. I loved this more than I expected with this strange little story. FYI, in case you don't know, the title is from an old saying. Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead. 4.5 out of 5 "The Ones Who Know Where They Are Going" by Sarah Pinsker A child must suffer so the city can be happy, or so they say. One particular child is taken from her mother, locked away in the dark with no social interaction beyond the delivery of food. As time passes, language is lost and memories of a happier time begin to fade. Then one day the door isn't shut tightly and the child gets out of the tiny dark room. She crawls up the stairs, each step bringing back a particular memory, heading for freedom. But at what cost? Rip my heart out, why don't you? Two and a half pages of the most gut-wrenching narrative. The tightly woven writing is painfully descriptive. And the ending! Oh, the ending. I just cannot deal with it. 5 out of 5 "Invasion of the Saucer-Men" by Dale Bailey Teenagers have been foiling alien invasions for some time. After all, the adults are either locked in their homes consuming television or would dismiss the very idea of aliens. The newest landing of a flying saucer bonds together teens out at the local make-out point. Per the author, his idea was to take the cheesy sci-fi and horror movie titles of the 1950s and treat the core idea with some emotional and thematic nuance. Here we have a group of teen archetypes, from the football star to the nerds to the beauty. There are also the followers that are always found in high school. This brings back memories of too many cheesy nights at the drive-ins in my county. I've always found my sympathies fell with the aliens most of the time, faced with humans whose first response to the unknown was always violence. Horrible ending to this story. Horrible. CW: extremely graphic attack. 3 out of 5 "Kitty Hawk" by Alan Smale After receiving word of her brother's death, Katharine Wriht travels from Ohio to North Carolina to help her other brother. Instead of Orville preparing to pack up for the trip home with his beloved

brother's body, he is trying to continue with the flight experiments that killed Wilbur. Katharine finds herself engaged in helping, even learning to fly herself. This is a complete AU of the Wright Brothers and the birth of flight, through World War I and the suffrage movement. The writing is evocative of the time period and the dangers of experimental flight. I don't know why it didn't click with me, but I struggled quite a bit in reading this imaginative tale. I can see others enjoying this greatly, just not me. 3 out of 5 "Cupido" by Rich Larson Marcel is a genius at chemistry. He came up with a way to make pheromones specific to the pair he's paid to bring together, either by one of the potential couple or by a third party. The majority of the money he charges goes to pay for his grandmother's colon cancer treatment. As word gets around, he finds himself moving to smaller cities to avoid identification. As yet, what he does isn't illegal. He didn't expect to find himself attracted to his potential mark. Frankly, I don't consider this to be science fiction at all. The science is already viable. Add the consent issues which would be called dubcon (dubious consent) and I'm too busy cringing to enjoy. In my mind, Marcel is anything but a hero. 3 out of 5 "A Singular Event in the Fourth Dimension" by Andrea M. Pawley Olive was removed from the reducer pile, adopted by a childless couple to help stave off loneliness. Now that the second grandmother is living with them and Mama was pregnant, Olive is worried that she will be sent back to the pile, no longer needed. A loving, imaginative little android who believes in fairy dust, even if the fairies never seem to do anything magical like in the stories. Love doesn't have to be limited to just humans or blood relations. Sweet and touching. 4.5 out of 5 "The Wisdom of the Group" by Ian R. MacLeod There are theories and studies about group-think, how certain groups can intuit a trend or coming situation without any real knowledge. With the right group, the members could get wealthy or probably save the world, depending on their inclination. Samuel has been part of such a group since brought in by his professor while still in university. Now, years later, Samuel is wealthy, has a liv-in lover, three dogs with unfortunate names, and a gorgeous house in Washington state. But something is wrong, something that seems to be originating from Samuel. The response is usually to cut the wrong out of the group. A complicated basis for a disturbing story. I had to sit on this one for a while in order to determine what I felt about it. Definitely strong writing, could almost be considered psychological horror. I don't know if I would ever say that I liked it, but I recognize the work done and the uniqueness of the story. 3.5 out of 5 "After the Atrocity" by Ian Creasey Abu Hameed, the terrorist behind the attack that left ten thousand people dead, has also died during interrogation. The solution? A machine that can make exact copies, complete with memories, of an individual. Violet Ruiz, operator and creator of the machine, even made a duplicate of herself in order to work 24/7. As Hameed's copies die during the enhanced interrogation, more copies are needed. Soon Violet II wonders about the ethical implications. Well thought out consideration of just how far a nation is willing to go in search of revenge wrapped in the disguise of intel. Patriot Act, enhanced interrogation the Greater Good, dismantling both Habeas Corpus and the Geneva Convention, anyone? 4 out of 5 "Goner" by Gregory Norman Bossert In order to explore space, humans had to be converted from flesh into nanotechnology based creatures. The pilots call themselves Goners. Char's best friend's father is a Goner. Already fascinated with the idea of flying, Char uses a sliver of Pilot Clark to begin changing. While this is complete in itself, the story also begs for more. What is happening to Char? Will he be allowed to live his dreams despite his age? S fascinating a concept. 3.5 out of 5 "We Regret the Error" by Terry

