#Have you met most hispanic moms?

[boxkitkat]

Random post on some small ZSakuVA verse headcannons! <3

(Mainly for Isaac and Elias o(>ω<)o)

Isaac: Isaac probably has a habit of doing that little leg bounce whenever he’s anxious. Before he met the listener and got closer with them he probably smelled A LOT like coffee.

When he was probably 8-11 he took piano lessons for a while but simply didn’t feel like music was something he was interested in.

Isaac as a kid (like around 5-7 years old) would struggle with sleeping so his mom (maybe sometimes joined by his dad) would end up helping him go to sleep by playing with his hair, putting on a small puppet show for him while reading a bed time story with cute animal hand puppets.

His favorite bugs are blue butterflies and ladybugs because they would remind him of whenever he helped his mom in the gardens and little butterflies and ladybugs would show up near the flowers in the spring.

He finds hot chocolate or a warm tea comforting on cloudy or rainy days.

His houses garden would probably have like a miniature waterfalls here and there.

Isaac probably has a messenger for himself like Adriel did to communicate through his workers, or just emails them or calls them but never meets any of his workers in person face to face.

He would be a girl dad. Dressing up in frilly princess dresses with plastic tiaras and attending the finest tea parties with the most high quality and rich wooden biscuits and cookies all to make his daughter happy. Of course when he had the time to. He probably has a black silk robe. Wouldn’t be surprised. As well as a really high quality grey or navy blue kimono stashed away in his closet. Maybe a gift from one of his older clients who is aware of his ethnicity background.

He’s really ticklish behind his knee.

He definitely has a disappointed and judgmental Asian dad glare if you do anything stoopid in-front of him.

He would appreciate the listener helping him with taking care of orchids that he gotten, maybe hug the listener from behind with his arms around their waist while they gently watered the orchids and he gives em a small peck on the cheek :D

He’s got a whole bunch of fancy watches, some as gifts from his clients and some from a collection his grandpa probably had of watches.

Elias: He’s mixed with Mexican and Filipino background, the Hispanic side from his mom and the Filipino side from his dad. He likes Thai food a lot. Specially Pad Thai noodles.

Some of his fave desserts are Ube cookies, and concha’s (specifically the white ones).

He would like to hold a grill with his old friends from high school.

He would tackle an enemy down like a football player.

He definitely uses the word “opp” in an unironic way.

He wears compression shirts during a workout, or loose no sleeve shirts that show off his muscles.

Kinda random but he was taller than most of the other Saku verse boys during their tween years.

In middle school and high school he would get really dirty and hurt a lot (scratches, bruises, etc) due to playing sports with his friends.

(this head cannon is inspired off of another crumpets head cannon so credits to them for this idea!) His mom was religious (not crazy religious but yknow) catholic to be specific so he was raised with an upbringing of some religious faith. He isn’t super religious himself tho, not as much as him mom was. And also he probably has a cross necklace as well that he sometimes wears.

Elias wears mostly silver jewelry because it goes well with his skin complexion.

Listens to the reggaeton genre usually and rap too, he would definitely get jiggy with it to El Coco No.

Speaking of dancing, Elias is probably a pretty good dancer but insists that he’s okayish.

He’d make listener dance with him, especially if it’s a romantic song.

He likes some of Franks Sinatras music mainly because it makes him think of his listener probably or his mom due to Franks music (from what I’ve heard) being very sentimental.

He likes to make himself banana milkshakes sometimes in the mornings.

He’s got a sick belt collection and is very much proud of it and WILL show it off to anyone who asks. He’d wear them on special occasions tho or not at all cuz they are his precious babies.

His jaw can open oddly enough very widely without dislocating it somehow.

He’d probably do that thing where people lift up their eyelids inside out to mess with James because James finds it icky and recoils and cringes at it. (He’s done this ever since he was 10 when he discovered James didn’t like that.)

His go to late night snack is a PB&J sandwich or instantly noodles.

Luca: He has a high pitched scream.

He’d have a comfort pillow, he’d cuddle it incase whenever his listener isn’t home (like on a business trip or something)

He has flat hair so he tries to blow dry it to make it have more volume but it isn’t able to hold up for long after a while sometimes.

His hair is very shiny.

He brings a small lotion bottle with him wherever he goes to keep his hands and arms moisturized.

He’s sometimes tempted to eat things that aren’t edible but look edible.

Half of his twitter feed is cats and capybaras.

He might’ve been in a few clubs in high school, like chest or volunteering work.

Luca was a really energetic kid with the people he was closest with and his parents would sometimes struggle keeping up with that.

He liked sandwiches a lot as a kid, he still does and I think he would have a great appreciation for those little tea sandwiches. He’d absolutely adore those sandwiches.

Whenever he’s cooking he puts little hair clips on so his hair doesn’t get in the way of his face and distract him while cooking or getting any hair into the food he’s making. The hair clips probably have little animals on them.

Small head-cannons for the others!:

Andrew likes to wear a lot of gold jewelry, he stretches a lot from having bad seating posture making his body feel sore. Kayson definitely plays around with his brothers by picking them up and throwing them over his shoulder, he’d do this a few time with his listener as well if they are being bratty or playful. Dontis wears those Hawaiian shirts and has crazy bed head. Jonah likes to dye his hair a lot with a bunch of different bright colors, his hair is very dead, and he likes subtle vanilla scents. Rowan likes garlic bread and he gently rubs his listeners hand with his thumb whenever therye nervous or upset. Asirel owns a sick blood red sports car and sometimes sun tans next to his smancy fancy pool with a speedo on and some fancy sunglasses (gotta keep the tan up.)

Okayy thats all for now!! Hope you enjoyed reading and ty for listening to me share! And ofc pls feel free to say your own personal thoughts and feelings on my head cannons or your own personal head cannons! Ty Crumpet Nation! ☆ ～('▽^人)

[hobiebrownismygod]

Let's talk about Miles G./Prowler Miles and his characterization in fanfics/headcanons

I'm gonna refer to him as 42-Miles throughout this analysis btw

Fairly short post, about 1.1k words with pictures and gifs to help explain <3

Summary: I'm gonna analyze his characterization as being angry/aggressive, I'm gonna talk about his backstory a little bit and compare him to the original Prowler and then I'm gonna rant about his sexualization a little bit as well.

1. Characterizing him as angry/aggressive

Most of the fanfictions/headcanons that I've read treat 42-Miles like a thug. They act like he would be overly aggressive toward the reader/y/n and often characterize him as slightly misogynistic and a bully. One question. HOW? I genuinely don't understand where people get these headcanons from. You're telling me that this guy, who is literally the exact same person as Miles Morales, would be a cheating, narcissistic asshole who needs to be fixed by some random girl? Are you kidding me? Do y'all think RIO MORALES would've allowed that to happen to her son? HELL NO.

This hispanic lady?? BFFR

In the scene between Miles and 42-Rio, we see her asking him to get groceries, cracking jokes with him and just having an absolutely lovely mother-son dynamic. Its because of this that I think that he's actually a sweet, kind boy who's just trying his best to take care of his family. This little thing that he and his mom have going on proves that 42-Miles is not a bad kid. He's a genuinely nice guy who was thrown into a crappy situation.

As for his whole "You can call me the Prowler" persona, that's obviously just a setup. Miles did the same thing in the first movie when he met Peter B. Parker. He tied him up to a punching bag and put on a slightly deeper voice to confront him. 42-Miles did the exact same thing. He tied up Miles to a punching bag and did his best to intimidate him with the claw and the voice. He's just trying to look cool in front of his twin, guys. He's not that way normally. If anything, he's just gonna be a slightly more depressed version of Miles, but he's still Miles.

