#they assume latin america is all mexico

[bat-the-misfit]

not a mexican dude playing a brazilian character

[therubyreader]

I can’t find the original post but someone said Leo and Reyna have full conversations in Spanish and sometimes Nico joins them but in Italian because the languages are from the same family, and I just want to add on to that as a native Spanish speaker because I can understand a decent amount of Italian just based on how similar the languages are. Like if Italian is spoken slow enough I can get about 60-70% of what is being said to me based on vibes alone, so that means yes, Nico can speak to Leo and Reyna in Italian and if he speaks slow enough they’ll be able to understand him well enough to hold a conversation.

And while that’s cool and all, communicating in two different languages, I think we’re missing the real point which would be the struggle of Leo and Reyna understanding each other when they speak Spanish. First and foremost, if a person from the Caribbean speaks to Mexican at anything faster than snail speed, their accent will make it difficult to understand (I speak from experience, I love y’alls accents but omg do I have a time trying to hold a conversation). On top of that, Spanish is so different across Latin America just based on which words from which indigenous or African languages got integrated into Spanish during the colonial era. Look up how to say straw in various countries in Latin America, most of those are slang for penis in Mexico, this would cause problems. So essentially with all the distinct accents, vocabulary, and slang across Latin America, it would honestly be safe to assume that Leo and Reyna would have an easier time understanding Nico’s Italian than each other’s Spanish.

[cyren-myadd]

Do you have any thoughts on the fact that in first scenario Spider was supposed be from Mexico and his name was Javier?

I don't think we ever had any real confirmation of original-Spider's ethnicity or nationality, but when his name was first announced as "Javier Socorro" a lot of people assumed he would be Latino Hispanic (from a Latin American country) instead of White Hispanic (from Spain) like he ended up being. That meant he very well could've been Mexican, or at least half-Mexican on his mom's side since I think he was always intended to be Quaritch's son. I believe they changed his first name to "Miles" to make the connection to Quaritch more obvious.

If Spider had been Mexican, it wouldn't have really changed anything in The Way of Water. He's still a human, and being a different color wouldn't change the way the other characters perceive him. The only thing that would've been different is that he wouldn't have had the nickname "monkey boy/monkey mascot," since having Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang calling a Hispanic kid monkey would NOT have gone over well.

Even though making him a different ethnicity wouldn't have changed the movie itself, I actually think it might've changed the way he was perceived by the audience.

This is a thought I've had in the back of my head for a long time, and this question finally gave me a reason to type it all out. But before I get into it, I do want to say that I am white and American, so I'm speaking from the perspective of a white American when I make this analysis of Spider's character and how he was perceived by American audiences. Now let's get into it:

Spider was a pretty controversial character. A lot of people hated him, but there was also a minority of people who really loved him too (me lol). Some people hated him because they felt like Neteyam's death was his fault or because they didn't like that he saved Quaritch in the end, which are reasons that wouldn't change because of his ethnicity, but there were also people who hated him because of his appearance. Spider was often described as "feeling out of place" and off-putting to some viewers. After I saw the Way of Water with my cousins, one of them (he is also white) told me that he hated Spider. When I asked him why, he shrugged and said, "he's a white boy with dreadlocks!" like that was the only reason he needed.

Now I'm just speculating here, but I think a small part of the reason why so many people can't stand Spider might be because he is white. Not because of racism against white people, but because of the context in which Spider exists as a white person. The Na'vi are very obvious allegories for indigenous American, African, and Maori people, and the RDA is a very obvious allegory for European colonizers and US corporations that exploited those groups. I can't speak for the rest of the world, but in America there are social controversies over white American people taking items that are culturally significant to other groups and wearing them as costumes. I know there's a lot of controversy over what is and isn't cultural appropriation, but when it comes to specifically white people wearing specifically Native American clothing, it's generally regarded negatively since most Native American people have said it's disrespectful because the clothing has cultural and spiritual significance.

And then we have Spider, who is not only white, but is also the son of two people who actively harmed the Na'vi, and he wears Na'vi clothing.

In the context of the Avatar movies, it makes perfect sense that Spider would dress and act the way that he does. He was raised alongside the Na'vi so it's all he knows. If you were going to fit Spider into the greater allegory of Avatar, he is similar to the historical figure, Olive Oatman. When Oatman was a child in the 1800s, her family was killed by a group of Native Americans, and she and her sister ended up being taken in by the Mohave people. She lived with them for several years before returning to a white settlement, and during that time she was assimilated into the Mohave tribe, wearing their clothing and receiving traditional tattoos. (Her story is super interesting, you should totally read more about it!). Spider is like a sci-fi version of Oatman, since his parents were killed by natives and he ended up being taken in by them and assimilating into their culture. In the context of modern day culture, a white woman getting Mohave tattoos would be considered appropriation, but in the context of Oatman's situation, it makes sense. Same thing with Spider. In-universe, adopting Omaticaya culture makes sense.

However, if you look at Spider through the lens of modern American cultural context, he looks an awful lot like a white kid dressing up in the traditional clothing of a culture his people harmed. If Spider had been raised on earth and was actively benefiting from the RDA's exploitation of Pandora, then what he's doing would be considered appropriation. But he wasn't. Even though that's not what Spider is, the association is still there. So when people see this "white boy with dreadlocks" as my cousin put it, they feel like there's something wrong with what they're looking at because they associate his appearance with cultural appropriation. I think if Spider had been cast as Latino, he might have been received a bit more favorably by the audience.

