#the only thing thats actually new art is the alternate outfit

[blobbei-art]

So here’s a full ref for both of my favourite OC Kasifer’s forms!

Redesigned his alternate outfit and tweaked the ref sheets somewhat for clarity. Figured I might as well put it all together in one post! (Edit: Alt. Outfit is outdated)

[shhh-no-ones-home]

tattooed on my heart steven adler x reader

+++++++++

havent done an actual imagine in a while so heres a super soft/cute one

imagine: steven dating an alternative/goth girl. hes a v soft boy and everyone is super confused how that works but he is absolutely smitten with her and her style.

song: fingers crossed by coin

tag list: @cynic-spirit @satans-arse

+++++++++

"hey, ill be right back."

i said standing off the couch and kissing steven gently.

"okay."

he said not wanting to let my hand go. we had been invited to a party and i was definitely feeling out of place. with their rock star life style i had anticipated more leather and chains but it seemed like duff and i were the only ones participating in the trend. even axl chose to wear jeans. i didnt really mind though, i was used to being stared at and thats exactly what happened as i made my way to the bathroom. every wall was lined with people lingering around each other and most of them were gawking at me, a few of them reaching out and grazing their fingers against the chains hanging off my leather jacket.

when i reached the bathroom i sighed in relief, closing the door and looking at my tired eyes in the mirror. the black around them was smudged and smeared down my face from the long night of partying but it kind of went with the 'dont fuck with me' look. not that the teased up Mohawk didnt do that or anything but still. i laughed at the thought of myself standing next to steven, the complete opposite of myself in every way. he was such a ray of sunshine and happiness; i was practically dating a golden retriever. i knew he loved me though, i fascinated him, or at least thats what he told me.

i tip toed up a bit to see my legs in the mirror above the sink, looking at the two week old tattoo sitting just below the hem of my dress. the velvet felt nice on the healing skin but i needed to wash it again. thats the one thing i hated about new tattoos but the outcome was always worth it. i dropped back to flat feet before propping my leg up on the sink and washing my leg off, some of the dead skin falling away in bits of black and pink. i heard a knock at the door just as i was drying my thigh off, queuing me to leave. when i walked back into the living room of the house steven was still sat on the couch talking awkwardly with a way-to-interested female. she was cute if i was being honest, herpale blue blouse made her look nice in contrast to the other more bold women at the party.

"hey baby."

he said relieved, noticing me and holding his hand out for me to take.

"sorry, my leg was starting to itch."

he nodded.

"sarah this is my girlfriend y/n."

he said, smiling widely at me and helping me into his lap to sit, now that the couch was full. she laughed a little bit as he slid my dress up a bit to inspect my tattoo, he absolutely loved it. hes the one who helped me pick the placement and all that too, saying my thighs were his favorite part of my body so why not add more art to the art that was already there. it did take up the majority of the space after all.

"youre joking, right?"

she asked as i draped my arm around his shoulders.

"hes absolutely not."

i said looking down at him endearingly. he smiled back up at me with the widest smile, rubbing his thumb lightly into the inside of my thigh, being careful not to push into the tattoo.

"how the hell do you date someone like that?!"

she asked, eyes wide. slash , sitting behind the woman and talking to someone else, leaned over and tipped his glass towards me. he knew exactly what i was thinking.

"we ask ourselves the same question at least three times a day darling."

he said amused. she looked over at him as i laughed, stevie looking a little confused by what he meant. slash turned back around, her gaze falling to the floor a little expressionless and shocked to say the least.

"what do you like about her? youre so normal in comparison."

she pointed out, a bit shell shocked. when i looked from her back to him he was already staring at me, a small smile on his lips.

"whats not to like?"

he asked, wrapping his arms around my waist, petting his thumb into the velvet of my short dress.

"just look at her, its like dating a walking art museum. plus shes the most interesting and unique person ive ever met."

he said generally, still keeping eye contact with me. i couldnt help the blush creeping its way to my face.

"i love everything about you, from the way you make your coffee in the morning to the way you stay up with me at night to make fun of those stupid late show hosts. and not to mention how you make me feel, like i belong in every every part of your life. hell you even let me pick where your new tattoo went, how many people would do that? and now as an added bonus i get to look at my favorite thing on your body all decorated."

i leaned down and kissed him gently. when i pulled away he looked over at her, a lazy smile playing on his lips.

"not to mention she is much more interesting to look at without her clothes."

i laughed nervously and hit him square in the chest with my hand.

"steven!"

i scolded and he just squeezed me tighter to him.

"look babe, i love the outfits but you cant tell me you dont look stunning naked, decorated in ink and design."

he awed and i kissed him again.

"i love you stevie."

i said admiringly, feeling the couch shift.

"if youll excuse me i need to go re-assess my approach to getting guys to like me."

i laughed a little bit, catching her hand before she was gone.

"hey, dont change for any guy. if they truly love you then you wont need to. i know i didnt. mohwak and all."

she finally smiled back at me and nodded knowingly.

"thanks."

i let go of her and she walked off into the kitchen. i turned back to steve, holding his head in my hand and running my thumb over his cheek bone. he seemed absolutely in love with me and i couldnt help but melt. he was the best thing that had ever happened to me, crazy life style included.

"is it lame to ask for another kiss?"

he said softly, looking between my eyes. i shook my head no.

"of course not."

i said, leaning down and kissing him gently. he hummed into it and i sighed at the sensation. when i pulled away i rested my forehead on his, eyes closed.

"i love you baby."

i said softly. he kissed me again, smiling into it.

"i love you too."

[edelwary]

when you were first getting into art, what and how did you draw? (like did you just doodle ur masterpieces on pieces of paper and posted-notes or did you have a proper sketchbook) how did you find motivation? bc ive been trying to draw but I always get unmotivated and stop while still wanting to get better just by doing nothing.

