#BLESS Michelle for being so iconic

[janwixler]

totally unrelated about anything really, But I was watching Derry girls and this popped up and I choked on my water lolz.

my shitty so-called ex have 'carpe diem' on his insta bio. When Michelle said this I was like, "YA GIRL, YOU KNOW IT !!!"

[xixovart]

whats up guys its mali and im back with more pjo headcanons

because i literally nEVER shut up

nico di angelo is bae and i would die for him

ok i know his hair is described as like shoulder length (i think idk) but we HAVE to consider nico with unbelievably long gorgeous hair i beg

estelle’s brother. no questions asked. i feel like nico and estelle would be a power duo to rival annabeth and thalia yeah i said it. percy says estelle cant have candy at night? nico sneaks a tootsie roll in her pillow case. nico helps her with her homework. nico fights her bullies. nico’s relationship with estelle is what a 10 y/o nico’s relationship could’ve been with percy. ykwim?  wine aunts nico and reyna we have to consider this

ok as a sequel nico is really good with kids. idk why. no one knows why. kids love him.

will has the absolute WORST sense of style mankind has ever bore witness to and nico is an unintentional fashion icon. nico genuinely doesn't care that his bf looks like a bad teen beach movie adaptation though it's ok.

youre lying to yourself if you think nico di freaking angelo wouldnt love dinosaurs as a kid

this child was the bane of maria di angelo’s existence. i swear. imagine maria fighting for her LIFE trying to give 3 year old nico a bath just for nico to IMMEDIATELY run outside and fall face first in the mud. imagine nico stealing money from maria and accidentally giving the gelato man a hundred bucks, maria being none the wiser. if you've ever watched full house toddler nico is very michelle coded.

i know its canon that he likes marvel (thx will kayla and austin) but i think he would REALLY love batman. i mean c'mon, it's nico. it's batman. they're soulmates. 

percy going into the redesigned cabin 13 for the first time have we considered his reaction?? “dang btch you live like this???” “what were you expecting” “idk weapons everywhere rock walls a waterfall for a door ig i was just picturing the batcave 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️”

I JUST REMEMBERED THAT NICO GOES TO PERSEPHONE’S GARDEN AND THAT ITS ONE OF HIS FAVORITE PLACES AND LIFE IS GOOD AGAIN.

nico is the modt sarcastic little gremlin to his dad (and everyone, but his dad especially). are uou seriously telling me he wouldn't annoy hades on purpose. let's be real here guys. nico prank calling his dad is the reason im alive. 

“is your… refrigerator running?”

“nico do not fucking start with me i have a headache”

“oh yeah i'm listening to really cool rock metal cool music rn totally” (old italian music blasting from his headphones)

this kid has a guy for EVERY occasion. imagine rhe weirdest situation you could possibly be in, nico knows a guy. “ok where are we gonna find a tap dancing elephant??” “i know a guy”

when he eats ambrosia it tastes like the blue birthday cake he shared with percy im not ok

“so we’re all 16 and none of us knows how to drive??” “i can get us there” “nico you’re like 13 years old.” “and european?? hand me the keys”

ok so you can expect he has unbelievably beautiful penmanship because he was raised in 1930’s italy and you are so right. looking at his writing is like a blessing 

im listening to a pearl by mitski rn and it reminds me of him im so sad

side note i think he would really like mitski

he seems like he would be afraid of clowns. don't ask about my thought process for this i just feel it ykwim

nico would get his shit ROCKED by a nerf gun

“wHY IS THE MICROWAVE SCREAMING AT ME” “nico that just means your food is done.”

i will NEVER shut up about nico di angelo’s accent. rolled r’s, hard i’s, speaking unbelievably fast and tripping over his words. italian!! “oh but mali, in house of hades the seven were surprised to learn nico was italian.'' first of all i love the seven but its rlly dumb of them not to notice nico was italian when his last name is DI ANGELO. second. a certain 11 year old nico trained himself out of his accent as a method for escapism, he wanted to flee his past and his family and his descent, and he wanted to fit in. of course he would hide his accent. his time at camp half blood (and ofc his quest with reyna, and jason’s acceptance of him) helped him start to embrace his heritage and past. when he started dating will, he ofc began to trust will more than anybody else. every so often, nico would let his guard down and let his accent slip. eventually, he started using it freely around everybody. i see this hc as a part of his growth and character development and even if it’s a small detail it means a lot to me.

he takes his curly hair routine VERY seriously

bushy eyebrows idk where this came fr9m just bear with me

nico uses disassociation as a coping mechanism a LOT. he’ll zone out at random for hours at a time and chb has a very strict rule about not bothering campers with ptsd when they’re disassociated unless necessary, so he’ll just sit at the dinner table for ages and when he comes back to reality it’s been like 3 hours. 

 “you came out of the blue like that. i never could've seen you coming, i think you're everything i wanted.” by gracie abrams except it’s nico realizing he likes will 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[claudeleine]

Tag 10 mutuals or however many and describe on what you like about them!

ahh omg ok ok, in no particular order and just kinda picking 10 mutuals off the top of my head:

@maxlordd - deidre is truly just so so kind and supportive and hilarious :’) always down to yell about stuff and give me all the secondhand dc knowledge. her liveblogs literally have me cryinggg of laughter on the regular, and she’s always down to vent and whatnot when i’ve needed to get something off my chest which i just really really appreciate<3

@shurii - we’re divorced now but pavi is like my fav hypeman on tumblr. literally every single edit or gif i’ve made that she’s reblogged has come with a shower of compliments in all-caps alfjklfjadldkjafslf i just really appreciate that she takes the time to hype everyone up in the tags even tho she’ll unfollow u if she hears ur close to hitting a milestone l o l

@dilfdoctordoom - literally one of the fucking funniest ppl on this hellsite. literally always cackling when i read a message or post from maeve. and she’s always down to hype up her friends and mutuals too :’) 

@timsdrakes - truly the...idk leader of genosha???? lolll michelle is so nice unless u come for her favs, and i’m always just so impressed by how much she knows about comics!! she’s always down to put together reading guides and help ppl out and i love that!

@nethandrake - jazzzz<3 always so glad we got to know each other better!! a phenomenal writer and lovely person to talk to (which reminds me i need to reply to u on discord lol). just an all-around amazing human being and i love all our long-winded conversations about sam cap and the mcu

@obiewan - robin is honestly such a talented artist!!!! and i love how passionate she is about her art and star wars, especially maul lmaoo. we’ve been through some rough times together on this hellsite, but she’s always so supportive and kind<3 

@cykelops - we haven’t really talked much at all, but really one of my fav marvel artists on here!! always so chill, sharing great art from others too, posting pictures of their bunnies :’) overall good vibes<33

@ashleyeckstein - an icon!! one of the best star wars/clone wars blogs around. derin is super down to earth and also makes some of the best tcw content. like really, spare some talent pls alkfjflaslkdf

@bucky-nat - truly an angel!!! i really appreciate that marcy is such a genuine person and is always down to learn more and ask questions!! tbh i think they’re such a brave, curious, and kind person :’)

@star-wars - ever since allison messaged me and asked if she could tag me in her star wars gifs, my tag has been blessed with stunningggg star wars (especially rogue one) gifs!! literally *chefs kiss*????? allison is literally so chill and they bring so much positivity to wherever they are<3

[jasperwhitcock]

the rules: tag five or more people that you are thankful for in your 2020, that you're thankful exists in a world that's hard to live in. whether that be through random reblogs on your posts, or people you have had full blown conversations with. whether it's just seeing them in your dash, or interacting with them.

here to be gross again & catch up on another tag game *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

tagged by the angel that is kate @leahclearwaterdefensesquad

i love talking to u all everyday hehehe y’all saved my 2020

@inthemiddleofmymidnight i love u sm kimmie. my first friend on here. 🥺 i am giggling thinking of how shy we were... can u believe we’ve been bffs for like ten months... how is that possible?? i’ve literally already poured my heart out to u like 5 times this month so imma just keep it as ilysm. u literally bring me joy

@bellaskhakis neighana 🐎 ilysm!! i love having u in my life. it’s like we’ve been friends forever. i’m lucky to have u to always keep me humble 😩 hehe i’m kidding but also to give me advice or just to listen or be there. ur wonderful & i can’t imagine this year without u

@the-golden-onion mads... ew i’m laughing at myself... the way literally every speech i’m making sounds like the most basic speech made at a wedding... i’m being SINCERE here it’s not my fault i love all of u 😭 ok but mads i ADORE u. u keep saying how we’re a light in ur life but ur for real a light in our lives. i love having someone i have so much in common w that i can freak out abt acnh or pll or harry potter or twilight or mythical creatures or cute animals or writing fanfics or WHATEVER. my life is sooo much better w u in it. i’m obsessed w u

@howlonghaveyoubeenseventeen emma EWWW not me TEARING up ew make it STOP! emma thank u sm for the absolutely like relentless positivity and love and support u give all of us. the way u choose kindness and optimism is literally inspiring. ur the most caring, sincere, sweetest person in the world & all of our lives are severely improved having u around. ur like our sister

@bellasredchevy kae i admire u SO much. i eat up anything u post or anything u say... ik i’ve said it before and i think it sounds like mega cheesy but i think u just carry urself w such grace & wisdom (im embarrassed to say this when like our relationship is founded on a mutual love of TWILIGHT like tf sdhfdjfhfj) but i rlly just think ur so smart and compassionate and so u have the BEST takes & it really reflects on how u view the world and i just appreciate the expectations u have for how people treat each other (again this sounds SOO weird LMAO) i love u ur literally a part of the reason i joined the renaissance

@teamjacobthot dij i love the energy u bring into my life. ur always honest and blunt and hilarious and understanding and i feel like u just see things for what they are which is refreshing considering i’m someone who overcomplicates things. ur so beautiful & talented & just the coolest. i just thought abt u saying “is this let it go” like 2 minutes into frozen and i’m dead 😭 ilysm and also keep forgetting to tell u but jesy leaving has plunged me right back into another little mix lewis and i am sooooo sad

@cullen-collective ok i just had a moment of panic bc thinking abt u singing reminded me that the ratatouille musical is STREAMING RN LIVE AND I FORGOT but anyways. kaity i keep saying it but ur voice has BLESSED our lives. grateful for all the beautiful singing snaps & also the snaps where ur just telling stories bc i love listening to u talk hehehe. ur the sweetest and so funny & i love ur passion

@paulxlahotee i LOOOOVE u i’m so obsessed w ur TALENT & i admire u soooo much. ur literal JOY and i am so happy that the four l*ko did not make u d word... at least i hope so... has anybody heard from michele today??? she still w us? 😩 ur beautiful and hilarious i’m so lucky to know u!!!

@kaquiche taryn ILYSM ur literally the first person i remember interacting w my blog... it’s been u & me from the beginning baby 😩 u make me laugh so much and i love that ur always down to clown. ur just so supportive and silly and cute and i love u ok all of my messages are sounding like i am dr*nk i just love y’all ok leave me alone. also i didn't even see ur message abt zoom last night and now i feel sad that we all abandoned u. i spent my near year w u in spirit

@phil-dwyer-stan-account addison my dream in life is literally to hang out w u and go to the hello kitty cafe and disneyland and to skip in a big field of wildflowers in cute dresses. i love u!!! ur a cute sweet hardworking angel who deserves soooo much!!

@volturialice g once again... i am truly ur FAN i’m a volturialice STAN. ur one of my absolute FAVE blogs. i think ur genius & feel ~honored~ to be friends hehehe

@anagonyeet / @sethrights ama i love u so much i’m truly so grateful we became friends!! i’m so happy we’ve kept contact bc ur the sweetest, most supportive, and caring friend. i can’t believe u show up to support all my endeavors sdfhdghjkf. my fave follower on my animal crossing ig account hehehe

@leahclearwaterdefensesquad kate thank u for the tag!! ur so wonderful & i so appreciate all the leah content & that u think of me so often for tag games!! ily

and a thank u & i love u to all the blogs that are sweet friends of mine or post content i love & admire – @kellythepitiablefangirl (ur so talented... i adore ur art) @iknowyouloveme-thanks (u consistently make me laugh w ur posts) @renegadepack (thank u for the wolf pack content & also ur resource post... i’ve linked it a million times) @edwardsvirginity (another blog that made me join the renaissance bc i loved their posts) @edytheelizabethcullen (the SWEETEST angel ilysm) @rosaalee (ur moodboards are everything) @bellas-dumptruck-ass (funny & lovely & the best url) @emmettmc-heart-y (the KINDEST soul) @carllisle (happy every time i see ur url in my noties) @notquitetwilight (current god of the renaissance) @panlight (the funniest... thankful for keeping up w the cullens every day) @cockmcstuffins (the most iconic) @influenzabella (an absolute cutie) @witchyangela (elle is also an angel who provides the wolfpack content that we need) @angelasglasses (a sweetheart)

& all my moots!! i wish u all the happiest 2021 ♡♡♡

[leahcee]

I was tagged by the amazing @hellishcreature, once again I feel honored to be followed by you and our mini interactions <3

the rules: tag five or more people that you are thankful for in your 2020, that you're thankful exists in a world that's hard to live in. wether that be through random reblogs on your posts, or people you have had full blown conversations with. wether it's just seeing them in your dash, or interacting with them.