Once again, this is all just speculation, I don't really know if Spider's perception would've been different if he'd been a different ethnicity, and I acknowledge that most of the hate Spider received had to do with his character actions. However, I do believe that American audiences may have been partly influenced by the concept of cultural appropriation, which is where that feeling of Spider being "off-putting" comes from. I think it's definitely where my cousin's dislike of him comes from, since it's not about anything he did, but rather how he looks like.

[yanxidarlings]

Just wanted to say i love ur characterisations for latin america!! On that note, since mexico was colonised forcibly adopted by spain, do you think he would share any behaviour traits with him?

you have no idea how much this ask excited me someone shares my interest in latin america yAY

absolutely.

my earliest thought of how spanish "little brothers" might adopt and trace their yandere traits back to him came from these headcanons, specifically the line "any sons probably would be". man, you just KNOW the latin american countries probably saw how antonio treated his darling, romano, maybe a shared obsession (a concept i've been dipping my feet in) and would have grown up assuming spain's behaviour was totally normal.

this would definately be at different degree's and depend on how deep spain got his claws into each latin american nation; for example, former colonies like the philippines and mexico, who i headcanon grew up around spain, would probably behave most similarly to spain, without even realising it really.

then there are nations like peru and argentina who i don't believe were raised as closely to spain as mexico might have been (i feel like colonial spain was all over the place, played favourites and favourites meant the most resource rich, obediant, catholic colonies), who would unconsciously develop more of his violent traits / scare tactics (especially argentina in this regard), or use their history with spain as a way to gain sympathy from their darling whilst also emulating the same manipulation tactics spain used on them as colonies (case in point; peru).

mexico is definately the most similar to spain as a yandere, at face value, he uses many of spain's favourite tactics, like manipulating his darling by crafting a them vs us dynamic, and fully buying into it himself as well; that's what makes spain so dangerous, he cannot see any fault in his actions.

i've been binge watching the handmaid's tale and as icky as the comparison might be, yandere spain is alot like fred waterford in this regard. but spain is much smarter than that sad sack of shit, and kind of knows what he's doing is manipulative, he just doesn't care or think it's wrong.

mexico on the other hand doesn't believe his actions are at all manipulative, he buys into what he says as much as he wants his darling to.

i haven't touched much on spain's 'darker' side as a yandere, but it is very much there, and unlike england or even germany, antonio is more than happy to harm his darling if they don't comply. the other two are serious and strict when 'forced' to punish their darling, but antonio is lighthearted, joking around as he causes them 'righteous' pain, which is what can make him such an unnerving yandere.

josé definately retains a more calm, lighthearted demeanor when upset with his darling, definately inherited from spain, but is less jolly and more 'matter-of-fact' about it; he definately wants to avoid harming his darling, and is more willing to let things slide that antonio wouldn't.

i've actually been thinking of starting a headcanon 'series' kind of based around yandere latin america/spain/portugal/romano for a while now, it's mostly centered around a specific character so i would probably write it on a themed sideblog, but i would probably also alter whatever i write there to be more 'reader insert' friendly and post it here!.

anyways hello again hetalia fandom, i live, until the next sporadic burst of inspiration *tips fedora*

[satisaranea]

WINNIE'S ETHNIC HEADCANONS. (D7, D4 SPECIFIC)

preface; obviously these won't be canon to the hunger games as race & ethnicities are vague and what we do get are mainly descriptions of minorities with little culture links. that being said, take this as me having fun and screwing about a little! also i am Not american but also a UK-residing bipoc so i'm going off of research/personal information i I've accrued from. certain heritages. if anything is inaccurate/slightly misconstrued, feel free to let me know as i love getting to have a better understanding on areas where i don't initially come from.

𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐓 𝟕

i find that seven has a mixed population, being placed within oregon and all. i've always thought of it having a small irish heritage, as obviously while panem is no longer america and cut off from the majority of the world, i do think several people do still have it within their blood due to migration before the dark days. few speak gaeilge as i assume over time the capitol stamped out any predominant languages that weren't english/latin, but there are alcoves of seven's locations where the language is alive after so long.

a continued practice from the surviving and predominant irish descendants would be handfasting, a cultural tradition within marriage where the newlywed couple would tie their hands together as a sign of matrimony and their binding union. i also think that they do keep the practice of claddagh rings, with the single, married and engaged all wearing in different ways. (single: heart racing outwards on the right hand, heart racing inwards on the left for married, outwards and left for engaged, and inwards and right for being in a relationship.)

for johanna specifically, i hc her as irish-latina & go off the idea that she is non-white (debating on whether she is white passing or not.)

𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐓 𝟒

definitely not influenced by a specific mutual or anything but i absolutely agree with the idea that 1) district 4 has an asian population (considering filipinos being the third largest ethnic group within, and 2) HEAVY latino heritage as it makes up 40% as the largest group. (district 7 🤝 district 4 solidarity) most descendants were migrants from mexico and so i feel like a lot of underlying practices come from the previous latin-american ancestors. however, for what i believe to be a small amount of tourism due to the beauty of californian/four's beaches and seaside environment, a lot of these cultures are toned down and are within the cracks of their living. (#white-washed panem..) i've definitely always seen finnick as somewhat asian considering as most asian skin tones can be described as having a ‘golden’ undertone. his hair does intrigue me however!! ruminating on that currently. i assume that due to the large aapi population that several cultural celebrations/practices are combined together to create a more multi-cultural society within d4.