REALLY LONG, LOTS OF ADVICES FOR ARTISTS : 

TL;DR ; skip to the HOW TO ACTUALLY FUCKING DRAW part bc i have a megaton of shit to say lol + The MOTIVATION part 

mmh… I’ll get into details with this one tbh bc it’s a long ass process ahah : 

I live by the sea ; when i was youung i used to draw TONS of boat, but like, dollhouse boats, you could see the insides and stuff ; i loved to add tiny details and stuff, and imbricate everything together !

around 8 or 9 yo, i went to the public library with school and discovered the wonderful world of mangas ! I basically… Copy pasted an entire Mermaid Melody tome x) 

For about 2 years i alternated between reading mangas and trying to copy them ! Then i just kept drawing in the margins of my schoolwork for about… 5 years ! I have a Fuck Ton of sketchbooks of that time, it was… The start. Lol. Never say it’s bad because it’s never bad, just not there yet !!

Around my 13 yo, i went every saturday, for two years, under a bookstore ; there was a cave, and drawing classes ; that teacher was mean and harsh and stuff, but like… Not really. He would take away my eraser for the class, force me to use pencil, to draw something else (bulky boys instead of magical girls). 

I’ve learned a lot, more in terms of How To LEARN to draw than to draw itself, but i still progressed a LOT !! 

Then i kept drawing by myself for a year and i really worked hard on it ; about hours a day, trying watercolors and stuff ; i have a real problem with colors in traditionnal art, but i’m much better with lines (i should scan some RAD stuff i made in the weekend, yall ive never done anything this good i stg i dont know why i always forget im so much better on paper) 

This gets us to my sweet 16 ; i have to year of advance, bc i got ‘’’promoted’’’ idk how to say it ; anyways, i entered my (current) animation school for the first year at 16; vERY IMPRESSIVE AND TERRIFYING. 

And i learned. A fuckmegaton. Of shit there. 

Now i’m going for my third year there and i can make photorealistic marmora blades and cyberkpunk decors if i want to and that’s rad, but here is

 HOW TO ACTUALLY FUCKING DRAW : 

I have one HYPER important advice, and i’m keeping it to heart since i’m like, 11 : Have. Sketchbooks. Please !!! It’s very important. Here’s why : 

You keep everything with you in one place. You have 1 sketchbook, it’s basically easy to take every where (a A5, or A4 are pretty easy to carry, i have like, 12 of those, and around 8 of A3) 

You keep track of what you’ve done. It’s super important, bc first you can cry of laughter at your old stuff bc its cute but not so good, and second, you can just be like ‘holy mama’ and see how much you’ve improved

It’s very important to be organized. I WORK in art, and trust me, if there’s something that i’ve learned this year through tears and missing files and bugs : Be. Impeccable. Now if it’s for fun, go a little loose, and just have a folder for art on your computer, and a sketchbook, no need to stress, but the better you try to keep a record of where is what, the better you’ll see whats wrong

Notebooks are friends !! You can draw, write, glue stuff, make notes, lists, everything !!! I have my life in those. It’s more important to me than any of my phones. 

Be proud of it. Like, not everything, duh ! But try to tell yourself than it’s like a RPG ; even if it’s only 2 xp here and there, one day you’ll beat level 40, and that’s super important : art is. Fuckin. Long.

I cant stress it enough. It’s soooo long !!! SO LONG !! it’s years. It’s like karate and fishing and ANYTHING. To be good at it, it takes time, but it WILL COME if you keep trying. There’s no secret passage. 

You’re gonna me it, believe in me who believes in you. 

Use. References. 

Coming from a little shit who’s got a really good visual memory, that can sound like bs, but i stg everything is always AT LEAST twice as good if you’ve used a visual support. 

I’m not saying COPY EVRYTHING (even though thats a good training) I’m saying, if you really want to do that asian tiger, please have at least two or three pictures of it nearby. Take photos of your hands, and stuff ! 

Make it harder. 

No eraser. 

Paint. 

I draw all my backgrounds on my sketchbook with INDIAN INK; no returns, no refunds. 

Ink, Ink, INK !! Don’t allow mistakes.

And if you make mistakes :

New page, restart

It’s okay

It’s for you

I once started back again a whole EXAM bc it was bad, i got one of my best grades 

You’ll improve and be more assured if you know you just have to DO IT. Trust me. It’s VISIBLE; if you can erase, you fidget and hesitate and ‘’kbeujebez hahhaaa idkkidsd’’ ; stop ; do it, and if you don’t like it ? Try again, there’s no time limit

Draw as large as you can 

There’s no interesting story here, it just helps. Bigger movement of the hand, more place for details, breathing lines

Thin lineart helps

Thinner. Make it even thinner

Break the rules, but not the ones that structure your art 

Big lineart ? Why not

Unfinished lines, vaporeous colors ? Pretty

Cubism is actually based on extensive and intense practice of classical art, it’s not wibbly wooblly ; the anatomy is more correct than you think 

Structure and composition are important, but so is movement and life ; choose your fighter ; mine is fluidity and fun, i’m like, a rogue/archer in drawing. Some people are dwarf fighter. That’s amazing and great. 

Don’t be afraid to do nothing

Pages and pages of my sketchbooks are actually just lance facing right and smiling, you know… 

Sometimes it just doesnt work : two ways :

Take a break, Kiki’s delivery service style

Keep trying, break your art until it obeys and comes back

Take breaks. Breath. 

Don’t compare. I do it, it doesn’t help at all. You’ll make it ; and if you compare, keep in mind that everyone’s different

I’m not gonna lie, it’s NOT easy, it’s even hard 

But I really, really think it’s worth it 

MOTIVATION :

My main bitch 

I’m always pumped for art because i can LITTERALLY NOT do anything else ; i love reading and writing and stuff but at the end of the day i just want !!! to draw !!!! aaaaaa-

Fall in love with it, and with the possibilities ; i have stories to tell, tell me yours ! Do your best, one day it WILL work

Actual advices : 

I have an inspiration blog where i just reblogs stuff i like to draw them later

Find a picture, copy it. Do it again. Change the characters (i have 2 ocs and Lance and Keith as default characters) in the pic. 

Like an artstyle ? Break it to its very core, analyse it, copy it, redo it, trace it and ABSORB it. Don’t copy/past, LEARN from your heroes.

