#samoan people

[islandtarochips]

Kanoa and Tiala's Tattoos

Just wanna show of how Kanoa and Tiala's tattoos look like. Ok, here is what Tiala's and Kanoa's tattoo would look like on their arms.

That's what it looks like on Tiala's RIGHT arm and Kanoa's LEFT arm.

And that's....where the burnt part was at from the enemies that Tiala got kidnapped by. Only a few burnt part on the tattoos.

Like I said about Kanoa having the similar one on his left arm as well, even going up to his left peck. Like this way:

Their two older brothers, Sami and Rangi, have tattoos on them too.

These older siblings was just representing their culture for their ancestors. And their tattoos tells many stories of it too. That's what I heard from one of my Uncles when I saw his tattoos. It tells stories. And imagining Tiala had lost those marks about her cultures. It was only a few part that was burnt. Making her feel like half of the stories has been erased. Even her emotions. It's a very hard design, yes. But that's what make their culture more special and creative!

So yeah, that's all I have for now.

[thedeadtalker]

"It smells like snow," I said.

"You can't smell snow," he said, dumbfounded.

"I... what? You can't smell it? You can't smell snow? Is this one of those cilantro things?"

"It's not snowing."

"It will, soon. I can smell it.

"You can't smell snow. And the weather app says no snow."

In the lobby, escaping the winter darkness, we meet another late coworker: a Samoan woman. She's chatting with the night guard.

We have to ask. She agrees with me: it smells like snow. The security guard is perplexed. He thinks this might be a practical joke. He is new.

At home, my son bursts in through the front door. The first thing he says is, "It smells like snow!"

"Hah!" I say, vindicated.

The weathermen continue to say there will be no snow.

The next day, it snowed.

Conclusion: white people can't smell snow coming. Who knew?

[throwmethroughawindow]

i consider people i find attractive to be out of my league, but I was discussing w someone that leagues don’t actually exist and to do whatever you want (seems simple but I was like ‼️‼️‼️‼️) but I guess me considering them out of my life bc I find them cute is silly

[windandwater]

this has been the most pleasant visit with my mom I've ever had. no fights in our conversations (yet). what happened to my brother was horrific but like. there is nothing like a family member getting [redacted] to radicalize everyone. she basically fucking said ACAB ("the only good cops either leave or get 'accidentally' killed by the other cops" me: "....sorry who are you") to me. and this bitch is. a republican.

I think we will always have differences in opinion but it is so much easier for us both to not fight right now. and to listen to each other. she's had things happen that make it easier for her to listen to me and I feel so much more compassion and less like I'm talking to a brick wall.

I pointed out something I've said repeatedly and she said it made sense/was a good point, for the first time.

I dunno. it's been ass. but she's moving and painting her living room bright yellow with silver wall glitter so the whole room will sparkle. she had me help with the glitter paint because no one else believed that it would look nice but I did because I could picture the light coming in and hitting it and I knew it would be amazing. the hallway & office will be kelly green and the bathroom will be mint green and one bedroom will be purple. she's using bright colors because she needs bright colors right now. and I love bright colors.

I feel nothing but horrible deep sadness in this house up on the mountain where my parents were supposed to live in the woods with sunlight pouring through all the windows. but the new house looks over a pond. there are geese on the water and sometimes it sounds like they're cackling maniacally and it's off putting but it makes me laugh. her neighbors are really nice and I've learned that in East Tennessee the niceness is not so fake. a lot of people move here to be near the woods and they are not mean or crazy or cruel to people who don't look like them. their government is not representative of them and it's awful but they're so so kind. I'm not so afraid to leave my mom here. I can believe that she's in good hands.

our new beginning is not bad. it's hard. and it's work. and we feel the loss and sadness. but it's not bad.

[fandomshatepeopleofcolor]

I get white passing is subjective, but as a Samoan it really shocks me that some people don't see that KJ Apa is mixed. Firstly his surname gives it away (but I understand if people aren't aware it's a Samoan name hahaha), but also he looks like the SPITTING IMAGE of his Dad. If he was darker skinned people wouldn't debate it because he has poly features lol.

No yeah it's wild how much heavy lifting having a certain melanation will do for people's racial/ethnic assumptions 🙃🙃🙃🙃

For the curious, here's a family photo of KJ and his parents:

mod dyr

[jazzy-tzw]

I hate to let that man white man piss me off as much as he does.

We got better things to talk about!