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒

hey!! i hope you enjoyed both the headcanons and moodboards! i didn't go into detail about d4's cultures (sorry!!) as i know there's a lot of possible base to cover and didn't want to be incorrect with any information i did add here! that's all, thanks for reading!

[yaqamole]

What is your personal opinion about the personality of Spain as it is now and before? Do you send it with someone? I want to know more about Latin American characters like Mexico (personality, its people, if he is a native American or not, what are his thoughts with colonization and how he lives his life today...headcanons) ❤️🙈 i'm sorry and thank you so much

I hope I am understanding this correctly but I am assuming this is about how I headcanon Antonio's personality now compared to the past and my HCs with my Mexico OC

So as for Antonio. I headcanon his personality to be a lot more mellowed out than it was before. He's not nearly as violent as he used to be. He's also not nearly as insecure in his masculinity as he was in the past (I HC Antonio to be trans and have huge masculinity issues). However, he is still an asshole in my opinion. Given that the country of Spain itself does not seem to find any shame in their acts of colonialism, the way that I write Spain is that he typically doesn't either.

Yes, he definitely regrets a lot, but he himself does genuinely believe that he did Latin America a favor. Pride and ego plague him. He is a man with hubris. Because of this, apologies do not exist in his vocabulary. You're better off just asking anyone else for an apology because it won't come from him.

It's a bit hypocritical of him honestly. Because he views the Age of Exploration as an unhappy time and it's a big part of why my interp of Antonio gets antsy when his hair starts to get long. He cannot stand his hair getting long anymore as it reminds him of times he prefers to forget. Despite this, he does not seem to think about that time being unpleasant to the others around him.

Antonio doesn't seem to see the irony in this. If it's pointed out, he denies it. Or he makes up plenty of excuses. Like I said, he's hypocritical. He refuses to see it too.

He's very much someone who is two-faced. And this has been a recent development as he used to be just very transparent with everyone regardless of the consequences. However, you're only likely to get what he genuinely thinks and believes if you're one of his close friends. And he has very few of those. Francois, Gilbert, Portugal, and Lorenzo are the only people who genuinely see every side of him. Belgium and Netherlands I headcanon see it too, but he does still put up walls with him.

Antonio thinks it's easier that way. He's a lot more reserved than he lets others know and puts up a smile when he's able to. Letting people in is dangerous and letting his thoughts out is too. So it's better to hide it all.

NOW, as for my Mexico.

There's a lot of headcanons there but I will share some of the basic stuff. You can ask me for more any time!

My Mexico is the same as my Tlacopan OC. Now I do want to clarify something. I used to have my Tlacopan, Tenochtitlan, and Tetzcoco as triplets. This is because those OCs are not originally Hetalia OCs they're for a video game I'm working on where they are triplets. However, this doesn't make sense in the context of Hetalia due to histories. So they are simply siblings in the context of Hetalia and NOT triplets. Someone sent me an ask about that a while ago and I wanted to clarify.

SO, the reason that it is my Tlacopan OC as Mexico versus Tenochtitlan is because Xochitl is considered the safest option to her government. Because Tematlalehua (Tenochtitlan) is disabled, they don't want her representing the government. And because Huitzilihuitl (Tetzcoco) is openly gay and refuses to Hispanicize more than necessary, they don't find him to be a good option either. Thus, Xochitl (Tlacopan) was made into the representative of Mexico.

She is Nahua. So she is Indigenous. She is very proud of this fact despite everything that has happened to her and the government's continued efforts to erase Indigenous presence in Mexico.

Colonization was very hard for her. It destroys her home and she was already an adult at the time of everything happening. So she was an adult watching her siblings suffer and their people suffer. For this, she absolutely despises Antonio and refuses to play nice with him more than she has to diplomatically. But even then, she's cold towards him and does not give him the time of day.

My Mexico also does not have a good relationship with Alfred(when he is white because I love black/Native Alfred and that would change their dynamic). Their history is way too complicated and extensive with lots of bullshit, subjugation, and screwing over from Alfred.

Xochitl is otherwise a very motherly figure or an older sister type. She practices folk Catholicism and her teotl is Coatlicue. She's very sweet, loves to cook for her loved ones, and is always an open ear when something is wrong. She has a house full of little ceramic chickens. Just very Señora energy.

Xochitl is very dear to me. I love her so much. There's a lot that I could talk about with her but I need something to start with because there's just so much. I'm more than happy to talk about her because she is my beloved.

[spanishskulduggery]

Hello! I'm wondering how you say "sandwich" in Spanish. I've been learning on Duolingo, and it says "sándwich", but my dad (who speaks Mexican Spanish) uses "torta"... he's very rusty in his Spanish (it's been a few decades), so I went to verify that torta means sandwich, but the translator says it means "cake", but I was positive that "pastel" also meant cake.