Do what you like. I have 86578 pieces of voltron, this is not a coincidence. I have ENDLESS ideas for this show, wtf. 

Try new things. Buy indian ink im begging you. It’s so cool. 

Have a game with yourself, or a challenge. STICK TO IT. 

Study. When you’re bored, usually it’s because you’re stagnating. Make it harder or do hands until you cry. 

Love your backgrounds; make backgrounds, study trees, and tokyo streets, and venice’s bridges. Decor is just as cool as characters, if not more

Mess a little with everything. My roomate more than one found me stained from head to toes trying to DO STUFF 

Draw outfits. Draw what you want but can’t afford 

MAKE YOUR LIFE A COMIC. Remember those sketchbooks ? Make a comic a week/month/every full moon, whatever, and draw your life (mine’s the roomates au lol) 

Prompts blogs are cool too 

Make fanart of a fic you liked ; you have the characters and the pose already, you just have to illustrate ; double bonus, you probably will make a writer’s day, if not year !

That little movie that plays when you listen to your favorite song ? DRAW IT

Your favorite scene in your favorite movie ? Redraw each shot. On post it. Plus it looks awesome afterwards to have the infamous TREX scene of Jurassic Parks in post it

Get bored. That’s inevitable. Dance, scream, get back to it. Walk, draw everything you see. 

Make a paper google map street view : Take a walk : every 50 meters, draw what is in front of you. 

Snapchats your friends. Draw their snapchats when they answer 

Draw maps. Invent places. Invent bikes, and hovercrafts, and monsters. Make your everyday inventory. Make your life a video game, and do the concept arts of it. 

FETCH your inspiration. I have approx. 20 artbooks, full of drawings and concept arts of my fave movies/games ; take what you like and add it to the story you have since you’re 8. We all have one. 

Ask for it ; your sis, your mom, me even ! If you dont have ideas, someone will have them. 

WELL i’m gonna stop there, even though i got like, 9864567 more to say, but with this you should be fine ! Anon, i’m rooting for you ! we all start somewhere, just hold on!!!! 

[kinrazhopestudios]

Bored With Your Life? - Here's How You Can Spice It Up!

By Asyikin.

Do you feel that you no longer feel excited about life?

You feel that life is pretty mundane for you and it's full of routines. You eat pretty much the same thing for breakfast everyday, commute the same route five days a week. You alternate between 10 outfits and two pairs of shoes.

And then when you have some free time, you will take out your phone and browse through photos on FB or Instagram, scrolling down the apps, just to see what everybody else is up to.

Sometimes you just wish you were somewhere else and doing something else. But somehow you’re not sure what you would be doing. But what you know is — you wish life was more exciting.

How many of you feel this way?

We all have been there at one point in our life. Honestly, I have been there before! Sometimes it lasts for a few days. Sometimes it lasts for years. Actually it's like the most undesirable feeling ever to feel that your life is not exciting anymore. It's like you don’t have anything to look forward to the next day.

You just want to go to work, get it over and done with, so that you have enough money to pay the bills.

That was me years ago, after working in the same company in the same lab after about 4 years. But now, Alhamdulillah, I truly believe in living with passion.

Anyway, I've come across a good article online and I just wanna share 3 tips to those of you who might feel a little stuck and bored with life.

Do try one of these or all of them, and you might instantly feel like life is exciting again!

One thing they all have in common though — They require you to break out of your comfort zone.

Okay here it goes!

💜 Tip #1: Pick up a new hobby!

Most of us have hobbies! They are the things we enjoy doing in our spare time when we are not working. Things we do to release stress. A new hobby can give you more joy and fun into your life. Your life will also be more exciting because of the new challenges you have to face.

By breaking out of your comfort zone and achieving new goals, you will gain self-confidence and feel proud of yourself. You will meet new people who are passionate about something different from your old gangs or peers. By having new friends, they might give you a new perspective on life and living.

As your new passion grows stronger, you’ll start to have a whole lot of other plans with it.

Maybe you will start planning hiking trips after spending three months mastering the art of hiking. You will want to go to places where you can surf since you can now surf. Or maybe u will start waking up early because the practice of yoga inspires you. So now you start waking up early.

So by picking up a new hobby, suddenly life seems exciting again!

💜 Tip#2: Find new friends and meet new people

This is abit sensitive. Haha. But whether we like to admit it or not, sometimes we feel bored because we feel bored of some of our friends. They don’t inspire us or make us feel excited about life. They live a mundane life. They have no ambitions. They are happy with their routines.

It IS hard to get out of these circle of friends sometimes because they are true friends who have been there for you for all those years. HOWEVER, we are only going to be as successful as the people we surround ourselves with. What I mean is, if we keep hanging out with people who just want to be average and don't desire success like we do, unfortunately, we might become like them.

But if we hang out with people who are passionate about their lives, we will be affected by their positive energy and enthusiasm and feel inspired!

So...what I'm saying is, know who you want to be. Imagine how you want to feel. Then surround yourself with people who portray that.

If you want your life to be exciting, hang out with those who live exciting lives.

💜 Tip #3: Do something totally different for a living!

Sometimes finding a new job in the same field is not enough. Even though your experience and skill set is valuable to the industry, you can get bored with it after doing it for 10 years.

IF you’re totally up for the challenge, consider moving to ANOTHER Industry! Do something TOTALLY different from what you have been doing for the past 10 YEARS!

If you are a bored banker, why don’t you consider working in hospitality or technology? If you are a stressed lawyer, why don’t you consider becoming a writer instead?

It’s true that most of the people in a similar profession are wired similarly. They think almost the same about life! So when you move to a different industry, you might have a new perspective on life. And you will find yourself MANY new friends and your life will start to feel exciting AGAIN!

Yeah! So there you go! The 3 tips that might really help you make your life exciting again!

I hope you find the 3 tips useful. Do LIKE, COMMENT and SHARE this post so others can benefit from it as well. Thank you everyone!

Oh BTW, my husband and I are doing online business. And many started out as being part-timers. If YOU are looking for an opportunity to experience something different in your life, and if you are OPEN to explore, just PM me. I'm more than happy to connect with you!