Its practically the same scene.

This type of characterization happens a lot towards edgy black males in the media. The same thing happens with Hobie Brown. He's portrayed as cool, a rule-breaker and a punk and immediately, people characterize him as dirty and violent which are nasty stereotypes targeted towards African-Americans. 42-Miles is portrayed as intimidating and edgy and immediately people are quick to say that he would be an asshole and that he would be a bad boy which are also horrible stereotypes. This is blatant racism and its not cute or fun to read. If you want him to be aggressive in your fanfictions, give him an actual reason to be aggressive. Don't just assume that he would be, because if you really think about it, he wouldn't.

2. Calling him a murderer (The original prowler didn't kill people)

A lot of the fanfictions/headcanons that I've read that involved 42-Miles treat him like a murderer and romanticize the idea of him being a criminal. Authors write stories about him violently murdering thugs and beating people up for no reason. Any f.f. involving his identity as the Prowler usually has a killing scene written in or an implied murder scene.

It has been confirmed that 42-Miles is gonna be an anti-hero. Now the Aaron Davis version of the Prowler did kill people. However, he wasn't an anti-hero. If we're going to compare 42-Miles to a Prowler, we need to compare him to Hobie Brown, who was the original Prowler.

Hobie Brown was also an anti-hero who actually helped Spider-man multiple times throughout the comics. He never killed anyone and after trying to lead a life of crime, he actually ended up quitting. This suggests that 42-Miles would be similar if not the same, because its confirmed that he's fighting against the Sinister Six, and isn't a "villain" and therefore would not kill anyone.

He's also 15 years old. Why are people acting like a 15 year old would be a murderer? There is no way this 15 year old kid is going out into the streets and beating up thugs. This guy was supposed to be Spider-man, remember? He fights for justice and he fights against real villains, like Doc Ock, Scorpio, Rhino, all villains who are confirmed to exist in Earth-42.

This headcanon is extremely inaccurate and people really need to chill out on the whole "Prowler" aspect of his character, because he's still Miles. He isn't a whole new character. He's literally Miles Morales in a different font, and he's not gonna be a murderous maniac.

3. Sexualizing him (he's a minor!?!?!)

I'd say about 70-80% of the 42-Miles fanfictions that cross my feed contain smut. People age up Miles, not for the plot, not for the headcanons, but just to write smut.

Personally, when I read a fan fiction or a headcanon about a character, I imagine them in my head when I do. I genuinely read the fan fiction like it would be played out with the character. So to me, people who are writing these smutty fan fictions are imagining a minor in their head while doing these things. This is absolutely insane to me.

Now I know a lot of people are gonna come for me for saying this because "if you don't wanna read it then just scroll" and "he's aged up so its okay" but this is normalizing pedophilia.

Once again, I see the same thing happening with Hobie. Why? Once again, casual racism. People see an edgy black male and they immediately assume he'd be super sexual. The people writing smut about Miles are the same way. They see an attractive black teen and the first thing that pops up in their mind is "I'd let him fuck me." He's 15 years old. No one should be writing smut about this kid. He doesn't do anything sexual in the movie, he doesn't have a confirmed love interest, he was literally on screen for two minutes. Stop treating black characters like sex toys and enjoy their damn storylines.

I explained more on the sexualization of black characters in the media in this post here if you want to read more into it or still feel a little unsure about my analyzation. I included sources as well <3

This guy is a tired CHILD. LOOK AT HIS EYE BAGS

As for the whole "aging up" thing, aging up a character for a fan fiction and aging them up for smut are two very different things. I've read 42-Miles fanfictions where they age him up, but they actually add to the plot. This one fanfiction I read (I'll link it if I find it) aged him up to create a officer x criminal trope, which I found absolutely adorable. They were able to write an amazing story with zero smut. Compare this to people who are saying "I'm aging him up to 18 <3" and its just 4000 words of straight, gut-wrenching smut.

This genuinely disgusts me. I don't know if its just me who feels this way about his sexualization, but its so icky to think about. You're taking a literal child and imagining yourself doing all these things with him and posting it for the rest of the world to see. A lot of the people who write these fanfictions are 18+ which baffles me as well.

Stop sexualizing minors and stop aging up characters just for smut. It's messed up.

[voidsuites]

okay, vent post here so buckle up. sorry if it’s too serious for this blog, but i needed to show it.

as a Ukrainian, i left my country when i was barely 11 and went to south america because the war started. i wasn’t old enough to understand the outcomes that could possibly lead to the war in actuality. we needed to leave for our own safety. we needed to leave because either way we were gonna die there eventually; most russians didn’t (don’t) care about our race, our opinions, our culture, our politics, our freedom. it’s been going for centuries, not years, so we and israel have something in common. to know how does it feel to be oppressed.

my mom used to say that everything will be okay, but with every day you DO lose hope when something like today happens — it’s been going on like this for us for decades; but i know i could not understand how does it feel to be in the minority in u.s.a and be seen like an existing, walking crime.

regardless, i do, i REALLY do, hope that this generation won’t let hatred take over themselves as it did with mine. i know being angry and a hater feels like the right decision —hell, i am being angry and hating on my ““brother”” county because they’re killing us— like something you’ve been building up for years and can finally let go on people —white, in my case— who ‘deserve’ this, but please, don’t let it get into your head. no one will feel safe if we’re gonna start hating each other. minorities, black, hispanic, white, NO ONE.

i feel for you americans. i’m not sure how everything will go from now on, but i am one hundred percent sure that it depends on us. don’t let the government and the ‘high grounds’ let your hopes down, because it won’t happen if people keep fighting. does su*cide looks tempting right now? very; it was always like that since COVID started (for me, personally). does it mean we should act on it, if OUR opinion and OUR actions can define how the country will keep running? no, absolutely not. i’m not telling to people who want to kill themselves to stop it —i am no professional by any means; it’s not my right to tell you what to do with your life— but if you CAN make change, why don’t you?

i love you all. i’m very happy that we met each other over tumblr, guys. everything will be okay

i love you too.

but my mere existence has become political. it has been political since i was born. i am a black, mexican, queer woman who lives in a blue state— but regardless of that, my existence has been political long before i even realized it. people who have no idea what i’ve been through and what life i’ve lived think it’s necessary to regulate my own body because they think i’m not capable of doing so. they think because i am non-white that i am not worthy of respect or equal treatment under the law. they think because of who i love that i am less-than-human.

i don’t have the luxury to not dislike someone who has voted for him. when they voted for him, they voted against ME— against everything i am, the fabric of my being, everything that makes me me. i wish i could say didn’t hate anyone who voted for that fucking felon, but i do. it’s the truth. they voted against basic human decency and fundamental human rights because neither of those were enough to overpower their selfish self-interest. i don’t wish to associate with anyone who voted for him, nor do i like them. they’ve clearly voiced that they’re okay with ignoring hate-based ideologies if it means they might “benefit” (they won’t)

he intends to strip away every little thing we can even do in terms of voicing our opinions— he’s been saying from the get go that this would be the last election EVER that we’d have to vote in— is that + the countless false bomb threats + russian interference + in-state interference with mail-in voting/ballot counting not proof enough that they don’t want to even consider what the people want anymore? and i’m not saying that this is reason to give up, but they intend to strip everyone of their autonomy in one way or another, and they will if we allow them to. and we’ve just given them the keys to fucking do it.

i just need to rant and be angry and be upset and be disappointed in the way we’ve let each other down here? because at the end of the day, people voted for that felon because they thought he was the better candidate. and that is appalling.

