#could go ON and ON and ON about filipino culture and history as a WHOLE | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

gojo-kisser-9000 · 9 months ago

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I’m a big fan of HxH too which Gege draws inspiration from heavily. The Chimera Ant Arc is considered one of the greatest pieces of literature by fans. The kicker is…as it was coming out in a weekly format, everyone hated it. Only after it was finished and read uninterrupted did people really start loving it. I almost wonder if that’ll happen with the Sukuna fight too.

Media Literacy curse in JJK fans is really funny to me regardless. Gojo’s racism didn’t come out of nowhere. He was already kind of sus to Miguel in JJK0. This only confirmed the allegations people picked up on then. One thing I love about Gege’s writing is future information permanently changing how you view older scenes. This is one of those times. It makes me love Gojo more tbh. (I have a soft spot for racists who try to do better.)

People are too hard on Megumi for sure (even if I find the memes kind of funny). Not a lot of people realized that he spent his 16th birthday trapped inside Sukuna all by himself. Which probably made the Tsumiki death feel even worse. (I have no doubt she forced him to celebrate it.) Then he kills his adopted father and has 0 family left and is somehow supposed to tough it out. He’s just a little boy!

Yuji has always been built bigger too. His official weight is super heavy for his height. Gege explicitly stated that was done on purpose. Smh I wish people could read.

It’s funny you say that. Visiting Hawai’i radicalized me significantly. I spent a good deal of my time picking up trash and seething at the golf courses and other severe ecological damage brought on by colonization. In an ideal world [redacted]. Anyways I think you should rant about it too.

OOOOO I WILL RANT, so sorry about this in advance btw. After that I’ll get back to JJK

So I am Hawaiian-Filipino, my father is white however I was raised by my mother who held the ideals she grew up with.

Now the problem with tourism is not only does it actively mess up the environment but it also destroys the economy in Hawai’i, which I don’t need to go over I don’t think.

BUT THE WHOLE THING, IS THAT IT IS STOLEN LAND. And Native Hawaiians are STILL being kicked out of their homes, STILL struggling with everything they lost in Lahaina, STILL struggling with the water being poisoned. And yet people STILL have the audacity to take a “cute little vacation to perfect Hawai’i”.

I can NEVER go to the islands, the islands my family are from mind you, BECAUSE TOURISM FUCKED THEM UP. The amount of disrespect tourists have for the islands is insane. I can’t speak on what tourism is really like as I have never been to Hawai’i except for when I was an infant. But I do see what Native Hawaiians say, I see the damage caused by tourists when I see content by the Hawaiians.

And it’s frustrating, so very frustrating. How can people be SO disrespectful to land that they not only visit, but actively keep colonized.

I always encourage everyone to do their own research on Hawai’i and Hawaiian culture! Especially before America comes in and colonizes them. It’s hard to find accurate sources, and it’s been a while since I’ve done my own research so I don’t have any available websites on their history.

Okay I’m stopping while im ahead. Thanks for letting me get that out!

Back to JJK

You’re so right about EVERYTHING ‼️‼️

Honestly, the weekly format is only “annoying” because they wait, expect the story to drastically change, and then get more story the next week. And it HAS to be something different or it’s Bad Writing (so incredibly NOT happy with people saying that Gege’s writing is bad, there are some iffy moments but it’s overall AMAZING)

Tbh I think the internet has ruined people’s media literacy, so I encourage everyone to write something, but you can’t outright state what you’re trying to say in your story. Let your friends guess what your story conveys, it’s a great way to help boost media literacy (it’s like if ELA class was cool)

And I think we’ve covered everything about Megumi and Yuji.

Once again thank you for talking with me, especially about things I’m passionate about! It means a lot :))

#jjk spoilers #jjk 255 spoilers #jjk 255 #//

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introvertbard · 1 year ago

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I did not realize the specifics of the Choctaw-to-Irish aid during this time, and as a Filipino American with the Bataan Death March in the homeland's history, it fucking chills me that Brits would tell starving and exhausted CIVILIANS to walk 12 miles for a SECOND TRY at getting food.

Children, I know a lot about preindustrial traveling due to excessive research for my many, many projects. I also know that many Americans in our car-dependent culture don’t have a lot of chances to WALK, unless it’s a hiking trail for fun. 12 miles doesn't seem long if you're in a car that does the traveling in a couple of hours, but in the 1850s, I'd consider the precursors to "cars" as novelty-toys for the rich; modern-type cars that REGULAR folks can afford and HAVE A REASON TO BUY won't be around for another few decades.

A good rule of thumb is that a mature adult or an older teen (say 15 years old), in fair health and in good weather, can walk two or three miles an hour, or twenty miles a day (let’s say about 8-10 hours). Nineteen kilometers or twelve miles would be half a day’s REALLY GOOD TRAVEL on foot. Let's ignore marathons of 25 miles / 40km, because that assumes you're 1) healthy, 2) EATING WELL, and 3) training several months beforehand to jog/run at a steady clip.

Preteens and elders could make 20 miles a day, but this is a very big "PROBABLY" as they're too young/old to bounce back easily the NEXT DAY; with most children being under 5 feet tall and most elders either having health issues or just not having their former stamina, even a small adult will outpace them on walking speed. They will also need a lot more morale-boosts and more breaks, because they're just not emotionally suited for "a whole fucking day of walking (anymore, in an elder's case)."

If a five-year-old starts pitching a fit because THEY'RE TIRED AND THEY DON’T WANT TO WALLLLLLLLK ANYMORE, you’ll have to pick your poison and either wait there, or carry them until they stop crying (and hence be loaded down by 40-60lbs of an average child).

These people who are fucking starving? Will not go a neat and tidy three miles per hour, because their bodies are already weak and they will need LONG breaks to recover. If you have children or elders with you--and in the context of the Irish potato blight where these already-slower people are ALSO starving--trying to make twelve miles in half a day is a fucking joke.

Most people put the bare-minimum walking distance of either "a loaded wagon's travel" or "an average loaded army march" at about 8 miles a day, so for very sick people, that’s probably their limit.

One mile an hour for ONE DAY. Yes, that falls short of the 12 mile distance that the townsfolk were told to go. By HALF.

And unless they were incredibly sheltered and never traveled long-distance in their whole lives, the British KNEW these rules of thumb. They knew the averages, the low ends, and the “exceptional outliers,” and how starving civilians would NOT be average of any sort.

The weather? Makes things exponentially worse. In the worst storms/blizzards, the roads are either a mud-pit or buried under feet of snow. You risk getting turned around and dying of exposure just a few miles away from where you started, so the safest option was to just stay in any sheltered place you could, until the storm/snow let up. Could be a few hours, could be a few DAYS.

But starving people are also desperate, and if you're down to "skin and bones" level of hungry, you're often not in your right mind, or you may be full-on hallucinating from hunger. "Twelve miles by morning isn't hard," people would tell themselves. "I've gone twenty miles a day before (when I was healthy and well-fed). Half a day, that's not bad."

I cannot imagine the utter hatred people would feel to see crowds of families begging for help and they not only NOT FUCKING DO IT, but they actively SEND THEM TO A FASTER DEATH.

The Choctaw-Irish Brotherhood(via)

#irish history #choctaw #native history

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sessayyys-corner · 2 years ago

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A PALACE OF GALLERIES

One could go inside such a colossal schloss with a blank artistic slate, foolish artistic hopes, an undying passion for art, and a dream.

This “palace”, which settled on a small, Southeast Asian island, had a library and a government office as its next-door neighbors. locals, students, and maybe even a handful of tourists, flock to this place to learn, and relive the history and culture of the nation and the continent it lies on.

Crowds consisting of those I mentioned constantly flock this schloss as time goes by, maybe to see the works of renowned artists, local and international. The latter was one quite an unexpected attraction, as similar places have only displayed the works of artists who’ve come from the motherland.

The locals come to the schloss to appreciate the colorful and eventful history of the island, to praise and uplift the nation, with that sense of nationalism burning in their whole being, body and soul.

The students, especially the little ones, come here for school trips, the locals’ sense of nationalism being instilled and passed on to them through art history, education, and its appreciation.

Tourists, like me, enter the colossal schloss with an eagerness to learn about the island’s heritage, instilling the value of cultural tolerance and relativism through art.

I, a tired humanista with an undying love for the arts, had come here to escape the stress of academia and reconnect with my first passion, from which I have been estranged from for a while.

They say first impressions last, and this schloss had done that for us, the crowd that day. Its European architecture with a fusion of native Southeast Asian elements of housing was met by astonishment as seen in the eyes of the crowd that continuously wandered around the place.

A further look inside, variations of traditional and contemporary art made a spectacle of themselves wherever people went. It even had a gallery paying homage to Chua Mia Tee, a well-known artist who witnessed and captured every moment of the nation’s growth through his paintings. The works of National Artists such as Botong Francisco, Hernando Ocampo, and Fernando Amorsolo could just surprise any Filipino who steps foot into the Southeast Asian art exhibit. The paintings from neighboring SEA countries that stand beside their paintings add to the vibrancy of the museum’s aura despite its raging silence. Sculptures strike a pose from one place to another, flexing their figures and beauty.

And just for a while, it made one feel at home.

This colossal schloss, decorated with ‘obras’, was a place of refuge and strength for a person who had craved for the artistic touch, after having it taken away by academic and corporate demands during the pandemic. The striking and beautiful variety of colors as seen and the coexistence of Cubist, realist, and contemporary art styles were an eye reopener and a way home to a passion for art.

In just a matter of time, the old self had come back. The old, childhood self that also had a blank artistic state, foolish artistic hopes, and a dream.

#creative nonfiction #writing #writeblr #setting #genre #nonfiction #creative writing #entry #museum #dark academia

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sokkabaddiebender2021 · 4 years ago

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An ATLA Rant: Imperialism & Nuance

Just to start off, this is coming from a girl who’s grandmother was Filipino. No, I have not personally experienced imperialism in my lifetime, but it is a subject that I think is very serious and important to me because of my heritage.

That said, I have absolutely zero idea how you could watch avatar: the part airbender and come out of it saying that it is pro imperialist. Absolutely zero.

I agree because this is a pan Asian inspired show that was written was created by two white men (with the help and advisement of several poc as well but that is a topic for another time), people, especially people of color, have every right to be critical of it. But this argument that the show is somehow pro imperialist just doesn’t make sense to me.

The fire nation is in the wrong. The show makes that VERY clear. Their actions towards other nations is called out by several characters (Zuko, Roku, etc). Their destruction of other cultures (southern water tribe, air nomads, attempted earth kingdom) are seen as diporable and downright inhuman. Not only that, but we see the devastation this cultural genocide brings upon main characters like Katara and especially Aang and how they must heal from it.

Moving on, the show absolutely was not teaching people to stand docile and peaceful against their oppressors. Katara and Aang literally destroy a whole fire nation factory!! When the fire nation was attacking the northern air temple, they were kicking their asses off the cliff!! They planned a whole invasion to attack the fire nation capital to end the war!! (Let’s not forget Katara incititing a riot against the fire nation in the imprisonment episode with the earth benders). I could on and on about all the times the gaang meets the fire nation with violence and encourages others to fight back against them, but that would be going wayyy too in depth.

I think where people get far too simplistic here is that they think that atla is telling people to not use violence against their oppressors because the show is critical of people like Jet and Hama. First of all, the characters are given a lot of nuance in the show. Both are introduced with tragic backstories of the horrors that the fire nation inflicted upon them (I still get chills with the scene when Hama explains her story).

Despite this, both characters have every chance to use their abilities to fight back against the fire nation in a way that helps. You know, like fighting against the army and not innocent people who have no idea that the fire nation is actually in the wrong. The narrative is not that violence is bad! Peace is the only way! I think it’s that you can’t let your veagance lead you away from fighting the right people. That’s the issue: neither Jet and Hama were fighting the right people.

And we first see both characters fighting soldiers in their first scenes. Hama in the flashback when she’s defending her home (and rightfully uses violence to do so) and Jet when he helps the gaang take down some fire nation soldiers in the forest. This is just violence directed at the right people. But instead, both attempt to murder and in Hama’s case, torture people who take no part in the atrocities the fire nation has committed. Are they ignorant? Well of course they are because as we very obviously see, they’ve been fed propaganda their entire life while also living under an authoritarian regime, something that’ll give you no will to think other than the things that are spoon fed to you.

So let me ask you this, was it right for Jet to try and murder an entire village of innocent people, literal children included? Was it right for Hama to imprison and torture lord knows how many innocent citizens just because they belong to an nation that they have no actual knowledge of its evil? I’m hoping your answer is no, and the show would also say no as well.