All of that is correct

Typically the word for "sandwich" in Spanish is now el sándwich [sometimes el sangüiche]

In Spain, you sometimes see el bocadillo which is a specific type of sandwich where it's done on a long roll like a baguette [or a barra de pan which is "bread bar" literally]. This is sometimes called el bocata

I prefer the bocadillo de tortilla which is the Spanish potato and onion omelette in a sandwich

For everyone else, un bocadillo sounds like "a mouthful" - or in different countries in Latin America it's a type of candy or jelly

-

In Mexico, un sándwich is a "sandwich", but la torta is a specific type of sandwich - often it's on a round roll. My own personal favorite is a carnitas torta.

A sándwich could be anything but it usually implies pan de molde "sliced bread" or pan de sándwich, or pan cuadrado "square bread", or pan blando "soft bread" - all sort of mean the same thing

The Mexican torta is type of sandwich but for most other people if you say torta they'll assume cake

-

As for cake, you get into more regionalisms here

Literally, torta referred to the action of "twist" or "turn", so it would have referred to griddle cakes or little cakes that someone would make over the fire and turn over

This is also where you get the word tortilla which can be either the flour tortilla, or an egg omelette

The word pastel is in reference to la pasta "dough"

Generally they're regionally preferred - el pastel de boda or la torta de boda are both accepted forms of "wedding cake"

Occasionally, you see la tarta as well - generally la tarta is the word for "tart" or a "pie", and to me it makes me think of a wetter filling like a cheesecake or apple pie

-

Additionally, if you look in a dictionary you might come across the word el emparedado for sandwich but I have never heard it used by any native speaker

[docpiplup]

@asongofstarkandtargaryen There's news of an upcoming period drama: Las Pelotaris 1926. Here's the info I found:

Synopsis: "The series tells of the struggle of three Basque ball players who try to achieve their dreams by overcoming the prejudices and ties that prevailed in the 20s of the last century, when men monopolized all the power. Chelo (Zuria Vega), Idoia (Clara Salas) and Itzi (María de Nati) are successful athletes who assume the consequences of breaking the mold in a world where ambition and sexual freedom were denied to the female gender."

Marc Cistaré is the creator of this story that tells the story of three women who fight to fulfill their dreams in a world dominated by men. Cistaré leads a team of scriptwriters made up of Adriana Rivas (Vis a Vis, Estoy vivo, Águila Roja), Javier Naya (El barco, Rabia) and the Mexican Anaí López (XY, Bienvenida realidad, Infames).

Jesús Rodrigo (Vis a Vis, El internado, Estoy vivo, Un paso adelante) is in charge of directing the 8 episodes, which have Chechu Graf as director of photography (Toc, Toc , Campeones, La víctima número 8) and Fernando González (La casa de papel, Águila Roja) in charge of the setting as art director.

This series was filmed in various locations such as Ciudad de México, Tepoztlán and Las Estacas and later the filming moved to Spain, in locations in the Basque Country like Donostia, Biarritz, Artikutza and Pasaia, as well as some locations in other places such as Madrid and Guadalajara.

The international cast headed by the Mexican Zuria Vega (El refugio, Alma de Hierro, Inquilinos, Sin ella, La venganza de las Juanas, Un refugio para el amor) and the Spanish Claudia Salas (La ruta, Élite, La peste, Cerdita) and María de Nati (El buen patrón, El Reino, Que Dios nos perdone, Entrevías, La víctima número 8) will complete with these actors in the main male roles: the Argentinean David Chocarro (En otra piel, La Doña, El rostro de la venganza, La casa de al lado, El recluso) and the Mexicans Marco de la O (Rambo: Last Blood, El Chapo, Falsa identidad, R), Vicente Tamayo (El Club, La Guzmán, La Candidata, Luis Miguel: la serie), Héctor Kotsifakis (Luna de miel, El recluso, Hysteria, Ojos que no ven, Los minutos negros) and Antonio Gaona (Palabra de Ladrón, Educando a Nina, Rosario Tijeras), among many other actors. The cast, eminently female, includes the Colombian Viviana Serna (La ciénaga: entre el mar y la tierra, La Bruja, La ronca de oro, Por Siempre Joan Sebastián, Supertitlán) and the Spanish Alejandra Onieva (Alta Mar, Reinas, Presunto Culpable, El secreto de Puente Viejo), Krista Aroca (HIT) and Eva Rubio (El buen patrón, La voz dormida, Primaria).

Complete cast

Zuria Vega (Chelo Barbosa)

Claudia Salas (Idoia)

María de Nati (Itzi)

Viviana Serna (Rosa)

Carla Gris (Laia)

Gaizka Ugarte (Andrés)

Anastasia Russo (Malen)

Rachel Lascar (Dra. Dietrich)

Miguel Garcés (Gorka)

Hector Kotsifakis (Uribe)

Raúl Yuste (Teniente del Álamo)

Fernanda Valencia( Maca)

Daniel García (policía)

Alejandra Onieva

David Chocarro

Marco de la O

Vicente Tamayo

Antonio Gaona

Álex Onieva

Krista Aroca

Eva Rubio

Jesús Castejón

Peter Vives

' Las Pelotaris 1926' remains the definitive title of the first series that was born from the agreement between TelevisaUnivision and Mediapro Studio, being a co-production between Mexico and Spain. The series will premiere exclusively on ViX+, the premium subscription level of the ViX streaming service, which is available in the Spanish-speaking Latin America and the USA.

[pizzaronipasta]

I saw a post about LGBTQIA+ terminology in Finnish, so I started looking into the terminology in the languages I know.