[ribbonsandhair]

Hello! Glad to see this!

In that case I'd be happy to request for Valeria with a bestie readerrr YESYESSS😈😈

Tbh I've been starving for this for months.

Idk, just them bonding so well, maybe the reader is in the cartel with her, or is a simple civilian that valeria ended up being deeply fond of!

A kind-hearted and kinda dumb-ish(not naive though) reader and her just being like, "[name], please💀"

And reader having this really gen-z-ish humor, i just think she'd be so confused and pissed cuz she doesn't get the joke sometimes. Maybe reader is just like 2-1 year(s) less than her? + If they're hispanic too!😭😭😭

Sorry for my rambling💀💀💀

OH MY GOD HELLO AGAIN!!!! I LOVED WRITINF THIS SO MUCH I WAS ON A RAMPAGE 😭😭😭 I hope you enjoy this just as much as I enjoyed writing this!! Thanks for requesting babes!!!

Valeria Garza

Where do I START.

So, first, you’re Latino. Duh.

You’re a civilian that was lucky enough to meet Valeria.

You two probably met while getting coffee. You thought she looked pretty, so you complimented her.

“Hola, nada mas quería decirte que me gusta tu cabello!”

She was a little confused why a random person just complimented her hair. She still liked it, nonetheless.

“..Gracias.”

You were a little scared that you made her u comfortable, and after you got what you wanted from the cafe, you went home to cry.

“SOY TAN TONTA. OSÉA!”

You went back to the cafe, since it was your regular spot to just hang out to read a book. You were familiar with most of the employees.

And then, you saw HER.

YOU SAW VALERIA.

You didn’t know if you should just go up to her and apologized while making yourself look even more stupid, or just sit there.

She just SUDDENLY SAT DOWN IN FRONT OF YOU AND YOUR MIND WENT INTO PANIC MODE.

“AY! Oh. Hola!”

She just chuckled and said hi back.

And that’s how your closest friendship bloomed.

Since you’re younger than her, it’s most likely your humor is pretty deranged.

You’ll send her random pictures of god knows what, and say hi right after.

“[Name], por favor.”

You text her super late at night, like three AM.

“Si no te chingo por despertándome en las tres de la mañana–”

Either that or you rant about how you’re glad that she’s your friend because you just finished watching a super sad movie.

“[Name], are you fucking crying.”

You playfully scold her everytime she curses. Which is like in every sentence.

You’re a little dumb, so you end up being pretty clumsy. Without her, you’d be dead by now.

She uses that against you every time you don’t wanna do a favor for her.

“Remember that one time I saved your ass from falling face-first into the concrete? Yeah, that’s what I fucking thought.”

You aren’t aware of her being the leader of the cartel that has corrupted Las Almas. So sometimes she’s hesitant with you.

She won’t respond to your messages for days due to work, so you end up worrying about her. If you ask her why she was gone for so long then she just responds with, “I was pretty busy.”

But she makes it up by hanging out with you for a while, specifically drinking.

On a similar note, you invite her over to have a few drinks with her. Just chill.

When you drink, you become more jokeful and just insane overall.

“Haha, kinda wanna kill myself. Anyways, how’s your day?”

Sometimes concerned with your humor. Can’t tell if it’s just how Gen Z humor is or if you’re that mentally I’ll.

And whenever you two drink together, you guys turn into those Latina moms that will go insane at parties. (I have a good amount of experience with this as a Latino myself.)

Dancing together, blasting music, it’s entertaining.

You also end up talking about chisme.

“Did you hear that my neighbors just got a divorce?”

“Dime más.”

And whenever she goes to your house, she always has a gift. Especially an expensive one.

It can be from some good wine, to straight up clothes and perfumes.

“How did you get the right size?”

“… Instinct.”

(She somehow got information about you.)

Valeria just hopes that she can keep you safe from her job, and doesn’t get you killed. She tries to avoid starting anything that’s super close to you.

[sunshineandrosesnoraincamemyway]

Fun facts below

There was genuinely a rumor that my grandfather came back from Vietnam with a baby (my dad). Nowadays people just assume he’s Hispanic (he speaks no Spanish)

this is why I know that I had an ancestor cross the Delaware with George Washington, and that there was an ancestor who was a confederate soldier who died as a POW in a Union hospital in New York

he and his brother found a small shed that they wanted to turn into a clubhouse and were chased away by a man with a shotgun. Chances are he was making moonshine

this is how he met my mom ^^

he moved to NYC for a year after growing up in the middle of nowhere in south ga. Anything would have had more people than his hometown

Bonus points if you got drunk for the first time since becoming a Christian and shared the gospel because of it

I can’t remember exactly what number his was, but CrossFit has definitely shaped my life in a unique way and I think that’s cool

he’s said before that whichever kid wins the most games will invite the game, otherwise it will be buried with him. The issue here is that he has spent years studying the game and is nearly imposing to beat

he now has an epi pen just in case

I now own all his old emt manuals and doodads, and hope to one day also be a wmet

[logicroute]

hi so im normal abt shin tsukimi being nonbinary. most of this is just hcs but this is real to me. read it undercut :3 i also touched on my hispanic shin and him being gay aroacespec by accident. whoops

to me at least. shin hasn’t really ever cared abt his gender that much, it was never really a big part of his life growing up so he never put thought into it or really had a meaning for it in his mind.

he is still transgender to me, he started exploring himself at around.. 14? i would say, it wasn’t anything much, just dressing more GNC, having fun with combining both styles of masculine and feminine clothing and all of that. in a way wanting to seem confusing but not at the same time.

he likes exploring and experimenting with how gender feels for him while hes older, but ya know how it is. it just, doesnt really seem right to pick a side with something you dont really understand yourself.

so thats where the quoigender comes in. its also called WTFgender which i find amazing. quoigender pretty much means that you cant really put a definition on your gender. so i think over time shin starts like. feeling more connected to that term for himself..!!

to me he uses any prns and any terms because of his like.. somewhat lack of care on how people assign a gender to him in a way when he meets new people, like the way that people think of him hasnt reallu been a big thought to him. until the death game which he puts up the front of  someone that is threating to survive but he still doesnt really care abt prns in the death game. a really funny idea is that everyone just uses a completely different set of pronouns for him and everyone just understands that its abt shin cuz of the tone in the voice.

theres also the whole… not really having an idea who you are with the hiyori persona in the death game but whooo cares abt that rn. something something gender playing into how he copied how he remembered hiyori acting like.. so acting more dramatic and the works.. 

and i also hc him as hispanic which.. can also play into his gender in a way. to me his mom is hispanic for context. she herself never liked the idea of gender roles but she never gotten a chance to break out of them..until she moved to japan for school, met shins dad and all of that. so when she had shin she wanted to make sure that nothing was being overly expected from him that fits into any of the norms.. she is also somewhat breaking without knowing but its whimsical for her. i need to talk abt the tsukimis more they mean so much to me.

not to get too ibto his sexuality in the gender rant but. i thibk he knew he was gay for a while, hes alaways liked boys for his whole life pretty much, he hasnt felt attraction to girls at all besides like.. the planotic “ohh ur pretty:)” thing you know. but then also the aroace spectrum kicks in. 

at least to me. shin hasnt really felt romantic feelings for anyone reallly. like he couldnt really place how he feels for ppl on a romantic scale if rhay makes sense, but like he has felt them in rare occasions, but nothing really happens lmao. so the plain term of arospec usually works.

im aceflux shin number one believer. its just really dear to me for some reason. it doesnt really breach out of the demisexual area that much but its okay he gets to have some fun with labels.

also no cisgender person only wears winter clothing all year long. he is most likely nonbinary but he has a minimum wage shift in the hour and is kinda doomed in a death game later so he cant care abt that atm. 

in short uhhh shin tsukimi any pronouns quoigender/nonbinary aroace spec gay real forever. 