When both Katara and Aaag choose not to kill, the narrative is not saying that they shouldn’t kill these men. The narrative allows both characters to make their own choice in what ways they wish to do, and it has nothing to do with what is actually right or wrong, because ultimately it is up to what each character wishes to do. Katara sees Yon Ra as the pathetic old man that he is, so she sees no purpose or healing for herself in taking his life. This is a personal choice made for herself, and that is all that matters.

The same goes for Aang. This poor boy is desperate to uphold the beliefs of his people, so he finds another way. A way that still upholds his beliefs while still ending the tyranny of Firelord Ozai. It is ridiculous to say that this is a passive take to imperialism, because yes he doesn’t literally murder someone but he still takes the dude out. And honestly, Ozai’s fate is worse then death (especially considering who Ozai is). Once again, the narrative is not saying be passive to your oppressors and don’t use violence. Its saying that because Aang is living in a world where his beliefs have been forcefully removed and disrespected, he has every right to continue to defend them in the ways he sees fit.

While some may see the narrative as more sympathetic to Iroh and Zuko, I think it’s just because they ARE some of the main characters of the show, as compared to those like Jet and Hama. We see much more of their story just as we see much more of the gaang’s story. Not only that, but their narrative purpose is far different from these two other characters. Iroh and Zuko are meant to show that despite them being from the fire nation, they are not inherently evil people. Jet and Hama are meant to show that even while they are against the antagonistic force of the show, they still can commit evil. Not only are Iroh and Zuko’s actions never justified, but they both must go on a journey to unlearn the hateful propaganda instilled into them, and remedy their ignorance. The narrative never says that neither Jet and Hama cannot also redeem themselves, but Hama feels no remorse for her actions, and Jet does attempt to redeem himself, but ultimately falls back into old habits (I believe he could’ve redeemed himself, but I’ll agree the writers were a bit sloppy in his end, like I’m not sure why they had to kill him other than to make him a tragic character but whatever).

To finally wrap up this essay, ATLA is not a black and white show. The show is not pro imperialist for condemning the violent actions of two characters who happen to be victims of imperialism. The show is not pro imperialist for allowing two children to decide for themselves whether or not they want to end the lives of someone. The show is not pro imperialist for not making the antagonist of the show a one note and one dimensional bad guy.

I’ll end this with the speech that Zuko makes to Ozai when he prepares to leave on Day of Black Sun:

No, I've learned everything! And I've had to learn it on my own! Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the War was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it! We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #atla essay #zuko #katara #aang #iroh #jet #Hama #anti imperialism #I promise you if the show leaned towards supporting imperialism I would not love it as I do #the southern raiders #sozins comet #day of black sun

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bluefirewrites · 4 years ago

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i gotta Juke AU story

————

this is inspired by this one filipino movie i watched “para sa hopeless romantic” but julie and luke go to the same uni and julie writes a random line of lyrics on a schools desk and luke writes the next lines when he’s in his class. the next day julie sees someone finished her lyrics and they end up having a finished song throughout the week. they obviously end up falling in love with each other’s words but one day the desks in that classroom were thrown out so julie and luke try and find the desk and run into each other only for Luke to find out it’s Julie, his crush since the beginning of school, and Julie finds out it’s Luke, they boy who she’s been eyeing ever since she’s first seen him. honestly this is all over the place. this is just another random college au. tehe

I DID NOT KNOW THIS WAS FROM A FILIPINO MOVIE!

I have much more pride in my culture now you have no idea haha! But no really, Filipino movies can be the cheesiest, silliest, most cliche things I’ve ever seen. And I mean that endearingly.

So it makes total sense that this super cute trope that I see popping up in different fandoms came from a Filipino movie.

I think I’ve seen an iteration of this on AO3 and it was super cute! (But I think it was more like leaving a piece of paper on a desk).

But yes, yes , YES.

Juke is the perfect ship for this.

Hmm... I think it would be an interesting take, because my mind went to Luke first, if it was Julie who would start it- yes I agree with you.

It is canon that Luke helped Julie finish the song that she had been working on with her mom (’Stand Tall’), so might as well run with it.

Maybe during her quiet year, where she didn’t sing or play piano, she often found herself doodling a lot. She kinda threw herself into drawing. It was her creative outlet that brought her comfort during these rough times.

She’d have trouble paying attention in class sometimes, and so she would end up doodling.

Now, I used to have a history class that frowned upon doodling in notebooks. The notebooks would be graded, and if there is a non-history, non-relevant doodle in the margins or anything- you get points docked off.

So Julie, like me, tried remedying this by doodling on post it notes to avoid getting in trouble.

But one day, Julie forgets or runs out of post it notes, and she’s only got her history notebook and textbook with her. And since she has no qualms marking up her jeans and shoes, she thought she’d be discrete and doodle on the desks.

Not like anyone would have a problem with that anyway. These desks are old af and scratched up and had doodles on them already.

She would start drawing her usual stuff- funky creatures, bubble letter-ed profanities, etc.

But then she starts thinking about her mom, she starts doodling dahlias and even a rose in one corner. Memories start flooding back and she starts absentmindedly writing down a lyric of a song they never finished, just bits of pieces figured out:

‘Don’t blink...no, I don’t want to miss it’

She didn’t think to erase it. Just grabbed her stuff and went to her next class.

The following day however, she pulls out her post-notes (after getting more) and is about to doodle when she sees a new scribble on the corner of the desk where she wrote her lyrics.

Squinting, she realizes those are words (geez, the penmanship sucks). But she was able to make it out:

‘One thing, and it's back to the beginning’

It’s written right under her line. And she reads them together-

Wow. This sounds... pretty good.

She quickly jots this mysterious new addition to the song in her post-notes, but not before giving writing another shot and provide another line. Curious, if she would get another response.

She does.

And it’s perfect.

It’s been a year, a year since she felt the urge to write, to think about music- but, when all the lyrics fall into place, Julie is suddenly inspired to continue.

She spends the entire class thinking about how to reply, how to keep the momentum of this song going.

When she gets it, she writes it down underneath the new line. And waits.

And like clockwork, next day she sits down and there’s a new addition.

First verse done- Julie couldn’t believe it.

Smiling, she records it all and had to erase everything from before to make more room.

‘Thanks’ she writes ‘Keep going?’

The reply the next day has her grinning from ear to ear:

‘I’m game :)’

And that’s how it goes: Another day, Another killer line.

Julie would rush from her next class, confusing Flynn who did not think she would be so excited going to history, smile on her face, anticipating another message from this mystery writing partner.

Sometimes, she gets too caught up in her head, eagerly thinking up new lines that she often doesn’t watch where she’s going. One time, she pretty much embarrassed herself while bumping into the cute Luke Patterson in her rush to History.

(She practically fell on him and he tried to talk to her after, but she jumped out of his arms before whatever awkward conversation that was bound to happen if she stayed).

Julie and her pen pal would keep working on the song, even came up with a system to let each other know if they’ve finished a verse.

And sometimes it’s not just lyrics. Julie draws her normal doodles next to her lines, and she’s delighted to find even more ridiculous ones waiting for her when she gets back.

There was one time when she’s had to stifle a laugh because a crude caricature of their History teacher in their corner, yelling out the next lyric:

‘I'm goin’ out of my mind!’

(Glad to know someone else shares the same sentiments about their strict history teacher.)

They finish her mom’s song and Julie’s glad... grateful even. But she couldn’t help but feel disappointed... assuming it’s over.

But come Monday the following weekend, her pen pal decided to leave another line-

‘Running from the past... Tripping on the now’

and a new comment:

‘My turn now?’

A new song, and Julie grins, already coming up with ideas...

She loves writing again, especially music. Sparked by this exchange, she eases herself back into listening to music again, looking for inspiration to use for the song she and her mysterious partner are working on.

And writing with this person... is really something else.

But Julie’s favorite part of the whole experience really is the comments written on the upper corner. Stuff like:

‘This part is killer!’

‘Mindreader, much? :P’

‘Wrecking ball at it again. So talented :)’

and her favorite:

‘You make me a better writer...’

She ducks down so no one can see her blush as she writes back:

‘I think we make each other better...’

Flynn one day tells her straight up she’s got a crush on her pen pal, to which Julie denies because how could she have a crush on someone she doesn’t even know.

But as she thinks about it.. she feels like she does. Or at least know enough to establish this sort of connection that feels like they’re in each other’s heads, know how the other person thinks, inspiring the other.

It was... special.

Flynn suggests that she needs to figure out who is leaving these notes. But it’s hard seeing as though Julie has the class in an earlier period, a bunch of other classes are held in the same room after she leaves.

(Flynn tries a sting operation, but ends up getting caught ditching class before she could solve the mystery).

Julie’s worried though. As much as she wants to figure out who this great pen pal is, she wonders if they would be disappointed to find out they’ve been writing her. And not someone as cool and as pretty as Carrie Wilson or her friend Kayla. It’s hard to live up to those expectations.

In the end, she wants to know. At least so she could maybe thank them in person, for helping bring music back into her life and for making history class the highlight of her day.

She decides this right before they break for Thanksgiving. She writes down:

‘I wanna meet you. Can we talk?’

And she’s on pins and needles the entire break, just wondering what her pen pal would say back. ‘Yes’, ‘no?’.

But what she finds when she comes back from break is so much worse than the fear of rejection.

They got new desks.

Their school finally got their shit together and replaced their old, worn down desks.

‘No, no, no, no, no’.

That means she’ll never know what her penpal end up replying...

She runs out of class and finds Flynn, panicked, she tells her what happened. And Flynn does some digging, and she’s able to find out where the janitors dumped the old desks.

Julie totally underestimates just how desperate she is in finding out the identity of her pen pal because she finds herself sneaking back to school at night with Flynn, seeking out the lot behind school where the dumpsters were piled high with the old desks.

Flynn, the ride or die she is, armed with a flashlight, starts taking out the desks along with Julie, and there are... a lot of desks.

They go at it for an hour, and the situation starts to look hopeless, especially when Flynn discovers a whole new set of dumpsters with desks that they haven’t even checked yet.

They’re about to throw in the towel-

But then they hear voices.

Quickly, they hide behind a dumpster right when three guys, with flashlights, come onto the scene.

“Dude, I can’t believe we’re here at this hour-”

“Oh my god. There’s like a boatload of stuff here-”

“Guys. Can you not? And please help me? It’s gotta be here somewhere”.

They sound... familiar. They were definitely not the custodians.

Risking it, Julie leaves her hiding spot-

“Luke?”

Luke Patterson jumps and whips around to face her, “Julie?”

Behind him are his bandmates, Alex and Reggie. Everyone looks at each other confused.

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

“I...uh, I’m-” Julie stammers, “Well-”

Flynn cuts in, “She’s looking for something,”

Luke nods, “Really? So are we.”

Alex scoffs, “Nope. Just you, dude. But we’re helping.”

“Maybe we can help you too?” Reggie offers, “What are you looking for?”

Julie sighs, “... a desk?”

“Well... you came to the right place...” Luke laughs, shining his flashlight on the dumpsters, “Funny enough that’s what we’re looking for too.”

“One in particular?”

Then the guy gets all clammed up, “Uh... yeah. I think... I might have... left something... in it. Something important.”

“How about we all look together?” suggests Flynn, “Help each other out?”

And so they exchange the descriptions on the desk, with Julie leaving out the glaring obvious detail of the note.

They’re surprised to find out that they’re looking for the same kind of desk. The ones they used in a particular building at school, the same one her history class is in.

So they break off and search. And she ends up in the same dumpster as Luke.

“So what’s in your desk?” he ends up asking.

“Huh?”

“You know... that’s so important that you’re here on a Friday night, digging through a dumpster,”

“Right... uh,” Julie scrambles for an answer, “There’s something on- I mean, in the desk... that really helped me. I was going through a hard time. Lost my mom last year-”

Luke stops his search, “Oh, I’m so sorry-”

“It’s okay. I just...” she sighs, finding another desk that looks like hers but not quite, “I just want to find it...”

“I get it. Hopefully we can find your desk.”

“Hopefully we’ll find yours too,”

After another 20 minutes searching, Julie finds it. At the very bottom of the dumpster. Luke’s face lights up once she brings it out.

“Oh my god, you found it!” He exclaims, hands gripping the edge to take it off her hands.

She tugs it back, “Yeah... I found it... my desk,”

“Your desk? But this is my-” he breaks off, eyes widening, “Wait. Are you...?”

“Am I what?”

Luke drops the desk, clears his throat, and starts reciting:

‘I believe... I believe that we're just one dream...’

Julie gasps, then continues:

“Away from who we're meant to be...”

Then together: “That we're standing on the edge of...”

