#I don’t really have an official post/intro for Aqua so???

[shima-draws]

Shima’s OC Tournament ROUND ONE ✨

(Click on the images to view the closeups!)

Info about Noel is HERE

Info about Aqua is HERE

[love-takes-work]

I’ve recreated every food in Steven Universe

OKAY I THINK I FINALLY DID IT

I FINALLY RECREATED EVERY RECIPE FROM THE SHOW

Sooooo . . . what did I miss?

Now it’s your turn to help me be sure I got them all. Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

Reblog this post suggesting a food from the show (with or without screencap; just enough so I can recognize it). The weirder the better.

I will respond to you with my photo of when I made that food.

If I can’t deliver, I will like send you $10 or draw you a SU fanart or something. (We’ll negotiate.)

I will accept asks instead of reblogs if you prefer.

It’s fine if you have a fairly common or easy suggestion and you just wanna see it. ;)

I’m offering this incentive because I really want some help combing the show for foods I might have forgotten! Your help is appreciated!

Edit: Adding responses. :D 

Dog-Nut (Pilot!)

Classic Hot Dog (Intro)

Fry Bits (2 - “Laser Light Cannon” & others)

Together Breakfast (4 - “Together Breakfast”)

Popcorn for Onion (7 - “Bubble Buddies”)

Giant Strawberry (8 - “Serious Steven” & others)

Large Pizza, Extra Fishy (10 - “Steven’s Lion”)

Cereal to stop the Foot (11 - “Arcade Mania”)

Aqua Mexican Burrito (13 - “So Many Birthdays”)

Movie Snacks (17 - “Lion 2: The Movie”)

Crystal Lizards (17 - “Lion 2: The Movie”)

Hot Dogs & Hamburgers (18 - “Beach Party”)

Lars’s Lunch (20 - “Coach Steven”)

Fire Salt & Fire Salt Donuts (21 - “Joking Victim”)

Big Fat Zucchini with Linguine (22 - “Steven and the Stevens”)

Chaaaaps (23 - “Monster Buddies”)

Mi Torta (23 - “Monster Buddies”)

Durian Juice (24 - “An Indirect Kiss”)

Fish Kebabs & Giant Fish (30 - “Island Adventure”)

Cheeseball Cake (32 - “Fusion Cuisine”)

Breadsticks (32 - “Fusion Cuisine”)

Shrimp Appetizer (32 - “Fusion Cuisine”)

Onion Rings (33 - “Garnet’s Universe”)

Baby Melon (34 - “Watermelon Steven”)

Nice Spicey Pretzels (35 - “Lion 3: Straight to Video”)

Mama Sadie Lunch (35 - “Lion 3: Straight to Video”)

Garnet’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (37 - “Warp Tour”)

Mayo Sandwich (39 - “Future Vision”)

Bindle Lunches (40 - “On the Run”)

Marshmallows (42 - “Winter Forecast”)

Waffle Egg Sandwich (42 - “Winter Forecast”)

Caprese Salad (47 - “Shirt Club”)

Three-Way Sub (55 - “Say Uncle”)

Pizza Steve (55 - “Say Uncle”)

Tea and Cookies (55 - “Say Uncle”)

Pile of Food (57 - “Reformed”)

Snack Sushi (Season 2 Short - “Cooking With Lion”)

Biscuits & Jam (58 - “Sworn to the Sword”)

Smoothie & Orange Slices (58 - “Sworn to the Sword”)

Best Breakfast in the World (64 - “Keystone Motel”)

Noodles and Butter (65 - “Onion Friend”)

Potato Steven (65 - “Onion Friend”)

Lion Lickers (68 - “Nightmare Hospital”)

Amethyst’s Hoagie (79 - “Super Watermelon Island”)

Fresh Big Donut Donuts (84 - “Steven Floats”)

Guacola (85 - “Drop Beat Dad”)

Pepe’s Burgers (86 - “Mr. Greg”)

The Finest Steak and Brie (86 - “Mr. Greg”)

Corndogs (87 - “Too Short to Ride”)

Pizza Bagel & Fantastic Fries (90 - “Restaurant Wars”)

Fancy Orange Juice (93 - “Alone at Sea”)

PROTES Protein Bars (95 - “Gem Hunt”)

Pine Needle Tea (95 - ”Gem Hunt”)

Sugar Shock Shut Down (109 - “Last One Out of Beach City”)

Apple Sidra (109 - “Last One Out of Beach City”)

Gem Harvest & Wedding Cake (111-112 “Gem Harvest”)

Korean Lunch (114 - “Steven’s Dream”)