[littleladymab]

FebruarOC - Xochitl

OOOHHHHHH SUSHI MY BELOVED!!!!!! She is my character for our Werewolf game (which we're playing TOMORROW) it had been on hold for four solid years due to pandemic (we play (mostly) in person) and life/job stuff, but we finally got to start playing again on NYE! Nothing like sounding in the new year trying to remember a game you haven't played in four years ;;;; 

(It was fine I killed something in one hit) 

Xochitl is the 5'3" alpha of her pack and team dad (her beta, Rory, huge 6'something, is team mom). One of the first notes I made for her was that her fighting style is: (ง •̀_•́)ง !!! and a little bit of (*｀ω´)/――――― ●)´Дﾟ) I was nervous about picking up the role of alpha originally, but I made the choice after figuring that no one else would probably do it (and I was right lol) in the end, I'm really glad! I've had a lot of fun, and she's the right amount of impulsive (it is one of her flaws) to carry them forward, and I'm the right amount of "I can't stand awkward silences at the table" to keep conversations going. Whoops. 

She's from the Fiana tribe, though she's got a Hispanic name because of her father (Who was a Shadow Lord of Spaniard descent who left his tribe when he fell in love with Jael lmao), and she gets along most with her father who is also an Ahroun (meaning they're real good at fighting). Her mom had another child in a first... not marriage? I don't think they got married, but she had another child before she married Arturo and had Xochitl, but Xochitl never knew her sibling that well as they disappeared and presumed dead when she was still very young. 

And by presumed I mean they actually did die, but they're back now! Hah hah! And working for the Autumn King, which, you know, isn't a real thing, so totally normal and okay and nothing wrong here, amiright???? 

Well, We're going to find out tomorrow, because we're totally going to finally kill the autumn king and save Zeke's mom and ????? something Xochitl's sibling. 

the nickname Sushi comes from when the pack went to a bar and we met a group of Fae for the first time -- we were all being super paranoid about the Fae and you KNOW you're not supposed to give them your real name, except that Grace (the GM) said one of them was FC as Janelle Monae and I made some sort of involuntary sound and Grace asked "was that you or Xochitl?" and I went "(makes ionno sound)". But in her all her awkward grace, Xochitl introduces herself as 'Sushi'.

And then Ashanti (Janelle Monae) just won't stop rolling 10's when interacting with Xochitl and becomes instantly SMITTEN which now means that Xochitl is dating a really powerful fae lord of the winter court! And she's promised to bring back the head of the false king for her girlfriend! I'm so normal about them. 

AND! ONCE THEY GET BACK FROM AUTUMN! There's something in the sewers that has been encroaching upon Rat territory, and well it's not like Xochitl and Remy are a thing, but also, Xochitl has two hands and I wouldn't be mad if she and Remy flirt a little hehe BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, She's been keeping in touch with Remy (who is also team tattoo) about the goings on, and at the moment the ratkin have it under control, but Xochitl is gonna help investigate and deal with it later. 

Now, generally, the pack is an investigation agency called City's Eyes! through a few different series of events during their investigations, everyone did get a gold lightning-scar tattoo on their body (hence the Team Tattoo) -- this marked them all as chosen by these lost totems, and so one of our big quests was to go and save all these lost totems! Xochitl switched from Clashing Boom Boom to Quetzalcoatl as a result, which is like, her learning some responsibility and really taking ownership of being a leader and not just going about it as pell-mell as she had been. 

She has been one of my favorite characters to play, and even with our 4 year gap, the one that I've played the longest (we've been playing since like 2018). It's so easy to slip back into her! And even tho she no longer has her chaos twin that was Theane, she now has another Ahroun in Tali who is also more Mature(TM) than Theane was and I think that'll help keep Xochitl on the right track! Especially because right now she's distressed because her estranged "I thought you were dead but now you're working for someone who is legitimately insane and you're going mad but occasionally you remember who I am to you and try to warn me" sibling is there and she REALLY wants this king's head to give to Ashanti. She only just met Tali but insofar feels like she can rely on her! And of course, she can always rely on Rory and Theo to help protect the others. 

Now, forgive me, I have a lot of playlists and a lot of pinboards for her, so I'll end with all of those! I've also uploaded her character sheet and her profile for free to patreon (which includes her gifts and weapons). Please know that when I roll to hit, I'm rolling a minimum of 9 dice, and then if I hit, WOAH BUDDY. What a satisfying sound!! 

Pinboards: 

Xochitl's Board 

Xochitl and Ashanti's Board 

"We went to a fancy party and all I got was second place in a tournament and also this fancy pinboard of outfit inspo"

Playlists: 

Xochitl's character playlist 

Xochitl's "Workout" playlist 

Rowan's playlist (Xochitl's sibling) 

City's Eyes playlist 

Xochitl and Ashanti playlist (ver1)

Xochitl and Ashanti playlist (bodyguard AU edition)

I told you: normal. 

Wish us luck storming the castle and killing the false king of autumn!!! 

[oreo-creampie]

Is it fine if I ask u guys race? Not that it matters but uh this is just a gen question but I'm sweating so hard rn

My hubby is so pale that he burns withing 15-20 minutes in the sun and if he plans to stay out any longer I have to put sun block on his ass every other hour and he still might burn

I'm mixed, based off who you asked they will insist I'm black, Hispanic and white, but I go by black and white for the most part. But idk I could have some Hispanic cause my birth dad was mixed and I never met him so who can say!

I also can't ask my mom cause she is fuckin liar. Hell will freeze over before I trust that bitch and talk to her again

I do plan to maybe take a 23 and me (is that what the site is called? I could be wrong) to try and figure out. Or I might just stay in the dark about it and let people guess. What am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? They will never fully know, or surpising some of them will insist that they do in fact know and their family members looking similar to me is their proof

Just because I look similar to your half black and half Mexican cousin doesn't me that I am. But who know they could be right I don't realty know! For all I know my birth dad could be half black and hispanic

[psychologeek]

This is to explain about my fic. I recommend reading it first:

Because I put several Easter eggs, references, and other things you may didn't notice on the first reading.

I try to be careful here, with how/what I write - especially as I'm speaking about religious and culture I'm not a part of. Also, please consider that I don't speak Spanish and that English is a second language for me.

However, I tried to learn and educate myself. I tried looking for mexican writers, and looking more for what PEOPLE said, instead of researchers.

If I wronged anything, please let me know! I'm open to fixing and learning.

Short bits:

1. "His mom's culture" - I HC Katherine Todd as For this fic (and several others) I went with Mexican, because it worked better with my ideas.

2. "Santa Muerte" - Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte (Our Lady of Holy Death). Some celebrate her day on August 15th.

3. "Catrina" - refer to "La Calavera Catrina" ("The Dapper [female] Skull"). Hispanic version of Katherine.