First was Spanish, which I'm still learning, so I probably missed some stuff, but for the most part, it was fairly predictable. Most of the pertinent English words are entirely of Latin/Greek origin, so the Spanish counterparts are highly intuitive cognates. The less intuitive ones were "gender" ("el género") and its derivatives (the prefixes are still cognates, though). Meanwhile, "gay" and "queer" are words loaned directly from English with unchanged spelling. Because it's all cognates and loanwords, the LGBTQIA+ abbreviation seems to be the same in both English and Spanish, but I was unable to confirm this during my brief research. Also, I'm not sure how the "+" would be read.

On a more interesting note, my research found that "ambidiestro," literally meaning "ambidextrous," is a colloquial term for bisexuality in Central America and Mexico.

Then I thought about toki pona, which I know quite well. It only has one directly related word, "tonsi" (trans, nonbinary). Besides this, the only way to talk about LGBTQIA+ identities is to describe them in elementary terms. Since this is how all complex topics work in toki pona, I felt no need to come up with any kind of exhaustive list. Instead, I thought about how to describe my own orientation, aromanticism. When I tried to think of a way to refer to romantic attraction, I realized that romance is not something that can be broken down into elementary terms; rather, it can only be described in terms of one's own subjective experiences with it. Since I have no such experiences, I was at an impasse.

And then I realized that's a good thing! Toki pona has no objective way to differentiate between different kinds of attraction, love, or relationship. Instead, they need to be described in terms of what they mean to the speaker, which is totally antithetical to how modern society imposes arbitrary categories upon the spectrum of human interaction. Toki pona necessitates a mindset of relationship anarchy! In toki pona, there might as well be no such thing as romantic attraction—attraction is attraction, love is love. This emphasis on the subjectivity of relationships, with no shortcut for referring to romance, challenges amatonormativity and doesn't replace it with anything else. Beautifully inclusive!

So if someone assumes I experience romantic attraction, I can simply say "mi pilin ona ala," that I don't feel that way. Meanwhile, I can express what I do feel however I see fit. "mi pilin pona tan sina." "sina jan pona tawa mi." "mi olin e sina."

[westwingsolo]

Ok. I have an idea for like, a supernatural world AU for FirstPrince. I'm going to put it under a cut because it's going to be mostly rambling but I just need to get this out of my brain before I forget it.

Also, thank you @hstoryhuh for letting me word vomit to them on discord because I just needed to tell someone about this idea as well as helping me hash out some of this idea!

Ok so supernatural creatures are known in the world. They are still a minority though. Vampires are one of the oldest, and also one of the most powerful. They tend to make up the royal families of Europe, aka, playing with the idea of keeping their bloodline pure and what not.

So in that case, Henry is of course a vampire.

Blood helps give them strength to be able to be out in the sun and live fairly normal lives.

Everyone smells different to them.

Alex comes from a long line of brujas, or witches. It's usually women, but can be men, or brujos, but it is more rare.

Alex's grandmother was a community leader in her hometown in Mexico where brujas were respected for their wisdom and power.

Oscar did not inherit the gift.

June also didn't inherit so it was just assumed that the gift wasn't passed down through Oscar's line.

They learned that it was indeed passed down to Alex, who saw and heard the ghost of past presidents haunt the halls of the White House after the family moved in.

He also gets flashes of others' emotions.

Alex doesn't know how to control his gifts at all, and usually just tries to ignore it because it's easier to make sure no one knows.

Americans typically, are a little weary of supernatural creatures, so they keep it a secret to make sure he wouldn't affect poll numbers.

This was not on the "Fact Sheet" and no one knows except the family, Nora, and Zahra.

The reason why Henry avoided Alex like the plague was because Alex smells really, really good to him and Henry isn't sure he can control himself around Alex.

They still get stuck in the closet, just for a lot longer than what was in the book/movie.

Henry might get thirsty.

Alex offers to help for the sake of not ending up having a feral hungry vampire later on.

Alex may taste good.

Henry knows right away that Alex is not human and is very confused that he didn't know what.

Sharing his blood with Henry may make Alex more sensitive to Henry's emotions. Yes it makes their "relationship" even more confusing in the long run.

Henry's family, because they are so old keeps very good, meticulous records of all kinds of supernatural creatures around the world. At one of their meet ups, Henry gives Alex books about the culture of magicians in Latin America.

Alex is besotted. Henry just likes pissing off his family but giving away pieces from the royal collection.

I just want cuteness of Henry sharing supernatural culture with Alex, and Alex learning more about himself (both with his sexuality and his gift) through Henry.

[ravenclawloverofseverussnape]

Biography

First generation Latin America, specialized in problems such as corruption in my country, classism, racism, among others.

assuming that I am brown because I am Latina is racist.

Pro Snape and pro Michael Afton, (This character DID change for the better, it has been shown during the timeline) and pro Nymphadora Tonks.

I am a woman

your ancestors do not define that you are Latino, the complete experience is when you live in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru among many other Latino countries, just as I criticize foreigners, I also criticize those from my own country, so don't take it personally.

Here we don't use the word Latinx,

book lover.

I'm multifandom

Im Ravenclaw

making random headcanons

inactive ao3 writer.

I'm pukwudgie

I'm going to expand my blog with other topics, I want to try it.