Anyways Randy is giving Jey an Rko in his championship match next week

[thnksfrthmmrs]

if i see one more “joke” about solo sikoa being fat i’m gonna start hurting people

[yourdailyqueer]

Jenny Bennett-Tuionetoa

Gender: Non binary (unsure of pronouns)

Sexuality: N/A

DOB: Born 1987   

Ethnicity: Samoan

Occupation: Writer, activist

[islandtarochips]

Call of Duty OC: Tiala “Shark” Toa🦈

Commission Art done by @temeyes 🔼

A young female First Sergeant, who joined the U.S. Marines Corps to honor her older brother’s name. Who sadly passed away from one of the toughest missions. Working long and hard to save civilians from being captive by terrorists or any dangerous enemies. She’s the woman who would get the job done.

UNIVERSE: Modern Warfare 2/Modern Warfare 3

General:

🦈 Name: Tiala Toa 🦈 Alias(es): 

Tiala

Tia

Ala (her family and closed friends called her that)

Toa

Shark

First Sergeant/Sergeant Toa

First Sergeant/Sergeant Shark

First Sergeant/Sergeant T (Only her team or closed friends are allowed to call her that)

Sharky (Only close friends can call her that)

Alpha 5-0

🦈 Gender: Female 🦈 Age: 24 (MW2), 25 (MW3) 🦈 Birthday: November 19th, 1997 🦈 Nationality: United State National (American Samoa) 🦈 Place of Birth: American Samoa 🦈 Home: Kahaluu, Hawaii (Moved there to where the base are at) 🦈 Spoken Languages: English, Samoan (Native), Spanish (Learning) 🦈 Sexuality: Heterosexual 🦈 Occupation:

First Sergeant of the Marine Corps

Second-in-Command of the Warriors Task Force

Sniper

Appearance:

🦈 Eye Color: Dark Brown 🦈 Hair Color: Black 🦈 Height: 5’7”/170 cm 🦈 Scars: 

Wounds: Bullet wounds on her right shoulder where her burnt scar was at (caused by Callie Graves), even on her left hip (caused by one of the Shadow Company members)

Scars: Full burnt scar on her right arm where her tattoos were at (caused by the enemies who she got kidnapped), some small scars on her left arm (suicidal while being kidnapped)

🦈 Face Claim: Auli'i Cravalho

Favorites:

🦈 Color: Ocean Blue 🦈 Food: Samoan Oka and Hawaiian Poke 🦈 Drink: Water 🦈 Flower: Red Hibiscus 🦈 Hairstyle: Braided (during work time) and either putting her up in a bun or hair down (out of work)

Affiliation:

Warriors Task Force:

- General Alana Kalani

- Captain Kanoa Toa

- Sergeant Agnes “Blast” Falagi

- Dr. Aelan Kalani

- Sergeant Nigel “Squirrel” Harrison

- Tama Nikau

- Special Officer Emma Tabua

Specters/Team Charlie: ( @deeptrashwitch )

- Captain Alicia “Origin” Marchant

- Lieutenant Luke “Harlem” Michaelis

- Sergeant Jackson “Doc” Blackwell

- Sergeant Edward “Eager” Jackson

- Corporal Noah “Cobalto” Garcia

Mexican Special Forces/Los Vaqueros:

- Colonel Alejandro Vargas

- Sergeant Major Rodolfo Parra

- Special Officer Alyssa Martinez ( @alypink )

Task Force 141:

- Captain John Price

- Lieutenant Simon “Ghost” Riley

- Sergeant John “Soap” MacTavish

- Sergeant Kyle “Gaz” Garrick

- Charlotte “Jade” Le Jardin ( @sleepyconfusedpotato )

- Sergeant Major Hannah “Sparrow” Clayton ( @revnah1406 )

- Sergeant Annabelle “Kit” Pham ( @applbottmjeens and later joined in the Shadow Company)

Para Special Forces: ( @welldonekhushi )

- Captain Arjun

- Sergeant Aditya Tripathi

- Staff Sergeant Yuvraj Chaudhary

Shadow Company:

- Annabelle “Kit” Pham ( @applbottmjeens )

Second Commando Regiment: ( @kaitaiga )

- Captain Lachlan Jones

- Sergeant Damien Whitlock

CIA:

- Station Chief Kate Laswell

Personality:

🦈 Myers Briggs Type: ISTJ If you want the job done right away. Tiala is there to finish it. Whatever task that you have she’ll do it even if it’s small. She just wants to assist to make things easier for her friends and comrades (if you're trustful enough for her).

🦈 Strict but Caring: Just like her father, who used to be in the military, she is very strict when it comes to training. Making sure that the recruits are not just lacking or sitting around. She made sure they DO things. But she is very caring for her comrades. You can say it's called "Tough Love" (learned that from her parents).