Alright so thats all for this post! Remember, life challenges are inevitable, but no matter what, keep moving forward and stay hopeful always! 💜💜💜

[kaliiwashere]

Hollywood Siren of the Day - Dorothy Dandridge and Her Fashion Style

Can how we dress affect your quality of life? Some experts say it may. Of course dressing inappropriately to the season can lessen your body's body's defence mechanism, but that is only some of the way your wardrobe may potentially affect your wellbeing. Nor will be the physical element of health the only concern. You have the same constitute as almost every other person. Your body responds for the same stimuli. If you neglect certain parts of the items allows you to your identiity, you open yourself around many negative things. Whether put it into practice consciously or not, how we dress tells an account in regards to you. It lets people know how you really feel mentally in addition to physically. If you really feel good about yourself coming from a physical stance, you will have a tendency to wear clothing that showcases confidence along with a have a look at me aura., thereby, assisting to keep the body's defence mechanism healthy. However, should you not be ok with your physical state, regardless of what you put on it is going to show feeling of using clothes to cover up in plain sight of everyone; and that can suppress your immune system.

Designer clothes are authentic and original garments manufactured by the designers under their label and therefore are bought from exclusive stores and online. The customer will get expert advice from your creator as to what type of apparel is best suited for structure. The best way to discover is always to give them a go on and earn necessary alterations to give that perfect fit. Luxurious clothes are expensive due to immaculate stitching and finished. The client can proudly exhibit their finished garment and be the centre of attention.

Tradition is a valuable part of your life. You are mostly across the chronilogical age of 40. Your jewelry box includes a few timeless classic pieces just like a strand of pearls or even a vintage brooch. You avoid prints and prefer solids like black, red and white. You wear your timeless classic style and never the other way round. You know every time a drop of pearl earrings or perhaps a diamond bracelet is sufficient to reflect your personality. You prefer expensive products in your jewelry box which will go far and throw them away till they're worn out. You are always positive that you are going to look really good whatever the occasion even though you are going to not be the midst of everyone else, something that you always avoid. That is the reason you prefer playing it safe with one of these timeless classic fashion jewelry pieces. So if you need to put forth a normal persona, it could make sure your clothes satisfy your insides or at least match how you wish to feel. If your outfits cause website visitors to return looks and stares of negativity, you are the one that bares the brunt of the looks plus they really have an effect giving you. The more you are bombarded with that, the more it wears away at the all-around health. Another way to improve your all-around health with your dress is to step it a notch and cause onlookers to offer you the attention you want by wearing clothing and accessories that place you with a higher-level than your peers. Rather than just wear something common in casual or dress, why don't you push the barriers just a little and add some flair to what your don. Instead of just wearing a shirt, give a light scarf or ascot tie tied around your neck. Rather than picking out the normal tucked in shirt with dress coat and slacks, wear a thing that has an extended cuff and let your shirt tail hang out beneath your jacket more than a pair of designer jeans. It's sure to get some good eyeballs on you associated with smiles of admiration. That can only boost your immune system.

Locating the Right Materials

We are very mindful that choosing the right materials is quite tough, however, if you work hard you'll be able to surely do so. A large number of shops sell amazing fabrics that can be used for preparing costumes for role play. You need to buy high quality items set up price is too high. Get in touch with a trendy art and craft store that deals such items. Go for economical yet dependable options. You should never rule out Halloween stores. They can be quite economical also. Choosing the right colored fabric is most important. Another think about attempting to look good is your hair style. Natural Hair Extensions - What and the way? Don't wear ankle boots with the mistaken pair of pants. Having totally different types and colours of Ugg boots makes it potential to match your temper and Apparel Group Brands your clothes. People from the entire world go in fashion exhibits for having the knowledge of dressing sense. Discover a new method of having an intergalactic empire make selections. There may be a technique that is destined to achieve success in attracting others consideration. Never enable bad habits get in the best way of making your soccer video sport all it can be. Don't get me incorrect, sporting older fashion jewelry exhibits fashion too, which is an entire completely different conversation. Get a outstanding picture, not just very good, make it outstanding. This text will include both styles, however will make it a point to call out when something is more recent or dated so that you wont be out of the loop. It should not be the first thing you put on your face, since concealer is simply too heavy for an all-over coat that evens out your pores and skin tone. If you would like to buy a brand new cologne or cologne, try out a sample by the store very first.

People wish to look nice, and reading glasses are a terrific accessory for that since others look you in the eyes first. A properly made wig - even the quality artificial varieties - can look completely lifelike. You can look extraordinarily trendy while carrying designer leather bags and you can create a fashion assertion. And with the coming of a new school 12 months come the fall trends in fashion. At the tail end of last 12 months and the start of this 12 months there the place a large variety of in style kinds being sported by celebs that actually stood out. For a few years within the 90s baggy denims had been considered to be the biggest fashion statement, however slowly they ran out on followers. Barthelemy Thimonnier invented a sewing machine in 1830 and within ten years owned an 80 machine garment manufacturing unit that produced uniforms for the French army. As an alternative, many years later, at this time skinny jeans are ruling the runway and streets alike.

It's not that tough to be taught just what these attributes are either! Because the nineteenth twentieth, and twenty first centuries have shown, fashion developments are becoming historical past all the time, since traits are at all times evolving. Numerous modern ideas about fashion can be discovered online. Nonetheless, there was a notable enchancment in fashion manufacturing through the period of industrial revolution of the late 18th century. From a novel women’s dimension small to plus measurement clothes to the waist coaching corsets to the plus dimension corsets, there are options for everybody. Take the time to buy around before you purchase so that you're positive you are getting the best deal on one of the best products. So it is best to choose the ring that you really like and most closely fits your character. Deciding what to wear in family pictures could be simply as difficult as discovering the proper photographer. My advice is to go for what you like, no matter what the media tell you to wear. Thats why customers hesitate to decide on merchandise they need in front of varied kinds.