“...great.” Luke finishes, in awe, “You! You’re ‘Lyric Girl’!”

“You’re my pen pal?” Julie says in disbelief.

Luke Patterson has been her pen pal this entire time? The cutie with the cutoffs? It makes total sense. He’s in a rock band and the songs she’s heard from them have amazing lyrics.

Wait... she has been lowkey crushing on Luke Patterson through his words...

“Wow, it’s you! Luke... wow...” she honestly has no words. They used to come easy to her when she talks to him via the desk, but now, after finding out that the local heartthrob is her writing partner, she’s super nervous.

“Look... if you’re disappointed that it’s me... I get it. I’ll give you an out, and you won’t ever have to talk to me again-”

“Julie-”

“-like this is weird- this is weird right? But I mean what we had was nice and all-”

“Julie, can you-?”

“-we don’t ever have to talk about this if you don’t-”

“Julie!” He reaches for her hands and intertwines their fingers, shutting her up.

“Yeah...?”

He takes a deep breath before saying: “Why would I ever be disappointed that it’s you? I’ve... got like a mad crush on you since freshman year...”

Julie choked, “Wait, what?”

“Voice of an angel and wicked beauty to boot? How could I not?” he smiles, “And... finding out that you’re my mystery muse is just... you don’t know how happy that makes me.”

His smile drops and he’s all the sudden bashful, “Wait... are you disappointed that it’s me?”

She shakes her head, “No, no! That’s not why! It’s just... you’re this rockstar in the making! I didn’t think- I didn’t think you’d ever pay attention to me.”

“I do... I do pay attention,” he looks down at their desk, “Well... maybe not enough attention, otherwise we would have met sooner.”

She laughs, “Totally,”

They stand there for a while, grinning at each other like idiots.

“So...” Julie decides to jump the gun, “Do you... maybe wanna grab something to eat?”

Luke raises an eyebrow, “Are you asking me out, Julie?”

She blushes, “Maybe,”

“Interesting,”

“So what’s your answer?”

He leans in, “Might wanna look down,” he whispers.

She does, right on their desk and finally reads the reply she’s spent weeks thinking about.

‘Tell me where and when...

I’ll be there...’

Needless to say, but that from that day on- they don’t need to use their desk to talk anymore...

#this... has been sitting in my inbox #and finally I have answered!#I LOVE THIS CONCEPT #giving me the same vibes as my imaginary friends penpal juke idea #i guess this means i just... love Dash & Lily #julie and the phantoms #jatp #julie and the himbos #juke #palina #juke-box #julie x luke #luke x julie #julie molina #luke patterson #how many times am i gonna sneak in 'wicked beauty' in whatever I write?

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satuguro · 4 years ago

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connections | prologue

IN WHICH: zuko and azula are expected to gain the trust of an earth kingdom city governor. the mission seems easy enough, that is, until the governor’s daughter comes into play.

PAIRING: zuko x earthbender! reader

INSPIRED BY: soldier, poet, king — the oh hellos, ophelia — the lumineers

NOTES: i’m not too sure about this one, and i kind of wrote this in the middle of the night when a strike of inspiration hit. i mixed some japanese culture with some filipino culture (i am filipino, so i had to ). nonetheless, i hope you enjoy!

his father gave him specific instructions prior to his arrival to hanusaka, an earth kingdom city.

zuko was expected to gain the trust of the family that ruled over the city; the hisui family. at the time he was given his ‘mission,’ zuko was apprehensive. why would the family trust them? they practically destroyed every earth kingdom village in their path, they’ve massacred thousands, and they’ve burned everything to the ground. zuko never once voiced his thoughts — his scar was a reminder of what would happen if he argued — but in his mind, he reminded himself that it was for good reason. he had his honor. now he had to act upon it.

the kingdom of hanusaka was beautiful. it stayed true to its name; flowers flourished from every corner, and floral trees hung heavily over its inhabitants. their deep green clothes contrasted with the bright colors of the flowers around them. they looked happy and content with their lives.

zuko stood stiffly alongside azula, wary eyes watching the citizens dance in the town square. their danced were different compared to the fire nation’s. their dance incorporated two long pieces of bamboo that was held by a person on each end. the people holding the bamboo were beating, tapping, and sliding the bamboo to the beat of the music while people of all ages danced upon them. it was mesmerizing how their feet missed the bamboo as the sticks came together, and how the flower petals on the ground floated with each movement.

they stood in the sidelines, aware of the looks the other earth kingdom citizens gave them. they were looking at them with unreadable expressions on their faces, but said nothing about their fire nation clothes. all zuko knew was that they weren’t welcome.

“it’s disgusting,” azula commented, flicking a flower petal off of her clothes. they had been only observing for 15 minutes before her boredom got to her. “i don’t understand why we have to endure the presence of these... people,” she spat, “we should’ve just burned this place to the ground. it would be quicker.”

“father wanted us to do this,” zuko hissed, glaring at his sister. he could feel his anger rising at the mere mention of burning the town to the ground, and he returned his gaze to the dancing people. their clothes flowed freely in the wind, making the petals around them float up high above their heads. they looked so peaceful.

he watched, his interest peaking as a hooded figure appeared from the shadows opposite of him. your bow and arrows were on your back, your movements mysterious as you slowly made your way into the crowd. you were blind to his gaze as you pulled your hood down, revealing your gleaming green eyes. people cheered around you, and one woman even placed a crown of intricately bended bamboo atop your head. you gave her a hug and grabbed her hand to join the dance in front of you, jumping in as if it was second nature.

“prince zuko, princess azula.” one of their guards greeted behind them, making them turn around. he bowed quickly, fear striking his heart at their cold looks. “governor akio has agreed to meet with you.”

┈┈ 𑁍༅ཾ༚ ┈┈

the hisui palace — though azula commented that it was barely a palace — was situated near the outskirts of the city, and was surrounded by deep forests that seemed to go on for miles. it stood tall, and would’ve sent a feeling of impending doom if it weren’t for the vines that climbed its walls, blooming various flowers.

“some palace,” azula snorted, crossing her arms and taking a second to star at the mansion as a whole. she raised her hand to catch a flower that had fallen from the trees above. her fingers were gentle agains the petals before she engulfed it in blue flames, letting the ashes float to the ground.

zuko rolled his eyes at her antics, choosing to walk ahead and into the mansion. the guards in front of the door looked at him with scowls, and a small prt of zuko wanted to call it quits and return home. they weren’t welcome here. they had caused these people so much pain; why would they ever take them in?

his guards marched up behind him, one of them stepping forward and conversing quietly with the earth kingdom guard. reluctantly, he opened the doors to the mansion.

the doors creaked as the guards opened them, revealing more guards that were standing in the halls. they were tense, ready for any battle that was coming along with the presence of the children of the firelord. zuko only kept his head up, hearing azula catch up with him and walk alongside him. the throne room was right in front of the entrance, and they walked confidently into it.

governor akio sat atop his throne, his strongest guards by his side as he stared down at the prince and princess. one smaller, empty throne stood next to his. it was a wonder that he agreed to meet them and take them in for a few months. it was upon the firelord’s request — of rather, demand — that they’d stay and create a connection between them and the fire nation. governor akio knew better than to argue.

“prince zuko, princess azula,” governor akio greeted, not moving from his seat on the throne. his eyes snapped to the empty throne beside him, expressionless face showing hints of anger that disappeared as soon as they showed.

zuko bowed, showing his respect, while azula simply stood in front of the king. her eyes glinted with something he couldn’t pinpoint, and she was looking him up and down as if sizing him up. zuko resisted the urge to hit her.

“father said we will be staying for three months,” zuko said, standing up straight as he stared at the governor. he was no king, but hanusaka was an influential city with history that tied all the way to the earth king. he knew his father had deeper plans for their stay. “to create a strong connection between hanusaka and the fire nation.”

“ah,” governor akio nodded, shoulders relaxed despite the obvious pressure on them. he showed no hesitancy; he was a wise man, for he knew that hesitancy would give the fire lord a reason to distrust him. “i’m sure you will enjoy your stay in hanusaka. my daughter...” his voice trailed off, his gaze suddenly pulled to the entrance of the throne room. governor akio’s lack of eye contact made the two teenagers turn around.

zuko recognized you.

you had been dancing in town square moments prior to this meeting. the crown of bamboo was still on your head, and you wore it proudly as you quickly detangled your hair from the flowers that were stuck in them. little flower petals followed you as you walked past zuko and azula, showing little care for their presence. your carelessness made azula curl her fingers into fists.

you were barefoot, but you still walked with poise as you led yourself to your throne. you removed your bow and arrows from your back, placing it on the side of your throne as you finally took a seat. you met your father’s angry glare, but you only managed a close lipped smile. “father,” you stated, before looking at the two teenagers in front of you.

azula was practically fuming at the uninterested look you gave them both, but her reactions only made your lips curl up into an amused smirk. “prince zuko and princess azula,” you drawled, leaning in and putting your elbows on your knees. “to what do we owe the pleasure?” you asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“y/n,” governor akio scolded, and you rolled your eyes at his sternness. you knew that they were coming. he had told you when he first received the messenger hawk from the firelord, and you immediately told him it was a bad idea. there was something wrong.

“just asking questions,” you protested, raising your hands in playful surrender. your eyes lingered a little bit too long on prince zuko, your eyebrow raising as you got a good look at his scar. he only looked back at you with a cold expression. how ironic.

“this is my daughter,” governor akio sighed, motioning a hand towards you. “y/n.”

“nice to meet you, y/n,” azula spoke up, tone condescending as she sized up the girl. “such a bold choice for you to be barefoot. and to wear such a... homemade crown.”

zuko nudged his sister, but that didn’t deter her as she waited patiently for your reaction.

“my people made this crown, princess azula,” you replied, voice smooth like a stream of water. “as for my lack of shoes,” you glanced down at your feet, “it helps me with hunting. sometimes i like to do my own work instead of ordering people around. don’t you agree?”

your words made your father snap his head your way, brows furrowed to show his obvious disdain. “how many times must i tell you to not hunt?” he whispered harshly, before returning to the calm front he put up. “i apologize for my daughter’s words.”

your huffed in annoyance, putting your hands on the arms of your throne and standing up. “you know what? father, i’ll give them the tour of the house.” you grabbed your bow and arrow, sending your father a mischievous grin that made him let out a disappointed sigh. you made your way to the teens, oblivious to azula’s mad look as you motioned for them to follow you.

while zuko didn’t show it, he found you interesting. the way you walked around the mansion without a care, and how you greeted every single worker with a smile that they returned (that is, before they saw him and azula). you showed disrespect towards your father and azula, yet you treated everyone with kindness, no matter their place. it was odd.

it was nighttime when your tour reached its end. after you led azula to her room, it left you both alone. zuko hadn’t said a word throughout your ‘tour,’ unlike azula, who commented her dislike for everything.

“you’re real quiet,” you observed as you walked next to him. you had already labelled azula as the ‘crazy, angry sister,’ but you had yet to find anything for zuko. he was nothing but a peaceful shadow the entire time.

“you just talk a lot,” zuko couldn’t help but say, mentally hitting himself for his own words. but to his surprise, you only laughed.

“well, someone needs to keep the awkward silence away,” you said, walking backwards as you walked ahead of him. “i mean, would you rather have me give you a house tour without saying a word?”

zuko shook his head, the hair in front of his face swaying with his movements. “i suppose not,” he replied, making you nod your head.

“besides, you’re so quiet that someone has to keep the conversation flowing.” you came to a sudden stop, pausing in front of a large door. you quickly opened it, peering inside for a moment before opening it wider for zuko. “here’s your room.” you allowed him to walk inside, and you leaned against the doorway as you watched him inspect it.

the room had high ceilings, and vines that grew from a nearby plant scaled the walls all the way to the ceiling. the thick vines came down in a chandelier. zuko’s eyes looked up at it in wonder and awe. it wasn’t beautifully extravagant like the fire nation palace was. it had a certain enigma to it that made it beautiful, and zuko appreciated it more.

“my room is five doors down,” you said as you looked at your nails. “feel free to come over whenever you want someone to talk. just don’t burn me alive.” you pushed yourself off the doorway, sending him one last smile. this one was genuine, not like the smile you had given him and azula in the throne room. “good night, prince zuko.” with that, the door shut behind you.

zuko stared at where you once stood. “good night, y/n,” he said softly, before resorting to his bed.