4. "there are more things on heaven and earth"

5. Abchanchu.

6. la Llorona

7. wak-wak

8. Camazotz + "getting his head turned to a basketball"

9. "Say hi to the big guy for me"

10. He met his mother

11. "He wakes up... 6 months and 5 days later"

More detailed:

2. "As Señora de la Noche ("Lady of the Night"), she is often invoked by those exposed to the dangers of working at night, such as taxi drivers, bar owners, police, soldiers, and prostitutes. As such, devotees believe she can protect against assaults, accidents, gun violence, and all types of violent death."...

"Santa Muerte also has a saint's day, which varies from shrine to shrine. The most prominent is November 1... Others celebrate her day on August 15."

Another reason I focused on Santa Muerta was her being very important to the "lower classes". It works well with the way I see this universe and Urban fantasy. It actually got so long, I had to make it into a whole post.

3. "Catrina" is a version of 'Katherine' - that also means pure, unsullied. I HC her as an immigrant, and therefore wasn't probably originally called "Katherine" - but started using it in USA, as she try to 'blend in', or just as a preferred "mistaken name".

4. Shakespeare quote!

4.5. "crime ally attracts all sorts of beings" - I have a separate post about the worldbuilding.

5. Abchanchu - "a legendary Bolivian vampire who shapeshifts into the form of a helpless, elderly traveler. When a passerby offers to help him, Abchanchu victimizes him and drinks his blood" (wiki)

6. la Llorona - ("The Weeping Woman" or "The Wailer") is a Mexican mythical vengeful ghost who is said to roam near bodies of water mourning her children whom she drowned because they had no food.

7. wak-wak - "a vampiric, bird-like creature in Philippine mythology. It is said to snatch humans at night as prey".

Honestly? The moment I read about it, I was like - "yea, it's perfect for the worldbuilding". Why wouldn't people believe Batman is a wakwak? We have here the vampire features (bat), but also birdy, "snatch humans at night", cryptid.

(Another bonus? Remind me of the word "Witwat". If you read my fic "Witwat and the Jin" you understand why I associate it with Batman)

8. Camazotz - In the Late Post-Classic Maya mythology of the Popol Vuh, Camazotz is a bat spirit at the service of the lords of the underworld. Camazotz means "death bat" in the Kʼicheʼ language. In Mesoamerica generally, the bat is often associated with night, death, and sacrifice.

Do I have to explain?

*8. "getting his head turned to a basketball" - there's a story where the Maya hero-twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque go to the underworld. They have to stay for the night in 'the house of bats' and hide themselves inside their weapons. Hunahpu stuck his head out to see if it's day, and one of the bats snatch his head and hang it as a ball for the gods to play with.

(I hope I'm not too wrong here).

So, 1- kids like disgusting things. 2 - think about Kid!Jason, who grew up with this story in his head, being taken away by The Bat to HIS HOUSE. (He was probably terrified af).

9. "Say hi to the big guy for me" - a quote from the Joker. I built a tiny parallel here - it's the last thing he here before he dies (Joker) and before he re-lives (His mom).

10. I sort of use it as an anthropomorphism - I don't go into religion here. I see it as - faith and beliefs and community can turn into something. I see it as one face of Death, but also different. idk. I hope it's understandable.

11. Jason died on April 26/7th. He comes back to life on October 31/November 1st - AKA Día de los Muertos. But, as I understand, Mexican tradition has 2 days - November 1st honors the souls of children (día de los angelitos), and November 2nd remembers the souls of adults.

So - Jason, on the edge of adulthood, comes back to life on the day of the angels, but crawls out of his grave on the day of the adults.

[better explanation:

and with photos: https://danestrom.com/dia-de-los-angelitos-remembering-children-day-dead/ ]

[ol1verdrawsyt]

Hi! So uh, I’m wondering if you have any Dialtown headcannons you would like to share :D? Cause I’m totallyyy normal about Dialtown headcanons lol

I am filled to the brim with dialtown headcanons, but rn I'm having norm brainrot so here's every norm headcanon I can think of rn

- he's basically the father figure to the entire main cast

- He's a pretty good guitar player, and an excellent singer. Though he doesn't like to talk about his talents

- his biggest pet peeve is people taking pity on him

- after chapter 3 and the town was fixed, he swapped out his nasa suit for a nice sweater and some blue jeans

- him and mr.dickens bonded really well together when they first met

- every year on his wife's birthday, he used to drink until he blacked out. After getting a better support system, he spends the day with people he's close to and avoids alcohol completely

- hes trans (ftm)

- though he'd never admit it, he cares about gingi more than anything else. It's his closet friend and his support system

- he occasionally smokes

- idk if I said this before, but he built a new shack for himself near the funfair in the outskirts of town

- he has very mixed feelings on callum. He doesn't idolize him like he used to, but he also can't find it in himself to hate him for everything he's done. He still thinks he was a wonderful leader nonetheless

- he absolutely despises theoroar

- him and Tango sometimes chat when Norm is helping out Mingus. Tango and her unbridled enthusiasm for everything is a bit concerning, but he still finds her fun to talk to

- speaking of Mingus, they fight like cats and dogs. They're more alike than they'd like to admit, so imagine them getting along like trying to shove two magnets with the same pole together

- norm after going through Oliver's scareshack definitely believes it's haunted, but he's too stubborn to admit it

- he loves to make things. Whether it be music or food or small crafts, it's a hobby he picked up when he was exiled to keep himself from going insane

- If Norm ever got a phone somehow, he'd never use it. However, he'd be on level 923 on that one game where you sort the colored objects into the tubes (idk what it's called)

- he gets most of his personality from his mom, along with his long dark colored hair

- he's hispanic

- he's an amazing cook

- he hates loud noises with a burning passion. For Christmas, Mingus gave him noise canceling earbuds. He never takes them out

- every once in a while, God will show up at his shack in the middle of the night and ask for an omelet. The first time this happened, Norm got angry and told him no. Every other time, he was too tired and made him the omelet

I rlly like norm.....

[roppongi-division]

There was only a few more hours until the end of Mireya Quinlan's birthday and said woman was sitting at her vanity, putting on her makeup after finishing putting on her outfit so that she, her darling husband, and precious son could go out for her birthday dinner.

The Japanese-Hispanic woman hummed a little tune before hearing a knock on the door to her and her husband's shared bedroom making her pause her movements. "Come in." She called and in walked her son, Zakari.

"Hey mom, looking good." The younger boy greeted and Mireya beamed at him. "Thank you, hun. Is there something you need?" She asked and that's when Zakari presented her the present he had been holding.

"This came for you, it was sitting on the counter, I guess Dad was gonna give it to you but he had to take a call." He explained and Mireya rolled her eyes in amusement at the thought of her husband.

"Thank you, love. Tell your father, I'll be downstairs in a few minutes and then we can go out." She stood up to kiss him on the cheek, making the younger boy groan in mock disgust before nodding and leaving. Mireya turned to the gift that now sat on her vanity and went to go open it.

The present had two gifts inside, the first one revealing to be...

...A plate of delicious looking cupcakes decorated in red and gold icing.

The next gift revealed to be...

...A shining and beautiful necklace.

At the very bottom of the present laid a card with a message inside, which read...

'Happy Birthday, Mireya!

Goodness, it's been such a long time since we've last met! I'm so happy to see you doing well for yourself, I hope you have a fantastic birthday and let's plan to meet up soon! We have so much to catch up on!

Happy birthday again!

- Miyuki Sayaka'

Happy Birthday Mireya! 💜

Mireya looked at the necklace and smiled as she tied it around her neck, looking at herself in the mirror. It was certainly a good fit. Truthfully, though she could appreciate a good necklace, earrings or any other type of jeweled accessory, she tended to avoid wearing too much. The reason is because, living in Roppongi, which was right next door to Aoyama, she often caught sight of many uppity people wearing too much jewelry, which often made her sick of how they thought money and jewelry was equal to status.