Let’s start at the beginning when I first started my lil humble blog and one of the first twi (wolf pack stan) blogs that followed me was THEE @teamjacobthot and I lowkey felt starstruck. Dee you’re amazing, you’re super freaking gorgeous, an equally beautiful personality, with great content (that I’m v grateful for), I could go on and on and on so let me stop here. I love u and grateful for you! <3

@reprisesarebetter you were one of the very first blogs to ever follow me, shout out to Anne for being there from the beginning😭you’re a real one honestly truly💓💕

Next up: the super lovely and talented @paulxlahotee !! I love you soooo much, you’re so kind and funny and youve blessed us all with king billy’s photo album. And I seriously love your earrings (I know I keep telling u that but it’s true !!). I also felt so honored when you followed me bc I was like “omg a big name twi renaissance blog followed me!!” or if you can envision that one leo dicaprio meme where he’s pointing at the tv, that was me😩I’m beyond grateful for you michele🤍

@leahclearwaterdefensesquad oh my lovely kate!! I remember when you first followed me and I, once again, freaked out! You’re seriously amazing especially with all the work you put into the carrds and all that!! Also all your edits and playlists are some of my faves!! I love you and I’m very grateful for you!!🤍

My beautiful @lemonadebottlecap!! First let’s take a moment to mourn the bottle cap. Now for the tea, you’re deadass sooo funny i always see your posts or your tags and I end up cackling like a mad woman lmao. When you followed me I felt like I had acquired an entire A List cast following me😩 once again I’m honored to have you following me /.\ anytime I see you in my feed or my notifications I’m like “ugh queen!!💕💞💞💓💖💘💝”

@sierrapounds hi queen you’re one of my real life friends and I love u!!! s/o ghetto ass c*u for bringing us together <3 and also for helping me create my “aesthetic” blog that ended up turning into this chaotic mess.... so technically you’re the real reason why I’m here😳 if it weren’t for us being dumbasses in our room last year and you talking about watching twilight every night, I wouldn’t be the obsessed whore that I am, so thank you (ugh this sounds like a Grammy speech).

@witchyangela thank u for the amazing content you pump out and the iconic incorrect wolf pack! W/o you and your galaxy brain we’d be nothing truly. (And the fact that we’re both elle’s>>>)

Things are gonna get a lil repetitive so to the following blogs (and anyone else reading this) I love you and I’m grateful that I’ve ran into y’all on this hellsite <3 @embrycallsmuffin @supermassivebutthole @fuckmeyer @anagonyeet @howlonghaveyoubeenseventeen @stormyseasons @teampaul @emmett2wavy

[aion-rsa]

5 underrated Richard Donner movies you need to see

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Richard Donner will forever be remembered as the filmmaker who created the blueprint for the modern superhero blockbuster with 1978’s Superman starring Christopher Reeve.

Yet that doesn’t tell even half the story of the Bronx-born filmmaker’s brilliant filmography.

Donner was in his late 40s by the time Superman came along, having made a name for himself in Hollywood two years earlier, with 1976’s suitably terrifying The Omen.

Prior to that, he was a budding director making the transition from the small screen to the world of cinema. Donner worked on everything from Gilligan’s Island to The Twilight Zone. Even then, it was clear he was destined for bigger things though, as anyone who saw  “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”, the iconic episode of The Twilight Zone he directed, starring William Shatner, can attest.

While a disagreement with producers ultimately saw him walk away from Superman II, the 1980s saw Donner establish himself as an incredibly versatile big budget director capable of handling everything from the epic family adventure fun of The Goonies to the balancing act of action and comedy found within the buddy cop antics of Lethal Weapon.

It was a skillset that drew admiration from the very best in the movie industry, including Steven Spielberg who was among the first to pay tribute to Donner after learning he had passed away, aged 91.

“Dick had such a powerful command of his movies, and was so gifted across so many genres,” Spielberg, who worked with Donner on The Goonies, said.

“Being in his circle was akin to hanging out with your favourite coach, smartest professor, fiercest motivator, most endearing friend, staunchest ally, and – of course – the greatest Goonie of all.”

Donner may not have had the same impact in the 1990s and early 2000s but he still enjoyed major success with the Lethal Weapon franchise and as a producer with movies like Free Willy and X-Men.

More importantly, the other films he made during that period and in the years between some of his biggest hits remain well worth revisiting or seeking out for the first time – starting with these five.

Ladyhawke

Coming hot on the heels of The Goonies and two years prior to Lethal Weapon, Ladyhawke represented another major departure for Donner. A dark medieval fantasy, it centred on Rutger Hauer’s mysterious Captain Etienne Navarre and his female companion Lady Isabeau (Michelle Pfeiffer), a pair of star-crossed lovers on the run from a vengeful bishop who has placed a demonic curse on their heads. While Navarre transforms into a wolf by night, Isabeau exists as a Hawk by day. Teaming up with petty thief Philippe Gaston (Matthew Broderick) they embark on a quest to overthrow the evil bishop and break the spell.

Something of a passion project, Donner had attempted to get Ladyhawke off the ground several times before finally getting the green light from Warner Bros and 20th Century Fox in the mid ’80s. The film then suffered another setback when Kurt Russell, originally cast as Navarre, dropped out during rehearsals. 

That ultimately proved a blessing in disguise with Hauer going on to deliver arguably his best performance since Blade Runner. Not everything about Ladyhawke works – Broderick’s character feels a little too close to Ferris Bueller while the runtime could be trimmed down – but it remains a beautifully realised fantasy epic, full of memorable action set pieces, stunning cinematography and a spellbinding turn from Pfeiffer.

A box office bomb upon release, Ladyhawke has stood the test of time too, garnering a cult following as an authentic and fresh take on the sword and sorcery formula. 

Maverick

Maverick is the film Will Smith must have hoped Wild Wild West would be; a funny, clever action comedy based on a classic TV show. Coming in an era when most westerns were deadly serious, Donner’s film also felt like a breath of fresh air and benefited hugely from a masterful William Goldman script that was both witty and unpredictable.

The latest in a series of films featuring Donner’s muse-of-sorts, Mel Gibson, this time out Mel plays Bret Maverick, a brilliant card player and equally impressive con artist trying to collect enough money to earn a seat at a high-stakes poker game. Along the way he is forced to contend with a fellow scammer in the form of Jodie Foster’s Annabelle Bransford as well as lawman Marshal Zane Cooper, played by James Garner, who starred in the original TV series.

While the glut of cameos from country music stars and the likes of Danny Glover can be a little distracting, there’s something wonderfully charming about Maverick with Gibson, Foster and Garner all on top form and boasting an undeniable chemistry that helps keep things entertaining. 

The climactic poker game which sees Maverick face off against Alfred Molina’s psychopathic Angel is also expertly handled by Donner, who cranks up the tension as Maverick reveals his final, decisive, hand with a slow-motion toss of the final card towards the camera. A critical and financial success, Maverick has been largely lost in the shuffle since its release but should be sought out.

Conspiracy Theory

There’s something strangely prescient about Conspiracy Theory given the current predilection for such thinking on the internet at large. One of Donner’s most inventive and intelligent outings alongside Gibson, this time out Mel plays Jerry Fletcher, a New York City cab driver with a penchant for paranoid conspiracy theories.

Jerry’s life takes a turn for the strange when he finds himself being targeted by a set of shady government goons led by Patrick Stewart’s Dr Jonas. He quickly realises one of the conspiracies he has been promoting in his weekly newsletter (this was the ‘90s) is based more in reality than he thought. The question is: which one?

An engrossing thriller featuring Donner’s trademark dashes of witty humour, Conspiracy Theory is bolstered significantly by the presence of the ever-reliable Julia Roberts as a government lawyer with a soft spot for Jerry. Despite a lengthy run time, Donner also keeps the action moving along at an engaging pace while Gibson’s performance is just the right side of manic to keep you rooting for him.

A first foray into the kind of deep state conspiracy thrillers that were commonplace in Hollywood at the time, the film also boasts some genuinely striking moments, not least the sequence where Jerry undergoes “psychotic testing” at the hands of Dr Jonas, which wouldn’t have looked out of place in A Clockwork Orange.

Though it was a hit with audiences, Conspiracy Theory earned mixed reviews but appears increasingly worthy of reappraisal.

Timeline

Some movies are big, dumb but lots of fun. Timeline sits firmly in that category despite what many naysayers would have you believe. It’s a brash, simplistic sci-fi flick to rival the likes of The Core and Geostorm and thoroughly entertaining to boot.

The fact that it features Gerard Butler, as well as the late, great, Paul Walker only adds to that sentiment.

Walker plays Chris Johnston who, along with Butler’s Andre Marek and a team of fellow archaeologists travel back in time through a wormhole to 14th century France to rescue their professor, Dr Edward Johnston (Billy Connolly), who just happens to be Walker’s character’s dad too.

Based on a book by Michael Crichton, Donner had been in the running to direct Jurassic Park a decade earlier and jumped at the chance to adapt Timeline for the big screen. While filming went off without a hitch, Donner repeatedly clashed with Paramount Pictures in post-production and was forced to re-cut the film three times in a development that saw the release date pushed by nearly a year. The resulting edit did not sit well with Crichton either, who disliked it so intensely he stopped licensing his work for a few years after.

Whether Donner’s original cut would have earned better reviews or Crichton’s approval remains to be seen but what remains of Timeline is still a well shot, enjoyable sci-fi yarn with some neat medieval action flourishes. 

16 Blocks

Donner’s final film also ranks among his most unappreciated. On the surface, 16 Blocks sounds like the perfect fodder for a game of buddy cop movie bingo.

It stars Bruce Willis as Jack Mosley, a worn-out NYPD Detective with a drinking problem tasked with transporting Mos Def’s trial witness Eddie Bunker to court. Problems arise when some of Jack’s fellow officers arrive to kill Eddie and prevent him from testifying. Eager for redemption, Jack decides to take the would-be assassins on and get Eddie to court on time.

A formulaic enough premise, 16 Blocks is emboldened by the fact it plays out in real-time with Eddie required at the courthouse by no later than 10am. In this sense, Donner found himself in new territory with an action thriller that thrives on a unique sense of urgency. 

While the filmmaker is no stranger to the action formula, this setup sees him imbue events with a renewed sense of chaos, as Jack and Eddie fight their way through armed adversaries, busy crowds and bustling traffic, all against a cacophony of shouts, car horns and gun blasts.

Ostensibly a chase movie on foot rather than four wheels, the action traverses 16 blocks in 118 minutes and rarely lets up for a second with Donner proving a dab hand at balancing the action with the engaging back-and-forth between Willis and Def who are both understated yet effective throughout.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Throw in the ever-watchable David Morse as the leader of the shady cops baying for Eddie’s blood and you have arguably one of the most underrated action thrillers of the early 2000s 

The post 5 underrated Richard Donner movies you need to see appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[totallypathet]

Episode Seven

We all know that Drag Race is rigged but this week was rigga morris girl.

I am so tired of the treatment Jan, Crystal, Jaida, Jackie and Widow are getting. Honestly everyone else this season is just being eschewed for Gigi and Sh****. And I'm not mad at Gigi, because she is working really hard and she is doing well! But the producers so clearly are just picking those two as the top 2 of the season and are doing everything to create that narrative. Which is stupid, because they didn't really need to! We've seen Gigi absolutely dominate, they don't need to hand her wins she doesn't deserve. It just cheapens the great work she has actually done.

Anyway, onto to the breakdown...

1. Brita

Woohoo!!

I have literally nothing else to say bc honestly I am so sick of Brita, and she should have gone back in episode 3. So glad her name won't be on this list next week!

2. Crystal Methyd

Crystal Methyd was in the top!! I am so so so proud of Crystal this week! She really did kill the Madonna challenge, I thought she did such a good job of being hippie dippie, her singing the reverb was absolutely hilarious, and her dancing was really great!

Also her runway look was great, as always! It was a great Michelle reference, it wasn't just a tits-out Jersey girl look, and it was still really Crystal!

Great week for Crystal, I would have put her second place.

3. Gigi Goode

I don't even really want to talk about Gigi this week. I feel so conflicted because I really like her as a queen, and I respect her as a performer, but I'm just so disappointed that she won this week. Was it a good Madonna performance? Yeah. Was it a good runway? Sure. Was it overall a winning performance? Absolutely not.