┈┈ 𑁍༅ཾ༚ ┈┈

NOTES: thank you for reading! btw, i’m trying to correspond eye color to the elements, so i’m sorry if your eye color isn’t the same! please say whether i should continue this as a series or not, your input means the world <3

buy me a coffee here! any likes, reblogs, or donations are appreciated :)

TAGLIST: @beifongsss @the-firebender-girl @astroninaaa @emberislandplayers @bubblebars

#zuko x reader #zuko smut #zuko imagines #zuko imagine #zuko #atla #atla imagine #avatar: the last airbender #azula

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mamgt · 3 years ago

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Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Where do I even begin? This is the best book I have read so far and I do think it might be the best one I’ll ever read. Though, it did take me 2 attempts before I finally decided to really finish this book.

I do think for historical fiction, you need to be in the right mindset because no matter how poetic it is, it’s still so close to home just because it’s based on real things that happened in the world. I think that most historical fictions are quite serious and they always have a deep message and if you’re in the “I want something light and stupid,” you’re just never going to appreciate the art of historical fiction. So for those 2 attempts, I just wasn’t in the right mindset but I’m so happy to finally experience this. Asian stories are hands down the best. They’re always so interesting and I don’t know, Asians love a big plot twist. They love drama. I think it’s the fact that we are naturally a people’s people. We care about family and the extension of it. We care about the people around us. Not to say that Westerners don’t but there is more of the idea of “I” in Western culture versus Asians. You see it in as small as households how the dynamics of people matter, how you fit in a group and I think it brings about a lot more twists and turns because it’s not just you. It’s everyone around you who has secrets and motivations. What happens to them affects you.

That being said, I love Sunja. Miss ma’am owns my whole heart. She is one of the best female characters I have ever read. She is so complex and so strong. I love her so much. I think she deserves THE WORLD. This is what I mean about being a powerful woman without being a bitch about it. There are times where I was sad that she had to be timid and shy but she was a product of her time. That’s how women were. You did not fight back with screaming or kicking. You thrived. One of the themes can be encapsulated in the line that is said by Sunja’s mother that “a woman’s life was suffering.” This is also said by another woman, “A woman’s lot is to suffer.” UGH. I FUCKIN LOVE THIS. I feel so seen as a woman not that I’ve suffered a lot but I think we don’t acknowledge enough how women are forced to suffer in silence. Men go to war and are awarded as martyrs or heroes but no one acknowledges those who are affected by the war and how they live on. How women, powerless and easily taken advantage of, could thrive and make a life for themselves, make something for their children who one day would leave them. I’m still upset about that Noa’s suicide. I can’t. I know it would seem like he did because of the weight of the world on his shoulders, to his perspective, right? I think, and this is a consolation, that he knew he was the ONLY thing that kept Sunja tied to Hansu. Him gone, leaves them nothing, actually worse, leave Sunja with a hole in her heart and has no choice but to be mad at Hansu for it.

I actually took a long while to write this review because I’ve been plowing through books but I just want to say this was so beautifully written and done. It’s an easy read in a sense that’s it’s not super metaphorical and poetic that you won’t understand. It’s pretty straightforward but it has a lot of symbolism like the Pachinko. Each character, I felt was important. It made the story feel real to have several people involved and to know their story. I love how there is different ways of falling in love and different consequences.

I think also loved how it tied to the history of the Philippines and you can see a Filipino character in there. I want this for my countrymen. OH! That’s another one I liked the “imagined nation.” We also took that up in college and it’s nice to see it in here. Even then I really liked that idea. It’s more factual than an idea because it’s only humans who make borders and categories of Japanese, Chinese and Koreans. We define the them and us, the women and men. The rich and the poor.

#pachinko #min jin lee #book #review #book review #books #historical fiction

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i-did · 4 years ago

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HELLO 👋 I WAS SENT HERE BY PALMETT-HOES. What are your thoughts on the foxes + tattoos?? Originally it was Neil + tattoos but if you have thoughts of the other foxes too I'd love to hear them if you want to share 🥺

Okay, so I actually might try to become a tattoo artist and love tattoo culture. I also have already about 30 tattoos, some the size of my whole hand and some the size of a quarter, a lot of mixed and matched stuff. I also always try to think of the foxes in their timeline, so 2006-2007 era, and when I think said foxes would get tattoos in their life and why.

NEIL

First off: I personally HC Neil has keloid scarring and a lot of scarring so tattooing is hard on his skin. I have a friend who has more scars than I've ever seen on anyone else IRL before and we both love tattoos but even with him trying to prep the artist, unless they were a scar micropigmentation expert, they usually underestimated how hard it was going to be to tattoo on his skin. It's uneven and dense and doesn’t hold ink well. His non-scarred skin faired a lot better but his skin was something artists just weren't prepared for. I might get some micropigmentation on some skin grafts I got to even out the coloring and make it look more “natural” but I’m waiting to see if the pigment will settle and heal more first.

I personally don't see Neil ever getting a tattoo, and this bums a lot of people out lmao. I think his scars are too thick and too raised and it's too cosmetic and aesthetic centric for it to be something on his radar. On his skin that isn't touched by scars I think he would want to leave as be mostly out of neutrality. I don't see Neil as the type of sentimental tattooer, I see him thinking “well if it matters to me I remember it” sort of and him wanting to keep the really deep stuff personal just for himself and even another person putting it on him is someone else there. I think if he were ever to get a tattoo, he would be like�� idk it would be the kind that says “yes I got shot, stop asking” over a bullet hole scar or like that one guy whos missing his leg and above it there's a tattoo that says “one foot in the grave” that's the only type of tattoo I can see Neil doing and even still I'm not convinced he would do it.

ANDREW

I don't ever see Andrew covering up his scars with tattoos either. I think he likes how the armbands can come on and off and be fully covered to not at all. He's not ashamed of them but he's private, and I think the tattoos could seem like he's trying to hide them when he's not-it's just nobody's business. I think if he were to get anything it would be American-traditional, it ages well, its classic, and doesn't really go out of style. Before the…. Let's say 80s, there weren't the different tattoo “styles” like there are today. It was just… tattoos in America. There was Japanese-style tattooing and then American-style tattooing, and since tattooing started curating its underground culture in the ’50s in America… those circles did not blend. They do now, but they sure as hell didn't then. So I could see Andrew with American-traditional because it's classic and I could see it appealing to him, but I could also see Russian prison tattoo style black-work something that appeals to him too. Get him some gulag tats. However if he had those, and since I currently HC him as white and with a buzzed or grown-out messy buzzed head, he would deadass look like a fuckin skinhead so... yeah lmao. Overall I don't see Andrew getting tattoos really, but if he would, American-traditional seems fitting.

KEVIN

Okay, so Kevin out here looking like a MF SoundCloud rapper with his single face tat and nothing else going on. I know it might be OOC but since his mom is Irish and I HC his dad as Maori (even tho in the canon Wymack likely has 90s new age tribalism, which is a complicated issue but instead I choose culturally significant tattoos over the tattoo trend that was largely popularized by a movie lmao anyways-).

So I think Kevin is the only one who dives into tattoo culture and bonds over it with his dad. If he just has the chess piece, it still feels like a branding, like a mark so distinct against the rest of him, but one full sleeve of Celtic knots and symbols and the other arm full of Maori's distinct tattoos of swirls and symbols could be a cool way for him to reclaim his own skin and have it not be something he did just to cover something up, but make tattooing something connecting him to his cultures and family.

NICKY

Nicky is the guy who got like, fierce, or pride, or something like that tattooed if he got a tattoo. I see Nicky getting a pride tattoo of some kind maybe and it being calligraphy or like if Nicky/Erik is a bear then he gets a bear paw. I could also see him getting his and Erik’s wedding date tattooed somewhere. I also don't see him as the type who didn't know how much research and shit goes into finding the artist for you, and kinda assumes you can go to just anyone and just walk in and then was like “wait what” when he couldn’t (or couldn't if he wanted to get exactly what he had in mind) so he probably got/gets tattooed by some non-homophobic apprentice, maybe even that apprentices first tattoo, and also since Nicky is Mexican and darker-skinned I doubt he thinks to put on sunscreen and the sun makes his ink lines bleed and so it doesn't age the best (it be like that).

ALLISON

Got a trendy tramp stamp to like, really stick it to her parents. Right on her lower back I bet it's the classic 2000s swirls and a butterfly and some of those stars, idk what they're called. If she was a young 20-year-old now tho she totally would have gotten a fine line tattoo, like not a tight three, a real 1 needle tattoo. They were seen as really nice back then and “so Cali” and like I could see /maybe/ her getting it done before she's 30 but they were not that common yet and like micro-realism is so new we still kinda don't know how it's going to age at all since tattoos before it have been designed they way they have for aging. Again if she got a micro-realism/single needle tattoo tho it would be something kinda basic like a butterfly or like a lion. I swear I've seen the same google image lion tattooed on a lotta people and like IDC it's your skin. But yeah, she gets the classic 2000s swirl butterfly and stars tattoo above her crack one night, maybe after a really bad phone call with her parents and she got drunk and pissed off. Maybe someone said she couldn't take the pain. (which btw, tattoos don’t hurt as much as they make them out to be in shows and shit, they can hurt tho)

DAN

I HC Dan as very dark-skinned, she's 75% black and 25% Sioux and grew up in a very very white area when outside her home on the res. Tattoo culture is still really sexist and really colorist, and at this point in history I think if she ever did want a tattoo, she maybe asked vaguely about it and they flat out said “I don't know how to tattoo on black skin” or “it doesn't go with my art” which… are shithole excuses and I think she thought, “well fuck u too” and never thought about it much since then.

RENEE

I HC as Renee as darker-skinned than Dan, and like the only places she could possibly get tattooed are maybe her palms, the bottoms of her feet, or her inner mouth probably. Some people genuinely are so dark that tattooing is hard, because it's based on the concept of black ink on a lighter surface, which is why scarification catches on in cultures where the skin is too dark to pigment with ink effectively. However, the idea of fuckin, 15-year-old Renee who is still Natalie with “PU$$Y” tattooed in her mouth kinda sends me. I think lil kid Renee thought she was gangster, and tbh she was, and I could see her getting some “fuck you/in your face” tattoo, especially if she was a lesbian in such a homophobic world, getting that tattooed is even better. We also know she got her back tatted in the EC with angel wings that look almost closer to dragon wings, so I imagine they show up as almost raised dark lines like scars from the untrained tattoo artist going way too deep, making it a cross between a tattoo and scarification, even if accidental. (also white ink really wasn't a thing yet and even now is still kinda hard to tell how it will heal, so that's why I don't think she gets any white ink tats)

MATT

He's a rich boy from NYC, he could really get like… whatever he wants. Once he's famous he can afford it that's for sure, but even before then he could with his allowance similar to Allison (even if on a completely different level). However, I doubt he gets anything lol. He's not particularly religious in my HC and doesn't have the same sense of being lost like I feel Kevin does with his own parents (I mean Kevin was raised like an orphan, kinda so it makes sense). I need to develop Matt’s background further on what it means to him personally to be a Filipino-American. I have several ideas about how his parents met in the Philippines and then came here but I would need to flesh out locations and then local cultures and then his parents said opinions on tattoos and then how matt would react to said opinions. I could see him possibly getting something for dan or his kids tattooed on. Which really makes me want to have him get his first kid's name tattooed really big or intricate somewhere like on his chest over his heart and then his kid comes out as trans and he's like “...fuck” lmao and gets it removed maybe and then redone or something. I see him viewing tattoos are personal and symbolic, and if he would get something it would probably be family-oriented, possibly Dan's portrait or like his baby's footprint which I've seen before.

AARON & SETH

Stick and pokes were not nearly as common then as they are now, and I feel like people kinda have to remember how taboo tattooing was then and still is now in a lot of cultures. My family is Not happy lmaoo. But it is what it is. Stick and Pokes were not a thing bored white middle-class teens did like I see them doing now. It was seen as super sketchy and I know someone who was 16 getting tattooed in a garage by someone who was both drunk and just out of prison for the first time, and that was seen as sketchy as stick and pokes at the time. I could imagine either Seth or Aaron having a failed and fucked up stick and poke tattoo, and out of the two of them, Seth seems like the drunk tat guy. Maybe once he got drunk and mad as fuck after Allison and him broke up and she said he didn't seem serious enough so he got her name drunkenly tattooed on his arm or something and then she was even more pissed because it was spelled wrong “YOU FORGOT THE SECOND L OMFG SETH.” (I can also imagine his future girlfriends don't love it lmao). I also love the idea of Seth just having Marvin the Martian or the Tasmanian Devil tattooed on his ass.