The real reason, however, was because it reminded her too much of her mother, who was just like those people from Aoyama. She wore jewelry just to show off her money and to attract the opposite sex. However, she didn't extend the same courtesy to her daughter, who wasn't even allowed to wear her high school graduation ring.

"Jewelry will just attract the wrong sort of attention from boys. Focus on your studies and future, not being decorative and a distraction."

Shaking her head, refusing to think about that woman, Mireya gave herself another look in the mirror, before nodding. Standing up, she turned off the bedroom light and walked downstairs where Kai and Zakari were waiting for her. The bright and gold piece of jewelry around her neck did not go unnoticed by the two men.

"Wow Mom!" Zakari said, staring at the necklace. "Who'd you beat in a poker match to win that?"

"No one, my dear child," Mireya answered, looking down at it with a smile. "It was a gift from Sayaka from Saitama."

"Sayaka-san?" Kai repeated, looking at the necklace.

"Yes, for my birthday." Mireya answered.

"Damn," Zakari whistled, much to the chagrin of his parents. "We'll have to remember this come her birthday."

"Most definitely we will."

With a nod as a sign of agreement, Kai opened the door for his family as they exited their adobe, prepared to head to the restaurant. Giving one last look at herself in her hand mirror, the matriarch of the family got into the passenger's seat of the family car as the family ventured into the city of Roppongi.

[coochiequeens]

I knew using a surrogate was the only way I'd have a child. I saw what women would go through to carry a baby, and it just wasn't something that I was prepared to do.“ If she wanted to be a parent but had no desire to go through pregnancy and birth why not just adopt ?

I never had the desire to have a baby physically. The idea of using a surrogatestarted before I ever considered the process. I was young and married, and at the time, my husband wanted a baby—but I didn't.

Unfortunately, that relationship didn't work out. But when I met my now husband, I loved him tremendously; it was a different type of love. With him, I wanted to have a kid. So, at 36, I froze my eggs and embryos.

After a few years, we started talking about it seriously. In my heart, I knew using a surrogate was the only way I'd have a child. I saw what women would go through to carry a baby, and it just wasn't something that I was prepared to do.

I have a lot of admiration and respect for women who have children and work, but I never thought that was for me.

I didn't judge myself. I allowed myself to say hey, giving birth is just not for me. I did, on the other hand, know the traditional surrogacy route was for me—but not for health reasons. Instead, my reason, which probably isn't popular, was a life decision that worked best for us.

Choosing a surrogate

We used a surrogacy agency recommended by a friend and found a mother of two who'd given birth before. She was also very honest about why she was interested in being a surrogate.

As a single mom originally from Cuba, she had been in the States for eight years trying to make enough money to feed and provide for her family—and it wasn't easy. I knew the money meant a lot, but also, I'm originally from Columbia, and we're both Hispanic. I felt a connection and kinship with her.

Plus, I felt she would do a good job.

The cost of surrogacy

Looking back, we didn't expect or think about the cost upfront. The surrogacy costs can be a lot for many families. Ours ended up around $120,000 $140,000 USD.

Our surrogate worked the night shift at the hospital, so we paid her salary for the final three months of pregnancy. We wanted to make sure those long nights didn't take as much of a physical or emotional toll on her. We also paid for her food to ensure a great diet. That alone became really expensive over the nine months.

Our doctors said age wouldn't be an issue, so we didn't factor it into the final cost. When we met her, she was 39; by the time she had our baby, she was 41. Some medical issues arose during labor and delivery, leading to more costs than we expected. We learned there are a lot of possible health risks involved with age that can increase expenses before and after birth.

The emotional impact of hiring a surrogate

The hardest part is having faith that everything will work out since you're trusting a person you've barely met to carry your child. As much as you try to get to know and build a connection with them, you may still live in different states and come from diverse backgrounds. It's tough to establish that deep level of connection.

Being comfortable with using a surrogate and taking that chance helps ease the experience and anxiety. You'll have some negative thoughts about not completely controlling the situation—I did. But I leaned on my faith and I prayed everything would go well. I wholeheartedly prayed our baby would be healthy.

One thing that helped was speaking to our surrogate at least once a week. We also virtually attended her doctor's appointments via Zoom. Because we lived in different states, being a part of the journey felt nice.

The most comforting part was that our surrogate was very responsible and caring. She knew what to do already since she had two kids—pregnancy made sense to her. Knowing this helped us build trust and confidence in the process.

We had a really good relationship with her; I'm grateful for that.

What I wish I had known before

We knew what she did but didn't realize how challenging the job would be on her body toward the end of the pregnancy. If you're going to go the surrogate route, I recommend digging deep into what the surrogate does for work and making sure it's manageable. The additional costs also add up, putting more pressure on your relationship.

It also might've been easier (and perhaps less costly) if the surrogate's dietary choices aligned with ours.

Lastly, you want to be comfortable with their age. There will most likely be fewer health risks during and after the pregnancy for a younger surrogate. To be a surrogate, you need to have already had children. With our surrogate being older, it meant she was responsible, but carrying the baby and being pregnant was a little more difficult on her body.

Those are concerns in both tangible and emotional ways.

Seeing our baby for the first time

People always say it, but our baby was the best gift ever. It's hard to understand what that means until you have your own little bundle. As a person who wants to impact the world, I quickly realized that creating a baby that will benefit society is one of the most significant impacts you can have and one of the best gifts you can give. It was a real mind shift.

Sharing that utopian level of love with my son, Rio, is like seeing 3-D your whole life, and suddenly you see 4-D. It's the epitome of what life is and re-establishes your belief in the potential and pure magic of everything.

Ultimately, having Rio and our surrogacy journey was one of the most profound and humbling, exhilarating love-feeling experiences I have ever (and will ever) have. Our family is now complete, and we're forever grateful to the woman who so generously lent us her womb.

If it was about money she could adopt a child for $1,000 to $50,000

[squid-ink-symphony]

Lime, Clementine, Pomelo, Lemon, and Yuzu. It was a lot of work to find citrus names i liked for all of them but it has officially been done. Lemon is still a work in progress but I like how things are turning out!

I used This Picrew to make these! More about them under the cut.

Name: Lime

Age: 21

Pronouns: They/Them and She/her

LGBTQ+?: Nonbinary or maybe a demigirl? They don't really have it all figured out. Asexual and romantically attracted to women.

Ethnicity: Asian

Weapon: Krak on roller

Personality: Very reserved and is generally worried about a lot of things but tries not to let it show. Doesn't want anyone to get hurt so puts themselves in harms way instead.

Family: Both parents deceased, has one older sibling.

Name: Clementine

Age: 23

Pronouns: Anything really. Occasionally has a preference

LGBTQ+?: Genderfluid and likes dudes.

Ethnicity: White

Weapon: Splat Dualies

Personality: Very smart and jokes around a lot. Burnt out gifted kid syndrome. Is working on being more proud of herself

Significance: Agent 4

Family: Both parents are alive but her relationship with them is strained. They are worried about her but she feels like she isn't good enough and lies to them about her life. Only child, but sees Marie as an older sister.

Name: Pomelo

Age: 21-22? Doesn't fully remember

Pronouns: She/He

LGBTQ+?: Bisexual and bigender.

Ethnicity: Black

Weapon: E liter

Personality: Big dreamer, usually in a good mood. Cries easily and cries when mad. Has a big heart and too many emotions. Likes to help others. Probably the most competent agent but people underestimate her a lot.