Zoo Fruit (117 - “The Zoo”)

Pumpkin-Shaped Pumpkin Bread (126 - “The Good Lars”)

Ube Roll (126 - “The Good Lars”)

Cool Kids Potluck (126 - “The Good Lars”)

Jungle Moon Alien Carcass (140 - “Jungle Moon”)

Meal for Stranded Humans (144 - “Lars’ Head”)

Everything Pizza (148 - “What’s Your Problem”)

Together Breakfast Wedding Cake (151-152- “Reunited”)

Bixbite’s Pizzas (SUF 2 - “Guidance”)

Snow Cones (SUF 2 - “Guidance”)

Crystal Drinks (SUF 3 - “Rose Buds”)

Carrot Bean Meal (SUF 3 - “Rose Buds”)

Tomato Soup on the Go (SUF 5 - “Bluebird”)

Clams, Peanut Butter, & a side of fresh-cut grass (SUF 5 - “Bluebird”)

Bluebird’s Cake (SUF 5 - “Bluebird”)

Fried Eggs (on Amethyst’s face) (SUF 7 - “Snow Day”)

Protein Shake (SUF 7 - “Snow Day”)

Spicy Chili (SUF 11 - “In Dreams”)

Together Forever Cake (SUF 13 - “Together Forever”)

Cookie Cat Ice Cream (SUF 14 - “Growing Pains”)

Cocoa (SUF 14 - “Growing Pains”)

Ice Cream a La Pie (SUF 15 - “Mr. Universe”)

Caveats and Rules (read if participating):

It counts as a recipe for the show only if it is eaten or to be eaten by a character (onscreen or implied to have been) or otherwise prominently featured. (e.g., Together Breakfast would count even though it was not eaten, but random food sitting around incidentally in a fridge or bake case does not count as a recipe.)

Food items that are only mentioned but not pictured don’t count.

Food items that are part of the background art don’t count unless they are significant or interacted with at some point. This includes mentioned or pictured items on restaurant menus.

Note: I HAVE actually made some things that have only been mentioned or pictured on menus! So feel free to suggest them if you really want to see if I made them! But for purposes of qualifying for a reward, I can’t commit to making the entire bake case, pizza joint menu, Spacetries display, or commercial cooler full of food if they’re more scenery than snacks.

If I have made an item once and it recurs, it doesn’t count as a different recipe if it appears in a different configuration in a later episode. (e.g., if I made an ube roll for “The Good Lars,” I don’t have to make a new one for Steven Universe: The Movie.)

Non-food items eaten by animals, monsters, and Amethyst do not count as recipes. (e.g., I do not consider it a recipe when the Big Bird from “Giant Woman” ate a goat and Steven. I do not consider it a recipe when Amethyst eats wrappers or garbage. Weird food she eats is OK. As long as it is food.)

YES, I count all qualifying food in Steven Universe, Steven Universe: The Movie, Steven Universe Future, and any official shorts as fair game.

NO, I do not count food in the comics, the video games, the official or tie-in books, Ronaldo’s blog, or the Crewniverse’s celebratory food as recipes I have to make.

There is a lot of generic popcorn, chips, and soda in this show. I don’t count it as a new recipe every time someone munches one of these as an incidental snack.

Very minor variations on common snacks don’t count as new recipes. (e.g., I don’t have to make every donut or flavor of Chaaaaps anyone was ever seen eating. Including variation options in my recipe is enough.)

Random messes made with food do not have to be recreated as recipes. (e.g., Onion smearing condiments all over the kitchen is not a recipe; pizzas that get destroyed or thrown around are not new recipes; Greg and Steven scattering food leavings around their Empire City hotel is not a recipe; a seagull with a banana peel on its head carrying pizza does not count; Steven scattering the contents of his kitchen on the floor while making Together Breakfast is not a recipe, etc.)

Yes, the foods will be prepared/arranged by me. In most cases they are homemade creations but in some cases store-bought elements will be used and that is also OK. 

Food-shaped items that aren’t actually food are not recipes. (e.g., game controllers shaped like ham do not count. Crying Breakfast Friends are characters, not food.)

Things made out of food do not count unless they are eaten. (e.g., Fish Stew Pizza is required; Jenny made out out of pizza in Kiki’s dream is not.)

Vegetarian alternatives, facsimiles designed to look but not taste like certain foods, and ingredient substitutes are permissible. (e.g., vegetarian pepperoni on a pizza that was REAL pepperoni in the show is allowed; a non-fish substitute for a real dead fish is OK; dishes representing disgusting food that are secretly delicious are all right, etc.)