Anyways sorry for the lack of pictures but I didn't want to do that... so I didn't. I didn't go into niche tattoo culture and history like I was expecting myself to but this also got fuckin long. Might not be what you were hoping for at all but it is my current opinion on the foxes and tattoos. (This is also surprisingly free of my own personal aesthetic opinions on tattoos and that I'm kinda proud of ngl, since my preference is none of these, but also I grew up in a very different tattoo time than them)

#aftg #all for the game #ask #mailob #fig writes

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thewhizzyhead · 4 years ago

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HELLO SOME OF YOU GUYS LIKED MISFITS AND SOME OF YOU GUYS LIKED GRADE 11 (i posted about that musical draft thingy back in march and um yea there have been a lot of changes fjxjf) AND GUESS WHAT DUDES I HAVE MORE MUSICAL CONCEPT SHITS TO RAMBLE ABOUT BECAUSE MY BRAIN IS WAY TOO HYPERACTIVE FOR MY OWN GOOD SO SIT BACK, RELAX AND ENJOY THIS CLUSTERFUCK

@ari-is-anxious have fun with this and i wish you the best of luck in trying to comprehend this-

+ Kasaysayan (which means History) - this is the 2nd musical concept thingy i made (the first one being Misfits) and yea i started thinking of this went I was 14. I kinda wanted it to tell a story of like the entirety of philippine history as narrated by students and i wanted to kinda emphasize how history has many faces and how many different factors essentially blur our perspective of what we view as the past. I also wanted to like draw parallels between what our ancestors have experienced and what we currently experience esp when it comes to sociopolitical and economic stuffs and I wanted to like correct a lot of misconceptions about ph history and provide more insight and info about ph's past (i.e how centuries of colonialism have affected our current culture and overall social mindset esp in regards to our want for validation from foreigners aka the whole #PinoyPride thing; how even though activism and revolution is like the main reason on as to why the Philippines even exists, it continues to be demonized here; the ideologies of some of our revolutionary heroes and presidents and why some of them are dicks; etc etc). Also I wanted to showcase like um PH music, art, and dance and how that has progressed and also regressed throughout the years (*shakes fist at colonizers*) and um YEA YOU CAN SEE WHY I EVENTUALLY AND RATHER QUICKLY DISCONTINUED THIS TJCJSJF THIS IS *NOT* DOABLE AT ALL THSJFHF it could work as a concept album and a one-time performance BUT NOT LIKE A LEGIT PRODUCTION SO YEA FOR NOW IT WILL STAY IN THE DRAFT FOLDER FJXNSJF but yea this idea then led to the next two ideas woo

+ Noli/Fili - started wanting to make this at the start of quarantine so like um march 2020 heck i even made a wholeass word doc for this fjdjdv so it's basically a ph-rock-rap-based musical adaptation of Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (The Filibuster) (yes these two novels are like tne national novels here since rizal is our national here and yea these were originally written in Spanish) but the protagonist of El Fili (Simoun) takes charge of telling Noli's story in Act 1 while Noli's protag (Crisostomo Ibarra) takes charge of telling Fili's story in Act 2. Those two books have very different tones and those two characters have um VERY DIFFERENT world views so i thought it would be interesting to tell one's story through the eyes of someone different and yet also the same to provide a lot more insight on how the events in the novels affected these two protags (there is a Good Reason for this and um Filipinos who studied this in 9th and 10th grade know what i'm talking about fhshf if u wanna um know what i'm talking about and don't wanna read the novels (they are very long) i suggest looking up El Filibusterismo and um yea check out Simoun fjsjf). Like for example, there would be times that Noli's narrator (Simoun) (whose general demeanor is like um a lot more cunning and cynical and a lot more resentful of the events that have happened compared to Fili's narrator) would directly question the Noli protag's (Ibarra) actions while Fili's narrator (Ibarra) (he is a lot more um hopeful and peaceful compared to Simoun) often questions how Fili's protag (Simoun) turned into well um a very cynical and cunning person with a taste for revenge (I am trying my hardest to NOT spoil the novels here gjdjf) and yea because the story is set in Spanish Colonial times here, i wanna focus more on the sociopolitical aspects and problems in the novels and how those still remain relevant here, hence the ph-rock-rap-based music. Also I would like to point out that the curriculum here barely like goes into depth about the subject matter of the novels (esp the sociopolitcal parts) and how said subject matter shaped the characters here and HOW EVERY SINGLE THING IN THIS DAMN NOVEL IS STILL RELEVANT,,,so um basically the curriculum is currently missing the entire point of the novels since Rizal wrote these two with the intent to provide socioecononic and political commentary on the pure shit that many of the Filipinos experienced under Spanish colonial rule,,,SO THIS THINGY IS BASICALLY MY MIDDLE FINGER TO THE CURRICULUM AND ESSENTIALLY MY ATTEMPT TO SHOW MORE OF THE NOVELS COMPARED TO WHAT HAS BEEN TAUGHT TO US FJJSJFV this is gonna be a nightmare to write tho cause wow those novels are jampacked

+ Patron - if this ever becomes a thing, I will consider it the greatest thing i'll ever write gjcjdbc I REALLY WANT THIS TO BE A THINGY AAAA so the plot is barebones atm but it's basically about journalism and activism here in the Philippines (and how both can get you killed fjjsjf i'm not kidding these two can legit get you killed wah redtagging sucks shit and the anti terror law can suck even more shit) and how the youth are expected to be purveyors of the country's advancement and improvement despite the fact that our voices are oftentimes dismissed and even permanently silenced when what we say goes against what those in power want us to say,,,those this is basically Misfit's spiritual successor fjxjdjf both of those musicals share similar themes fjxns so yea expect me ranting about a lot of political stuff here and a lot of talking about the ideologies of past and present politics and revolutions and how those affect the masses and how the masses can shape them in return. There will also be talk on how journalism's role in shaping society and how proper dissemination of information and lack thereof can affect people's mindsets aND HOW JOURNALISM IS OFTENTIMES MANIPULATED TO MANIPULATE PEOPLE'S MINDSETS (STUDENT JOURNALIST AND ASPIRING PROFESSIONAL JOURNALIST'S RANTS GO BRRRRR YEA I HAVE A LOT TO RANT ABOUT).

Oh and also this musical is heavily inspired by both the noli and el fili novels and by spring awakening (Everything I Write Will Be Inspired By Spring Awakening dbjxd) in a sense that Act 1's active protagonist (who then becomes Act 2's passive protag) is named Elias and is based on both Elias from Rizal's novels and on Melchior Gabor (which is funny cause rizal's elias is NOTHING LIKE MELCHIOR GABOR SO UM LOOK IT'S GONNA BE HARD TO EXPLAIN JUST UM YEA IT'S MESSY) while the passive protagonist (who becomes the active protag by the end of act 1 and throughout the entire 2nd act) is named Cris Ibarra and is based on Moritz Stiefel and Rizal's Ibarra (more specifically um Rizal's Ibarra's growth into a very different character throughout the events of the two novels).

ALSOOO there is this one concept that made me really REAALLY want to make Patron an actual thingy and that is the existence of um Shadows in the show. Inspired by the voices in Deaf West Speing Awakening, these Shadows can always be found lurking on stage alongside their respective characters like um if Elias is in a scene, his shadow can also be found on stage somewhere. I kinda want them to like represent the characters' innermost thoughts and the other parts of themselves the characters' would like to hide through how the Shadows act on stage and um yea choreography gjsjf Patron is porbably gonna be very dance heavy so um yea it's a bit hard to explain so i'll just point to Alex Boniello and Daniel Durant's Moritz fjxjjf i kinda want it to be like that. The Shadows would be part of the show's ensemble and um yea lots of dancing and prop moving woo also at times they would be singing for the character they are assigned to like um while Elias would be in the middle of doing something on stage, his Shadow would be the one singing in his stead and when his Shadow sings, that's when the character becomes the most vulnerable to the audience because the Shadows often expose their characters' thoughts and worries to the audience that the characters themselves wouldn't really express. So like um the Shadows address the audience a lot gjxjsjd except for one aka Ibarra's Shadow. Instead of addressing the audience, Ibarra's shadow addresses IBARRA directly, often questioning Ibarra's actions (especially their hesitance in Act 1). ig ibarra's shadow is rather representative of what Ibarra would turn into in Act 2 when they take over as the Active protag. But um Ibarra's shadow still questions Ibarra frequently esp in regards to their risky actions so um yea Ibarra's shadow is kinda like the Fates the hadestown wherein they serve to sow doubt but over here Ibarra's shadow is meant to symbolize how insecure they feel in regards to their decisions which well, as the protag, make and break the show. Also um yea the rest of the characters' shadows also start addressing their characters more while the characters themselves start addressing the audience more so woo switcheroo! Also the dynamic that the characters have with each other is similar to the dynamics between the kids in Spring Awakening wherein they are just kids (well in this cause young adults aged 18-20) trying to figure out life in general and all that so woo

(also I would like to note that I really want Ibarra's role to be open to all genders in order to like make a statement that anyone can grow into the character Ibarra becomes throughout Patron but rn hmm i'm still thinking about how that will play out especially given that I kinda wanted Patron's Ibarra to have two love interests here aka Elias and Clara (kiiiiinda based on Maria Clara aka Ibarra's actual love interest from Rizal's novels but um YEA THERE ARE A LOT OF DEVIATIONS GJXSF) but tbh i'm still figuring out a way to make Clara have a much larger role here in terms of pushing the plot cause rn the Elias and Ibarra dynamic have an advantage since um active-passive protagonist switcheroo so I'm kinda thinking of a way to make Clara a secret 3rd protag that is both an active and a passive one? I dunno fjsjd honestly i'm still trying to figure out what Maria Clara represents in the novels cause I know for certain that Rizal did not write her to be a mere demure love interest so um yea WORK IN PROGRESS AND UM ALL IN ALL IBARRA CAN BE PLAYED BY ANY AND ALL GENDERS AND IBARRA IS PANSEXUAL BECAUSE I FUCKING WANT THEM TO BE GJSJJF)

+ Grade 12 - OKI SO LIKE I'VE POSTED ABOUT THIS BEFORE BACK IN MARCH BUT UM I'VE CHANGED SOME STUFF GJXJJD so anyways Grade 12 is well um designed to be a campy-please-don't-take-this-seriously-this-is-just-for-laughs-and-gags musical about 12th graders (i changed the grade to raise the stakes) that makes fun of Filipino TV tropes esp when related to teenagers while also providing a lit more insight on ad to what teenagers go through on a daily basis in terms of trying to grow into the person they want themselves to be while also trying to change to adapt to a world that more often that not goes against them. So yea it's not as heavy as the other musicals, heck I designed this after Preston Max Allen's Carrie 2 musical (dude check it out it has jenny rose baker and it's gold) so woo funsies but i also like this to mean something. Oh and also this is basically me ranting about Everything Wrong In The Philippine Education System (how it more often than not is really detrimental to the students' personal wellbeings through constant overwork and disregard of physical, mental and emotional health issues, its accessibility issues esp the issues experiences by those of the poorer sectors, the um very outdated info at times, how the system perpetuates classism and a shit ton of very detrimental social hierarchy bullshits esp through the implementation of the star sections (speaking as someone who's been in the "lower" sections and has also been in the star sections, I HAVE A LOT TO RANT ABOUT THIS ONE OH BOY FUN FACT I WANTED TO MAKE AN ACADEMIC PAPER ON THIS BUT MY 10TH GRADE TEACHER WOULDN'T LET ME) etc etc) plot is mainly barebones atm but um yea here are some of the updates to the characters: Kyla (formerly named Kate), Noel and Ella haven't changed that much but um I've decided to give the Halos Lagi Nalang number to Kyla and Max (nonbinary student that serves as a foil to Kyla in which Max is constantly being denied opportunities that they want while Kyla constantly refuses opportunities that Max wants; also yea i'll be talking about stories that trans and nonbinary students have experienced in both of my high schools through Max cause i really wanna bring attention to how the trans and nonbinary community is really being shat on despite the um sliiight improvement in the way schools treat the (cisgender) members of the lgbtq+ community; also they are just as ambitious as Ella (i envision her to be like um Draft Eva + Riley jfhdf) um yea major plot pusher woo I'd compare them to Draft Eva + Reese but um I Sincerely And Solemnly Promise To Not Screw Them Over In Act 2 fjjxfj) instead because they will be the ones with queerness being a much bigger factor to their individual plotlines compared to Noel and Ella.