4. Heidi N Closet

I don't think Heidi necessarily deserved to be in the bottom this week. I thought her performance was great - even if she didn't necessarily "embody" Madonna. She rocked the choreography, her singing actually wasn't that bad, and I thought she looked good! She was a little bit monotone, but she was giving me that very modern "I'm too cool to expend any effort" Madonna that we got at Eurovision.

I also liked her Michelle Visage runway! I got the reference as soon as she turned the corner, and I liked the massive bun! It was Michelle Vigase on steroids, I loved it.

I mean I don't think she should have been in the top, but i don't think she should have lipsynced.

5. Jackie Cox

Jackie probably should have been lip syncing this week. I adore Jackie, but this challenge was not for her. Shes not a natural singer or dancer, but I was hoping she would pull out some comedy (like Crystal), or really embody Madonna (like Jaida). And she didn't really do either. She tried, she really did, but it just wasn't it, bless her.

And I actually hated her Michelle Visage look. It looked like she was doing a second rate version of Violet Chachki's Michelle Visage look in the Hollywood Stories episode. And that Michelle Visage look wasn't even that good either.

I don't know why I hated it so much, I think it just felt lazy. Like lots of other girls went for obscure references, or really iconic look, Jacki just went for what I assume an out of the box party city Michelle Visage costume would be.

6. Jaida Essence Hall

Jaida was safe?? I could not believe it! She 100% should have been in the top with Jan and Crystal. She really served me that sexy Madonna look and vibe! Her Madonna look was on point, her performance was perfect, and her runway was incredible!

I was so so so proud of Jaida this week, and she deserved much more than safe.

7. Jan Sport

Jan Sport has been Robbed this entire season.

First of all, she should have been top 2 in the Fosse challenge. She sang her heart out, and she wore an incredible runway look. Second, she should have been top 3 in the Ball Challenge. I'm still thinking about her Basketball Wives look. Thirdly, she was the clear winner this week, by a country fucking mile, and she still didn't get it.

I am so mad about the treatment of Jan Sport this season. She deserves so much better and I cannot understand why production even brought her onto the show if all they were going to do was sleep on her and treat her like this.

She killed every part of the Madonna challenge; the look, her singing, the performance, it was all magical! And then her Michelle Look! She really served me Michelle! She had the look, the attitude, the meme, but it was turned up to 10 and that is what Jan Sport does.

She's so much better that the way they're treating her.

8. Widow Von Du

Widow did a great job this week!

Unfortunately, I do think she should have been safe, because she wasn't quite as good as Jan, Crystal or Jaida; but if they'd had a top 4 she would have been it! I really felt the Music-era Madonna energy in her performance, she also completely sold me the look. And her singing wasn't terrible! I've heard way worse.

Also her Michelle look I loved! I didn't get the reference straight away, but it was a bit of an older one. It was perfect on her though, she really knows her body and her style. The only thing I do wish is that the hair had been bigger. I'm not a huge fan of those dead straight laid flat wigs. I am kind of getting on board with the ugly shoes though! It's sort of becoming Window's thing, and I actually kind of love it.

The thing I'm really devastated over now is that one of the 7 remaining amazing queens is going to go home! I can't imagine any of them leaving because they're all so talented and I love them all so much!

[aakhatrint-blog]

Federal Supporting Small Business Program, a Big Cake for Trump’s Evangelical Allies

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the US economy has been severely damaged, with many companies laying off workers and many people losing their jobs. US Federal Government and all state governments, including some of the biggest companies, are actively seeking relief. Especially, US Federal Government has taken a series of massive actions to stable and stimulate economy. For example, two acts have been passed to allocate funds to federal agencies for vaccine development, free virus testing, paid leave for affected people, additional Medicaid funding and food aid. On 27 March 2020, President Trump signed a larger Economic Relief Package, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (the “CARES Act”) into law. It is an economic stimulus act that includes direct cash payments to tax-paying residents, unemployment insurance expansion, state aid and loans to businesses. Some of the money will be used for loans to small businesses.

Federal Supporting Small Businesses Program, a Big cake for Evangelical Allies

On July 8, the Associated Press reported that evangelical Allies of President Trump have received loans from the Federal Supporting Businesses Program while the churches of evangelical advisers connected to President Trump have received at least $17.2 million in loans, including the City of Destiny by Paula White, President Trump’s personal pastor and White House faith adviser. According to figures released by the US Treasury Department, the City of Destiny received about $350,000 from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) clearly stipulates that eligible applicants are small businesses with fewer than 500 employees (more than 500 in individual industries, according to SBA guidance) directly affected by COVID-19 since 31 January, including self-employed, contract workers and self-employed, small agricultural cooperatives and small aquaculture enterprises, and many of the affected restaurants, hair salons, gyms, renovation companies, even start-ups (non-venture capitalists), self-employed people, Uber drivers, real estate agents, and so on are eligible to apply.

According to reporters Karl Russell and Stacy Cowley from New York Times, “A centerpiece of the federal government’s economic relief plan is to provide billions in forgivable loans to small businesses struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. But analyses of government data show that the lending program, which is overseen by the Small Business Administration, allowed many of the earliest funds to go to parts of the country that were not as hard-hit by the coronavirus as well as to a small number of companies seeking millions in assistance.”

The relief program has been criticized since its inception. Although the program focuses on supporting small businesses, the rules of the first lending round allowed large businesses to apply for loans of up to $10 million, and later evangelicals occupied massive loans. All these sparked the anger among small business owners. There is also the uneven distribution of funds across regions.

“The challenge most feared by small businesses has really happened,” said Brad Close, President of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s largest small business industry group. A lot of disaster loans went to the bigwigs and their Allies. “Small businesses in the US are on the edge of a cliff and are doing everything they can to take care of employees, reopen their businesses. The Trump administration has let them down and the smallest businesses that want to participate in the PPP are the most disadvantaged.”

President Trump and his evangelical allies             

On June 21, 2016, in the midst of an uncertain battle for the republican presidential nomination, property magnate Donald J. Trump and his campaign team decided to form the Evangelical Advisory Board, which would be one of the high-end policy advisory boards after he has won the election. This loose, mystical political advisory body was originally composed of 26 members, who are mainly evangelical leaders and megachurch ministers. After Trump was elected President, these “evangelical advisers” naturally became regular visitors to the White House, supported President Trump on many occasions and became one of the representative symbols of President Trump’s affinity with Christian evangelicals. After the Racism incident in Charlottesville, Virginia, occurred on August 12, 2017, President Trump’s inappropriate remarks drew widespread criticism and led to the disbanding of several political advisory bodies in other areas of the Trump administration, but the Evangelical Advisory Board continued to function and some members even defended him, causing controversy.

With the political awakening and participation of Evangelical Christians in politics, the large number of evangelical Christians has become a competitive voter resource for the two major Parties in the United States. They usually set up their own religious outreach organizations or projects in political elections, especially before American Presidential Election, and these organizations or projects are responsible for winning the votes of religious voters, especially evangelical voters. However, such organizations or projects usually disbanded after election and did not become a permanent establishment of the ruling Party or the new administration.

In the 2016 election, Donald Trump, a businessman, a political nerd and a religious novice, was once considered the least religious or the least religious reliable one among all presidential candidates. A key turning point of evangelical leaders’ attitude toward Donald Trump came on June 21, 2016, when Trump met with about 900 evangelical leaders at a special meeting of Christian leaders in New York, and some of those who attended the closed-door meeting were persuaded by him to believe that Trump would qualify for obtaining their support. On the same day, the Trump campaign team announced the creation of a 26-member “Evangelical Advisory Board” headed by Michelle Backmann, a former Minnesota congresswoman. The Board became Trump’s primary campaign arm for mobilizing evangelical voters to support Trump and became his official religious advisory team after he took office. In a statement, the Trump campaign team said the mission of the Evangelical Advisory Board was “to advise Mr. Trump on issues of vital importance to Evangelicals and other religious adherents in the US because he “wants to get the sagacious advice of these (Evangelical) leaders”.

Paula white, an evangelical icon, has a way of accumulating wealth

Paula White at the New Destiny Christian Center in Florida, a member of the Evangelical Advisory Board, is referred by Donald Trump as his old friend and personal pastor for many years. When Trump ran for President in 2016, he turned to her to boost his evangelical support. The White House later confirmed that Ms. White had joined the administration to advise Trump’s Faith and Opportunity Initiative, which aims to give religious groups more of a voice in government programs devoted to issues like defending religious liberty and fighting poverty.

Also in 2016, Paula White made a donation persuasion with great inducement during the Easter Sunday service: ”There’s someone that God is speaking to, to click on that donation button by minimizing the screen. And when you do to sow $1,144,” she told the crowd. “It’s not often I ask very specifically but God has instructed me and I want you to hear. This isn’t for everyone but this is for someone. When you sow that $1,144 based on John 11:44 I believe for resurrection life. ”You say, Paula, I just don’t have that, then sow $144. I don’t have that. Sow $44 but stand on John Chapter 11:44.” She emphasizes: “For those who cannot afford to the required sum, I encourage them to make a smaller donation. You say, Paula, I just don’t have that, then sow $144. I don’t have that. Sow $44 but stand on John Chapter 11:44.” In 2019, White says in an appeal for money at her website: “I Prophetically Decree and Declare Deliverance & Prosperity are Yours in 2019. This is the Year YOU Inherit YOUR Promised Land!” White adds: With obedience to this first-fruits instruction and your faith, I believe your purpose, your year, your prosperity, and power will release blessing upon your entire year! Amen!” This exhortation is equivalent to a divine command for believers: if you have money, give more; if you have no money, give less. But each believer has to give a little anyway, and each has its own price, which seems reasonable. In March, after the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, White used a televised sermon to urge evangelicals to donate money, and was forced to stop after being accused of cashing in via the epidemic.

In 2004 and 2007, the Finance Committee of the U.S. Senate conducted two investigations on Paula White, Randy white and their Evangelical Church and did not found Paula White violated the church tax exemption, but questioned Paula White’s financial condition. For example, between 2004 and 2007 the church paid a total of $2.755 million in compensation to their relatives, including Paula’s son Brad Knight and Randy’s two children, father, and sister. In addition, Randy and Paula also reportedly received $5 million a year in compensation from their church, and purchased a $3.5 million condo in Trump Tower in New York City, according to Senate documents. Furthermore, from 2004 to 2013, the U.S. federal tax office also investigated Paula White and Randy White’s personal and church finance, mainly investigating whether Paula White’s personal income and church’s financial sources violated the US federal tax law. After 2016, the U.S. government did not investigate Paula White any longer.

[iwatchforher]

what are your favourite acting moments from emma / michelle?

What: Mask ping When: 12th October 2017

That little move is so iconic and it completely MAKES the scene for me. It makes it way more playful than it would’ve been without it and the fact that that’s something Emma came up with for them to do just makes it better. Can you even imagine vanity’s first kiss without that yellow mask between them? Yeah… didn’t think so.

What: Vanessa’s reaction to Charity When: 13th October 2017

I am trash for subdued acting choices that do a lot with a little. Vanessa could’ve reacted to Charity’s proposal in a number of ways that led them to Charity’s bed, but Michelle’s choice to make her vulnerable and completely unable to resist Charity, almost like she was in a trance was BRILLIANT. And I mean, Charity IS hypnotic and we’d all react the same way, so good on Michelle for being able to portray baby gay disaster so well. 

What: Vanessa playing with Charity’s hair When: 22nd Feb / 10th Apr / 10th Sept / 13th Sept 2018 / 21st Jan 2019

MICHELLE DOES IT FOR US. They’ve mentioned in interviews how they work together and play with the dialogue and physicality of the scenes and I like to imagine that they established pretty early on that playing with Charity’s hair was a go-to move for Vanessa. I feel blessed. I have a gifset for this here.

What: Eyebrow quirk When: 17th January 2019

I could write an entire essay on that eyebrow thing ALONE. I’ve actually already talked about it here. EMMA ATKINS’ FACE AND MICRO EXPRESSIONS ARE A GIFT TO HUMANITY.

What: Get on the table When: 28th March 2018

No gif can do this scene justice because…. lads… it’s A LOT.

I particularly chose scenes or moments for this list which I thought Emma and Michelle had more of a say in. Things we can tell weren’t scripted or asked by the director and this is no different… because I honestly doubt the director was like “yeah yeah ok great, but quick note… let’s do it again but YOU… this time you gotta sigh happily and YOU… oh… you must MOAN”. THERE WAS SIGHING AND MOANING AND SMILES AND moaNING!!!! Did they plan it? Did they do it because it just made sense in the moment? I’M NOTHING BUT GRATEFUL, but I need answers

[hlupdate]

A hand­shake can quell polit­i­cal unrest and sti­fle impend­ing war. It can, with a bit of spit, val­i­date a gentleman’s agree­ment, end a years-long roman­tic rela­tion­ship or send a young heart rac­ing. But it all depends on the two par­ties involved.