Thanks for your help. :)

[artofsaraelena]

Another year, another Inktober materials post! WOOHOO! 

We are have officially 7 days until Inktober starts, and you can bet I’m being a complete nerd and crossing the days in a countdown in my calendar. 

So let’s move on to a bit of a more in depth look at the materials I’ll be using this year, shall we?!?! 

(I also apologize for the long ass text post, but the Read More seems to not be working so we´ll have to deal with it. tumblrgetyourshiztogetherwillyou)

Ink & Brushes

Speedball Black India Ink - Oh yes ma’am! I broke up with Higgins Black India Ink this year and got myself a bottle of Speedball’s Black India Ink! From the few tests I have done so far, Speedball’s ink seems a bit more viscous, more opaque, and dries smoother than Higgins’s ink. 

Pen Nib Holder -  I’m mostly going to use it with different ink mixes to shade different areas in which I want a certain level of opacity that I can’t get with my other pens. And yes, it totally makes you feel like you are in the Harry Potter world writing about spells on parchment. Win win. 

Round & Detail Brushes - As you can see, not much change in a year in regards to the brushes I’ll be using. I did find last year that I gravitated towards the rounded brushes almost every time, so I ditched the flat ones this time around and instead stole a detail brush set from my brother :3. Why buy when you can thrift? ;D I use these to shade my art with black India ink! 

Calligraphy Bamboo Brush - Oh yis, I’m bringing back this bad boy! I mainly use it to cover large areas of the paper with water and then plop ink washes all over. It is like the grown up version of finger painting, but while looking stylish af and pretending you know what you’re doing. 

Eye Dropper - My existence had absolutely no meaning until I started using an eye dropper to measure my ink washes. I know you might think you can do without it and just wing it, but for the love of the art Gods - just get one. It’ll make you happier than drawing hands easily. 

Glass Bottles - Aha! What is this nonsense you say?! I often have leftover ink mixes by the time I’m done drawing, and you know what?! There is nothing better than having a little bottle in which to store your really dark, dark, semi dark, light dark, very light ink mixes. Plus, it makes you look like a bad ass witch ready to poison someone when you have them all together. Bonus. 

Palette - Yes, it is the same cheap 60 cent palette from last year. Yes, it is still kicking like the little miracle it is. Yes, there is some golden ink that I seem to not be able to get off of some edges. I’m still not gonna spend another 60 cent on a new one. Come at me. 

Paper & Misc

Bristol Paper - By far the best paper I’ve used when working with ink. Yes, it does warp a little. But I haven’t found a paper that is as smooth to work with in ink. It has the perfect texture for ink washes as well as sketching away with thin pen nibs without damaging them! No real reason as to having two different brands other than Canson was on sale at my local art store, and a girl’s gotta save the chaching. 

Gold & Silver Leaf - OKAY. EVERYONE HOLD STILL. I might have been squealing about these every time I see them since I got them. I have always loved to incorporate little gold or silver accents and textures into my dawings, and I just think the way they combine with ink drawings is even more orgasmic. So this year I’ll be diving into the wonderful unknown world of leafing and I. Can’t. Wait! I have absolutely 0 idea of how to use them, but I can promise swords, crowns, and costumes decorated with these little beauties. 

Adhesive & Sealer - These just came with the gold and silver leaf kit and since I haven’t used them yet, I can only assume they do exactly as they say they do. Shocker!

Sumo Grip Eraser by Sakura - I needed a new eraser for getting rid of the sketches after inking them, and saw a lot of people rave about this guy so now here we are! It promises to not smudge on the paper, and I’m all about that life. 

Pens

Sakura Pigma Brush Pens - YES, THIS IS THE SAME SET FROM LAST YEAR. Yes, they still have ink in them. Isn’t that bonkers?! I seriously cannot recommend these enough for outlines and line variation. The little guy was the most heavily used last year, and while it is running a little low, I plan on using it mainly to create textured brush strokes. 

White Gel Pen - I mean. Is there anything more satisfying than creating little white details on pitch black stuff? Probably not. This has also saved me multiple times from a sudden mistake that was able to be remedied easily. 

Itoya Aqua Roller Ball Point Pen - I don’t use this dude as much as my brush pens or Copics, but there are certain moments when inking when you just wish you had a pen that you could lightly shade and control opacity with. That’s what this dude is! 

Zebra Brush Pen (Super Fine) - It is even thinner than the Sakura Brush pen, which means even more neurotic detail making is definitely happening this time around. Yay! 