Tons of individuals like to hold across the mall and explore new products. Doing Famous internet options , you'll have space for extra fantastic discovers, and one other particular person is profiting from your unneeded items. Indian fashions, Indian artists and Indian models take part within the different events and performance happening abroad. In case you are FULL-BODIED AND SHAPELY, WOULD YOU CARE TO BE A PLUS Measurement Model? The good news is that these designer handbags are not only for the wealthy and famous. Males's ties are a perfect example. And, to be honest, these adjustments are value adopting, particularly if you are a fashion-loving lady. It’s simple, fast, and our fruits and vegetables are all the time contemporary so that you don’t have to fret about unintentionally touching a moldy peach. The police and press at the time characterized all Mexican American youth as petty criminals, and White sailors and Marines, who have been offended by the very thought of zoot suits, have been solely too completely satisfied to have their stereotypes confirmed. The patterns should be traced and the seam allowances added in. It is only not your issue.

In truth, this can be a trending model in terms of marriage ceremony garments. As any self-respecting fashionista knows, the change of season can imply only one factor: a fantastic excuse to go shopping! Getting help from an expert skilled that has labored with commerce current booths in numerous venues will probably be invaluable by enhancing return on funding. And on this last one, simply remember we report on the trends. And they no have to search for different sources to know about the information. Thanks Yusra, I am blissful to know that it helped you. This has created much affect in pop circles. You will be stunned at how a lot money you save. No matter what age group the woman belongs, she would at all times carry a bag alongside with her. You may must get pleasure from group actions and acknowledge you're only part of a bigger picture that pulls from the input of many gamers. Hancocks and JoAnnes. Especially in case you just need a stable to reinforce one thing.

[bleederziine]

“I Like Weird Complicated Songs”; an Interview with Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz

Speedy  Ortiz puts the feminine in feminism. Their music is for everyone realizing that feminism isn’t just about women, but examining how attacking femininity is used to pretty much hurt everyone who isn’t wealthy, white, straight and male by birth. And even though talking about oppression is really depressing and often unproductive because of this, Speedy Ortiz is all about what would happen if we put the positivity we talk about all the time into action. Our world could not only be full of interesting discussions and equality, but playful scariness and fairy tale outfits. But Speedy Ortiz’s writing isn’t only valuable in its humor and politics. With a poetry MFA as their lead singer-songwriter, Speedy’s lyrics are insightful, hilarious, and achingly true. In Sub/Verse’s latest interview, I talked to singer, musician, and songwriter Sadie Dupuis about horror movies, political art, songwriting, and much more.

How was SXSW?

Sadie: Pretty good, I haven’t been there an insubstantial amount of times before, so I know what to expect. I enjoyed all the shows we played, and got to eat all the food I like. No complaints really. I got to see less shows than in the past. In the past I was running around in between sets trying to see a million different bands, but this year I took it pretty easy. I went to the showcases we played obviously, and I got to see US Girls, and Girl Ray, Kurt Vile. I went to the AdHoc showcase, and the Don Giovanni showcase.

Inspiration for new album?

SD: Its hard to talk about just one inspiration for the new album; its all kind of older songs that were written that we rewrote, ones that were more personal. I think my goals as a writer shifted away from things that are specific to me, and I’ve tried to write more towards not universal themes, because everyone’s coming from this world and country from different places, which is evident from the presidential election. But certainly the song that came out today was about people performing allyship,  but not putting in the work to help their friends, and putting a burden on them. In the album we explored a lot of big issues with a light touch, because it can be exhausting looking at the news everyday, with practical ways to not lose your mind while you try to make the world a better place.

On the topic of allyship and consent, how do you think you promote and talk about these ideas at your shows and through your work?

SD: Talking about these issues is one way to help people  understand them more. Certainly Speedy Ortiz has tried to do a lot on those roads. We started a hotline a few years ago for people who are feeling unsafe at our shows. Whats been even more effective is passing out information on bystander intervention and de-escalation tactics on print outs at our shows, so that someone who’s just coming by the merch table can read about how to intervene if you see something going on at a show that seems unsafe. We are trying to foster the idea of people taking care of each other, and looking at not only their music scenes but their lives, like, how they can best help their neighbors and friends. I also believe inclusivity is paramount to safety, so we make sure we hire a diverse crew. These are the issues we are all thinking about, not just musicians, so I think it made sense that these ideas bled into the record.

What inspired the song and video “Lucky 88”?

SD: Well you mentioned that I lived in Austin. I took my mom to Austin for Christmas a few years ago. We spent a week in Texas, mostly in Austin but we also went to Houston. We went to the Cy Twombly gallery and it was the day before Christmas eve, and being in Austin which is a very liberal city but also being in Texas with a lot of conservatism, I felt pretty weird, especially with the president we were about to innaugurate. And I was looking at one of his sculptures called Untitled 1988, 1988 being the year I was born, and all of the horrible things that had happened since then and the things I didn’t know about. I ran outside and just started singing the song into my phone! Its about how the generation before me kind of left this world gutted and ruined but also about younger people keeping a watchful eye and working to make things better, and how inspiring those people are to me.

What do get out of Speedy Ortiz and your more solo work with Sad13, individually?

SD: Speedy started as a solo project, and I really enjoyed the outlet of home recording, and working as a solo musician. But then when we started playing as a band, I really grew to love that, and I don’t really like performing solo. We developed a language and a way for working out these songs together. I wouldn’t trade that for anything, but I like having both options, where I can go in my basement for eight hours, and post something on Soundcloud and its done, vs Speedy Ortiz where I want to make sure its something we all feel good about. Even though I write the songs, we work them out as a group.

I noticed a lot of horror movie and monster visuals in your music videos; are those big inspirations?

SD: We can’t help ourselves, we love horror movies! With most of the songs there are big themes, but we try to approach them with levity. I think a more literal video would be too heavy handed. Daryl our bassist went to film school, and our drummer Mike is really interested in film, always archiving old film stuff. They always have a really strong aesthetic plan for what the videos should be. I like doing that stuff too, but its cool that we can all come together on that and do something creative.

What are some of your favorite movies?