Daisy, 21, felt a seis­mic jolt when Har­ry Styles, 25, wear­ing a striped jumper and rings on three of his five fin­gers, clutched her hand two days after this year’s Met Gala in New York, when she served him gela­to at the shop where she worked.

“He decid­ed on a small mint choco­late gela­to and I made his and the one for his friend and I said, ​‘Can I just say I absolute­ly loved your Met Gala look’ and he said ​‘Thank you very much! What’s your name?’ And I said, ​‘Daisy’ AND HE FUCK­ING EXTEND­ED HISHAND AND REACHED TO SHAKE MY HAND AND I ACTU­AL­LY FUCK­INGSHOOK HIS HAND WHAT THE FUCK,” she wrote on Insta­gram after The Shak­en­ing. ​“Like I didn’t even say any­thing to gas him up besides ​‘I loved your met gala look’ and his fine ass went and shook my hand! WHAT A BEAU­TI­FUL FUCK­ING HUMAN BEINGTHAT HE IS GOD BLESS HIM AND I HOPE HW [sic] LIVES FOREVER.”

For Har­ry Styles, a hand­shake can be a roman­tic ges­ture, con­jur­ing a potent rev­er­ence in its recip­i­ent, like the time he met Gucci’s cre­ative direc­tor Alessan­dro Michele. ​“He was as attrac­tive as James Dean and as per­sua­sive as Gre­ta Gar­bo. He was like a Luchi­no Vis­con­ti char­ac­ter, like an Apol­lo: at the same time sexy as a woman, as a kid, as a man,” Michele told me, has­ten­ing to add: ​“Of course, Har­ry is not aware of this.”

No, Styles has no idea the pow­er he wields. In per­son, he’s tow­er­ing, like some­one who is not that much taller but whose rep­u­ta­tion adds four inch­es. Styles has a seda­tive bari­tone, spo­ken in a rum­my north­ern Eng­lish accent, that tum­bles out so slow­ly you for­get the name of your first born, a swag­ger that has been nursed and per­fect­ed in myth­i­cal places with names like Pais­ley Park, or Abbey Road, or Grace­land. Makes com­plete sense that he would be up for the role of Elvis Pres­ley in Baz Luhrmann’s upcom­ing biopic. He was primed, nay, born to shake his hips, all but one but­ton on his shirt cling­ing for dear life around his tor­so. Then the part was award­ed to anoth­er actor, Austin Butler.

“[Elvis] was such an icon for me grow­ing up,” Styles tells me. ​“There was some­thing almost sacred about him, almost like I didn’t want to touch him. Then I end­ed up get­ting into [his life] a bit and I wasn’t dis­ap­point­ed,” he adds of his ini­tial research and prepa­ra­tions to play The King. He seems relaxed about los­ing the part to But­ler. ​“I feel like if I’m not the right per­son for the thing, then it’s best for both of us that I don’t do it, you know?”

Styles released his self-titled debut solo album in May 2017. The boy­band grad was clear­ly unin­ter­est­ed in hol­low­ing out the charts with more for­mu­la­ic meme pop. Instead, to the sur­prise of many, he dug his heels into retro-fetishist West Coast ​’70s rock. Some of the One Direc­tion fan-hordes might have been con­fused, but no mat­ter: Har­ry Styles sold one mil­lion copies.

Despite its com­mer­cial and crit­i­cal suc­cess, he didn’t tour the album right away. He want­ed to act in the Christo­pher Nolan film Dunkirk. To his cred­it, his por­tray­al of a British sol­dier cow­er­ing in a moored boat on the French beach­es as the Nazis advanced wasn’t skew­ered in the press like the movie debuts of, say, Madon­na or Justin Tim­ber­lake. Per­haps he was fol­low­ing advice giv­en by Elton John, who had urged him to diver­si­fy. ​“He was bril­liant in Dunkirk, which took a lot of peo­ple by sur­prise,” John writes in an email. ​“I love how he takes chances and risks.” Act­ing, unlike music, is a release for Styles; it’s the one time he can be not himself.

“Why do I want to act? It’s so dif­fer­ent to music for me,” he says, sud­den­ly ani­mat­ed. ​“They’re almost oppo­site for me. Music, you try and put so much of your­self into it; act­ing, you’re try­ing to total­ly dis­ap­pear in who­ev­er you’re being.”

Fol­low­ing the news that he missed out on Pres­ley, his name was float­ed for the role of Prince Eric in Disney’s live-action remake of The Lit­tle Mer­maid. How­ev­er, fans will have to wait a bit longer to see Styles on the big screen as that idea, too, has sunk. He won’t be The King or the Prince. ​“It was dis­cussed,” he acknow­ledges before swift­ly chang­ing the sub­ject. ​“I want to put music out and focus on that for a while. But every­one involved in it was amaz­ing, so I think it’s going to be great. I’ll enjoy watch­ing it, I’m sure.”

The new album is wrapped and the sin­gle is decid­ed upon. ​“It’s not like his last album,” his friend, rock ​‘n’ roll leg­end Ste­vie Nicks, told me recent­ly over the phone. ​“It’s not like any­thing One Direc­tion ever did. It’s pure Har­ry, as Har­ry would say. He’s made a very dif­fer­ent record and it’s spectacular.”

Beyond that, Styles is keep­ing his cards close to his chest as to his next musi­cal move. How­ev­er, the air is thick with rumours that his main wing­man for HS2 is Kid Har­poon, aka Tom Hull, who co-wrote debut album track Sweet Crea­ture. No less an author­i­ty than Liam Gal­lagher told us that both big band escapees were in the same stu­dio – RAK in north-west Lon­don – at the same time mak­ing their sec­ond solo albums. Styles played him a cou­ple of tracks, ​“and I tell you what, they’re good,” Gal­lagher enthused. ​“A bit like that Bon Iver. Is that his name?”

Har­ry Styles met Nicks at a Fleet­wood Mac con­cert in Los Ange­les in April 2015. Some­thing about him felt authen­tic to the leg­endary front­woman: ground­ed, like she’d known him for­ev­er, blessed with a win­ning moon­shot grin. A month lat­er, they met back­stage at anoth­er Mac gig, this time at the O2 in Lon­don. Styles brought a car­rot cake for Nicks’ birth­day, her name piped in icing on top. By her own admis­sion, Nicks doesn’t even cel­e­brate birth­days, so this was a sur­prise. ​“He was per­son­al­ly respon­si­ble for me actu­al­ly hav­ing to cel­e­brate my birth­day, which was very sweet,” she says.

Styles’ rela­tion­ship with Nicks is hard to define. Induct­ing her into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York as a solo artist ear­li­er this year, his speech hymned her as a ​“mag­i­cal gyp­sy god­moth­er who occu­pies the in-between”. She’s called him her ​“lovechild” with Mick Fleet­wood and the ​“son I nev­er had”. Both have moved past the pre­lim­i­nary chat acknowl­edg­ing each other’s unquan­tifi­able tal­ents and smooth­ly accel­er­at­ed towards play­ful cut-and-thrust ban­ter of a witch mom and her naughty child.

They per­form togeth­er – he sings The Chainand Stop Drag­gin’ My Heart Around; she sings the one alleged­ly writ­ten about Tay­lor Swift, Two Ghosts. One of those per­for­mances was at the Guc­ci Cruise after­par­ty in Rome in May, for ​“a lot of mon­ey”, Nicks tells me, in a ​“big kind of cas­tle place”. She has become his de fac­to men­tor – one phone call is all it takes to reach the Queen of Rock’n’Roll for advice on sequenc­ing (“She is real­ly good at track list­ing,” Styles admits) or just to hear each other’s voic­es… because, well, wouldn’t you?

Fol­low­ing anoth­er Fleet­wood Mac con­cert, at London’s Wem­b­ley Sta­di­um, in June, Nicks met Styles for a late (Indi­an) din­ner. He then invit­ed her back to his semi-detached Geor­gian man­sion in north Lon­don for a lis­ten­ing par­ty at mid­night. The album – HS2or what­ev­er it’ll be called – was fin­ished. Nicks, her assis­tant Karen, her make-up artist and her friends Jess and Mary crammed onto Styles’ liv­ing-room couch. They lis­tened to it once through in silence like a ​“bunch of edu­cat­ed monks or some­thing in this dark room”. Then once again, 15 or 16 tracks, this time each of his guests offer­ing live feed­back. It wrapped at 5am, just as the sun was bleed­ing through the curtains.

Even for a pop star of Styles’ stature, press­ing ​“play” on a deeply per­son­al work for your hero to digest, watch­ing her face react in real time to your new music, must be… what?

“It’s a dou­ble-edged thing,” he replies. ​“You’re always ner­vous when you are play­ing peo­ple music for the first time. You’ve heard it so much by this point, you for­get that peo­ple haven’t heard it before. It’s hard to not feel like you’ve done what you’ve set out to do. You are hap­py with some­thing and then some­one who you respect so much and look up to is, like: ​‘I real­ly like this.’ It feels like a large stamp [of approval]. It’s a big step towards feel­ing very com­fort­able with what­ev­er else hap­pens to it.”

Wad­ing through Styles’ back­ground info is exhaust­ing, since he was spanked by fame in the social media era where every god­dam blink of a kohl-rimmed eye has been doc­u­ment­ed from six angles. (And yes, he does some­times wear guyliner.)

Deep breath: born in Red­ditch, Worces­ter­shire, to par­ents Des and Anne, who divorced when he was sev­en. Grew up in Holmes Chapel in Cheshire with his sis­ter Gem­ma, mum and step­dad Robin Twist. Rode hors­es at a near­by sta­ble for free (“I was a bad rid­er, but I was a rid­er”). Stopped rid­ing, ​“got into dif­fer­ent stuff”. Formed a band, White Eski­mo, with school­mates. Aged 16, tried out for the 2010 run of The X Fac­torwith a stir­ring but aver­age ren­di­tion of Ste­vie Wonder’s Isn’t She Love­ly. Cut from the show and put into a boy band with four oth­ers, Louis Tom­lin­son, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, and called One Direc­tion. Became inter­na­tion­al­ly famous, toured the globe. Zayn quit to go solo. Toured some more. Dat­ed but maybe didn’t date Car­o­line Flack, Rita Ora and Tay­lor Swift – whom he report­ed­ly dumped in the British Vir­gin Islands. (This rela­tion­ship, if noth­ing else, yield­ed an icon­ic, can­did shot of Swift look­ing deject­ed, being motored back to shore on the back of a boat called the Fly­ing Ray.) One Direc­tion dis­cussed dis­band­ing in 2014, actu­al­ly dis­solved in 2015. They remain friend­ly, and Styles offi­cial­ly went solo in 2016.

It’s been two years since his epony­mous debut and lead sin­gle, Sign of the Times, shocked the world and Elton John with its swag­ger­ing, soft rock sound. ​“It came out of left field and I loved it,” John says.

After 89 are­na-packed shows across five con­ti­nents grossed him, the label, whomev­er, over $61 mil­lion, Styles had all but dis­ap­peared. He has emerged only inter­mit­tent­ly for pub­lic-fac­ing events – a Guc­ci after­par­ty per­for­mance here, a Met Gala co-chair­ing there. He relo­cat­ed from Los Ange­les back to Lon­don, sell­ing his Hol­ly­wood Hills house for $6mil­lion and ship­ping his Jaguar E-type across the Atlantic so he could take joyrides on the M25.

“I’m not over LA,” he insists when I ask about the move. ​“My rela­tion­ship with LAchanged a lot. What I want­ed from LA changed.”

A great escape, he would agree, is some­times nec­es­sary. He was in Tokyo for most of Jan­u­ary, hav­ing near­ly fin­ished his album. ​“I need­ed time to get out of that album frame-of-mind of: ​‘Is it fin­ished? Where am I at? What’s hap­pen­ing?’ I real­ly need­ed that time away from every­one. I was kind of just in Tokyo by myself.” His sab­bat­i­cal most­ly involved read­ing Haru­ki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chron­i­cle, singing Nir­vana at karaoke, writ­ing alone in his hotel room, lis­ten­ing to music and eaves­drop­ping on strangers in alien con­ver­sa­tion. ​“It was just a pos­i­tive time for my head and I think that impact­ed the album in a big way.”

Dur­ing this break he watched a lot of films, read a lot of books. Some­times he texts these rec­om­men­da­tions to his pal Michele at Guc­ci. He told Michele to watch the Ali Mac­graw film, Love Sto­ry. ​“We text what friends text about. He is the same [as me] in terms of he lives in his own world and he does his own thing. I love dress­ing up and he loves dress­ing up.”