Kuretake Cartoonist Mangaka Pen (Fine) -  As I mentioned above, the little Sakura Pigma brush pen is running a little low, so I needed something to replace it with and I decided to try this one out! The ink is pitch black and the handling and line variation are just dreamy. 

Tombow Fudenosuke Double - Sided Brush Pen - Okay yes, this was totally a compulsive buy, BUT IT IS TWO PENS IN ONE! Bless it. The black end seems very similar to the Kuretake Cartoonist pen, with the added bonus of a gray to quickly shade with on the other end. 

Copic Multiliner 0.3 - 0.05 (Black) - Literally the holy grail of my Inktober materials. If you want to do Inktober but are on a tight budget (art materials are expensive af, I’ve been accumulating these over the last few years), get these! Don’t even think about it. I use them for literally everything from outlining, to precise and meticulous detailing, to shading. I completely ran through my previous set last year, and there was not a single piece I did not use these on. Just do yourself a favor and pick a few. Thank me later :)

Copic Multiliner 0.3, 0.1 and 0.05 (Warm Gray) - They are exactly the same as the above, but in a warm gray tone! I got these mainly to be able to shade certain areas of my drawings without having to deal with the in-yo-face opacity from the black ink set while maintaining total control and precision of the lines, unlike when I use brushes. I am literally itching to try these for little areas like eye lids, freckles, etc! 

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! That’s all I got for you beautiful creatures this time around. I’ll be posting a little intro video to this year’s theme just like last year, so keep an eye out for that! I’m also planning weekly giveaways, daily timelapses of each piece being created, livestreams so you can hang out while I do that day’s drawing and other fun stuff like that :D I’m literally so excited to step into the Inktober madness again! 

Feel free to check out my instagram, where I’m the most active and post all of my art at! 

[blueplayskh3]

Big update post #1

So! So far I’ve been in:

- Olympus

Excellent tutorial, I’m glad it was short and areas we haven’t explored before, it was a super good intro to the game and a gorgeous world

- Twilight Town

I’m sad it’s so small (we can’t go in the clock tower area or inside the mansion...) but god. It’s beautiful. It’s lively. The NPCs give me life. It’s the world i’ve completed the most (all treasure chests+almost all lucky emblems), probably because it’s so small.

- 100 Acres Woods

The mini games were so fun and Winnie and Sora always make me cry. 10/10.

- Toy Box

Super fun level design (I kept getting lost but that’s on me), I REALLY loved the getting inside the toys bit and the characters were so loveable.

- Kingdom of Corona

I LOVE RAPUNZEL??? SO MUCH??

Kingdom of Corona is definitely a world I have to revisit because it was so big and right now I’m so focused on the story that I rushed through it and missed a bunch of stuff. It’s so beautiful though (I keep saying that but the game is gorgeous), and I love the interactivity with the environment. Also I love Rapunzel.

- Monstropolis

So i kept getting lost because a lot of the factory looks the same, but I liked the maze aspect of it nonetheless. It felt a bit more linear than other worlds, like Kingdom of Corona (and upcoming worlds), that are so big and open.

- Arendelle

I was afraid it was gonna be cheesy and suck, but it was actually pretty well done (except the bit with Olaf but that’s on me, I have beef with him and his stupid snowman face). Same as Kingdom of Corona, I rushed through it and I have a lot of stuff to go back to. The snow landscape is so incredible and it holds a special place in my heart just for:

“The snowstorm can’t get us here

A”

- The Carribeans

My least favorite world so far, probably because of the realism aspect of it, and also because I majorly sucked at the boat minigames. I did like the underwater part of it (the moving around was well done as well as the underwater combat) and I do need to go back and especially explore 1. the docks 2. the open sea on my beautiful Leviathan boat. This world is my least complete so far, I’ve missed almost all the treasure chests and lucky emblems.

- San Fransokyo

It’s where I am right now! It’s one of my favorite worlds so far, even though I think the fluidity mechanism and the PRESS SQUARE mechanism are painful. The city is gorgeous, everything is detailed, I’m having a blast exploring it. I’m gonna have a hard time finding every lucky emblem and treasure chest in an environment that big (especially since I still don’t have a map of the city?) but I plan to stay there after I’m done with the world’s story to level up a bunch, so that will give me plenty of time to explore.

Overall so far the plot has been great, and it’s really nice and satisfying to see all the dots being connected to each other. Although so far we’ve have like 80% Disney worlds stories and 20% original KH plot story, since San Fransokyo was the last officially announced world, I imagine that once I’m gonna be done with it, things are gonna get pretty wild.