The other main characters are um Marco (typical jock dude who's actually one of the more philosophical and introspective characters in the show; i want to like um highlight the whole sports scholarships debacle, how stereotypes can affect how people are treated in real life and also touch on the machismo culture that's um really being enforced here esp with him being an athlete and all; also he's really good friends with Max and through that friendship he learns that him slightly questioning his sexuality is a good thing so yea), Ruben & Lexi (i don't have that much planned for them atm because woo barebones plot but i do imagine them to be initially framed as the more antagonistic characters and have that like stereotype be taken apart as the show goes on esp considering that both are in the "lower sections" and are um more prone to stereotyping) aND A NARRATOR CHARACTER HMMM WHERE HAVE WE SEEN THIS BEFORE GJXJD oki but this Narrator (can be played by any gender as long as the actor IS VERY FUNNY LIKE COMEDIC TIMING IS A *MUST*) is based on the Narrator in PMA's Carrie 2 but I also want the narrator to be like um more crucial to the plot as the story progresses esp as they interact with both the audience and the characters a lot more so like um it's a bit hard to describe their exact role here because um BAREBONES PLOT FJXJD but altho they can't directly affect the story they are telling (cause so far my plan for them is like um they were a former classmate of 7/8 of the characters here but unfortunately they died due to a car accident), they can and do indeed influence the characters in it and all of the characters (except Kyla) know who they are (especially Ruben) so um yea. Also the solo I have planned for them is called Live On (which is um yea a spin off of Move On fjxjd) and through them, I plan to explore the tragedy of unexpected deaths and what happens to those left behind (this will be based on observations and accounts from many of my former schoolmates) and how many have yet to move on and how they choose to live on despite of that because they know that's what their former classmate, schoolmate, and loved on would've wanted.

SO OBVIOUSLY I OWE GRADE 12 TO SIR PRESTON MAX ALLEN GJXJFJD THANK YOU PMA FOR ONCE AGAIN INFLUENCING MY WORK WOO

+ Concepts - oki so this is the only musical so far that i wanna write solely in English nfjsj so this is inspired by Fun Home in which there are like versions of characters in different ages right? Over here there are 2 versions of 6 characters: the 17-18 year old ones, and the 27-28 year old ones. Through them, this musical will explore two main things: (1) the sad and depressing reality of having to give up one's artistic dreams and passions for the sake of practicality and (2) choosing to take a leap of faith and try to grasp on to whatever chances one may have left to live a life that means more than just making ends meet. Act 1 has the teenagers focus on Point 2 while the adults focus on Point 1; Act 2 has the teenagers focus on Point 1 while the adults end up focusing on Act 2. Once again, um barebones plot with even more barebones characters (heck i dont even have NAMES for them gnxnd) but i think it'll be pretty cool to elaborate upon the shitty circumstances here in the ph when it comes to artistic pursuits and how most of the kids I know are terrified of growing up because they don't want to give up dreaming even though that they know that they have to wake up. I also think it'll be cool to point out thay even though that yea situations like these suck, it'll never ever be too late to pick up the pieces and try again cause at the end of the day, life only ends when you say it will end: there will always be chances, you just need to be gutsy enough to grasp them. Also um yea I originally planned to post like a shit ton of poems this month that would basically be the lyrics of the songs that would go into this musical bUT I'M LAZY SO I'M THROWING AWAY THE POSTING SCHEDULE FJXJSJD anyways here r 2 of the poems/songs that i wanna make for this:

+ In 10 Years - a duet between one of the teenagers and their adult counterpart which is um basically the teen singing their optimistic yet really in-depth and mature perspective on chasing Point 2 while the adult sings about Point 1, wishing that they could tell their teen self about how disappointed they will be; i imagine this to be um kinda like the first version of Dear Theodosia but um more intense maybe fjdjf

+ Run - a duet between two teens who are best friends where one girl tries to convince the other to run and play with her in the nearby playground AND YES THIS DUET IS VERY FUCKING GAY JDJSJDF this was um originally part of Grade 12 tbh and it was supposed to be sung by Lexi and it was supposed to be about a 9th grade event that i personally was a part of where um 9th grade student researchers at a research seminar at a different freaking university took over the elementary students' playground when the seminar finished (I SHALL TREASURE THAT MEMORY FOREVER) and um yea it was basically about holding on to your childhood while you still can...aND THEN I UNINTENTIONALLY MADE IT GAY JFJSJSF Lexi is still getting that song about the research seminar event tho but um it won't be Run cause Run basically turned into a song that's not only about holding on to what's left of your childhood but also to the people you treasure that you know you have to leave behind sooner or later and um yea the girl that the one girl tries to convince to go to the playground agrees to that and then boom go duet stylized after 21 and Alone Now + I Don't Care by freaking preston max allen once again woo (i promise that this won't be plagiarism gndnd) (also altho the two girls have to go their separate ways by their graduation, they eventually meet again at the end of act 2 so woo hopeful ending for the sapphics

OKI THAT'S ALL FOR TODAY FHXHSHD THIS IS WAY TOO FUCKING LONG OF A RAMBLE GOOD GOD AAAAA SO UM IF ANYONE ELSE MADE IT TO THE END, I ONCE AGAIN WILL SEND YOU A SHIT TON OF CARBONARA-

#ari i'm so sorry but this is like...so unbelievably long and convoluted tjxjs GOODLUCK #AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS TJXJSF #so moral of the story is: my brain is too hyperactive for my own good #God help me #also God help those who are gonna try to read this fjxjs #so woo more musical concept rambles aaa #move on tw #move on #ask to tag #izzy's rambles and shit

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shiraglassman · 4 years ago

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Rec: “Hungry Hearts” - mostly WoC authored YA short story collection about food and community

Hungry Hearts - I’m not gonna link it here because of Tumblr’s weird issues with links but if you search Big Evil River Site or your local library (since it’s with a big enough publisher to be AT the library) or anywhere else With Books, look for the one that’s “Edited by Elsie Chapman.”

Review!

I stumbled onto this anthology by accident while searching one of its authors, and feel very lucky to have done so. For one thing, I LOVE food and have a special fondness for the human stories of the restaurant business, because of my work history. For another thing, short stories make great snacks during the pandemic when longer tasks seem intimidating. I also really adore the way all the stories are linked despite having separate authors, because all the restaurants and families that run them are on the same street -- so characters from one will show up in another making the reader grin with familiarity. I'm not used to reading an anthology that crosses genre like this in the same setting -- some of the stories are firmly rooted in contemporary YA -- both romantic and not -- while others are paranormal (or otherwise magical) or even suspense. I can definitely get behind a communal storytelling, "all genres welcome here" atmosphere. What you will get in this book are trips into the world of teens who are looking for confidence and find it, teens who are looking to start new relationships or repair old ones, teens who are .... looking to appease an angry ghost? Solve a missing persons case? Win competitions? Yeah, like I said, this book has a little of everything. One pleasant surprise for me was that there was more than one story that had a f/f resolution. The book also has a trans m/f romance (as well as some cis m/f romances) and casual mentions of other queer characters -- it's definitely nice to be included in books that are not specifically queer-focused. Makes me feel like I'm part of the world, not just the queer world. To squee about some of the individual stories a little: "The Slender One" by Caroline Tung Richmond is a wonderful story about a Chinese diaspora boy who's inherited his grandmother's ability to talk to ghosts. He ends up having to appease one during the local food festival, and I enjoyed both the paranormal and "YA drama with other teens" plot. "Hearts a la Carte" by Karuna Riaza took me all over the place emotionally, with a Muslim YA twist on the age-old dilemma of superhero romance: how do you cope with being the non-powered love interest mixed up in the conflict between good and evil? I guess mentioning that he's a superhero is a spoiler given the way it's written but maybe there are some people out there who would rather know a story like this exists than go without. "Bloom" by @phoebenorthauthor made me literally squeal. And I was outside reading in my yard at the time so I'm glad it was early enough in the morning that nobody heard me! Okay so: this is the book's Jewish story (each story focuses on a different culture, written by an author from that culture -- other stories include Filipino, Montenegran, Black, Mexican, Iranian, etc.) and I'm Jewish so I'm just really glad that I ended up liking "our" story so much. The reason I loved it is that there's a phenomenon in literature that has very rarely happened to me but that I adore, where the author makes me want something, in this case a relationship endgame, before I have any indication at all that it's actually going to happen in the story. It's the sign of a really skilled romance writer when the author makes you 'ship the characters without even knowing that's what's going to happen, because it shows that there's something there between them besides "the plot said so." Well, let me tell you, Reader, I loved this character. If you've read my books I think you'll understand where I'm going when I say that Mangoverse fans or fans of my other writing will love Chava. Even though she doesn't get much screen time, there's a lot there and I was so happy to get the resolution the story made me want without telegraphing that it was gonna give it to me. That's like writing-burlesque! Good job, Author :P "A Bountiful Film" by SK Ali has no romance or paranormal (which I guess is a spoiler in this particular story) but instead just has a really, really good girl-centered plot about mystery, competition, and friendship. Top-notch short story writing. "Side Work" by Sarah Farizan is also f/f and cool, and for the first time in the book we hear about the threat of The Chain Restaurant. I enjoyed seeing all the plot threads come together, restaurant vs. chain, teen redeeming herself to the parents she let down, girls tiptoeing towards relationship. Throughout the book, a Mexican diaspora girl flits in and out of the scenery handing out pastries to the main characters of each story. The final story of the collection, "Panaderia - Pasteleria" by Anna-Marie McLemore, is her story, so by the time she shows up -- like a foreshadowed dessert -- we're so glad to see her! And she gets the book's trans romance, written by a trans writer. Incidentally, this is where the book finally mentions gentrification, after the whole book makes us fall in love with the unique patchwork of Hungry Hearts row, it reminds us that places like this can evaporate all too easily. I think that makes the warning all that much more effective and cutting. I hope I've convinced you to check out this book. If even one of these stories sounds intriguing, or if you, too, are stuck in your house and wish you could be visiting a place this colorful instead, it'll be worth it. And again: if you follow me because you like Mangoverse, you are going to have fun here. (I will note that one of the stories is straight-up horror and another one is pretty violent, so I'm gonna slap some TW's on the Missing Ingredient one and also Kings and Queens. But they are still very very good.)

#booklr #hungry hearts #representation #femslash #jumblr

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quinezsvision · 4 years ago

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I asked my father once, "Why do you spend so much money on expensive delicacies when you could for once purchase something else for yourself?"

"Food provides me something that things cannot. It can even be destroyed easily when not properly inspected. Will you gain sudden contentment and meaning to it? no", he simply replied.

1.7 million years ago, we were hunters known as homo-sapiens, survival was our only goal, most of the time, populations are found in the wild searching for edible plants and animals to anchor ourselves from supplementing our diet and extinction.

When humans discovered the presence of fire and understood how to generate and manipulate it – this is how civilization began.

All these years, food was our ally.

The distribution of food in principle has a plethora of options. Aside from the fact that food became the medium for religious practices, taxation, and even education, we also need to eat in order to assist the body to obtain sufficient oxygen, and the cells within our bodies to function significantly. In other words, nutrients provide information to the human body. If neglected, diseases and conditions including obesity/malnutrition, arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease may arise. Food became the medium for religious practices, taxation, and even education.

Due to my dietary restrictions, I don't typically eat in the morning, but today, May 28 2021, is an exception.

The taste of Japanese cuisine has always been exquisite in my palate. The degree of tastes and boundless elements that are combined only to produce a dish that will make you want to inculcate the cuisine is remarkable. To be completely honest with my readers, I was not alone when preparing the sashimi; beside to me was Analiza Duran, my aunt - the most influential person I know in my whole existence, famed for her cooking capabilities and managing households. Because it is not the standard homemade craving that is well recognized in our country, we are willing to offer our own experience, for a Filipino basic style preparation, which are some instructions you may follow below:

[✓] The style in choosing your fish depends on the length of preservation and freshness, there are a variety of sashimi you can ponder from such as tuna, salmon, scallop, squid, and more. Smaller ones are usually best devoured as soon as they are served. On the other hand, larger ones must be kept on ice for a few hours to allow their muscles to calm.

[✓] It's fine if you don't master the art of cutting, but just do your hardest to make it as thin as possible. In comparison to others, we usually add a sprite to it before completion.

[✓] The arrangement of sashimi to the platter depends on your likeness, it's not like you're trying to serve in a restaurant. Add the finishing condiments, such as soy sauce with matching calamansi and wasabi.

Indeed, a good morning for me & hoping hindi kita nabudol!

I'm always fascinated about how simple type of food, like "lumpia" known as "spring roll" in other countries, can be regarded as a classic and valuable delicacy that you can often see at every celebration in the Philippines.

As you can see, this is merely an indication that not only will feast's instagrammable photographs and breathtaking flavors be remembered, but the sentiments we've all cherished will live on in our hearts, minds and history eternally.

Our adaptation of lumpia, due to developing trends, is identical in form and structure in which its foundation comes from the Chinese who made a meal with the use of fresh vegetables accessible in spring after a winter of largely ingesting foods that are preserved. This cuisine is thought to have been introduced to Southeast Asia by Chinese immigrants from the Fujian region, and then became famous afterward. However, let's not forget about palabok, a somewhat salty sort of noodle that will undoubtedly fulfill your hunger with its variety of toppings.