Because he loves dress­ing up, Michele chose Styles to be the face of three Guc­ci Tai­lor­ing cam­paigns and of its new gen­der­less fra­grance, Mémoire d’une Odeur.

“The moment I met him, I imme­di­ate­ly under­stood there was some­thing strong around him,” Michele tells me. ​“I realised he was much more than a young singer. He was a young man, dressed in a thought­ful way, with uncombed hair and a beau­ti­ful voice. I thought he gath­ered with­in him­self the fem­i­nine and the masculine.”

Fash­ion, for Styles, is a play­ground. Some­thing he doesn’t take too seri­ous­ly. A cou­ple of years ago Har­ry Lam­bert, his styl­ist since 2015, acquired for him a pair of pink metal­lic Saint Lau­rent boots that he has nev­er been pho­tographed wear­ing. They are exceed­ing­ly rare – few pairs exist. Styles wears them ​“to get milk”. They are, in his words, ​“super-fun”. He’s not sure, but he has, ball­park, 50 pairs of shoes, as well as full clos­ets in at least three post­codes. He set­tles on an out­fit fair­ly quick­ly, maybe changes his T-shirt once before head­ing out, but most­ly knows what he likes.

What he may not ful­ly com­pre­hend is that sim­ply by being pho­tographed in a gar­ment he can spur the career of a design­er, as he has with Har­ris Reed, Palo­mo Spain, Charles Jef­frey, Alled-Martínez and a new favourite, Bode. Styles wore a SS16 Guc­ci flo­ral suit to the 2015 Amer­i­can Music Awards. When he was asked who made his suit on the red car­pet, Guc­ci began trend­ing world­wide on Twitter.

“It was one of the first times a male wore Alessandro’s run­way designs and, at the time, men were not tak­ing too many red car­pet risks,” says Lam­bert. ​“Who knows if it influ­enced oth­ers, but it was a spe­cial moment. Plus, it was fun see­ing the fans dress up in suits to come see Harry’s shows.”

Yet tra­di­tion­al gen­der codes of dress still have the minds of mid­dle Amer­i­ca in a choke­hold. Men can’t wear women’s clothes, say the online whingers, who have labelled him ​“trag­ic”, ​“a clown” and a Bowie wannabe. Styles doesn’t care. ​“What’s fem­i­nine and what’s mas­cu­line, what men are wear­ing and what women are wear­ing – it’s like there are no lines any more.”

Elton John agrees: ​“It worked for Marc Bolan, Bowie and Mick. Har­ry has the same qualities.”

Then there is the ques­tion of Styles’ sex­u­al­i­ty, some­thing he has admit­ted­ly ​“nev­er real­ly start­ed to label”, which will plague him until he does. Per­haps it’s part of his allure. He’s bran­dished a pride flag that read ​“Make Amer­i­ca Gay Again” on stage, and plant­ed a stake some­where left of cen­tre on sexuality’s rain­bow spectrum.

“In the posi­tion that he’s in, he can’t real­ly say a lot, but he chose a queer girl band to open for him and I think that speaks vol­umes,” Josette Maskin of the queer band MUNA told The Face ear­li­er this year.

“I get a lot of…” Styles trails off, wheels turn­ing on how he can dis­cuss sex­u­al­i­ty with­out real­ly answer­ing. ​“I’m not always super-out­spo­ken. But I think it’s very clear from choic­es that I make that I feel a cer­tain way about lots of things. I don’t know how to describe it. I guess I’m not…” He paus­es again, piv­ots. ​“I want every­one to feel wel­come at shows and online. They want to be loved and equal, you know? I’m nev­er unsup­port­ed, so it feels weird for me to over­think it for some­one else.”

Sex­u­al­i­ty aside, he must acknowl­edge that he has sex appeal. ​“The word ​‘sexy’ sounds so strange com­ing out of my mouth. So I would say that that’s prob­a­bly why I would not con­sid­er myself sexy.”

Har­ry Styles has emerged ful­ly-formed, an anachro­nis­tic rock star, vague in sen­si­bil­i­ty but des­tined to impress with a dis­arm­ing smile and a warm but firm handshake.

I recite to him a quote from Chrissie Hyn­de of The Pre­tenders about her time atop rock’s throne: ​“I nev­er got into this for the mon­ey or because I want­ed to join in the super­star sex around the swim­ming pools. I did it because the offer of a record con­tract came along and it seemed like it might be more fun than being a wait­ress. Now, I’m not so sure.”

Styles – who worked in a bak­ery in a small north­ern town some time before play­ing to 40,000 scream­ing fans in South Amer­i­can are­nas – must have wit­nessed some shit, been invit­ed to a few pool­side sex par­ties, in his time.

“I’ve seen a cou­ple of things,” he nods in agree­ment. ​“But I’m still young. I feel like there’s still stuff to see.”

[stylesnews]

The Face - Volume 4 . Issue 1

A hand­shake can quell polit­i­cal unrest and sti­fle impend­ing war. It can, with a bit of spit, val­i­date a gentleman’s agree­ment, end a years-long roman­tic rela­tion­ship or send a young heart rac­ing. But it all depends on the two par­ties involved.

Daisy, 21, felt a seis­mic jolt when Har­ry Styles, 25, wear­ing a striped jumper and rings on three of his five fin­gers, clutched her hand two days after this year’s Met Gala in New York, when she served him gela­to at the shop where she worked.

“He decid­ed on a small mint choco­late gela­to and I made his and the one for his friend and I said, ​‘Can I just say I absolute­ly loved your Met Gala look’ and he said ​‘Thank you very much! What’s your name?’ And I said, ​‘Daisy’ AND HE FUCK­ING EXTEND­ED HIS HAND AND REACHEDTO SHAKE MY HAND AND I ACTU­AL­LY FUCK­ING SHOOK HIS HAND WHAT THEFUCK,” she wrote on Insta­gram after The Shak­en­ing. ​“Like I didn’t even say any­thing to gas him up besides ​‘I loved your met gala look’ and his fine ass went and shook my hand! WHATA BEAU­TI­FUL FUCK­ING HUMAN BEING THAT HE IS GOD BLESS HIM AND I HOPE HW[sic] LIVES FOREVER.”

For Har­ry Styles, a hand­shake can be a roman­tic ges­ture, con­jur­ing a potent rev­er­ence in its recip­i­ent, like the time he met Gucci’s cre­ative direc­tor Alessan­dro Michele. ​“He was as attrac­tive as James Dean and as per­sua­sive as Gre­ta Gar­bo. He was like a Luchi­no Vis­con­ti char­ac­ter, like an Apol­lo: at the same time sexy as a woman, as a kid, as a man,” Michele told me, has­ten­ing to add: ​“Of course, Har­ry is not aware of this.”

No, Styles has no idea the pow­er he wields. In per­son, he’s tow­er­ing, like some­one who is not that much taller but whose rep­u­ta­tion adds four inch­es. Styles has a seda­tive bari­tone, spo­ken in a rum­my north­ern Eng­lish accent, that tum­bles out so slow­ly you for­get the name of your first born, a swag­ger that has been nursed and per­fect­ed in myth­i­cal places with names like Pais­ley Park, or Abbey Road, or Grace­land. Makes com­plete sense that he would be up for the role of Elvis Pres­ley in Baz Luhrmann’s upcom­ing biopic. He was primed, nay, born to shake his hips, all but one but­ton on his shirt cling­ing for dear life around his tor­so. Then the part was award­ed to anoth­er actor, Austin Butler.

“[Elvis] was such an icon for me grow­ing up,” Styles tells me. ​“There was some­thing almost sacred about him, almost like I didn’t want to touch him. Then I end­ed up get­ting into [his life] a bit and I wasn’t dis­ap­point­ed,” he adds of his ini­tial research and prepa­ra­tions to play The King. He seems relaxed about los­ing the part to But­ler. ​“I feel like if I’m not the right per­son for the thing, then it’s best for both of us that I don’t do it, you know?”

Styles released his self-titled debut solo album in May 2017. The boy­band grad was clear­ly unin­ter­est­ed in hol­low­ing out the charts with more for­mu­la­ic meme pop. Instead, to the sur­prise of many, he dug his heels into retro-fetishist West Coast ​’70s rock. Some of the One Direc­tion fan-hordes might have been con­fused, but no mat­ter: Har­ry Styles sold one mil­lion copies.

Despite its com­mer­cial and crit­i­cal suc­cess, he didn’t tour the album right away. He want­ed to act in the Christo­pher Nolan film Dunkirk. To his cred­it, his por­tray­al of a British sol­dier cow­er­ing in a moored boat on the French beach­es as the Nazis advanced wasn’t skew­ered in the press like the movie debuts of, say, Madon­na or Justin Tim­ber­lake. Per­haps he was fol­low­ing advice giv­en by Elton John, who had urged him to diver­si­fy. ​“He was bril­liant in Dunkirk, which took a lot of peo­ple by sur­prise,” John writes in an email. ​“I love how he takes chances and risks.” Act­ing, unlike music, is a release for Styles; it’s the one time he can be not himself.

“Why do I want to act? It’s so dif­fer­ent to music for me,” he says, sud­den­ly ani­mat­ed. ​“They’re almost oppo­site for me. Music, you try and put so much of your­self into it; act­ing, you’re try­ing to total­ly dis­ap­pear in who­ev­er you’re being.”

Fol­low­ing the news that he missed out on Pres­ley, his name was float­ed for the role of Prince Eric in Disney’s live-action remake of The Lit­tle Mer­maid. How­ev­er, fans will have to wait a bit longer to see Styles on the big screen as that idea, too, has sunk. He won’t be The King or the Prince. ​“It was dis­cussed,” he acknow­ledges before swift­ly chang­ing the sub­ject. ​“I want to put music out and focus on that for a while. But every­one involved in it was amaz­ing, so I think it’s going to be great. I’ll enjoy watch­ing it, I’m sure.”

The new album is wrapped and the sin­gle is decid­ed upon. ​“It’s not like his last album,” his friend, rock ​‘n’ roll leg­end Ste­vie Nicks, told me recent­ly over the phone. ​“It’s not like any­thing One Direc­tion ever did. It’s pure Har­ry, as Har­ry would say. He’s made a very dif­fer­ent record and it’s spectacular.”

Beyond that, Styles is keep­ing his cards close to his chest as to his next musi­cal move. How­ev­er, the air is thick with rumours that his main wing­man for HS2 is Kid Har­poon, aka Tom Hull, who co-wrote debut album track Sweet Crea­ture. No less an author­i­ty than Liam Gal­lagher told us that both big band escapees were in the same stu­dio – RAK in north-west Lon­don – at the same time mak­ing their sec­ond solo albums. Styles played him a cou­ple of tracks, ​“and I tell you what, they’re good,” Gal­lagher enthused. ​“A bit like that Bon Iver. Is that his name?”

Har­ry Styles met Nicks at a Fleet­wood Mac con­cert in Los Ange­les in April 2015. Some­thing about him felt authen­tic to the leg­endary front­woman: ground­ed, like she’d known him for­ev­er, blessed with a win­ning moon­shot grin. A month lat­er, they met back­stage at anoth­er Mac gig, this time at the O2 in Lon­don. Styles brought a car­rot cake for Nicks’ birth­day, her name piped in icing on top. By her own admis­sion, Nicks doesn’t even cel­e­brate birth­days, so this was a sur­prise. ​“He was per­son­al­ly respon­si­ble for me actu­al­ly hav­ing to cel­e­brate my birth­day, which was very sweet,” she says.

Styles’ rela­tion­ship with Nicks is hard to define. Induct­ing her into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York as a solo artist ear­li­er this year, his speech hymned her as a ​“mag­i­cal gyp­sy god­moth­er who occu­pies the in-between”. She’s called him her ​“lovechild” with Mick Fleet­wood and the ​“son I nev­er had”. Both have moved past the pre­lim­i­nary chat acknowl­edg­ing each other’s unquan­tifi­able tal­ents and smooth­ly accel­er­at­ed towards play­ful cut-and-thrust ban­ter of a witch mom and her naughty child.

They per­form togeth­er – he sings The Chain and Stop Drag­gin’ My Heart Around; she sings the one alleged­ly writ­ten about Tay­lor Swift, Two Ghosts. One of those per­for­mances was at the Guc­ci Cruise after­par­ty in Rome in May, for ​“a lot of mon­ey”, Nicks tells me, in a ​“big kind of cas­tle place”. She has become his de fac­to men­tor – one phone call is all it takes to reach the Queen of Rock’n’Roll for advice on sequenc­ing (“She is real­ly good at track list­ing,” Styles admits) or just to hear each other’s voic­es… because, well, wouldn’t you?