The Disney plots have been all good and well and they’re actually much more daring than in other KH games (deaths were actually shown on screen! Multiple ones!). My favorite plot was probably the Toy Story one (it’s even better knowing that it’s canon to the Toy Story timeline) and my least favorite one has been the Pirates of the Carribean one (I thought it was confusing but then again I didn’t enjoy the world very much).

The story so far has been 90% Sora, and the rest of the characters share the scraps of the remaining 10%. I’d say Riku and the Org are the lead when it comes to secondary characters so far. I wish we had more Kairi, and that we could see her training with Axel instead of having 2 minutes cutscenes of them talking about it. Also I wish we could explore more of the Realm of Darkness with Riku and Mickey. Getting to play as Riku was *so good*, but it only lasted for like five minutes. I need more. Give me playable Riku (and Kairi I beg of you).

A lot of the KH original characters have yet to have screentime but I guess we do have a pretty large cast. Though I’m 23 hours into the game and we’ve barely seen Aqua, and Terra hasn’t even appeared yet (except in flashbacks, the poor soul). So many things have been teased and I know the story is gonna get wild as hell soon but I’m getting a little bit impatient I guess? Idk. I just wanna see more of the original characters I love. Also, I wanna mention the fact that I’m 23 hours in and no Final Fantasy character has made an appearance yet. I’m sad about that.

In terms of pure gameplay, my favorite Keyblades so far have been 1. Frozen keyblade 2. Toy Story keyblade 3. Tangled keyblade. I still have not tried the Monster Inc keyblade, but in terms of Keyblade transformation, the Frozen keyblade is unbeatable. I mean... Ice skating. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. The attractions transformations are super good and make the interactivity of the game really next level.

I also wanna mention the sheer number of details and extra shit to do in that game. The interactions between the characters (when Sora, Donald and Goofy have little conversations while walking...), their idle animations, the gummiphone?!?!?!? I’ve yet to try to play the Classic Kingdom games, I’m probably gonna do that when I’ve actually beaten the main story. The gummi ship open world and missions and all the stuff to do there is just... Overwhelming. My gummi ship is a car right now and i plan on making it the best goddamn race car the world has ever seen. I’m still laughing when I think of that person who made their gummi ship a toilet sit... god I wish I was that fucking funny. Anyway, there’s a shitton of gummi missions and I need to spend more time working on my gummi ship but....

the story

it’s calling my name.

I do still want to complete this game 100% and Platinum it, so that’s probably gonna take me 150h, roughly. I took a quick look at the trophy list (and didn’t even get spoiled!) and yeah... there’s a lot to do.

But I’ll do it. For Jim🅱️o Cricket.

I’ll probably do another update when I’ve put another 20 hours in the game (maybe finished it by then, hopefully?).

May my heart be my guiding key

[forcri]

Têtu: Madame X is clearly your most political album since American Life what was your state of mind? Were you afraid? Were you angry? Have you had enough? Madonna: A little bit of everything. I am afraid. I’m frightened by so many things that are going on in the world. As you are I’m sure. But I’m also optimistic. I feel like the future is full of possibilities. I hope I was able to channel my anger and my rage in order to create music full of joy. And I wish that these new songs will inspire people to react. As it’s what we have to do with our rage. We won’t change the world with fury. I feel every emotion you mentioned. To me, in many ways, this album is the continuation of American Life.

On “Killers Who Are Partying”, you sing “I’ll be Israel, if Israel is imprisoned. / I’ll be Islam, if Islam is attacked.” What should we understand? That you want become one with minorities? What Mirwais and I try to say in this song, is that we don’t see the world in a fragmented way, but as a unity. And I am part of that. I see myself as part of the soul of the Universe. I don’t see the world through categories and labels. But society loves to categorise, put labels and separate people: the poor, the gays, the Africans… because it gives us a sense of security. What I say in this song is that I will be every label people try to put on us. I will be on the front line. I’ll take the punches, the shots. Because I am a citizen of the world and because my soul is connected to all other humans. So I am responsible for everyone I need to take care of them. If one person suffers, I suffer. To me, this song is an act and a declaration of solidarity.

Mirwais produced 6 songs on this album, including this one. How was the reunion? We never fell out of touch. It was great working together again. ‘Killers Who Are Partying” is the first song worked on. It’s a political song but everything Mirwais and I do together, always ends up being political. Because it’s also his way of thinking. The guitar we hear during the intro of the song is a sample I recorded myself during a fado session. The sound of this guitar is exactly what I wanted. I really felt inspired by the melancholy and the feeling of this music, by the sound of Cesária Évora, by morna [music] and Cape Verde. The authenticity of the music I heard everywhere in Portugal touched me. I wanted to make this music my own and make it sound more modern. I asked Mirwais: “What do you think you can do with it Does it inspire you?” Of course, he really liked it.