My family opted to catch up around this time of day; we are using this practice to reconcile with one other after being diverted by work and personal selves. Even though my mother was often away from us, serving in Kuwait, I always took the initiative of reaching her via messenger.

If you are able to read this nanay, we miss you.

Without a doubt, I admire and even support all sorts of consumable products available on the market, from small local businesses to relatively known fast-food chains.

It's impressive how everyone has their own techniques for surviving the pandemic, and how people has shown diverse ways of improving food choices to make it unique in the minds of the public. And I'm the sort of person that gets dragged into these expenses. The dish seen above is known as takoyaki, another Japanese delicacy derived usually from octopus; depending on the quantity of ingredients used, it is generally salty and chewy. A flavor combination of kewpie mayo and takoyaki sauce is used to conceal the bland taste of the dough. In this restaurant, there was a variety of takoyaki options to satisfy your appetites, including octobits, shrimp meat, veggie style, baby octo, bacon bits, and each with a cheese bomb. If you purchase one, I recommend pairing it with matching boba milk tea.

The only drawback to ordering this food is that my sister rejects it.

"It seems strange to me as a kid, the external element of the meal isn't my vibe." – Kristine Joy Agustin

So, readers, don't become like my sister; you were born into this world to love all of the treasures that God has bestowed on us. Create provision for discovery rather than disappointing yourself in the latter because you won't attempt at all.

Support your kapwa Filipino: Ay!!! Takoyaki Atbp. Philippians St

The aroma of grilling and heating ramen noodles soup always reaches to me, and I never complain regardless of the fact that it goes all over my clothing.

You can be very flexible when devouring this asian cuisine because there are no set guidelines on what you may combine with one another. Personally, I choose samgyup as one of my top preferences because of the extensive meat assortment, which includes distinct slices of plain pork and beef slices. Alongside from the broad meat range, we like that the seller does not skimp on the grade of their meat, ensuring that it is still fresh and delicious. More dips to experiment with are also recommended; salt and pepper, gochujang, and cheese are some of my top picks. If you truly want to compete with samgyupsal establishments, you may go all out with side dishes like lettuce, rice, steamed egg, kimchi, and more.

Truly, There are a number of businesses that provide reasonable pricing, or you may simply do it in the comfort of your own home.

To end, the beauty of food speaks for itself; without it, we would not be alive to create amazing experiences. It serves as a reminder that as long as we have food to eat, we are fortunate, and as such, we should learn to return the favor to those in need. A huge gratification to those who are working their tails and brains off simply to feed their family and the world – beloved farmers and parents.

“Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people get together to eat.” – Guy Fieri

How about you, what's your food journey?

#food blogs

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aaannmariee · 4 years ago

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Baguio City: The happy place I want to visit, You should too!

When I was a child, I always hear the word Baguio from my parents and relatives. It is just funny to think that I used to think that Baguio was a typhoon, in tagalog 'bagyo'. I always hear from my mother and relatives using this dialect that I don't understand. Growing up, I always asked about Baguio and I found out that it was my mother's place. And my mom's dialect she always uses when talking to our relatives is called Ilocano. I came to think that I want to see the place where my mama grew up, and because of the good comments I have heard about Baguio, how beautiful it is, how refreshing and cool the air, and how simple their lives were. Baguio, also known as the Summer Capital of the Philippines. Established in around 1846 by the early spanish colonizers of the pine-covered highlands of the Benguet Province. As time passes by, Baguio was discovered and became the eight ancient wonder in the world.

After this pandemic, our whole family plans to visit and travel around Luzon, my Mom’s place and especially the summer capital. Baguio, on the Philippines’ Luzon island, is a mountain town of universities and resorts. Also called the “City of Pines,” it is particularly popular in summer due to unusually cooler weather. At its center is Burnham Park, with gardens and a lake. Nearby, Baguio Cathedral, completed in 1936, has a rose-hued exterior. The main thoroughfare is Session Road, lined with shops, restaurants and entertainment options.

Burnham Park is the place where people visit more. You can ride a bike, take a boat ride, or just walk around the park and enjoy the breathtaking place. It always feels like it is your first time whenever you visit it again and again. I remember my Mom and Sister’s voice reminiscing experiences there by even writing this. Oh, how excited I am for those bike and boat rides!

After spending time seeing the place, you will definitely be hungry and get something to eat especially in its cold weather, right? right!

The restaurants there have delicious foods that you will never forget. One of the most popular dishes is the bulalo steak sage, that warms your stomach in cold weather, it is very delicious! Here is the list of the 8 must-try bites and sips that are distinctly Baguio; Baguio Longganisa, Dipasupil, Strawberry Shortcake, Vizco's. Ube Jam, Strawberry Jam & Peanut Brittle, Good Shepherd, Raisin Bread, Baguio Country Club, Hot Chocolate, Choco-Late de Batirol, and Message In A Bottle, Baguio Craft Brewery.

Let's try the desserts!

"Great snacks while waiting for the bus.", "I just love these belgian waffles!" you can really tell how delicious it is! Well, Belgian waffles are ranked no. 4 out of 6 famous bakeries in Baguio. The highly recommended dessert shop in Baguio is the "Pamana lechon tsokolateria cafe", a chocolate shop located in Igorot Stairs, upper Rd. Actually you can just walk and not ride anymore because the cafe is just near the park.

Woh! I was suddenly hungry again hehe. Okay, let's move on!

I am pretty sure that you always hear the word 'Igorot', I am one of those called Igorot when in fact I am part of one of the various tribes which is Ifugao nevertheless say since people have kept on generalizing . Sometimes, people make fun of using this word and even use it to tease people who are dark, ignorant or just for stupid reasons. But in reality they just don't have any idea how wealthy they are in terms of money and of course in culture. I think the world has no idea on how they look right now, I don't know with you but do I look like someone you imagine a Igorot would look? Check my account and my whole "angkan" or clan's account (email me if you disagree,winks). Not much of the people and Filipinos know but this tribe have contributed so much in the country's overall food supply, like you know where does much of the "gulay" (vegetable) comes from. Igorots have massively influenced the Philippine's Agriculture. Though, true enough not all of those who farm are greatly blessed as much as the overall farmers but here in the Philippines as we know, most of the looked down poorest are such.

The Igorot are any of various ethnic groups in the mountains of northern Luzon, Philippines, all of whom keep, or have kept until recently, their traditional religion and way of life. Some live in the tropical forests of the foothills, but most live in rugged grassland and pine forest zones higher up. They are clustered in the Cordillera region of Luzon. It is true that they are famous for rice-terrace farming but saying that some of them have been known to be cannibals in the past is an exaggeration which only downgrades them. While the rice terraces were important to the Ifugao economy, they also served a cultural function, requiring intensive cooperation among the people. By the early 21st century, however, the number of Ifugao in the area had greatly diminished as many migrated to more urban centres. Meanwhile, Ifugao is a province in the Philippines situated in the Cordillera Administrative Region., which I have mentioned earlier we are part of or where my Mom is originally from.

But it would be great to give some amazing facts about igorots:

1.) The first ever Filipino to ride an airplane is an igorot - In february 1912, during a manila carnival celebration, Governor Walter Hare invited 120 tribes men from the cordilleras. One of the tribe's men named Gagaban who is an igorot chief accepted the American pilot Lee Hammond's invitation to fly with him. Before Gagaban, no other native had ever flown as a passenger.

2.) The first ever igorot beauty queen that captured the heart of manila - At just age 13, Eveline Chainus Guirey was the most famous beauty who cost a massive sensation in Manila in 1902. She was the eldest of the ten children of the Guirey family. She was the youngest beauty ever in the history of Philippines Manila carnival.

3.) The Igorots were never slaves by the spaniards because they fought for their independence - Contrary to the history textbooks that are commonly used in schools in the country which are stating , "We can never know the history of the FIlipino people during the Spanish period because they were slaves to the Spaniards or at least forced to play the role of slaves." The Igorots were never actually slaves of the Spaniard nor did they play the role of slaves. On the contrary of these books, Spanish records make it clear that they fought for their independence with every means at their disposal for 3 centuries and that resistance to invasion was deliberate, self-conscious and was continuous.

Additional Trivia would be that originally slash-and-burn farmers, they have since begun to practice more sustainable forms of farming. The Isneg are also known as good fishers, and have a penchant for coffee. Kalinga. The Kalinga tribes are perhaps the most diplomatic of all the Igorot.

Strawberry picking completes Baguio tourist’s experience!

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet-- This capital town of Benguet not only receives a spillover of the tourists who go to Baguio but also a visit here completes the experience of the visitors to the country’s summer capital, through its strawberry picking activity. Strawberries in Baguio are the best. Let us not forget strawberry picking!

What is your happy place? Where is that certain place you can consider as your epitome of tranquility? Well for me that would be family and that makes me want to make Baguio one of those I can call my wonderland. A place where I can also take not just a lot of instagramable pictures to post or put on my day stories but memories stored in my heart that I could share with my future children (forgive my futuristic approach,laughs). Memorabilias that I could gather with my family, Oh how wonderful it is to be able to witness and experience such culture and sights that have not just cultivated a lot of inspiration not just around the country but the entire world. Just imagine that historic park that couldn’t even be compared to the famous parks in other countries or how about that luscious strawberries that you can pick on your own. I don’t know about you but one thing this pandemic has made me realize is to live to the fullest, it would be great that we could go back and see the world or visit some of its God given majestic place nevertheless it would be greater to be able to see your own country’s tourist destination. I mean, we can not be just a tourist to other countries, right? Let us go ahead and visit to experience our very own. My very own, Baguio! Voila!

#@queenlupitajones #creativenonfiction

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darealpatyu · 4 years ago

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The Kingmaker Review: A Story of How One Family Screws the Philippines

Without a doubt, The Kingmaker is one of the best documentary films that I’ve seen in a while. I don’t know if that’s because it’s about a social issue that continues to haunt the Filipino people, or because the Marcoses are such a rare display of narcissism and greed that you can’t help but be astounded by the sheer incredulity of it all. The Marcoses are like the Filipino Kardashians, and it was both a treat and a pain to watch the whole circus of their lives unfold.

Could a Filipino filmmaker have made a documentary like this?

I would say that a Filipino couldn’t have created a documentary with this level of bluntness and sarcasm. Filipinos are more than capable of being sarcastic and artistic at the same time, but as a citizen living in this country, you can’t release a film as critical of current politicians as The Kingmaker was and not suffer consequences. You’d probably wake up dead if you did. Also, I think that the Marcoses wouldn’t have allowed a Filipino team to interview them and ask them about their regime because they already know that they have a band of haters in the country, and only haters want to find out more about that period in life. The Marcoses don’t openly acknowledge the haters, so I highly doubt they would’ve agreed to a personal interview like that. A foreigner conducting the interview, on the other hand, is a different story. The Marcoses love attention. If there’s anything they love more than money, it’s international acclaim. Interestingly enough, studies show that a telling sign of psychopathic tendency is their propensity to crave attention. I’m not directly saying that the Marcoses are psychopaths, but I’m sure you can piece two and two together. Anyways, Lauren Greenfield is an internationally recognized filmmaker, so you can imagine Imelda’s excitement when she found that she was to be her next subject. In the film, one of Imelda’s first lines is literally, “I miss the clout of being the first lady.” She misses the clout, everyone! Who even says that? Getting back to the point, I’m certain that the Marcoses and other prominent people agreed to be interviewed because they thought that they would be having a beautiful historical film about them – which is exactly what they got, in all fairness. Not only was this interview done for the clout, but it was probably also done because they knew that this documentary wouldn’t harm them in any way. They’ve already successfully revised history in the Philippines – they have a steadfast Marcos loyalist base that is only getting bigger. They literally have nothing to lose by taking part in this documentary. Think like Imelda – “I lose nothing, AND become relevant in the international sphere once again; I’ve gotta do it!!”

How were Imelda Marcos’ answers as the film progressed?