Bisson A series of news corrections from the future. So many corrections, even some corrections of corrections. Taken individually, these are amusing. Pieced together, there is a much deeper story playing out. Oh, and a nice dig at Disney's well-known history of not paying some of their artists for their work. 3 out of 5 "Tao Zero" by Damien Broderick Teenagers, incredibly smart ones, have unprotected sex after winning $370 million in the Mega Millions lottery. The celebration leads to a child, the narrator, and the money to try to trap the Tao, the Way that cannot be named, inside a machine. I tried, I really tried to read this without success. After rereading the first two pages over and over in an attempt to struggle through, I put the story aside, hoping to pick it back up when refreshed. Didn't work. DNF

[sableaire]

Thank you for responding, so my question has to do with mental health in Korea. So I know that s*****e is very common in Korea, but I wonder what the view of mental illness is thought upon. Are there therapist or mental health clinics? Because whenever I watch documentaries the public don't really make it a big interest, is there a reason as to why? It's very obvious as to why people become s****dal but they don't do anything that will directly impact?? (1/?)

one community intervention I had seen was to make hagwons close at 11:30, but that isn't enough? Right? I'm also very curious about what citizens think of mental health? I read this comment that made me upset but then I released 'oh this is probably a korean mindset tho', and it basically implied that if a person is successful they have no reason to be mentally ill or s****dal, and I wonder if there is a reason for that mindset? (2/3)

I know this is a difficult topic and if you don't want to reply that is perfectly okay I even tried to censor out some triggers and stuff, and last thing mapo bridge is definitely one of the most beautiful things I've seen done to try and help people out (3/3)

Korea does have mental health services - I would know, since I volunteered in one back in middle school, ahaha - but the mental health field is still relatively new and not as advanced as those in some other cultures, a situation which is definitely exacerbated by Korea’s cultural history. I will preface this with the fact that I am not a scholar of Korean history, and these are all my personal interpretations of my passive knowledge of Korean history, as a result of living there in my formative years and interacting with generations of my own family. 

As for why the public doesn’t seem to make a big issue of the suicide issue, that’s not necessarily true nowadays - they’re working on it - but part of the reason is because, culturally, families were ashamed of mental illness.��

A strong part of the Korean identity is the concept of overcoming hardship, triumphing over adversity. There’s even a word called han in the language, which is believed to be a special kind of grief and despair that only Korean people can understand, as a result of tumultuous history of occupation and oppression. As a result, suicide was often viewed as a reflection of poor moral character, and people found it shameful. And because it was shameful, it wasn’t a topic to speak of in public. However, with advances in mental health studies and campaigns, this mindset is changing, slowly but surely.

As for the thinking that “successful people have no reason to be mentally ill,” that comes directly from post-Korean War sociopolitical climate. After the Korean War, the Korean economy was in shambles. The administration at the time ran a highly successful campaign about how children are the future, and investing in their education will become the future of the country. And it was true, at the time. Emphasis on education did contribute greatly to Korea’s modern economic success. The consequences of that, however, is the current overemphasis of academic success and overwhelming pressure on modern students.