In the song “Dark Ballet”, you sing “Our world is full of pain.” Are you not part of “our world” anymore? I’m not saying that your world is not mine anymore. I just say that this world where people are ruled and dominated by the illusion of fame and luck… ruled, dominated and enslaved by social media… ruled and dominated by oppressors who discriminate people endlessly… this world, I refuse to be a part of it. This song, “Dark Ballet,” was inspired by Joan of Arc and her story. It’s like a point of connection. Madame X and Joan of Arc come together. I speak her words and her language and I say: “I am not afraid to die for what I believe in.” And it’s exactly what I feel.

A year ago, you commented on a photo your manager Guy Oseary posted regarding the 20-year anniversary of Ray of Light: “Remember when i made records with other artists from beginning to end and I was allowed to be a visionary?”. Have you been allowed to be a visionary this time? I think you are taking things out of context… (Her publicist steps in: It’s unclear. Do you have another question?”, but Madonna continues) I don’t remember exactly what I wrote at the time. But I was surely was not criticising Guy Oseary. Nobody has ever not allowed me to do me anything. Yes, people criticise me, but nobody ever told me I couldn’t be a visionary. People often warn me however and say “Be careful!” (and she moves her finger like someone would when reprimanding a child).

Do you think this album will shake the music industry? I wouldn’t use this word to describe my music. Provocative, conflicting, emotional, passionate: those are the words I would use. And I also hope “inspiring.”

In the intro of “I Rise”, we can hear a sample of Emma González’ speech, one of the survivors of the High School shooting in Parkland who became an icon and advocate for gun control. Do you feel you’ve inspired this generation? I hope so. That’s what I am looking for. I see Emma as a spokeswoman and pioneer for her generation. I just keep doing what I have always done. I fight for women’s rights and humans in general. I fight for equality.

In “Medellín”, the first single of the album, you reminisce about your early days, when you were 17. What do you think of your career? I think I’ve taken a lot of shit! (laughs). That’s for sure. I feel like I’ve broken multiple barriers for women who came after me. But I’m aware that our fight is far from being over. And to be honest, I feel like I’m still fighting for the same things today.

“Like a Prayer” was released 30 years ago and created a huge controversy. Are you trying to replicate a similar controversy today? Honestly, when I wrote “Like a Prayer,” I didn’t think that the song would cause such controversy. It’s the video that shocked people: the fact that I kiss a black saint, that I dance in front of burning crosses… people saw it as a sacrilege. But I didn’t think for one second that things would be perceived like this. All of this was very controversial but it was not my first intention. This time, however, I mean to be subversive!

Provocation has always been a way for you to draw people’s attention to important matters like LGBT+ rights, racism, women… But today, it’s more the conservatives that use provocation, right? Give me examples!

People like Trump or Marine Le Pen… If you are a narrow-minded person and you use provocation, then that will be your message. Everything depends on the intention (laughs). I am not a narrow-minded person. I am not provocative so I can put people down and put up barriers or tell them “Stay seated.” I am at the opposite off that. Use provocation to destroy is not my intention.

Do you feel connected with your LGBT+ fans? Do you claim the status of the gay icon? I think it’s weird to call myself an icon. I feel blessed to have a voice, and to be able to use it to help people who don’t have one and to fight for the rights of those who are not heard. I think the word ‘icon’ is a word that other people can give you. But I can’t claim it for myself. Do you think I’m an icon?

You are the definition of the word! If Têtu thinks I am an icon, then I am an icon!

Is this album a tribute to your life in Portugal? You listened to it. You tell me if you think it payed tribute to Portugal and to fado? Not only fado by the way. There are lots of other influences I took since I live there. But obviously this is where the album was born. Even if there are other influences, this album is cleary an expression of my time in Portugal. I have a house there and I go there often. My son still plays football at Benfica. But you know, I live on airplanes. The sky is my home (laughs). I hope my Portuguese is good. I had a good coach, Dino D’Santiago. He helped me a lot and introduced me to amazing musicians. He played a major part in the creation of this record.