Anti Sirius Black, anti Lily Evans (I had a friend who is just as hypocritical as this character) anti Albus Dumbledore, anti Minerva Mcgonagall you know what? all the teachers (except sprout) were disgraced by 90s education, anti Remus Lupin, anti James Potter, anti Peter Pettigrew .

couples I don't like for canonical reasons/age differences: wolfstar, jily, bleur,remadora, jegulus, snupin.

for whoever reads my blog in Spanish.

Hola, espero no te moleste que publique en inglés este blog es Pro Severus Snape, si te gusta este personaje te invito a leer mi blog.

[rollercoasterwords]

hi!! i've been thinking of applying for an international studies degree at uni, so i was just wondering what you thought of your course?

hmmmm well overall i enjoyed international studies but. i do not want 2 ever study it in a formal academic setting ever again. a lot of that is just down to personal preferences tho (this got really long lmao i'm so sorry)

i majored in IS at a usamerican university so i can't really speak to what expectations u should have for an IS program outside the states (or even necessarily what to expect other than like. what i got at my specific college lol) but!! while i really enjoyed a lot of the subject matter in learning about international relations, getting to study a lot of history and foreign policy, etc, a lot of the main frameworks used in IS are frameworks that i.....really do not like. right now in a lot of the world liberalism seems to dominate perspectives on international relations, and historically realism has been like....the foundational framework in the field. there are many more scholars who use feminist or marxist or post-structuralist etc etc frameworks that i jive with more, but a lot of IS even at some of the higher academic level lacks any critical anaylsis of colonialism or capitalism and the way they underly many of the assumptions in the field about how states will/should interact with each other. and my experience of IS at a usamerican college was (predictably) very western-centric and specifically US-centric.

like -- an example of what i'm talking about; you might get scholars researching "terrorism" without any critical analysis of where "terrorism" comes from as a label, what context it was created in, how it's been used in the past, who gets to use it, what forms of legitimacy or illegitimacy it perpetuates as a label, etc etc. or you might get scholars studying "development" without any real analysis of the ways that "development" is a very political term that oftentimes assumes all states should follow some sort of linear path based largely on states for whom colonization was an essential part of speedrunning that "path" towards "development"

and like i don't wanna undersell bc as i said there are TONS of scholars who ARE doing really great analysis that is very much questioning preconceptions in the field and helping to reframe the way we think, so if u are really interested in IS there is definitely a growing branch of the field that is breaking away from these sorts of necolonial western-centric assumptions + frameworks. my area of focus was latin america, and i spent most of the last year of my degree writing about how traditional conceptualizations of state security perpetuate gendered violence, specifically at the us-mexico border. and so i got to immerse myself in a side of the field that i really loved, and that was great!!

but the thing that really sort of sealed the deal for me on deciding i don't want to pursue IS for any more advanced studies was my senior thesis. up until that point, because i was a dual IS-history major, most of my papers had been more humanities based, but for my senior thesis i HAD to use social science methodology, where you're picking variables and trying to measure them and draw conclusions etc etc, and i just.... hated it. i think social science research certainly can be very important and informative, but everything i wanted to study was too nebulous of a concept to really measure in any meaningful way--and i think a lot of IS research can kinda run into that issue, because, again, if you're gonna measure something as nebulous as "democratic freedom" or "development," it's like.....what assumptions are you beginning with about what defines those concepts and how we measure them?

anyway in the end i kind of rebelled a little bit and designed a study based on the guidelines we had to follow where i basically went "if we measure development based on this notion that it's a linear process we can measure in the first place, we'd expect to see this in this country! but wait! we don't!! perhaps because the notion of development in and of itself is based on neocolonial assumptions and it's stupid to act like we can measure it or predict how certain states are going to act just bc The Western World acted that way!!" and my professor got a little annoyed w me and felt like i was being presumptuous and not giving enough credit to the scholars in the field who are treating that question seriously, which looking back i probably was a little bit, but for the most part i stand by my paper <3

anyway. that experience cemented for me that i wanted to stick firmly to humanities and cease any dabbling in social sciences moving forward, simply bc i do not enjoy using that research methodology. but if ur interested in social science + enjoy the methodology, or are more interested in quantitative than qualitative research, then u would not have that same issue! my advice 2 anyone interested in IS is just to engage w postcolonial, feminist, and anticapitalist writing + scholarship so that u are not just accepting questionable assumptions when u inevitably run into them in the field. also be ready to have classes w some really annoying conservatives who think that international relations is a zero-sum game (á la realism) and some really annoying liberals who think that institutions like the UN are flawless deities who would save the whole world if only everyone agreed to play a little bit nicer (a lá liberalism)

[pollenallergie]

look, i'm latina (born and raised in latam, never lived anywhere else, i have the credentials lmao), and regarding you not handling spicy food well, that's totally valid and normal. honestly, i think that's mexican people's fault for giving us that rep that latines love spicy food when in reality, at least here in south america, most cultures don't really have super spicy food traditionally. like, super well seasoned? absolutely. a little spicy? sometimes. but very spicy is definitely a mexican thing that people assume to be true for all of us

(unless... you have mexican ancestry, than i don't know what to tell you babe)

also, we don't speak spanish in brasil and that doesn't make us any less latine, and that shouldn't make you any less either <3

i mean… if you think about it… most latine people speak spanish or portuguese, and both are the languages of colonizers. you know what else is the language of a colonizer? english. so, really, we’re all in the same boat on that one.

also, about the spice thing, YEAHH!! i’m glad you brought that up!!! because i had the absolute pleasure of getting to meet and stay with one of my tias for the first time two summers ago (my boricua side of the family is pretty detached from literally everyone else in the family) and she cooked for me and none of the food was like offensively spicy (not the mofongo, not the rice, not the pasteles, not the picadillo, not the empanadillas, none of it). puerto rican cuisine, like many other types of caribbean cuisine, has just as much african influence as it does spanish influence, and yet, even we’re not going too crazy with the spice. mexican cuisine is giving the rest of us a reputation we simply can’t (and won’t) live up to (love y’all tho <3 <3 love mango with tajin. love mexican chocolate. love tamales. <3 <3).