🦈 Judgmental: Tiala had a habit of judging people at first glance. Of course, she doesn’t show it when meeting someone during work hours. But OUT of work? She’ll just give you that look. The look that says it all.

🦈 Stubborn: Tiala is usually a stubborn gal. She doesn’t usually ask for help. It was really concerning for others to see her working by herself very hard without any assistance. But if you’re a close friend with her. She’ll reconsider.

🦈 Reluctant: There are times that Tiala will hesitate when it comes to deal with people who has families. Should understand she has her OWN family back at home. So that will hold her back at times. 

🦈 Bad Driving Skills: She doesn’t have a very BAD driving skills. She can drive nicely! BUT. When it comes to the situation that someone is rushing her or annoys her WHILE driving. She’ll just swerve the car a bit. As long as you let her focus on driving then everything will be alright. Just be silenced and enjoy the ride😊 (And she had a driver’s license)

Skills and Abilities:

🦈 Fighting Style: Hand-to-Hand Combat, Martial Arts and Boxing

🦈 Weapons: Mk 13 rifle, M4A1 and Benelli M4

🦈 Distinct Weapon: Gerber Gear Knife and Glock G43X

🦈 Special Skills:

Sharpshooter: A very skillful sniper who can take down any targets. From near and far.

Swimming: I know most people can swim but for Tiala. She can swim and goes down under water for over 20 minutes. How deep? About 50ft down.

Planning: She always has great plans to succeed in their missions. Even have a backup plan in case. If you need someone to plan ahead for any special occasions. Tiala is the woman you need.

Family:

Nakoa Toa (Father, Alive)

Elei Afoa Toa (Mother, Alive)

Hōne Toa (1st Eldest Brother, Deceased)

Sami Toa (2nd Eldest Brother, Alive)

Serah Johnson Toa (Sister-in-Law, Sami’s Wife, Alive)

Penny Toa (Niece, Sami’s eldest daughter, Alive)

Dinah Toa (Niece, Sami’s baby daughter, Alive)

Rangi Toa (3rd Eldest Brother, Alive)

Kanoa Toa (4th Eldest Brother, Alive)

Hemi Toa (5th Youngest Brother, Alive)

Iosefa Toa (4th Youngest Brother, Alive)

Tamah Toa (3rd Youngest Brother, Alive)

Fetu Fetuao Toa (2nd Youngest Brother, Alive)

Iona and Kiona Toa (Youngest Brother, Twins, Alive)

Pets:

Fin (Tiala’s Kitten, Alive)

Teine (Kanoa’s dog, Alive)

Unnamed Dog (Sami’s Dog, Alive)

Unnamed Puppy (Tamah’s Puppy, Alive)

Maliu (Tiala’s Cat, Alive)

Trivia:

🦈 Tiala’s last name, Toa. Means ‘Warriors’ in Samoan. So you could see that these families REALLY represented their names. By joining the military. 🦈 Love Sharks and the oceans. She secretly has a shark plushie back at home (Kanoa got that for her). 🦈 HATES the cold. It always makes her nose runny and needs a lair of coats and scarfs to keep her warm. 🦈 Heat doesn’t bother her. Even wearing long sleeves and putting her hair down under the heated weather. She lives in a "Tropical Island". What do you expect?

Background Story: (WARNING: Might mention about Sexual Abuse and Kidnapping)

In American Samoa on November 19th, 1997. Tiala was born. And she was the youngest one in the family.

After two years of Tiala being born, her older brother (Hōne) had left to the Marine but he would always come back home to spend time with his family.

When Tiala turned 16-years-old, it was her birthday. She had received very sad news from Kanoa. Kanoa came back from the Marines to tell them the news that Hōne had sadly passed away from the mission that he was sent to. Which really upset Tiala. She could feel her heart was crying out for her dearly older brother. For he had promised that he’ll come back home on her special day. So she hadn’t celebrated her birthday much since then.

During her Sophomore Year in High School, she was still 16. Tiala had a crush on a boy who was part of the football team. And she was trying to ask him out before their Christmas break. And to her excitement, he accepted. She had thought that she had found love in her life. But little did she know that her happy love life would turn out dark.

After the summer break, Tiala is a Junior in High School. Her boyfriend has been acting pretty touchy lately. NOT in a good way though. More like touching the part that she doesn’t want him to touch. Which made him upset. And she doesn’t want him to be upset. So she let him have his fun.