We don’t know Dino D’Santiago well. Could you tell us more about your collaboration with him? He was kind of an interface. He is from Cape Verde and most of the musicians from Cape Verde I worked with don’t speak English. He was in the studio with me when we were recording. He told them what I wanted. He helped me musically to give life to these songs because I had no other way to communicate with them. Well, in a way, I was able to thanks to the music. We wrote a song called “Funana” which will be a bonus track. I have another song called “Ciao Bella” which is not on the deluxe version of the album. The singer Kimi Djabaté, who’s from Guinée-Bissau, sings on this track. Once again, it’s Dino who introduced me to him. When he came to sing for this album, he didn’t speak a word of English, only Creole. Dino was the translator and really helped me. When I recorded “Killers Who Are Partying” and “Extreme Occident” which are definitely influenced by morna, I sent them the tracks. I really wanted his feedback. I wanted to know if he felt the songs were authentic. His approval was very important to me.

How do you choose the people you collaborate with, like Maluma for example? It happens in a very organic way. All my collaborations are decided when meeting the people. We share a glass of champagne, we get along and we talk about the things we could accomplish together. To tell you the truth, there is nothing really deep about that. It’s very instinctive. I am a fan of every person I’ve collaborated with.

You’ve often collaborated with French people: Jean-Paul Gaultier, JR, Martin Solveig, Mirwais… What is your connection with you? Yes! What’s this connection with the French? It’s like I can’t get rid of them (laughs). They are the authors of my biggest collaborations. Mondino, Gaultier, Mirwais… I think I love them because they are very… stubborn [stubborn means têtu in French, which is the name of the magazine.] They stand up to me. The people you mentioned are very intellectual people, extremely creative, very cultured. We share a beautiful synergy. (She slams her glass on the table and yells “Aqua por favor!” Everybody jumps. She then points to a photographer and yells “Who let the paparazzi in!? Who are you? Do I know you?” The photographer stops, terrorised. « It’s Ricardo, Madonna’s official photographer » her publicist clarifies. Everybody laughs.)

On the album, you sing in Portuguese and in Spanish. Is it a way to challenge the dominance of English in pop music? That’s exactly it! I like the idea of world music. I hate compartmentalising. We don’t want to do it with people, why should we do it with music? I like to turn on to the radio in New York and listen to people sing in Spanish, take my car in Lisbon and listen to reggaeton or dancehall. It’s great. Stepping away from English is a challenge, but you know I like challenges.

[msrenai21]

Okay, against better judgment, I’m going to post my headcanons about the Pokémon world in general (using only the games, both main series and spin-offs that I know). I am a foreign language enthusiast as well as aspiring translator, so a lot of my headcanons will be based on languages and culture of the Pokémon world. I’m also going to sprinkle in other headcanons of mine that are semi-related when applicable.

Keep in mind, these are mainly thoughts for my version of the Pokémon world in general as well as for my main Pokémon AU (it’s a canon-divergence AU, so all the in-game events are present, just slightly altered when needed). So please, don’t consider this canon nor me ignorant.

All right! Sorry for this long intro, but I’ll begin under the cut! I’d also like to warn everyone that this post is very long and if you do read all of it, you’d have my utmost respect.

EDIT (6/26): I changed Unovian from Italian to Latin. I feel this change is a little better considering quite a bit of the names in Black/White are based of Latin words (and tbh I like it a little more and it fits better than Italian). Also, I realized I made a mistake with the language Idem; it should only be Idem, not Idemian!

This is so huge I’m not even sure where to begin.

Let’s see, first up is how I see each region individually and what they were based off of. This is the biggest change from canon to my AU so far, in that, while I know that the first four Pokémon regions were based off of various parts of Japan, I only made it so that Kanto is based off of Japan.

My AU is as follows:

Kanto = Japan Johto = Mainland China Hoenn = South Korea Sinnoh = Russia Unova = New York Kalos = France Alola = Hawai’i

Now, each region has its own language of communication that corresponds to the country their land is based off of. For example, Kantonian is Japanese (but is referred to as the former within the world).

Kanto = Kantonian (Japanese) Johto = Johtonian (Mandarin Chinese) Hoenn = Hoenn (Korean) Sinnoh = Sinnoan (Russia; omits the “h” when referring to the language because it is not pronounced) Unova = Unovian (Latin) Kalos = Kalosian (French) Alola = Alolan (Hawaiian; Alola also uses Pidgin Idem which is based off of real life, Pidgin English)

I’ll also note that the Orre region (from Pokémon Colosseum) uses Orren, which is based off of Mexican Spanish specifically. This is semi-important information because I headcanon an unnamed character hailing from this region; I’ll get to him in a moment.