… in all fairness, spice is also good in really hot, dry climates because it makes you sweat and helps cool you down (oddly enough), so like… it could just be that the landlocked, more arid places in mexico (predominantly north mexico and some of central mexico, i think) have learned to eat lots of spice in the summer to help keep them cool since they don’t have coastal breezes (in the landlocked portions) and are fairly close to the equator. but like in more tropical and coastal places, we don’t typically need that because the temperatures are fairly mild, we get lots of rain (at least during the wet months), and we benefit from the luxury of frequently having a costal breeze.

but also i’m not mexican, i know next to nothing about mexican culture (i mean i hardly know anything about my own culture!!) so like… i have zero authority here… i could totally be just talking complete nonsense rn.

also eeek you’re from brasil??? that’s super fucking cool!!! i’ve always wanted to go to brasil specifically to study the jaguar populations because!!! first of all, there’s so many!!! also brasileiro jaguars are usually quite a big bigger than other jaguars (if i’m remembering correctly), which is just… ugh we love to see that!!! and since brasil’s government has put more protections in place for them in recent years, they’re numbers are (to my knowledge) coming up… also like they’re so elusive and cool!!!! the flora and fauna of brasil is so fucking incredible!! genuinely one of my favorite regions for that exact reason. like where else in this world am i going to see a big ass jaguar battle against a caiman???

[legend-collection]

Patasola

The Patasola appears in the form of a beautiful and seductive woman, often in the likeness of a loved one, who lures a man away from his companions deep into the jungle. There, the Patasola reveals her true, hideous appearance as a one-legged creature with ferocious vampire-like lust for human flesh and blood, attacking and devouring the flesh or sucking the blood of her victims.

The Patasola derives from vampire legend. According to popular belief, she inhabits mountain ranges, virgin forests, and other heavily wooded or jungle-like areas. At the edges of these places, and primarily at night, she lures male hunters, loggers, miners, millers, and animal herders. She also interferes with their daily activities. She blocks shortcuts through the jungle, disorients hunters, and throws hunting dogs off the scent of their game. The Patasola is usually regarded as protective of nature and the forest animals and unforgiving when humans enter their domains to alter or destroy them.

Additionally, the exact name and attributes of the myth vary according to region. For example, a creature similar to La Patasola is called La Tunda in the Colombian Pacific Coast region. Other mythical creatures similar in description to La Patasola but differing in name are found throughout Latin America.

La Patasola's most notable feature, from which her name derives, is her one leg. She is believed to possess only one leg, which terminates in a cleaved bovine-like hoof and moves in a plantigrade fashion. Despite only possessing one leg, La Patasola can move swiftly through the jungle. In her natural state, La Patasola has a terrifying appearance; she is described as possessing one breast, bulging eyes, catlike fangs, a hooked nose, and big lips.

La Patasola can metamorphose into different shapes and appearances. She commonly takes on the appearance of a beautiful woman to lure men to their death. She then uses her feline-type fangs to suck the blood from her victims. It is also believed that she can transform into other animals, materializing as a large black dog or cow.

According to Javier Ocampo Lopez, when pleased, La Patasola climbs to the top of a tree or mountain and sings the following song:

"I'm more than the siren / I live alone in the world: / and no one can resist me / because I am the Patasola. / On the road, at home, / on the mountain and the river, / in the air and in the clouds / all that exists is mine."

La Patasola's origin story varies, but usually follows the pattern of a scorned, unfaithful, or otherwise "bad" woman. Some believe that she was a mother who killed her own son, and was then banished to the woods as punishment. Others believe that she was a wicked temptress who was cruel to both men and women, and for this reason they mutilated her with an axe, chopping off one leg and throwing it into a fire. She then died of her injuries and now haunts the forests and mountain ranges. In a third origin story, she was an unfaithful wife who cheated on her husband with the couple's employer, a patron. Upon discovering her infidelity, the jealous husband murdered both her and the patron. She died but her soul remains in a one-legged body.

More common in Colombian folklore, they are similar to the Sayona (Venezuela), the Tunda (Colombian Pacific), and the Madremonte or Marimonda (Colombia).

The La Tunda myth of the Colombian Pacific region also tells of a vicious woman who sucks the blood of men. However, in this legend, "La Tunda's shape-shifting abilities are far from perfect…for whatever form she assumes will invariably have a wooden leg in the shape of a molinillo (wooden whisk). The monster, however, is very cunning, and is adept at concealing this defect from would-be victims."

Mythical creatures with similar origin stories are found as far north of Colombia as Mexico; La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) is said to roam the streets moaning for her children, whom she killed.