Fol­low­ing anoth­er Fleet­wood Mac con­cert, at London’s Wem­b­ley Sta­di­um, in June, Nicks met Styles for a late (Indi­an) din­ner. He then invit­ed her back to his semi-detached Geor­gian man­sion in north Lon­don for a lis­ten­ing par­ty at mid­night. The album – HS2or what­ev­er it’ll be called – was fin­ished. Nicks, her assis­tant Karen, her make-up artist and her friends Jess and Mary crammed onto Styles’ liv­ing-room couch. They lis­tened to it once through in silence like a ​“bunch of edu­cat­ed monks or some­thing in this dark room”. Then once again, 15 or 16 tracks, this time each of his guests offer­ing live feed­back. It wrapped at 5am, just as the sun was bleed­ing through the curtains.

Even for a pop star of Styles’ stature, press­ing ​“play” on a deeply per­son­al work for your hero to digest, watch­ing her face react in real time to your new music, must be… what?

“It’s a dou­ble-edged thing,” he replies. ​“You’re always ner­vous when you are play­ing peo­ple music for the first time. You’ve heard it so much by this point, you for­get that peo­ple haven’t heard it before. It’s hard to not feel like you’ve done what you’ve set out to do. You are hap­py with some­thing and then some­one who you respect so much and look up to is, like: ​‘I real­ly like this.’ It feels like a large stamp [of approval]. It’s a big step towards feel­ing very com­fort­able with what­ev­er else hap­pens to it.”

Wad­ing through Styles’ back­ground info is exhaust­ing, since he was spanked by fame in the social media era where every god­dam blink of a kohl-rimmed eye has been doc­u­ment­ed from six angles. (And yes, he does some­times wear guyliner.)

Deep breath: born in Red­ditch, Worces­ter­shire, to par­ents Des and Anne, who divorced when he was sev­en. Grew up in Holmes Chapel in Cheshire with his sis­ter Gem­ma, mum and step­dad Robin Twist. Rode hors­es at a near­by sta­ble for free (“I was a bad rid­er, but I was a rid­er”). Stopped rid­ing, ​“got into dif­fer­ent stuff”. Formed a band, White Eski­mo, with school­mates. Aged 16, tried out for the 2010 run of The X Fac­torwith a stir­ring but aver­age ren­di­tion of Ste­vie Wonder’s Isn’t She Love­ly. Cut from the show and put into a boy band with four oth­ers, Louis Tom­lin­son, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, and called One Direc­tion. Became inter­na­tion­al­ly famous, toured the globe. Zayn quit to go solo. Toured some more. Dat­ed but maybe didn’t date Car­o­line Flack, Rita Ora and Tay­lor Swift – whom he report­ed­ly dumped in the British Vir­gin Islands. (This rela­tion­ship, if noth­ing else, yield­ed an icon­ic, can­did shot of Swift look­ing deject­ed, being motored back to shore on the back of a boat called the Fly­ing Ray.) One Direc­tion dis­cussed dis­band­ing in 2014, actu­al­ly dis­solved in 2015. They remain friend­ly, and Styles offi­cial­ly went solo in 2016.

It’s been two years since his epony­mous debut and lead sin­gle, Sign of the Times, shocked the world and Elton John with its swag­ger­ing, soft rock sound. ​“It came out of left field and I loved it,” John says.

After 89 are­na-packed shows across five con­ti­nents grossed him, the label, whomev­er, over $61mil­lion, Styles had all but dis­ap­peared. He has emerged only inter­mit­tent­ly for pub­lic-fac­ing events – a Guc­ci after­par­ty per­for­mance here, a Met Gala co-chair­ing there. He relo­cat­ed from Los Ange­les back to Lon­don, sell­ing his Hol­ly­wood Hills house for $6 mil­lion and ship­ping his Jaguar E-type across the Atlantic so he could take joyrides on the M25.

“I’m not over LA,” he insists when I ask about the move. ​“My rela­tion­ship with LA changed a lot. What I want­ed from LA changed.”

A great escape, he would agree, is some­times nec­es­sary. He was in Tokyo for most of Jan­u­ary, hav­ing near­ly fin­ished his album. ​“I need­ed time to get out of that album frame-of-mind of: ​‘Is it fin­ished? Where am I at? What’s hap­pen­ing?’ I real­ly need­ed that time away from every­one. I was kind of just in Tokyo by myself.” His sab­bat­i­cal most­ly involved read­ing Haru­ki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chron­i­cle, singing Nir­vana at karaoke, writ­ing alone in his hotel room, lis­ten­ing to music and eaves­drop­ping on strangers in alien con­ver­sa­tion. ​“It was just a pos­i­tive time for my head and I think that impact­ed the album in a big way.”

Dur­ing this break he watched a lot of films, read a lot of books. Some­times he texts these rec­om­men­da­tions to his pal Michele at Guc­ci. He told Michele to watch the Ali Mac­graw film, Love Sto­ry. ​“We text what friends text about. He is the same [as me] in terms of he lives in his own world and he does his own thing. I love dress­ing up and he loves dress­ing up.”

Because he loves dress­ing up, Michele chose Styles to be the face of three Guc­ci Tai­lor­ing cam­paigns and of its new gen­der­less fra­grance, Mémoire d’une Odeur.

“The moment I met him, I imme­di­ate­ly under­stood there was some­thing strong around him,” Michele tells me. ​“I realised he was much more than a young singer. He was a young man, dressed in a thought­ful way, with uncombed hair and a beau­ti­ful voice. I thought he gath­ered with­in him­self the fem­i­nine and the masculine.”

Fash­ion, for Styles, is a play­ground. Some­thing he doesn’t take too seri­ous­ly. A cou­ple of years ago Har­ry Lam­bert, his styl­ist since 2015, acquired for him a pair of pink metal­lic Saint Lau­rent boots that he has nev­er been pho­tographed wear­ing. They are exceed­ing­ly rare – few pairs exist. Styles wears them ​“to get milk”. They are, in his words, ​“super-fun”. He’s not sure, but he has, ball­park, 50 pairs of shoes, as well as full clos­ets in at least three post­codes. He set­tles on an out­fit fair­ly quick­ly, maybe changes his T-shirt once before head­ing out, but most­ly knows what he likes.

What he may not ful­ly com­pre­hend is that sim­ply by being pho­tographed in a gar­ment he can spur the career of a design­er, as he has with Har­ris Reed, Palo­mo Spain, Charles Jef­frey, Alled-Martínez and a new favourite, Bode. Styles wore a SS16 Guc­ci flo­ral suit to the 2015 Amer­i­can Music Awards. When he was asked who made his suit on the red car­pet, Guc­ci began trend­ing world­wide on Twitter.

“It was one of the first times a male wore Alessandro’s run­way designs and, at the time, men were not tak­ing too many red car­pet risks,” says Lam­bert. ​“Who knows if it influ­enced oth­ers, but it was a spe­cial moment. Plus, it was fun see­ing the fans dress up in suits to come see Harry’s shows.”

Yet tra­di­tion­al gen­der codes of dress still have the minds of mid­dle Amer­i­ca in a choke­hold. Men can’t wear women’s clothes, say the online whingers, who have labelled him ​“trag­ic”, ​“a clown” and a Bowie wannabe. Styles doesn’t care. ​“What’s fem­i­nine and what’s mas­cu­line, what men are wear­ing and what women are wear­ing – it’s like there are no lines any more.”

Elton John agrees: ​“It worked for Marc Bolan, Bowie and Mick. Har­ry has the same qualities.”

Then there is the ques­tion of Styles’ sex­u­al­i­ty, some­thing he has admit­ted­ly ​“nev­er real­ly start­ed to label”, which will plague him until he does. Per­haps it’s part of his allure. He’s bran­dished a pride flag that read ​“Make Amer­i­ca Gay Again” on stage, and plant­ed a stake some­where left of cen­tre on sexuality’s rain­bow spectrum.

“In the posi­tion that he’s in, he can’t real­ly say a lot, but he chose a queer girl band to open for him and I think that speaks vol­umes,” Josette Maskin of the queer band MUNA told The Face ear­li­er this year.

“I get a lot of…” Styles trails off, wheels turn­ing on how he can dis­cuss sex­u­al­i­ty with­out real­ly answer­ing. ​“I’m not always super-out­spo­ken. But I think it’s very clear from choic­es that I make that I feel a cer­tain way about lots of things. I don’t know how to describe it. I guess I’m not…” He paus­es again, piv­ots. ​“I want every­one to feel wel­come at shows and online. They want to be loved and equal, you know? I’m nev­er unsup­port­ed, so it feels weird for me to over­think it for some­one else.”

Sex­u­al­i­ty aside, he must acknowl­edge that he has sex appeal. ​“The word ​‘sexy’ sounds so strange com­ing out of my mouth. So I would say that that’s prob­a­bly why I would not con­sid­er myself sexy.”

Har­ry Styles has emerged ful­ly-formed, an anachro­nis­tic rock star, vague in sen­si­bil­i­ty but des­tined to impress with a dis­arm­ing smile and a warm but firm handshake.

I recite to him a quote from Chrissie Hyn­de of The Pre­tenders about her time atop rock’s throne: ​“I nev­er got into this for the mon­ey or because I want­ed to join in the super­star sex around the swim­ming pools. I did it because the offer of a record con­tract came along and it seemed like it might be more fun than being a wait­ress. Now, I’m not so sure.”

Styles – who worked in a bak­ery in a small north­ern town some time before play­ing to 40,000scream­ing fans in South Amer­i­can are­nas – must have wit­nessed some shit, been invit­ed to a few pool­side sex par­ties, in his time.

“I’ve seen a cou­ple of things,” he nods in agree­ment. ​“But I’m still young. I feel like there’s still stuff to see.”

[dangerousheartwasteland-blog1]

A Complete France Travel Guide for Your First Visit

               How to Prepare, What to Do, and How to Have Blast!

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If you’re planning your first trip to France, then I’d love to help you out with this complete France travel guide. For many travelers, France is among the top destinations on their bucket list. There are many reasons to visit this wonderful country.

Each of us has our own reasons for traveling. It could be to experience the culture, taste the mouth-watering cuisines, or visit the famous and historical landmarks. Whatever your reason may be, this complete France travel guide will help you prepare for your trip so you can make the most of it. Let’s begin!

Contents

France at a Glance

Why You Should Visit France at Least Once

Top France Destinations to Visit

France Travel Tips to Remember

Suggested France Travel Itinerary

                                          France at a Glance

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There are so many things that France can offer. From its world-class architecture and art to the simple but beautiful rhythm of the people’s daily life, it’s impossible not to fall in love with this country. You can visit France over and over but you will always feel that there are still so many things to explore, food to taste, and places to see.

Rich Culture

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France seduces us with its iconic landmarks, art collections, and diversity and the volume of its cultural repertoire. What’s really interesting about traveling to France is that when you’ve visited the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, and the French Riviera, there’s a lot to keep you excited for the rest of your trip.

France is a top destination with over 89 million travelers visiting the country each year. Take part in experiencing the rich French culture by visiting the many museums and galleries. You should also visit ateliers or artists’ workshops so you can get a closer look at how French artists work on their craft. For sure, you’ll be inspired to find your inner artist.

Gastronomic Adventure

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Good, mouth-watering food is one of the most important parts of French culture. Start your day by visiting a boulangerie and eating a warm croissant. Let your nose take the lead and allow your feet to follow. With so many bistros to choose from, you could eat at a different one for each meal.

Make the most of your France trip by taking on a gastronomic adventure. Food for the French is not simply about consuming it but rather about experiencing it. So, observe, try, and learn the French way of eating while you’re in the country. You’ll never see food the same way again.

Why You Should Visit France at Least Once

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There are countless reasons why you should visit France! It’s among the most visited countries in the world. France is blessed with an amazing sea coast, tranquil rivers, beautiful farms and meadows, and stunning landscapes.

When it comes to culture, art, and food, France is leading the way. Its capital, Paris, is filled with wonderful public squares, art-nouveau architecture, and baroque palaces. Of course, the Eiffel Tower is also there and it continues to be the country’s cultural symbol.

Being in France, you’d want to see more than Paris. In the north, you’ll find the beautiful meadows and the historic D-Day beaches. In the south, the Mediterranean Sea coast will greet you along with the cities of St. Tropez, Marseilles, Cannes, and Nice.

Wherever you may be in France, you’ll notice that the geography is unique and so are the flavors of their cuisine. Dominating the country is the arts and performances. There are so many writers, poets, and painters that share the most inspiring spots along with travelers.

There’s a lot to be said about France and why you should visit the country at least once. Here are some of the best reasons to do so!