There’s a generation gap in Korea, like any country, but it may be a particularly large gap in Korea because of the Korean War. Back then, Korean people were focused on survival and keeping their families together. Those are the values that were important to them, and if you were alive, had your family together, and on top of that had the wealth/power/success to support your family? In that generation’s view, you have nothing to complain about. They went through a completely different set of hardships. These are the great-grandparents and some grandparents.

And then there’s the generation raised by that generation, who were raised by traumatized families and live through the following political dictatorship, and also were saddled with the burden of helping the nation find its footing. Korea was a small and weak nation, but the Korean people have a lot of national pride. They had values beyond just survival, but Korean culture has always deeply valued sacrifice, and I personally think - in many ways - this was a generation of sacrifices, for both country and family. They were working to make a better future for their children. This is the generation that scrimped and saved to send their kids to America for a better education, better life. Surely the sacrifices made can’t have been easy, but Korean culture tries to turn sacrifice into pride rather than hardship. And because sacrifice was viewed as something of an achievement, something to be admired, suicide was - as a counterbalance - scorned and viewed as cowardice or a burden.

Then we get to the generation of parents, who may have studied overseas, who saw the start of a Korean economic power, and the start of a globalizing world. They were exposed to western culture, western values. They studied in individualist societies. The concept of sacrifice wasn’t a norm anymore. The concept of sacrifice wasn’t a necessary burden. The country no longer operated under a dictatorship, and it was starting to prosper. Values are starting to change.

And then we have my generation - the tech era - and the internet changed Korea completely. Samsung and LG Electronics were forces to be reckoned with in the global market. The country as a whole is pretty prosperous. We know little fear of war. We have no true conception of the horrors of the Korean War. There’s a kpop boom. Foreign countries know who we are, want to know about our culture. Sacrifice is definitely not something we feel is a necessary part of our lives. 

So, what happens when all these generations are still operating together in one society? The fact of the matter is, society has evolved super quickly, and modern-day students are completely different people from the older generations. However, those older generations still exist, still shape the overall social climate regarding certain issues such as mental health, such as adult responsibilities, such as what makes a good person. No one is right, and no one is wrong. It’s just that the world changes more quickly than people do, and that’s just a fact.

In the past, success was all anyone wanted. It was what would ensure and define survival or family, etc. and the government propaganda towards that mindset was strong too, because individual successes would be what rebuilds the Korean nation after the Korean War, and also what helps distinguish and redefine ourselves after the havoc caused by US intervention.

Nowadays, success is simultaneously unessential to survival and does not ensure survival. The current generation wants to do more than just survive - we want to live, and we want to live life on our terms and pursue and individual idea of happiness. That’s a value that the older generations either cannot understand or envy. It’s a different world, but their thinking, outlook, habits, and lifestyles were developed in the world of the past.

And us younger folk, we’re still being raised by those older generations, so some of us grow up with their mindsets. Most of us start out thinking that mental illness is something shameful, or that suffering as a student and being successful later on is the only way to live life. But we also learn from interacting with the world and our peers that that is not the case. However, the working world and people in power are still the older generation, and over the years the equating of academic success to future success has led academic success to become a matter of social status to families, which adds a new kind of pressure on the younger generations. The people do not change, but social dynamics do, and that’s just how society works.

So it is not that Korean folk do not care about people’s mental health or do not think of suicide as an issue. I whole-heartedly believe that there is a gap between generations that we are still struggling to bridge. However, advances are being made in the mental health industry, and the youth (which includes influential kpop idols!) are growing more outspoken with their views. And on top of that, the older generations are dying out - not necessarily a positive, but it is a fact that will influence social views within the country.

Ultimately, it’s important to understand that the current state of any society is completely shaped by its history. There is sense to any mindset, and though that sense and reasoning may not hold up under modern scrutiny, there was a time in history where it seemed to make sense.