Similar in behavior to La Patasola is "Matlacihua, a phantasm in the beautiful and svelte form of a woman dressed in white. Sometimes called the White Lady or the Bride, she would appear at night and with her seductive songs and irresistible beauty, lure men of bad conduct into the forest, scaring them half to death." Though not described as sucking the blood of her victims, the White Lady supposedly deterred men from seeking amorous relations in the woods, jungles, or mountain ranges.

[kimorahoward]

A Story about Ostracization, Erasure, Displacement, and More

Xenophobia/Racism:

The second way the game tackles being the “other” is exploring what it’s like to be a person of color in America. Since players are put directly into Sean and Daniel’s points of view, we learn to empathize with them as they experience discrimination and prejudice and profiling. The story gives the audience an honest look at what it’s like to be born into brown skin in the United States. Throughout the game, the boys are treated like second-class citizens, and on several occasions, are assumed to be immigrants – which came with all the negative connotations associated with immigrants.

In episode One, not only do Sean and Daniel lose their father due to a racial profiling incident, but also get harassed, assaulted, kidnapped, and called the cops on by an owner of a gas station they rest at while on their way to Mexico. In another instance, Sean is assaulted by a group of “hicks” who tell him leave the country and go back to his own. Later on in the game, the Diaz brothers even attempt to cross the border in order to get to Mexico but are almost shot by guerrilla border patrol citizens who believe it’s their legal right to shoot and kill any potential immigrants on sight. The game hammers home its point by introducing us to Brody, who juxtaposes the experiences that the Diaz brothers face. He is privileged in many ways, an ally and a liberal who shows the brothers a lot of compassion after their dangerous run-in with the gas station owner. He talks to them about things boys their ages shouldn’t have to deal with, about injustices he will never have to face himself.

In her 2018 article titled, “Life Is Strange 2 Humanizes Latinx People in Ways No Other Game Has Done Before,” Natalie Flores, “a bisexual Latin-American who is the daughter of an immigrant…,” gives an account of what it’s like be seen and feel seen when you’re used to being invisible. She’s used to receiving bare minimum representation in the video game industry but felt validated by the game and its ability to capture the erasure and hypervisibility feelings that Latinx people experience. In her eyes, Life Is Strange 2 conveys the genuine fears many people of color have when being the only person of color in a majority white space, for example. It captures the dread many people of color had during the 2016 presidential election through Sean and Lyla and their text messages. Flores went on to state that, “like them, we refused to reference Trump by name and tried to convince ourselves there would be no way he would get elected—even though we knew how much a significant portion of white America hates people like us” (Flores, 2018). The game delves deep into those aspects of the minority experience in America, with a degree of authenticity that’s rare in the gaming industry (Flores, 2018).

The game shows players a wide range of outcasts. Video games are often used as outlets for escapism, so politics seldom intersect with them. Many gamers prefer it that way, which is likely why the Life is Strange series, especially Life is Strange 2, received so much push back and mixed reviews. Even though stories like Sean and Daniel’s are difficult to tell and may cause game developers to stumble along the way, they’re necessary.

[drhoz]

#1936 - Meleagris gallopavo domesticus - Domestic Turkey

A somewhat unexpected sighting in Cambridge, New Zealand. Free range chickens are one thing, but you don’t often see a rafter of feral turkeys having a stroll down the street here in the Antipodes. Of course the fact that New Zealand has no large predators is probably a factor, and just as well, because unlike their wild counterparts the domestic turkey can’t fly very far. Wild turkeys on the other hand, will roost high in trees to avoid anybody inclined to a white meat diet.

Female domestic turkeys are called hens, and the chicks poults or turkeylings. In North America, male turkeys are called toms; in the United Kingdom and Ireland they are stags. Nobody has recorded what cats and deer call them. 

The Latin gallopāvō is a portmanteau meaning "chicken peacock" - which is fair enough. It’s not a bad description of the wild bird. The English-language common name, on the other hand, is the kind of nonsense you get when an entirely unrelated South American bird now known as the Guinea Fowl gets imported into Europe by 15th Century Turkish traders and sold as ‘Turkey-cocks’. When the British invaded Massachusetts, they assumed the local bird was the same one. 

Turkeys were first tamed in what is now southern Mexico at least two thousand years ago. Ancient Mesoamericans using their meat and eggs as a major source of protein, and the feathers for decorative purposes. The Aztecs associated the bird with their trickster god Tezcatlipoca. Recent research suggests a possible second domestication event in the North American southwest between 200 BC and AD 500 but, all of the main turkey varieties today are derived from the Mesoamerican domestication.

The domestic turkey now is raised throughout temperate parts of the world, partially because industrialized farming has made the meat very cheap. The great majority of domestic turkeys are bred for white feathers (less visible when the carcass is dressed), although brown or bronze-feathered varieties are also raised. They retain the snoods and wattles - fleshy protuberances atop and below the beak.

There were an estimated 30,000 wild turkeys left in the US by the 1930s, but extensive efforts by wildlife biologists have helped numbers recover, even in states where they had been hunted to extinction. This has led to some aggressive encounters between humans and turkeys that have become used to humans around the place. Even the domestic variety can be quite pushy - my little brother was pursued round and round a truck stop yard when he was a lad, but that may just have been the bird taking offense to his multicoloured jacket. I just found it hilarious.