Significance: Agent 8!

Family: Doesn't remember....

Name: Lemon

Age: 19.

Pronouns: She/He/They

LGBTQ+?: Pangender. Woman liker

Ethnicity: Mixed black and asian

Weapon: Splatana stamper

Personality: Smug. Acts confident but fails spectacularly. Doesn't like puns. A little bit stupid, just like Yuzu.

Significance: The third agent 3. 3 agent 3s. how fitting

Family: Distantly related to Shiver on his moms side. Has met Shiver on occasion and they are like distant cousins. Mom has passed away very recently but Dad is still alive and they are very close. One younger brother and one younger sister.

Name: Yuzu

Age: At least 18? Doesn't keep track of age well

Pronouns: It/They/She and any neos you think fit them. Also he/him is fine too.

LGBTQ+?: Doesn't label themselves. Doesn't experience attraction. Is sort of neutral on their gender. Doesn't care how you refer to them.

Ethnicity: Hispanic

Weapon: Tri Stringer. Also uses splatana wiper sometimes

Personality: Determined and stubborn. Usually very happy but gets annoyed easily. Shares a brain cell with Lemon.

Significance: Agent 3 of the nss. Works to save the world!

Family: A goldie is her adopted mother. Honey(Little Buddy) is their adopted younger brother.

Name: Honey

Age: equivalent to a 10-12 year old person.

Pronouns: He/Him, They/Them, It/Its

LGBTQ+: Doesn't know yet

Ethnicity: Salmonid...? A goldie small fry i guess?

Weapon: Teef. And sometimes small objects they get their hands on.

Personality: very determined. Very protective of his family. easily excited and full of energy.

Significance: Is technically also new agent 3? Helps Yuzu out with saving the world and navigating Alterna

Family: A goldie who is his mom and Yuzu who is its adopted sibling.

[inkykeiji]

HII CLARI<333

i was wondering as a someone who doesnt have the entire cutesy pink pleated skirt and white thigh highs aesthetic and is quite the opposite actually, would touya nii see the reader differently when they first met if she dresssed and just presented more physically like him aesthetic wise? like for example, i have both sides of my nose, my septum, my bridge and i have a vertical laberet piercing and i have around 40 tattoos, and style have this like 90s hippie mom gone alt, a mix of like @/kiefcrumbs and @/starshynee on tt. would he think its so cool bc of how similar alt reader is to him? would it maybe make him more interested to get in her pants?

also curious about the same question but like culturally, im black and hispanic and am giggling thinking about touya nii trying some different food than what hes used to and loving it as and him laughing at reader having silly habits and superstitions because of her culture hehe

OKIHOPEYOURBRAINISDOINGWELLLOVEYOUBYEEEE<333333333

hi hi!! <3

he would treat her differently IF her personality differed from his original reader’s, only because it would be necessary for him to treat her differently and employ different methods of manipulation etc to catch her, trap her, shatter her, put her back together his way, and make her his forever. i’ve said this before but what initially draws touya to his reader is 1. the step-sibling dynamic and 2. her personality, not necessarily her visual aesthetic—it’s her extreme need for external validation and to be told that she’s good. with that being said, he’d still be interested either way, of course. touya-nii isn’t picky in the slightest, and he enjoys trapping all types of prey and the unique challenges each will present. he’d probably ask you so many questions about your tattoos and be genuinely interested in your reasonings for them and their backstories, if they have any! since you both have tattoos and piercings, that provides a similar interest, a perfect jumping off point, and that’s exactly what he’d use to initially hook you. you’d possibly prove more of a challenge than his reader, but he’d have a lot of fun with that tbh. it would be even more rewarding when he finally breaks you down!

i purely write my readers as cutesy baby bratty lil things because that’s what i am and that’s what comforts me most + what i enjoy writing the most! at the end of the day, i write for me, first and foremost. as i’ve said before, my work is extremely self-indulgent (that’s half the fun!) and also pulls from my own life, so c: i purposefully leave *most* descriptions of her clothes beyond ‘skirt/dress’ vague, so you’re always more than welcome to picture her in more alt-type dresses if you’d like to! that would be a really interesting dichotomy hehe <3 but alt girls can be just as cute/cutesy as girls who dress in pink etc!!!!! having a certain visual aesthetic isn’t a prerequisite for being cute!!!

AH OKAY see i’m italian and i daydream about the same thing!!!!!! not with touya-nii but with dabi in general! just trying authentic italian foods made by my mom or my nonna, making ravioli + sauce from scratch with him, and introducing him to all of my family’s traditions etc <3 it’s a very cute thing to think about!

i hope your week is off to a good start! <3 love u lots!!!

[cancerian]

Sorry to OP for the political take, but I will proceed nonetheless.

The statement would make sense if Africans or non- western nations were the sole victim to the imperial/colonial west. The reality is harsh. The reality is that for every person that carries this view, there is another person willing to hold the western world to a high pedestal and relinquish them of their evil (which might seem like what I am doing, but let’s try to keep up and be honest for a few minutes). As nation states (political science term) we must learn to take accountability and learn from how our short coming benefit the “evil oppressor” west. *also when I refer to the west I am referring to the government or political powers.*

Thomas Sankara, Lumumba, and many other unknown leaders would not have met the fate they did had it not been for a selfish fellow country man. Yes, the west infiltrated their nations, but infiltration only works if there is a crack in the group. Belgium, France, and the CIA killed lumumba, but it was made possible by Morocco’s military (read the killing of lumumba) and the black leaders in Congo. In an effort to gain power, they chose to not only kill their fellow countryman (who was seeking peace for the nation), but also help plunge the country into a state of destitution it has never moved away from (argue with your mom, Congo is and will always be the biggest and most ignored humanitarian crisis). The same goes for Sankara, peoples need for power allows them to sacrifice the people of whom they should be advocating for. So, yes, let’s blame the western world for its wrongs, but let’s not act like we don’t have our own short coming that aide in creating the strong western influence in non- western nations.

Now to the point of the post, terrorism and immigration are not threats created and imposed by the western world. Xenophobia transcends borders, South Africa and its xenophobia against other *specifically black* immigrants; if you want to blame someone for your problems you have a large white and Asian populations taking away your resources over there in South Africa. Zambia, has a long history of violence and xenophobia against black immigrants. The list goes on for many other nations. These are not creations of the western world per se, these are a result of a lack of education, accountability, and simply the reality of living in a capitalist society. Placing blame on the west does not take away the fact that nationalism and capitalism breeds hate even in African, Asian, Latino (Hispanic, South American), and many other nations. it's not a western problem, it is a worldly problem. Also how do you argue terrorism? When Nigeria and Kenya have been attacked by terrorist groups, that claim to fight against western values. exactly what western values? women being given partial freedoms (partial because western women are not as free as they are made to look), freedom to an education and therefor a personal income. what freedoms are they fighting exactly? Two things can be true at once, yes the west is an evil super power that creates problems, but so is religious extremism (christianity, islam, Judaism, hinduism, etc.,) that breeds terrorism. These are not fears created or imposed by the west, these are fears of any nation having to interact with other nations. In the name of hating the western world, we end up praising our new oppressors and imperialist (China, Russia, etc.,). Two wrongs don’t make a right.

[pierottluni]

It was summer,

The sun was beating down as it always was,

The cicadas 'ree-ree-ree'ing unseen somewhere in the palm trees,

Two girls, Holly and Penny, were sitting together and trying to conjure up something to do for the day.