Now, since every region has its own language, how can they communicate? Well, they kind of all got together way way back in history and created a conlang (constructed language) with which to communicate. This language is known as Idem and it serves as the lingua franca of the Pokémon world, meaning it’s based off of English and how it’s used in our world. I’d like to give thanks to my wonderful gf @saphruikan for giving me permission to use her made up language in my AU. Idem comes directly from the Latin word, idem, meaning “the same.” In the present world of Pokémon, all regions officially use their own language and Idem and everyone is absolutely required to be bilingual (which is not a problem because the majority of our real world is already bilingual), but, of course, this doesn’t stop anyone from learning more.

And the second set of headcanons I’d like to throw out is still a little relevant to the previous ones, but it mainly has to do with Sun and Moon characters, their naming schemes, and relationships to other unnamed, in-game characters. To start us off, however, are things I thought about for Maxie and Archie in the Hoenn region.

When not dealing with business and team duties, Maxie and Archie prefer to speak/read/write in Hoenn (Korean). Since Trainer Brendan and Trainer May originally hail from Johto, their native language would be Johtonian (Mandarin Chinese) and Idem, which leads to each team leader changing to Idem so they could have a Proper rivalry.

Also, before I move on to Sun and Moon, since Maxie and Archie do not have canon last names, I decided to use their Korean localized names as their last names. This would make Maxie to be Maxie Majeok and Archie to be Archie Agang (I’ve seen people do this with their Japanese names and I thought the idea was really cool). But the reason I used the Korean names is because of the Hoenn = South Korea in my AU.

OKAY SUN AND MOON

To start off, I use Moon as the protag for my AU. She is the younger sister of Sun by three years and their parents are ex-Magma and ex-Aqua grunts. Sun and Moon were both born in Hoenn, but after Team Magma and Team Aqua disbanded, their parents moved to Kanto and their full names are Moon Byeol and Sun Byeol (byeol or 별, being the Korean word for “star”). They grew up learning Kantonian and Idem at school while learning Hoenn at home. After moving to Alola, however, Moon struggled with the accented Idem but eventually became used to it and started to learn Alolan (much to Hau’s and Hala’s delight).

Kukui, my man, my guy, can speak Idem, Alolan, Pidgin Idem, and Kantonian. He helps Moon feel somewhat at home by starting off in Kantonian for her before shifting to Idem.

Guzma HATES using Alolan and absolutely refuses to do so. This reasoning goes back to how he was raised, especially with a foreign father who looked down upon the usage of Alolan and taught Guzma to do the same. He can understand it fluently, of course, but he will NOT use it. He only ever communicates and thinks in Idem.

I should also mention that, unlike in other regions, Alolan way of naming children and families is MUCH different. Most regions adhere to taking on the name of the father (or mother in some cases), however, Alolans tend to not have last names. Most people just have their first name, or, like on Ula’ula, people have a first and middle name only. For those in Alola who do have a last name, 95% of the time, they have a foreign parent who wanted to keep up that naming scheme.

My best example would be with Guzma’s and Plumeria’s families. For Guzma in my AU, his father is from Pyrite Town in the Orre region (that’s why I mentioned it earlier) and his name is Lael Albida (based off of the White Laelia — laelia albida [to adhere to Sun/Moon naming schemes with flowers]). Guzma’s mother is Pikake (a jasmine — Jasminum sambac) and she is a native Alolan, coming from Iki Town. Lael uses the traditional first and last name combo, while Pikake has only her first name. Guzma’s full name is actually Guzmania Albida, but because of the events implied in-game (which are true in my AU), he shortens his first name and completely gets rid of his last name, leaving himself with just Guzma. As you can see, the naming pattern for people on Melemele island is just a first name, but since Guzma’s father is from another region, he made sure that his last name passed down like it would in his own hometown.

Now with Plumeria, since she and her family are from Ula’ula, they will have a first and middle name. Plumeria’s mother’s name is Helia Rostra (based off of the Hanging Lobster Claw or False Bird of Paradise — Heliconia rostrata). In my AU, Plumeria has two younger siblings, a sister who is the middle child of the three, and a brother who is the youngest. Her sister is named Hibisca (”Hibbie”) Rosa (based off of the Hawaiian Hibiscus — Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) and her brother is named Rotheca (”Roth”) Serrata (based off of the Blue Fountain Bush — Rotheca serrata). AND FOR PLUMERIA BC I ALMOST FORGOT, her full name is Plumeria Rubra.

tl;dr everyone speaks many languages and the naming scheme in Alola is different than in the rest of the world THE END

(I feel SOO bad for how long this has gotten and I’m really sorry bc I know it’s boring and my headcanons are weird and stupid;;;))