Fall in Love with the Cities

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If you’re the type of person who’s into poetry, architecture, cuisine, and art, you’ll fall in love with the French cities the moment you arrive. When you’re there, it would feel as though you wouldn’t want your trip to end and just stay there forever. Apart from Paris, make sure that you visit some of the country’s best cities like Marseilles, Toulouse, Canne, Nice, Lyon, Bordeaux, and Avignon.

Enjoy the Picturesque Countryside

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A big portion of the country is comprised of quiet and calming villages that you may easily overlook. Once you’re through visiting the cities, travel to the countryside and embrace the warm hospitality of the French people. Some of the unique places that you should visit are Strasbourg and Mont-Saint-Michel. Taste the home-made sweets, cheese, and wines.

Spend Time in the Famous Beaches

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Travel to the south of France and see an almost never-ending coastline. Enjoy the sun and sandy beaches. You have so many options such as Normandy, Saint Tropez, and Monte-Carlo. There’s so much to see and experience in France and the beaches are definitely one of them. So, when you’re in the country, make sure that you visit them and go for a good swim!

Immerse Yourself in the Art and Culture

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The French style is so distinct that you can see it in their architecture, art, and culture. The whole country is filled with it. As you may already know, France is where the best art museum on the planet is - the Louvre. The country is also the place where the Impressionist art movement began. Whatever kind of art you may like, from the classics to pop culture, France has something to offer.

Experience French Cuisine

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It’s impossible to visit France and not be amazed by French cuisine. The food is definitely something to experience. From their cheeses to their pastries, steak tartare and the sauces, you will surely not get enough of it. Once you’ve tasted French cuisine, you’ll always be looking for it. Try dining in the country’s many quaint bars and cafes. Each has something unique that you should try.

Now that you have plenty of reasons to visit France, you may be thinking “what cities should I visit in France?” Don’t worry. We’ll cover the top France destinations as well. That way, you’ll have options on where to go to and immerse yourself in.

Top France Destinations to Visit

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France is among Europe’s exciting and diverse places to explore. The romantic castles and hill towns will enchant you. Its river valleys and vineyards stretch across the landscape of the country. It makes you feel that you stepped into a place from childhood fairytale books.

France is a combination of both man-made and natural beauty. It is really something to experience. If you’re still wondering where to go to, here are some of the top France destinations to consider for your trip.

Basque Country

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This place is an isolated but beautiful French region. It is anchored by St-Jean-de-Luz which is a seaside town and Bayonne which is a riverside town. The lovely villages of this countryside will give you easy access to various sights and numerous cities just across Spain’s border.

Brittany

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You’ll love the rugged and windswept Brittany. Its gorgeous coast, seemingly-forgotten interior, and Celtic ties is a different experience altogether. There are several towns that you should definitely visit there. Dinan is where you’ll find the medieval center, St-Malo is a wonderful beach resort, and make sure to see the sea-swept Fort la Latte castle.

Languedoc-Rousillon

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This place is perfect for those who love the sunny climate. It has a Spanish flair to it, featuring Albi which is a cathedral that looks like a fortress. The Toulouse-Lautrec museum is also there. Visit Carcassonne which is a walled town with cobblestones, turrets, and towers. The Cathar castles and village are something to see. Its vineyards seem to go on and on. Don’t forget to stop by the lovely Collioure and other Mediterranean villages.

Lyon

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Lyon is situated between Provence and Burgundy. It is an old town with an Italianesque feel to it. The city has a Gallo-Roman museum and two Roman theaters. It also houses the French Resistance Center which is a fine arts museum with an impressive collection.

Paris

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The capital city is also the world’s capital when it comes to literature, food, fashion, and art. It has breath-taking art galleries, chic boutiques, corner cafes, grand boulevards, and many historic monuments. Be sure to visit Orsay and Louvre to have a glimpse of various art masterpieces.

Provence

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This place is where Arles is. If you’re an art enthusiast, you’d love to see the Van Gogh sights. Avignon is also in Provence where the Palace of the Popes is found. Be amazed by the Pont du Gard aqueduct from the ancient Roman times. Visit the villages of Vaison-la-Romaine, Roussillon, and Les Baux.

Reims and Verdun

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Reims is famous for its champagnes, historic cathedral, and many cellars that serve the sparkling brew. Near it is Verdun for those who like history. It is the site of battles during WWI and it has an unforgettable and compelling memorial to the fallen brave men.

The French Riviera

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In the French Riviera, there are countless coastal resorts to choose from. You can visit Nice and be amazed by the many art museums, Antibes with its beautiful beaches, the romantic Villefranche-sur-Mer as well as Cap Ferrat, and for those who are feeling lucky, you can play casino games in Monaco. There are also inland villages that will intrigue you like St. Paul-de-Vence and Vence. If you want the breath-taking view of the Mediterranean, visit Eze-le-Village.

Are you feeling inspired by all these places that you can visit in France? For sure you’re only just a small nudge away from booking that flight to France. So to help you prepare for your trip, let’s cover some of the tips that will be useful for your trip!

France Travel Tips to Remember

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Now that you have a wide array of choices when it comes to the places to visit in France, you’d surely want to know how to prepare for your trip. Here are some practical tips on how to prepare for your trip to France.

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Currency: The currency being used in France is the Euro. As for ATMs and Credit Cards, look for the CB logo which stands for Carte Bleue Visa or MasterCard. It may be difficult to find shops that accept American Express though. Don’t worry about ATMs as they’re not a problem to find.

Electrical Socket: They have 230V AC electricity in France. This means that the power outlets are two-prong round sockets. Before you leave for your trip, buy a universal travel adaptor to avoid any hassle.

Visa: Since France is a member of the European Union and Schengen Agreement, EU nationals can travel Visa-free. Australia and Canada nationals can stay for a 90 days Visa-free within the Schengen Zone. Other nationals need to apply for a Schengen Visa.

Safety: Like most countries in Europe, France is safe. However, because of the country’s geopolitical stance, there are many parts that are on terror alert. Nevertheless, France is generally safe. In Paris, Marseille, like other major cities, there are risks of getting scammed, mugged, and petty theft. It’s important to be vigilant.

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Language: French is the main language that is spoken in the country. There are regional languages as well such as Breton, Catalan, and Occitan. In major cities, English is spoken widely. But it would be best if you try to learn some French phrases to help you get around in case you get lost or if you’re asking for directions.

Transportation: The country’s public transportation is fantastic. Many areas are connected by high-speed trains. There are also car rental services that are affordable and accessible if you want to explore the cities on your own.

Dos and Don’ts While Traveling in France

To make sure that you have the best time in France, it’s important to learn some of the basic dos and don’ts. These tips will save you a lot of trouble while you’re in the country. Take note of these and be sure to keep them in mind.

Do learn a bit of the language

Try your best to learn some French before you go on your trip. While French people do speak English, they would really appreciate it if you make the effort of speaking in French. You don’t have to be thoroughly fluent. Just learn a few phrases that will help you get by. Here are some phrases that will be useful for your trip.

In English, please? - En Anglais, s’il vous plait

I don’t speak French - Je ne parle pas francais

Hello - Bonjour

Yes - Oui

Thank you - Merci

Excuse me - Pardon

Please - S’il vous plait

Goodbye - Au Revoir

Do know when you should greet with a handshake or a kiss

In France, you shake the hand of someone you’re meeting for the first time. If you’re meeting with friends, you’re greeting should be a kiss on both cheeks. In smaller villages, strangers usually say hello to each other. This is not the case for big cities. The French take time to warm up to strangers so don’t feel bad if you say hello and don’t get a response.

Do wear nice clothing

You’re in the world’s fashion capital so it would be nice to dress the part. Avoid wearing short shorts or sweatpants when you’re walking the streets of Paris. Of course, it’s also best to dress up when you’re going to dine at restaurants. Go for sensible and stylish clothes. But you don’t have to overdo it. Just pick something comfortable and won’t catch attention.

Don’t talk about sensitive topics

As a traveler in a foreign land, it’s best to avoid discussing issues about religion, politics, and other topics that may be too sensitive. As a common courtesy, the French don’t advertise their religion or their beliefs. It is expected for you to do the same. There are so many topics to choose from that won’t make the other person you’re talking to feel awkward. You can talk about sports, fashion, and culture or history.

Don’t complain about slow service or waiting

The French people take their time, especially when they’re eating with friends. They love savoring their food and drinks. It’s very different in the American way where everything is fast and people are in a hurry. If there’s anything you can learn from the French, it’s to cherish the moments when you’re eating, enjoying your coffee, and just being with good people. So, while you’re in France, never complain about having to wait.

Don’t talk loudly

This is something that you shouldn’t do just in France but anywhere you may be in the world. It is rude to talk with a loud voice. It also disturbs and distracts other people. You may be excited about your trip but avoid talking loudly especially in crowded areas and public spaces. If you’re riding the metro, be considerate of the locals who may be tired from the day’s work and would want some quiet time.

Don’t speak in English to a French person right away

French people love their language. They do know how to speak English but some feel that they’re not very good at it. So, when you speak to French people in English, you may not get any response. Don’t be surprised. But don’t be offended either. It’s not that they’re being rude, they just don’t want to look like a fool. Do try your best to learn some French phrases so you can ask for directions, order food, and have a full experience while you’re in France.

So, you know some dos and don’ts for your France trip. Just observe what the locals are doing and try to follow it. You’ll be fine. Most of the rules are really just common courtesy. Be respectful, be courteous, say please and thank you, and of course, apologize if you did something wrong. Don’t be intimidated by the rules that you’ll end up not enjoying your trip to France.

When is the Best Time to Go to France?

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You can visit France at any time of the year. But it’s better if you know what you’d expect for every season. For example, you may want to go there at a particular time when the climate is sunny. Or maybe you want to see the top attractions but would prefer to avoid the peak season.

The best time to go is during spring from April to May and autumn from September to October.

October to March is the low season for tourism. During these months, it’s winter to spring. Most attractions are only open for shorter hours and fewer days. But prices can drop by up to 50% less compared to the peak season. Do take note that some restaurants and hotels in rural regions are probably closed during this season.

April to June and September is midseason. The weather is warmer. It’s nice to explore the main cities. You can avoid crowds during this time. Accommodations are also more affordable.

July and August are the peak seasons. It’s sunny during these months. Many travelers go to France, especially over the holidays and weekends. If you still want to visit the country during the peak season, do bring an umbrella in case it rains.

How Much Money is Needed to Travel to France?

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Traveling to France can be quite expensive. But you can still enjoy the country for as low as $60 to $90 a day. Your largest expense is usually transport and accommodation. Food can also be somewhat costly so if you want to spend less on it, you can opt for self-catering. But since you’re already in a place where the food is something you wouldn’t want to miss, don’t forget that you deserve to splurge at least a few times.

Here’s a rough estimate on the budget you should prepare when traveling to France.

Accommodations

Dorms: $17 to $47

Budget Hotels: $70 to $100

Mid-Range: $100 to $220

Splurge: at least $235

Food (a meal for one person)

Lunch Menus: $25

Restaurants: $25 to $50

High-End Restaurants: at least $80

Transport

Local Transit per trip: $2 to $4

Long-distance trains: $30 to $235 (It’s best to book in advance)

Long-distance buses: $18 to $35

Taxis: at least $18 but only for short distances

What to Pack for Your France Trip?

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Compared to many European countries, France is blessed with pleasant weather. You’ll be needing a variety of clothing to suit the country’s weather conditions though. For example, in the summer, there may be a few rainy days. It could get quite cold, especially if you’re somewhere mountainous. Do bring clothes that you can layer if in case you’re feeling the chill.

Like any trip, you have to bring the essentials and clothing you’d love to wear especially when you’ll be taking photos of your trip. What I do recommend is bringing a travel scarf, a water bottle so you don’t have to keep on buying bottled water, and a good pair of shoes for walking.

Food to Try in France

France is known for its luxury cheeses and fine wine. French food is simply exquisite. The country has a wide range of traditions when it comes to cuisine. Wherever you may be in France, you’re sure to experience gourmet meals. Here are some of the dishes that you should definitely try.

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Croissant - Of course, you can’t complete your trip to France without eating baked goods like croissants. You can even observe how this simple pasty is made in some of the boulangeries. Don’t worry about the carbs for now. Just enjoy the many French pastries.

Croque Monsieur - This one is bread that is freshly baked and has ham and cheese as well as mustard. It’s the perfect snack when you’re hungry from all the walking around the city. It would certainly give you an energy boost.

Beef  Bourguignon -  If you want to experience the French way of cooking meat perfectly, then be sure to try this dish. To make it, the best beef cuts are chosen and slowly stewed in red wine along with vegetables and herbs. It’s a flavorful French dish that you’ll fall in love with.

Escargot - If you are feeling adventurous, try this dish! It’s among the most sophisticated and traditional French foods. It’s best to eat them while warm with parsley cream, wine, or garlic butter. Forget that they’re snails. Just close your eyes and eat them because they’re absolutely delicious!