SD: As you might have guessed, I really like horror movies! Scream is my favorite series of movies. I’m coming at it from a pop horror/horror comedy background. I think my bandmates have a more refined taste in movies. I actually think I saw all of the Oscar nominated movies from last year, which is pretty rare. I really liked Moonlight from last year, and I saw I, Tonya which was really good too. I like horror, comedy, even really serious political commentary movies…

I used to have a job at a video store, which was like the best job I ever had, and there was a deal for video clerks where you could see any movie at a theater for free. I don’t  care if a movie’s bad, I just feel like its the most decadent and luxurious experience, being in a movie theater.

What do you do on tour, entertainment/reading/movies wise?

SD: What am I reading… last year in Glasgow I got a bunch of stuff from this place called Good Press, that published a lot of short run poetry, really small press academic stuff, essays, stuff like that. All the books are shrink wrapped, so you just have to trust that whatever you got is good. I was cleaning out my basement and found them in a record box so I’ve just been working my way through that stuff. Its all prose poetry and very experimental, stuff like that.

Do you think getting a poetry MFA helps your songwriting?

SD: I think honing any of your artistic sensibilities helps the others, in the way that so many musicians I know are really great visual artists. I think having an artistic practice, even if its outside your field, is bound to have an impact on your other creative work. I think it might be a detriment to my career because some of the things people really like about songwriting are things that are easy to remember or easy to sing along to, things that repeat, whereas, with my background in poetry, I’m always trying to think of the most not necessarily the most accessible  way to say something, and I definitely don’t repeat things much. So its bad for my pop song writing, and good for the weirdos who like weird complicated songs.

What were you into in high school, especially music? Any guilty pleasure stuff?

SD: Let me think, its been a while, I’m old now… I still like a lot of the stuff I listened to then, I started listening to New Pornographers again. A lot of Matador bands, like Helium and Pavement, and I’m really lucky that I’m friends with some of them now.

You have a really cool way of dressing on stage. How does that work/contribute to your music and performance?

SD: Aw thanks! I try. I played in bands since high school and I was used to being the only woman on stage or on tour, and I kinda got accustomed to this falsely masculine aesthetic, and I would just dress like the boys. Thats still kind of how I dress at home, jeans and a flannel. But at some point, the lack of femininity that I started to feel that if you were going to make rock music you had to fit into the male aesthetic, and that seemed like bullshit to me. I wanted people in the audience to not think they had to wear a man costume in order to play technical guitar music. So I started dressing like a fairy princess that can also shred! Its been a few years of that, with some slightly more elaborate costuming. When I see people in a bright or interesting outfit, it makes me happy to see something beautiful. I want to do that for other people, if their having a shitty day so they can have something cool to look at.

I know it might be goofy to go way back two albums ago, but I wanted to ask you about the title of your album two albums ago, Major Arcana.

SD: Tarot cards were really interesting to me back then. Its basically a breakup record, but I didn’t want to just write about that. I’ve always been interested in magic, and magic as an alternate religion, and witches and witchcraft in general. All of the songs were kind of through the lens of me being a witch and the songs are kind of like incantatory spells, and tarot was one of the lenses I used to find meaning at that time. My dad was Jewish and my mom was Catholic, and I had some education in both, but I’ve never been very religious but have always been interested in magical practices.

You’ve lived in a lot of places; Philly right now, Massachusetts, Austin. How have those places contributed and/or helped your writing.

SD: I think where you live affects you, and who you are affects what you write. I don’t know if its as direct as me moving to Philly made me write like a Philadelphian, but the reasons I moved to those different places was loving the bands and scenes at those times. In  a lot of my early Speedy work from those times I would put little easter eggs in songs to say, oh, this riff is from Pile or whatever. To a certain extent I still do that. There are so many bands in Philly I love, like Palm, Japanese Breakfast… I think anywhere you live, as a music fan, you’re going to internalize that. But at the same time I feel like I could go out in the middle of nowhere and still write songs.

INTERVIEW AND ILLUSTRATION BY CHLOE GRAHAM

[viralhottopics]

Geena Davis: Thelma & Louise changed everything for me

It was the moment she realised how few inspiring women there are on screen. Now the actor is on a mission to fix that

Somewhere in a parallel universe, Geena Davis is having the time of her life. Yes! Enjoying this new era in American history! As one of the few women to have played a US president on screen, in her parallel universe Davis is having a lovely conversation with me about how fabulous it feels to see a woman finally make it to the White House.

This isnt the first time the actor has found her presidential fantasies preferable to reality. Eleven years ago, she was President Mackenzie Allen on the TV show Commander In Chief. It had been the number one new show, and it was going to run for eight years. I was going to do two terms, Davis grins ruefully. She won a Golden Globe for the role. Then internal studio politics intervened and the show was cancelled after a single season. For a long time after, I felt like, in an alternate universe, I was still on that show. In my mind, she says, laughing, I wanted to set up the Oval Office in my garage and pretend I was still the president.

Davis hoots at her own absurdity, but for the record she did receive a fairly presidential greeting on arrival at the restaurant where we meet. The Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills hotel is a fantastically kitsch extravaganza of salmon-pink table linen and bad taste, but a Hollywood institution nonetheless. While I waited, the lunch tables filled with industry types, and my requests for a quieter corner were defeated by the expert indifference of waiters who understand the rules of Hollywood hierarchy better than I do. But the instant Davis arrived, the matre d descended into an obsequious froth Miss Davis! Welcome back! and whisked us off to a coveted booth.

So good to see you again! he purrs, before blanching in horror. Davis has a white napkin on her lap, but her trousers are black. Quelle horreur! The offending item is whipped away and replaced with a black one, while Davis tries not to giggle.

With Susan Sarandon in 1991s Thelma & Louise. Photograph: Allstar

Davis has no publicist in tow, and nothing about her outfit would suggest celebrity: she is wearing a loose white T-shirt and the sort of plain and comfortable black jacket and trousers one might put on for Sunday lunch in a nice pub. Were she not so tall (6ft), I might easily have missed her when she arrived, full of apologies for being all of 10 minutes late. I take the matre ds instantaneous excitement to mean she must be a regular, but as soon as hes gone, she whispers, No! I cant even remember the last time I was here. Its this very weird phenomenon. If I go to hotels, they always say, Welcome back, even when Ive never been there before. That must be rather disorienting. Yes, weird! She nods cheerfully. You have all these people saying nice things to you, and it can really be like, Wow, Im very fortunate, arent I? Im very, very grateful for it, you know?