Until the year of her being a Senior, her boyfriend had been getting a bit more possessive than being lovely. And it worried her that she needed to talk with her family. But that’s when he pulls the threats on her if she EVER tells anyone about this. She hesitated and didn’t tell anyone. Except that her little brother, named Hemi, saw what her boyfriend was doing in the back of the school. Hemi was being sent by their parents to check on Tiala that they’re there to pick her up. He was going to tell their parents but Tiala begged him not to. So he just gave in and didn’t tell their parents.

And on the night of the Senior Prom. The school let the Senior students bring some of their family members to join in this special occasion. So Tiala happily invited her parents and some of her brothers. Which is only Rangi, Kanoa and Hemi. The night was going so well until Tiala’s boyfriend wanted to take her away from the party so they could have their “FUN” which she doesn’t want to. And that’s when he started to get very pushy at it. Which caught Hemi’s attention to see his older sister being pulled away. So calling the two older brothers. Kanoa and Rangi quickly came in and took Tiala back before warning the boyfriend to stay away. Soon the whole crowd’s attention was on them as the boyfriend was getting pissed off. Starting to yell at Tiala and blaming her for being such a boring kind of partner. And that’s when he confessed that he cheated on her with another girl. Which fueled Kanoa’s anger but instead of HIM beating the boyfriend up. Everyone was surprised to see Hemi ran in and tackled him down. Beating him up instead. One of the teachers pulled the two boys away and ended the party.

(Everyone was alright. Just Hemi’s knuckles were being bruised up and he was 11-years-old! Can you believe that?)

After graduation, Tiala had started to plan on joining the Marine Corps with her two brothers. To honor for Hōne. So they started packing and the two older boys took her to Hawaii. Where the camping of the Marine soldiers will be at. She had worked long and hard to finish her test and training. Which was worth it for she had passed all of it. And the two older brothers were very proud. She was 17-years-old when she joined.

So Tiala had taken the position as Staff Sergeant after serving for 4 years and she had made quite a few friends. But her two main friends who she had met are Staff Sergeant Ela Anand and Master Sergeant Herman Black. The two had always made her feel so welcoming ever since she joined in. And the three had been picked by an unnamed Colonel who needed soldiers to help assist to stop the human trafficking. And he did warn them about how dangerous this could be. The three friends were excited for this mission but Tiala’s older brother, Rangi, disapproved of this. He had his concerns for her as this was her FIRST mission and were afraid that something bad might happen. Kanoa had reassured Rangi that she’ll be fine. He will go with her to keep her safe. Tiala agreed with this term even the Colonel agreed as well.

They have traveled to Baja California. The borderline of part Mexico. The team had gotten an intel about Human Trafficking in that area. They have believed that the Drug Cartel is making deals with the other Trafficker who was doing Human Trafficking. So they have to act fast to stop them. The Colonel had already made orders to separate two different teams. Which Tiala is going with Ela and Herman and the others. But Kanoa cannot go as he is going with the Colonel and the other teams. Tiala had reassured her older brother that she’ll be fine since she’s going with her two friends. The two different teams had already split up as they went to look for the Cartel. But Tiala and her team have been ambushed and kidnapped by them. This was in May 2017.

3 months later. Tiala and her two friends are the only ones who are still alive. They don’t know what these cartel people do to their other team members but they have to stay strong and hope that the other marines will come to their rescue. But after a few weeks, Tiala had seen Herman had been dragged out of his cell first and was being pushed by the men. She doesn’t know what they’ll do to him. But her question has been answered by the sound of guns shooting and some people screaming. Her eyes widened at this and felt Ela hugging her and trying to comfort her. They need to get out of here and FAST.

At the very last week of the month, Ela had already had a plan to escape. And Tiala agreed to go through it. The two had already escaped from their cell and put down most of the enemies who were blocking them. And all they have to do is to go over the wall. Ela wanted Tiala to go first and was about to boost her up before being shot. Tiala was devastated and shocked as she saw her only friend had died in her own blood. She was taken back and was dealing with her PUNISHMENT. Which you will know of how she got her burnt scar on her tattoos. And already losing her virginity.

2 months later, Tiala was slowly losing her emotions and her insanity as she kept working for those bastards. As they were having their fun. And today was her last day to be living in this cruel world. FINALLY. Before they could even take her, there was a sudden shooting in the area. And even BIG explosions. Who could it be?

It was the Marines. And her brother Kanoa was the one who was leading and had found her. So he took Tiala quickly to the medical area back to the base. October 2017.