It was so hot that they desperately needed to cool down,

"Do you have any Otter Pops in the fridge?" Penny asked,

Holly shook her head, "No, we had the last ones yesterday."

"Oh." Penny drooped in disappointment.

"Do you got any ice cream left?" Holly asked,

Penny shook her head,

The two girls sighed dejectedly into the heat.

"What about the ice cream truck?" Penny piped up,

"With what money?" Holly countered,

Penny's Mother was down for a nap after working the night shift and Holly's parents were both at work so they couldn't ask for money, and they weren't about to steal it.

A silence descended heavy for a moment,

somehow it made the waves of the heat from the sun heavier like a loud sound and the buzz of the cicadas feeling suffocating.

Penny sat up suddenly from the grass,

A eureka light bulb of a moment going off over her head, "I know! Let's have a yard sale!"

Holly sat up slowly with her brow knitting together, "A yard sale?"

"Yeah! We could take all the old toys we don't want to play with anymore and sell 'em to the other kids in the neighborhood!" Penny was already getting up from the ground, sold on the idea.

Holly was up and after her friend,

Stumbling slightly on her untied shoe, "Aren't yard sales usually planned or something?"

"Maybe but we don't have another way to get the money? Plus kids put up random lemonade stands all the time. But we don't have lemons," Penny forged on, her eyes on the goal,

Holly knew the excited look in Penny's eye well enough to know that there'd be no stopping her,

But still she felt apprehensive," I don't know about this, Penny. Won't our parents get mad?"

"Nah! We're doing them a favor! They take all of our old toys and donate them after Christmas anyways. We're just doing it early!" Penny pushed into Holly's apartment and straight into the kitchen; she knew the place like that back of her hand since she spent most of her time there when her Mom was at work. She pulled two trash bags from the roll under the sink and shoving one into Holly's arms, "Take that and shove it full of all the toys you don't want anymore and I'll go over to my place and do the same. We'll meet out front in fifteen."

Holly nodded reluctantly but Penny was off before she could voice another complaint.

As promised, 15 minutes later or about as fifteen minutes as two seven year olds could be, the two girls met back out front. Holly's bag was pretty full of toys, stuffed animals, and workbooks; Penny's bag wasn't nearly as full but she didn't have the same luxury as Holly.

Penny carried a blanket with her under her arm as she dragged the trash bag behind her, "Here help me with this." Holly took an offered end of the blanket while Penny had the other and the laid it out flat before dumping the contents of their bags onto it.

They each took a corner, Penny looking up and down the sideway with excited expectation and Holly started to pick nervously at the grass, she still wasn't sure about this. Penny turned to look at Holly, her brow furrowing with worry, "Hey, this'll be great! Just think of all the ice cream we'll get!"

"Right," Holly mumbled, tearing little blades of grass into pieces.

The minutes ticked by, not a single person and crossed the girls' path, and the sun was starting to feel blistering again. Holly has collected a little pile of nervous grass shreds by the time Penny feel onto her back, groaning to the sky, "This is boring!"

"What are you guys doing?" Came the heavenly voice of another person and Penny shot upright to look at the newcomer. It was the Hispanic boy who lived in the apartment a complex over, likely on his way home from the bus stop after returning from the illustrious middle school.

"We're selling a bunch of our old toys so that we can get ice cream when the truck comes, it was Penny's idea," Holly spoke up since she got along better with the neighborhood boys.

He took a look at their wares, "Sweet, you're really just selling all this?"

"Yep!" Penny grinned with an awkward laugh.

"How much?" He asked skeptically; they were seven how could they be any good with money.

They girls exchanged a look, "Uh..."

Penny grinned again, "A dollar for little things and two for anything big!"

The boy's eyes blew open, some of the things on that blanket were worth way more than two bucks. He quickly composed himself, "Sick, let me go get my brothers and we'll be right back."

As he rushed off, his backpack bouncing and jingling madly on his shoulders, Penny turned to Holly with a genuine grin, "Did you hear that!? We're gunna get some money!"

Several minutes later, a gaggle of boys rushed around the corner with cash wadded in their hands. Money and toys started to exchange hands rapidly, the boys rushing off to take them back home before the girls changed their minds and coming back with more cash. At some point, all that was left were Holly's workbooks.

One of the younger boys eyed them with an interest in his eye, and Penny spoke up, "Those are mint condition, never been used. Right Holly?" She turned to her friend, Holly nodding.

"I don't know, homework is kinda boring. Why would I want books to do more homework in?" The younger boy asked skeptically, fiddling with the coins left in his hand.

"Tell you what! We'll give you the four of them for a quarter each since you guys have bought everything else!" Penny offered.

"Yeah, and you were complaining the other day that you're not good with math. These books with help," Holly added at seeing the dawning of interest in the boy's eyes.

"I'll take 'em!" The boy grinned, her eyes glued to the workbooks in front of him, and dropping the corners into Penny's outstretched hand.

"Thanks guys! Come again!" Penny called after them as they boys rushed away with the last of their loot.

"Come again? Aren't yard sales a one time thing?"

Penny shrugged, "I don't know, it just felt like the thing to say. Like on TV or at the store." Then she held up all the balled up money they had collected, "Look how much money we got!"

"Now we gotta count it," Holly said, making Penny's face sour immediately as they stared at the pile of imposing wads of cash and coins between them.

"How are can it be?" Penny tried to stay optimistic.

Once again, as if in divine timing, the sound of Holly's Dad came from behind them, "What do we have here?"

The girls jumped to their feet with little kid ease and stood shoulder to shoulder to block the pile of money, "I... We..." Holly stuttered but unfortunately her Dad had seen the money.

"Where'd you get all that cash?"

"We.. Um.." Holly's brain was stalling out.

"It was my idea!" Penny blurted, just as nervous, and Holly quickly nodded.

"And what exactly was this idea?"

"What's going on?" Holly's Mom showed with a paperbag of groceries in her arms, only making the tension worse.

"The girls a have a bunch of money and however they got it, it was Penny's idea." Holly's Dad filled her in.

"Oh?" Her Mom turned her scathing attention on the girls.

Holly hung her head with shame, making Penny turn her nose up in protective pride as she balled her little fists, "We sold all our old toys to the neighborhood kids. We wanted to get some ice cream cause it was hot."

Holly's parents were struck dumb for a moment, just staring at the girls with Penny staring defiantly back. Holly's Dad folded first, a smirk tilting his lips and he shook his head; Holly's Dad adored Penny more than he did Holly and he couldn't help but appreciate the clever idea.

Holly's Mom didn't think it was as cute, "What do you mean you sold your toys? Where's your Mom?" Penny shrunk at the mentioned of her own mother.

"She's asleep," Penny whispered but quickly added before as she watched the two adults share a concerning look, "It was only toys we don't use anymore!"

"Yeah!" Holly piped up in defense of her friend.

"That's not the poi-" Holly's Mom started but was cut off by her Dad as he stepped forward to kneel down and collect the money; he had been moved by his usually shy daughter's attempt to stand up for herself and her friend.

"Ah, come on, Amee. We were going to take all that stuff to the thrift shop at some point anyway." He held up and bundles of cash in his hands, showing off the ingenuity of the children.

Holly's Mother sighed begrudgingly, "Fine, but you never do something like this again. Let's go count it before the ice cream truck gets here." Penny and Holly cheered and raced for Holly's apartment with Holly's parents in tow.

They had just finished counting the money when the tune of "Turkey in the Straw" could be heard down the street.

The girls got two of everything on the menu.

(Based on a true story.)