As the film progressed, Imelda was trying to portray herself as the victim of everything that had happened. She was trying to turn the experiences of all those innocent people who had suffered into her experience of suffering. I really lost my cool when she talked about how she was the mother of the Philippines and how she had been wrongly stripped away from her child. She would constantly try to victimize herself, probably because she realized that the interviewer’s questions were meant to attack her character, and not to give her the positive clout that she was expecting. When Imelda’s words of care for the country is contrasted with the reality of what happened in Calauit Island, it’s clear that she’s delusional. The historical information presented in the film was meant to be an antithesis to every word that came out of Imelda’s mouth because that’s the best way to expose a liar. You hear her saying she brought the beauty of exotic animals to the Filipino people, and then you see that she displaced over 200 families. You hear her feeling sad about the impoverished state of the country, and then you see her boasting extremely expensive paintings and giving out thousand-peso bills from plundered wealth. You hear her pride about the peace that Martial Law brought, and then you see the blatant disregard for human rights that occurred as accounted for by the Martial Law victims themselves. This presentation of historical truths, presented side-by-side with the proud lies of Imelda, was flawlessly executed. I could clearly deduce how far from the truth Imelda’s words were, and I’m certain that everyone who watched it experienced the same.

Thoughts on Sandro Marcos?

Talking about Sandro Marcos and his future role in Philippine politics, I do think that he has intentions to have a career in politics. I saw this 2017 article writing that Sandro had earned a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics. Given that his family has a solid reputation for lying about their academic credentials, I don’t think it would come as a surprise if he were lying too. Because the Marcoses heavily publicize Sandro’s achievements, I really think that they’re planning to make him continue the Marcos legacy of screwing our country as well. In the film, there was this part where in front of a crowd, Bongbong was telling Sandro that he’s ready to become a politician already – even though Sandro was only 21 years old at the time. This kind of mental conditioning – that you’re entitled to a successful political career even though you’ve achieved absolutely nothing and don’t have the passion for service – is the kind of conditioning that creates dictators at worst, and at best, corrupt political dynasties. When you have parents that constantly push you into thinking that your destiny is to dominate Philippine politics, you end up thinking that you’re entitled to it – willing to do anything to get what you want to make your parents and yourself proud. As a young adult, your entire self-worth becomes grounded on whether you become a successful politician or not. I assume Sandro’s conditioning to become a politician is the type of parenting that Bongbong was raised with, and look at how great he turned out, right?

My Three Takeaways on Leadership and Diplomatic Relations

The three takeaways about leadership and diplomatic relations that I got from the film are: 1) you need to be open to honest feedback to be a good leader, 2) just because you personally think a certain plan of action is going to be good for the group doesn’t mean that it’s good for the group, and 3) be critical of yourself and listen to your own words before and after speaking. My first learning was inspired by Imelda Marcos and her inability to acknowledge her haters. She seems like the kind of woman who listens to no one but herself. She hasn’t had any character development after all these years, and in the film, when she showed the picture frame of her acquittal from thousands of crimes, she had the audacity to say “the truth always wins” or something to that effect. She’s not open to feedback at all. My second learning was inspired by when Imelda brought all those animals to Calauit Island. She thought it would bring beauty to the Philippines when it actually had the opposite effect. My third takeaway is inspired by the fact that Imelda thinks she solved the Cold War. Leaders really need to listen to their own words and analyze their statements to understand if what they’re saying is factual and makes sense. If I were to compound all my takeaways into one unified idea, my one great learning would be: A great leader does not do anything that a Marcos would do.

What historical facts did I uncover through the film?

During the film, there were a lot of significant historical facts that I didn’t know about; these facts should really be taught in school. The historical facts that I was not aware of were: 1) exotic animals were brought to Calauit Island, 2) Ferdinand Marcos had affairs with other women, and 3) the reason why Imelda was the chosen diplomat was that the Marcoses were anticipating a coup d’etat. Also, I don’t know if this historical fact is verified but it shocked me when Imelda said that she checked into a psychiatric hospital before her husband became president. Is that true? I’m sure you can understand why I’m a bit wary of Imelda’s stories.

The Big Conclusion

To conclude this lengthy blog entry, I think that the greatest lesson to be learned from this film is that leaders are here to serve us, and not the other way around. They are not gods – they are fallible and must be held accountable for their mistakes. If we fear our leaders, follow them blindly, and make excuses for their incompetence, we encourage a culture of fascism, fanaticism, and corruption. Sadly, a parallel reality of the Marcos regime is happening today. If a dictator will not take advantage of the current political climate now, one will eventually find a way soon. That’s why this film should be making waves and reaching the masses. If only more of us knew about what is happening in the political landscape, we’d take the problematic status quo seriously. This documentary deserves to be acknowledged as educational material for the sole reason that history is being rewritten as we speak, and it is the duty of those who know the truth to let everybody know as well. There are so many material facts that remain unknown and hidden from the public, and it’s ridiculous that people don’t know about them. People need to know because we might just make the same mistake again, and that’s sad.

In conclusion, MARCOS IS NOT A HERO. THE FACT THAT THERE’S A MARCOS LOYALIST BASE IMPARTS A SENSE OF URGENCY TO THOSE WHO KNOW THE TRUTH. HISTORY MIGHT REPEAT ITSELF.

We really don’t want to see what happens if it does. #NeverAgain

#cobibmo imeldamarcos sandromarcos ferdinandmarcos NeverAgain

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chsamuseum · 4 years ago

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Binondo: The Influence of the Oldest Chinatown on My Identity

Almost 7,000 miles away from San Francisco is another melting pot in a class of its own: Manila. While I was born in San Francisco and currently reside in the Bay Area, the capital city of the Philippines is what I consider my home. I was just a toddler in 1996 when I left San Francisco, when my grandfather decided he would sell his business that distributed agricultural machinery from the USA to the Philippines. My father, who was overseeing business operations in its San Francisco office, decided it was time for my family to return home to Manila upon my grandfather’s decision to retire. While technically a U.S. citizen, it was in Manila where I would create some of my earliest memories of childhood and where my values, principles, and identity would eventually be formed. While I identify as Filipino American, I have more recently begun to explore another, hidden cultural influence on my identity: Chinese.

Chinoy: Being Chinese Filipino

Vista de la entrada de la Calzada de San Sebastián hasta la Yglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen, 1867, watercolor on paper

I’ve been working at CHSA since 2018 and have learned so much about the Chinese American experience. I’ve had the privilege of meeting authors and lecturers who share the most fascinating accounts of the Chinese during the Gold Rush to World War II. I’ve heard about Chinatowns from all over the world, from San Francisco to Yokohama, London to Sydney, and even Mexico City. Often overlooked are the Chinatowns of the Philippines. In my experience, the Philippines has a Chinese immigration story of its own, and it may very well predate most of the historic events I’ve learned at CHSA.

The city of Manila was founded in 1571 by Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. Due to its strategic location in Southeast Asia, Manila became a major trading port where Spanish galleons brought goods from Acapulco, Mexico to The Philippines. Many travelled to partake in trade for gold, spices, and other goods of the Spanish Empire, including the Chinese, who played a significant role in the history of Philippine economics and commerce. As a child, I learned that Manila is home to the oldest Chinatown in the world. Called 岷倫洛區 (Mínlúnluò), Manila’s Chinatown, which was established in 1594. It was there Chinese settlers in the Philippines began conducting trade and commerce. Most Filipinos today call it Binondo, from the Tagalog word binundok meaning “mountainous area.”

The influence of Chinese culture is ubiquitous to many parts of Manila and is very much intertwined with my own identity as a Filipino. There were aspects of Chinese culture my whole life growing up that I was unaware of. When my family returned to The Philippines, we moved in with my maternal grandparents. Monday was when my grandmother (or lola in Tagalog) would usually have her closest friends over for a game of mah-jong. They’d start in the afternoon and could go on until the evening with an assortment of delicacies and snacks made available throughout the day. Some of my favorite treats from my lola’s mah-jong “parties” were Mangga’t Sago (Chinese style mango and tapioca pudding) and arroz caldo, the Filipino version of what some Chinese Americans might refer to as jook.

Left photo: Me and my grandmother welcoming the Year of the Dragon (2012)

Right photo: My sister and I burning incense joss sticks. We sometime call it pay-pay (pai-pai) Tagalog.

Beyond mah-jong parties, dishes like siu-mai, har-gao, pork buns and other dimsum fare were often an option for la merienda (a cultural influence left to us by the Spanish of having a late, light afternoon meal with friends and family). I grew up with Chinese holidays such as the Autumn Moon Festival and most notably Chinese New Year, when I would receive red envelopes from my elders and when my sister and I were treated to exciting Dragon Dance performances at our cousins’ house. We’d receive boxes of what we call ti-koy (甜粿), or nian gao to other Chinese speakers, which is glutinous rice cake. We’d cut them into slices, dip them in egg, and fry them until golden. I was told the stickiness of the ti-koy would mean our family too would “stick” together throughout the year, and I believed that! While not Filipino celebrated these holidays, they were mainstreamed enough for everyone to participate and enjoy the festivities.

Left: Me during my First Communion. The Philippines is the only country in Asia that has a predominantly Roman Catholic demographic.

Right: The altar of The Santo Christos de Longos, a Catholic cathedral in Binondo but where Chinese Filipinos can burn joss sticks (incense) as offering to God.

The Chinese presence was also felt at my school. I was in the company of other Filipino boys whose families had traditional Hokkien surnames such as Uy, Tan, Ong, and Chua, just to name a few. Others had unique hybrid Filipino surnames of Chinese origin that were Hispanicized after many of the oldest generations of Chinese Filipinos (sometimes known as “Chinoy”) converted to Catholicism during the years of its Spanish colonial period. For example, my mother’s maiden name Samson is derived from the Hokkien words “三” (saahm/third) and the Hokkien name “孫” (soon). Many other Hokkien Chinese followed a similar trend with their surnames: Sison (四孫), Gozon (五孫),and Lacson (六孫) while others have multiple syllabic surnames using the name of a patriarchal figure of their family and transcribed it using Spanish orthography. Which is how names like 許寰哥 (Khó͘-hoân-ko) would evolve into Cojuangco.

Many associate the Spanish with leaving a historical mark on the Philippines, but in reality the Chinese population outnumbered the Spaniards by the 17th century. Both Spain and China have greatly influenced the Filipino culture and at times have meshed in the most peculiar ways. For example, in Binondo is the cathedral known as the Santo Christos de Longos, where Chinese Filipinos have preserved their traditions but intertwined them with Catholic practice, for example burning joss-sticks (incense) before an altar to offer prayers and intentions to God. This is similar to the Catholic custom of burning a candle before the altar to offer intentions.

The Ties That Bind

Chinese Food Vendor; Preparing food for Natives (Jose Maria A. Cariño and Sonia P. Ner. Album: Islas Filipinas 1663-1888)

Since moving to the Bay Area, I’ve learned that a popular aspect of Filipino culture that most Americans are familiar with is our cuisine. I’ve been asked many times to bring classic Filipino dishes to potlucks and get togethers. Two dishes that seem to have captured the devotion of most of my newfound American friends are pancit (Filipino-style stir fried noodles) and lumpia (Filipino spring rolls). Rightfully so! These dishes are indeed delicious, but what most people might not know is how both are just one of the many clever contributions of the earliest Chinese immigrants to the Philippines. In fact, their origin story is one that celebrates the ingenuity of both Chinese and indigenous Filipinos. Similar to restrictions in the United States, the Spanish Colonial Government had their own way of segregating the Chinese from the rest of society. In 1581, they established the Puerta del Parian or simply the Parian, which were the only areas in Manila the Chinese could reside, conduct business, or offer services. This would eventually lead to many indigienous Filipinos-who also were viewed as second class citizens by the Spanish-to create close ties with the Chinese immigrants, some even intermarrying. It was in these Parian communities that dishes such as 便伊食 (piān-ê-si̍t) and 潤餅 (lun-pia) entered Manila and evolved into beloved pancit and lumpia we know and love today. The Parian became major commercial centers, which was seen as a threat to the Spanish Colonial Government. They decided it was best to displace and disperse, sometimes by force, the Chinese communities in Manila throughout the 17th century. Binondo was the last of the Parians that was spared from destruction.

Asian American Solidarity

The interactions between Filipinos and Chinese have deep rooted connections. Since working at CHSA, I’ve learned their camaraderie has paved the way for solidarity between Asian Americans. Particularly when they rallied together to fight against the eviction of low income Asian American tenants at the International Hotel (I-Hotel) in San Francisco during the 1970s. However, I know that is not always the case; sometimes there are divisions within our community as Asian Americans instead of being unified.

To be working for CHSA is an honor, as it advocates for diversity and inclusivity through not only the Chinese American experience, but the experience of Asian Americans and immigrants to the United States. As I continue to work at CHSA, I hope that my own personal experiences will raise awareness about the different immigration experiences. Instead of seeing differences between cultures, what I have learned that there is more that binds us together than keeps us apart.

Submitted by Angelo Racelis. Angelo currently works at CHSA and handles Visitor Services, online gift shop and currently assists with online programming and communications.

#chsacomcon #communityconnections #chinatown #manila #history #AAPI

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