Tiala was released from the Marines just to let her rest and hopefully recovered both mentally and physically. She wasn’t the same from then. She didn’t want any of her brothers or her father to come near her. Even though they are her family she couldn’t get the images about those MEN out of her head. Every time they come near. She’ll scream or flinched when they are present. Which really hurts their hearts.

It’s been 2 months that Tiala has to recover and still didn’t let any of her brothers or her father come near. Until, Kanoa had an idea. While Tiala was just resting on her bed, looking through the window. She suddenly hears someone singing outside of her room. So curiously, she slowly walked out of her room and into the living room before seeing Kanoa was playing the guitar while singing their favorite church song. Called “A Pei Se Vaitafe” (Like a River). And she slowly walked over to Kanoa as memories flowed through her mind of how Hōne used to sing that song to her. And sat down next to him as she softly sang along with him. Her whole family slowly peeked in to see this and was very touched to see Tiala had finally come out to her family.

Before the Summer starts, in the year of 2018. Tiala had come back all fresh and new. For she wanted to continue to serve for her lost friends and brother. And then she heard that Kanoa was making a Task Force. She was also being asked by the General, named Alana and the one who was helping Kanoa to form a team for his Task Force, if she wanted to join. So she didn’t hesitate to take it and was placed in to be Kanoa’s Second-in-Command. That’s when she met the other two new members of the team. Sergeant Agnes “Blast” Falagi and Dr. Aelan Kalani. The two soldiers who were the one who helped Kanoa to save her. And she had given her thanks and accepted them into their new team.

MOOD BOARD

More of Tiala "Shark" Toa posts

[dixidin]

Pacific Islander/Asian American Heritage Month with my oc, Kistosh!

(Zoom in)

Ok, ok. I know that today's the last day of the AAPI month But it my defense I was busy with a whole lot of stuff😭

But!! I still didn't want this to be a late post, so for now I will be posting the line art! (You'll get the coloring later)

And for the last day, I decided to do it with my dnd oc. Kistosh! Who's a dragonborn, but in his human au, he's Samoan! (MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU GUYS!!!)

While the art is mixed with Samoan and Polynesian traditional history, if any of this is incorrect don't be afraid to comment and I'll fix it!!

If you repost this on another website, please give credit. Do not put my art in any ai or repost it as your own work. You are free to use this as a pfp as long as you credit. Any like or rebblog is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading! -dixidin

[acknowledge-reigns]

Y'all make me sick bro. Wtf.

TW// Racism, Joke about George Floyd.

All in defense of Cody of course. Report this shit. I'm being so fucking serious. Report it, please.

[enibly]

what i didn’t remember while watching Fast X

between me and my friend, we were able to figure out who everyone was (and all their various relationships to each other) except:

- who was Little Nobody? could not place him at all but apparently he joined in F8? i’ve only seen that one once so I guess I gotta rewatch it now

- who was the guy running the race in Rio? apparently he’s Diogo and was in Fast Five, and I do not remember him, so I guess I have to rewatch 5 again (which I’ve seen many times, but seriously, who is he?)

- why was Shaw so mad at Han? Shaw “killed” Han for killing hospitalizing Big Bro Shaw in 6, but then Shaw made peace with Dom and the others, so wouldn’t Shaw not be pissed at Han anymore? even when Han was like, I’m not here to fight you, Shaw kept going at him, but why?

[ronnyraygun]

I could not tell you why I like Buzz so much. He’s just??? So??? Idek!!! Y’know?

[owlheartt]

I'm losing my mind can anyone help me find what naive Samoan opinion was on John Martin Poyer in the early 1900s

[chaoswillcalmusdown]

it's so telling when white people make movies based on poc and they think they're so progressive bc they cast all korean kids like, wow look at us.

and then it turns out they completely shat on the real poc at the heart of the story

“I’m offended by the entire project and the lack of respect given to me — who lived through a real story and is still living it." -Vili Fualaau, the inspiration for Joe Yoo in May December

I made a post last summer about being iffy on May December because the real life man this affected (Vili Fualaau) is still alive and dealing with his trauma, and he's finally speaking out about the movie. He said he admires films that handle the complexities of real-life events and would have been willing to work together with the crew to tell his story, but he was never contacted by any of the filmmakers.

The lead in May December is Natalie Portman's character and Joe (Fualaau) plays a supporting in his own story. The screenwriter, Samy Burch, insists that the real life case of Mary Kay Letourneau taking advantage of Fualaau was just a "jumping off point" and not their story. How strange for a film that's supposed to be about how Hollywood exploits and hurts real life individuals for "art" to do the same thing in real life.

I hate that a poc who was preyed on by a white woman, has had his story twisted and exploited by another one almost 30 years later.