When lunch arrives, she gets the giggles again: her salad is a strangely regimented platter that looks like someones idea of gastro-sophistication circa 1974. Its so kitschy! I was going to show your tape recorder my salad, but that wont work, will it? When her phone rings, the mother of three murmurs the universal prayer of working parents everywhere: Please dont be the nanny, please dont be the nanny, please dont be the nanny. It feels like lunching with a gloriously irreverent and relaxed old friend.

Davis has been a Hollywood star for 35 years, but at 61 her status now is a curious hybrid of insider and outsider, a bit like cinemas Ofsted inspector. When starting out, shed have been astonished to know shed devote the later years of her career to exposing her industrys flaws. Back then, she admits, she couldnt see anything to worry about.

With William Hurt in 1988s The Accidental Tourist, for which Davis won an Oscar. Photograph: Ronald Grant

When I was first starting out was also when I first started really paying attention to the Oscars and stuff like that. And I remember thinking, wow, everything is great for women in Hollywood, because Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Jessica Lange, Sally Field: theyre all doing incredible work. Every year, fantastic movies were coming out: The French Lieutenants Woman, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Sophies Choice. I think I did hear that, for women, when you get older it can be a problem, but these actors were already in their 30s, which seemed ancient to me then. So I thought, whats the problem? I started getting really cool parts left and right and centre, and I was like, well, even if it turns out theres a problem, its not going to impact on me.

After making her debut in 1982s classic comedy Tootsie, Davis averaged a movie a year, and could easily have made more had she not been fussy. She did sci-fi horror in The Fly, comic fantasy in Beetlejuice and literary drama in The Accidental Tourist, for which she won a best supporting actress Oscar. She played a baseball star in the sports comedy A League Of Their Own, a bank robber in the crime drama Quick Change and, most memorably, a housewife turned outlaw in the feminist road trip Thelma & Louise. Then she turned 40 and in the entire decade that followed, we saw her face only in Stuart Little.

By the time she turned 50, she was fed up. The neglect of women in film and TV was definitely happening she knew that but to prove it the Mensa member realised she would have to measure it: Because people just make assumptions, dont they? Even when the reality might be completely different. I remember talking to a woman editor of a magazine about all this a while ago, and she said, Oh no, no, no, thats just not a problem any more. I told her it still was. She said, and Davis begins to laugh again, But it cant be. Look at Meryl Streep, she works all the time! I was like, Er, Meryls schedule is the exception.

So, 10 years ago, the actor founded the Geena Davis Institute On Gender In Media. I am completely obsessed with numbers and data. I have become a scientist in later life. The institute conducts exhaustive research to establish the facts of gender representation in family entertainment, and they are grimly arresting.

Male characters outnumber female in family films by a ratio of three to one, a figure that has remained startlingly consistent since 1946. From 2007 to 2014, women made up less than a third of speaking or named characters in the 100 top-grossing films distributed in the US, of which less than 7% were directed by women. Of the female characters that did make it on to screen, fewer than one in five were aged 40-64. Last autumn, the institute partnered with Google to launch the Geena Davis Inclusion Quotient (the GD-IQ), a software program that measures the amount of screen and speaking time given to male and female characters. The results were even more confronting: in the top 200 grossing films of 2014 and 2015, males, Davis discovered, enjoyed literally twice the screen time of females, and spoke twice as often.

Its easy to see why this would matter to Davis, or any other female actor, but why should the rest of us care? This gender bias is so ingrained in us, and stuffed into our DNA from when were little, from our first exposure to popular culture. If kids movies and TV shows have profoundly fewer female characters than male characters, and theres nobody saying, By the way, honey, this isnt real. Thats not how the real world is. From 2006 to 2009, not one female character was depicted in a G-rated family film working in the field of medical science, as a business leader, in law or in politics. Our motto is: if they can see it, they can be it. Completely unconsciously, boys and girls are getting the message that girls are less important and less valuable to our society, because theyre not there. And if they are there, theyre not talking.

Playing the first female president in the TV series Commander In Chief. Photograph: ABC

Another way of looking at it, I suggest, would be that what we see on screen is, in fact, uncannily accurate. In a typical crowd scene, female extras account for just 17% of the faces we see a figure close to this crops up across all sorts of sectors in real life in America. Fortune 500 boards are around 20% female, as is Congress. Fewer then 20% of US legal partners, the military and cardiac surgeons are female.

Yes, Davis agrees, but I think the impact of media images is so profound that we actually could make life imitate art. You know, you see a dog or something and you say, Oh, hes cute? The default is always male, and its because weve had such a male-centred culture. And its because its what we see and hear from the very beginning.

I remember I was once with my boys [she has 12-year-old twins, and a 14-year-old daughter] in a park and they saw a squirrel. I consciously decided to say, Look, shes so cute and they both turned to me with surprised expressions and said, How do you know its a girl? I was like, wow, Ive already failed. They were four years old.

Davis takes all the data to Hollywoods decision-makers and creators: heads of studios, production companies, guilds. Does she come in for a bit of oh-no-here-comes-the-feminist eye-rolling? Oh no. No! If I was going in just saying, Youre making fewer movies starring a female character than male characters, theyd say, Yes, we know that. Were fully aware of that. We hope we can do better. We wish we could do better. And they would probably turn to this myth in Hollywood that women will watch men, but men dont want to watch women, so were forced to make all the stories about men.

Instead, Davis shows them the GD-IQs findings on profitability. Films featuring female leads make on average 15% more than those with male leads, while films featuring male and female co-leads earn almost 24% more than those with either a solo male or female lead. Their jaws are on the ground. She grins. Everywhere we go, its the exact same reaction. They are floored.

***

Had anyone told Davis in her youth that she would one day be an activist and advocate, she would have been equally floored. She grew up in a small town in Massachusetts, a bookish child and church organist, and was constantly shy. Just totally shy, especially about men. I had one date in high school, that was it, and he didnt ask me out again, she laughs, because I was taller than everybody. I was very gangly and awkward, and I wore weird clothes that I made. I think my fondest wish as a kid was to take up less space.

My fondest wish as a kid was to take up less space. Photograph: Amanda Friedman for the Guardian

Most peoples childhood self-image can seem surprising by the time theyre in their 60s, but in Daviss case the discrepancy feels comical. She is 6ft and appropriately proportioned, so occupies as much space as you would expect someone with the dimensions of an imposing man to fill. Her voice is gutsy, soaring from throaty depths to gales of laughter, and her beauty is unlike anything Ive observed in an actor. Beautiful women who have lived their life in the public gaze tend to convey an awareness of others admiration that can sometimes seem self-conscious, and sometimes almost pointedly detached. Davis, on the other hand, reminds me more of my cat, a ludicrously gorgeous creature who seems to take as much pleasure from its beauty as any admirer ever could. If I picture Davis looking at herself in the mirror, she isnt frowning anxiously but smiling back at her famous dimples.

And yet she goes on, I think I really wanted to take up less space. It seemed like every time I was exuberant or free, I would get pointed at. Things that really stand out from my childhood were incidents where people told me to tone it down. Like my beloved aunt Gloria, who was a role model and just everything to me, and who adored me, and would say things like, Youre really going to have to learn to laugh more quietly, because boys arent going to like a loud lady.

She knew from the age of three that she wanted to act, and studied drama at Boston University. But the most important thing was that people like me and think Im no trouble. It was as if I lived in some bubble of extreme femininity where you must never say your feelings. I had people who wouldnt date me because I couldnt even decide what restaurant I wanted to go to, literally. I never said my opinion about anything. I was afraid to.

Everything changed in 1990 when she made Thelma & Louise. Davis played Thelma, an unhappy wife who takes off with her friend Louise, played by Susan Sarandon, for a two-day road trip in an old Thunderbird convertible. When a man they meet in a bar tries to rape Thelma, Louise shoots him dead. Convinced the police will never believe their account of events, because Thelma had been drinking and seen dancing with the man before he attacked her, the pair take off. Liberated from the constraints of social convention and the law, they embark on a raucously anarchic adventure from which they will never return.

With then husband Jeff Goldblum in 1989. Photograph: Getty

Davis had her agent call Ridley Scott, the films director, every single week for a year in a concerted campaign to land the part. So it was really, really a passion project for me. And I was aware of womens position in Hollywood by then. But then, when the movie came out and I saw the reaction women had, it was night and day: completely different from anything that had ever happened before, you know? Women wanted to really talk about how it impacted on them. Theyd tell me, This is what I thought, this is who I saw it with, this is how many times Ive seen it, this is how it really changed my marriage. Sometimes Id even hear, My friend and I took a road trip and acted out your trip. Her eyes widen as she laughs. Im like, I hope the good parts? But that really struck me, and it made me realise how few opportunities there are to feel inspired by the female characters we watch. That changed everything for me.

Working with Sarandon changed everything, too. Every day on set, I was just learning how to be more myself, you know? Just because she was such a role model to me. Davis would arrive each morning with her notes tentatively framed in the apologetic, would-you-mind-awfully register of regulation feminine decorum. Sarandon would bustle in, open her mouth and speak her mind. Davis still beams at the memory, and credits it with revolutionising the way she operated.

Her institute is now in its 10th year, but has yet to generate any measurable change in onscreen representation. I feel very confident thats going to happen in the next five to 10 years, though. I know it will. Theres one childrens network that tells us, every time someone pitches a new idea, someone asks, What would Geena say? She roars with laughter. Which is exactly what I want! The parallel between her work and recent increasingly successful campaigns for greater ethnic onscreen diversity in Hollywood speak for themselves, she says. Its exactly the same problem, with exactly the same solution. When a sector of society is left out of the popular culture, its cultural annihilation.

Davis does still act; in recent years, she starred in the TV shows Greys Anatomy and The Exorcist, and appears in the forthcoming sci-fi thriller Marjorie Prime. Shes also in Dont Talk To Irene, an indie film about an overweight cheerleader, which premiered recently in Canada. But its very clear that acting is no longer her driving ambition. She gets much more excited talking about the film festival she co-founded in 2015, the only one in the world to offer its winners the prize of guaranteed distribution, both theatrical and through DVD. The Bentonville festival explicitly exists to champion and promote female and other minority film-makers, and last year became the eighth biggest film festival in the world; this year, it will open in early May in Arkansas and more than 100,000 people are expected to attend.

With husband, Reza Jarrahy, in 2013. Photograph: Getty

The most conventionally starlet thing about Davis these days is probably her marital history: she is now on her fourth marriage. The first, in 1982, lasted less than a year; her second, to the actor and her sometime co-star Jeff Goldblum in 1987, lasted only slightly longer, and was over by 1990. In 1993, she wed the director Renny Harlin, but divorced again in 1998. She has been married to her fourth husband, Reza Jarrahy, the father of her three children, and an Iranian-American plastic surgeon, for 16 years now. Giving birth for the first time at 46, followed by twins at 48, is not an entirely advisable maternal strategy, she laughs. I dont know how I assumed I could wait that long, and I wouldnt recommend it. Id always known I wanted to have kids, but somehow, before then, there wasnt any time I was planning it.

When we part, she gives me a great bear hug and her phone number, and it strikes me that she must be one of the happiest movie stars I can remember meeting. The parallel universe she inhabits appears to have much to recommend it. I had assumed she would put Hillary Clintons defeat down to her motto If she can see it, she can be it so ask if she thinks America would have voted a different way last September had the notion of a woman in charge of the country looked more familiar.

You know, she surprises me, I dont know. I like to just think that she won the popular vote by an enormous amount. She was not this horrifically flawed candidate everyone wants to paint. I mean, OK, she didnt win the electoral college vote. But, in another way, she did win. In Daviss parallel universe, the popular vote determined who would move into the White House, and all is well with the world.

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from Geena Davis: Thelma & Louise changed everything for me