French Cheese - You can be in any part of France but you’ll never get enough of cheese. There are so many kinds of cheese that you’ll just be amazed. Stop counting the calories and indulge!

Suggested France Travel Itinerary

Whether it’s your first trip to France or you’re a returning traveller, it is important to plan your itinerary. It will ensure that you will be able to experience as much of France as possible. Here’s a suggestion for your France travel itinerary.

Days 1 to 3: Paris

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Of course, your trip to France should include visiting the Eiffel tower. Also, drop by other famous landmarks such as the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame, and the Louvre Museum. Explore the lovely streets and take a break at the little cafes for some coffee and macarons.

Day 3 to 5: Epernay, Champagne

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If you love tasting goodness, then you definitely have to go to the birthplace of champagne. The beautiful rolling hills and landscape will make your glass of bubbly even more amazing. Go cycling along vineyards and try wine tasting. The small town’s charm is something to experience.

Day 5-7: Loire Valley

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This is where you’rd find yourself as though you’re in a fairy tale. There are so many Chateaux that will make you feel you’ve traveled back in time. Enjoy the impressive Renaissance architecture. Visit the castles of Nates and Ambroise. You’ll love the French culture and history of this place.

Final Thoughts

France is an amazing place to visit. If you’re thinking about traveling to France, don’t hesitate. This is a place you should absolutely visit at least once in your life. There’s so much to experience and see and do and feel. The French culture will open your eyes to the richness and beauty of life. Start going through your closet to find the clothes you’d want to wear while in France. Make that checklist of places you want to see and the food you want to try. And lastly, what are you waiting for? Go and book a flight to France!

[lostgirlrewatch]

Lost Girl as I see it

Lost Girl first aired on September 12, 2010 on the Canadian network Showcase. It was created by Michelle Lovretta, who was also showrunner for the first season (along with Peter Mohan apparently) and wrote several episodes, including the pilot and season one finale. It was really popular in Canada, and it was pretty groundbreaking in the way it portrayed sexuality. In today’s world, we are blessed with many gay characters and ships on TV, flawed and incredibly flawed as they are. But in 2010, this was not so. Lost Girl was pretty unique. And not just because of the gayness, but because of its unapologetic approach toward sex in general.

But the show is groundbreaking to me personally for another reason entirely. Lost Girl is, at its heart, a love story between its two main characters, Bo and Kenzi. A platonic love story, but one that is just as powerful if not more so than any romantic one they possibly could have told. If the concept of soul mates existed, Bo and Kenzi would be it. Any other interpretation of the show, like the idea of it being a love story between Bo and Lauren, for instance, just does not jive with me. Doesn’t ring remotely true, though you can have that interpretation if you’d like.

Lost Girl is often hit or miss. It has low budget special effects, oftentimes corny dialogue and subpar acting, and is just generally full of camp. It never tries to disguise Buffy’s influence. It tries to mimic the supernatural campy found family vibe that that show made a genre out of, and oftentimes falls well short of it. Is it a Buffy knockoff? Like with most Buffy knockoffs, the answer is yes and no. But in spite of its obvious roots, it sets itself apart in a couple of crucial ways, like its approach to sexuality, and manages to find its own unique voice. It has a lot of duds, like, a lot. There’s a lot of shit to slog through, hence my clever icon where Kenzi is covered in dirt. But in the midst of that shit are some fucking gems of episodes, and I shit you not, some fantastic fucking writing.

Yes, it can be cringey. But I cannot stress this enough. In terms of Bo and Kenzi’s relationship alone, no other show even attempts what (I feel) Lost Girl manages to achieve. I have legitimately never seen another show sell a central platonic female friendship this hard. In any other show, Bo and Kenzi’s relationship would slowly but surely fall by the wayside and they would become less important to each other, less present in each other’s lives, as they each grew closer to their respective love interests. That’s just how it works with fiction, usually. The romantic relationships would gradually become the more significant ones in each character’s life. 

But this show never does that, in its entire 2010-2013 run. Bo and Kenzi each have a series of love interests, even endgame love interests (though we will never know for sure because of how the show ended after Season 3), and those relationships are incredibly important for both of them. But the story is not about those relationships. The story is about them. Bo and Kenzi are consistently each other’s call to action, their inspiration, and most importantly of all, their home and family. They choose each other again and again. The story begins with them choosing each other. Theirs is an active love. They are each other’s heart. It’s a love story. It’s not about romance or destiny, but about family, about choosing to care about someone. And you know what? Still totally platonic.

No other show does this, or at the very least no other show manages to pull this off quite this successfully. In other shows, if the platonic relationship isn’t diminished in importance, it’s made romantic. Even my favorite show of all time, Revolutionary Girl Utena, kinda does this. (And for the record, I LOVE that show for doing exactly that! But my point still stands. They gay.)

Bo and Kenzi’s friendship was so important to me in high school, but now as an adult having come to realize I am an aromantic/asexual person (or at least very much on that spectrum), it is even more important to me. It’s not a queerplatonic relationship, not exactly--like I said, they each still have legit love interests. It’s--well, it’s family, I guess. It’s better than family, because it’s chosen family. It’s soul mates.

As much as I wish I could have said something more profound about the show, something it deserves, I’m not actually very good with words when it really counts. Before I dive in to my episode thought dumps, I will leave it with this. Make fun of Lost Girl all you like for its cheesy shit and oftentimes subpar writing, but consider this. The show is truly unique, a phenomenon if you will, in that it somehow manages to boast both the greatest written character in all of television, and the worst written character in all of television. In the same show. Pretty crazy, right?

Tfw it’s a gay show and the best character is straight. F (In my gay show? It’s more likely than you think.)

[drarry-with-a-side-of-harry]

okay another one of these posts lads as i have decreed it is still Loving RDJ Hours (when is it not though)?

so i watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang last night and omg can this man stop being fucking iconic for like two seconds? also michelle monaghan was bril!

aNYWAY Harry said Respecting Women in this film and when he walked into the room at the party where the guy was touching Harmony and he was like ‘nO we dOn’t do tHat’ i was like yes sweetie come one you’re doing such a good job stop him!!! i mean yeh he still gets beaten up but he tries his best bless him and it worked

but honestly why is RDJ such a good actor? like just all the little mannerisms he has and every eye roll or slight smirk. what an icon

[sailorzakuro]

SCD Week 3: Movie Week Thoughts

This is so late cos I’ve had a crazy 24 hours basically I had the house to myself all night so I watched Strictly alone for once XD.

( @missemperor ) Michelle and Giovanni - It was really good!! I’d say this wasn’t as good as her Viennese Waltz IN MY OPINION but she still did great! Hold was still great, footwork kept up and she made it look easy.

Alex and Neil - Eeeee still don’t like her XD. It made me laugh when Shirley inadvertently gave her shade when she was praising Cath and Jo’s rumba and called other week 3 rumbas “usually cringey” XD. Her upper body still has no shape to it, her feet were flat most of the time and her arms had no flow to them. Every joint has to move individually to create a shape but she kind of did it from the forearm up, making her upper arm look awkward. Sorry Neil fans but I’m just not impressed by her at all yet.

Chris and Karen - Awwww bless him he tried so hard T_T. I could see nice moments! His frame wasn’t too bad, his free hand was half the time nice and he seemed to really get into the character. He felt suave and cool but still in keeping with the Fred Astaire ambience XD. Karen pushed him and I think he did well! Also the set legit reminded me of a scene from Still Life omg if I can find my old Dance notes I swear it said the set I’m thinking of was inspired by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers XD.

Karim and Amy - Honestly it was difficult to see his technique in a fucking black baggy fluffy panda suit WHO THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA. Not as good as his other dances but I think he did well! He’s certainly a great dancer but the samba technique and precision just got the better of him.

Catherine and Johannes - Oh my god I did not expect this to be my favourite dance of the night but THIS WAS MY FAVOURITE DANCE OF THE NIGHT. SHIT. Catherine had flow, she really showed a closeness with Johannes and her technique was amazing. Ugh, it was, just... SO good. I think she deserved more than 4 eights honestly.

Will and Janette - K I seriously had to watch this a few times cos I KEPT BEING DISTRACTED BY THE POKEMON-NESS IT’S TOO GOOD. I think Will did great yet again!! He really got into character, he was sharp and he was in control. Yeah he always had full attack rather than anything slower but to be fair, the choreo didn’t give him a chance to be anything else (you know, like, THE VERY BEST) so I wouldn’t blame Will for that. I loved it!! Would have been my favourite dance if not for Catherine snatching my weave and taking some of my scalp with her.

Kelvin and Oti - Okay yes I will say it IT WAS AMAZING. He was so in character, he went for it, had great dynamics, great swivels and made the lifts look so effortless. All I would say is towards the end he lost timing a bit and seemed a little behind Oti, so not completely deserving of a ten (nevermind two lol) but still absolutely amazing!!

V.Emma and Aljaz - I thought this was okay XD. She conveyed the story really well and had nice footwork, but her head omg it was like she’d broken her neck. It didn’t help that her hair was up so she couldn’t hide how far back it was. She just needed to move her shoulders and upper body back a bit more and lower her shoulders so she would look less tense and, well, like a corpse XD.

Anneka and Kevin - Holy crap I don’t even know how it’s physically possible for someone to be that bad XD. She seemed to just be flailing her limbs about all over the place. I seriously don’t know what else to say.

Saffron and AJ - Omg for once Saffron actually impressed me?? WHAT?? I liked it!! It wasn’t absolutely amazing obvs but honestly her annoying nature didn’t come out in this dance XD. It was more of a hardcore paso than a Spanish one (which you should know I prefer somehow) and reminded me slightly of Seann and Katya’s Matrix paso but Saffron did pretty well here! All I’d say is her upper body still needs to loosen up a little and her characterisation towards the end was a bit naff and cheesy but the rest I was really impressed by! Holy shit I never thought this day would come.

Mike and Katya - Oop watch out Mike week 3 is where it all happened last year, do not go to a pub with Katya, I REPEAT DO NOT GO TO A PUB WITH KATYA. I mean she kept falling over she’s very clearly not stable. Anyway the actual dance XD. Best dance Mike has done so far but still not amazing XD. His timing was off A LOT. He tried technique but had no balance or control of his body and instead of looking sharp he just looked wobbly XD. Good effort but still not impressive.

David and Nadiya - He’s definitely improving but it’s still not looking good for him. His footwork is actually okay in ballroom, it’s just his upper body needs a lot more refinement. Free hand I think once looked like he was trying to make a chicken shadow on the bat signal. I think this was better than last week certainly but his improvement is very slow.

Emma and Anton - Waaaaaah I was looking forward to this one but it was kind of disappointing. The song is just so bad for a salsa Anton had no chance of choreographing anything decent. Most of it was more 60s bonus moves, and if that was what was being judged then Emma did great with that XD. She got into character and embraced the whole vibe. But there was so little salsa content I don’t even know if I can judge her technique at all. It was also quite static and they stayed on the same spot of the floor for the whole routine. Entertaining but they gave them no chance with that song and dance style. Also Anton’s teeth are iconic and beautiful.

Dev and Dianne - Oh my god he painted the whole floor blue rip T_T. The routine was absolutely amazing!! It had so much street in it but still felt in the vibe of Aladdin XD. All I would say is Dev lacked some dynamics at the beginning but other than that it was so good!! And FINALLY an Aladdin dance where no one is dressed as either Aladdin or Jasmine man I hope next year someone’s Iago lmao XD.

Overall it was a very enjoyable movie week!! My favourites were Catherine and Johannes, Will and Janette, Dev and Dianne, Saffron and AJ and ofc Chris and Karen (that was a lot of favourites soz), and least favourite was Alex and Neil and Anneka and Kevin. Again I’m not spoiling who gets out for myself although I have a slight hunch of who it’s going to be XD.

[floralmac]

luce i need blog recs help a bitch out

omg natasha thank you for an excuse to talk about my fave blogs ily

@iasipseasonfive - abby is a literal angel she’s mostly a sunny blog but also cries about mitski and brokeback mountain which is extremely valid, also follow our ranking blog @iasipranked bc its gay and good

@notagoddamnbird - b is the coolest person literally ever and always glirsts in the tags big relate

@lgbtrcg - mary is so awesome and kind, posts a lot of humor and aesthetic stuff along with sunny and also runs a prompts blog @alwayssunnyprompts v good v iconic

@goth-mac - rye’s art always amazes me and their blog is a big mix of aesthetic sunny and horror which is quite beautiful

@softglenn - i mean if u don’t already follow ellie wyd she has the best glontent

@voringglennis - eva is hilarious and spills the truth all the time and is low-key actual best friends with glenn

@globrights -  michelle is queen and her fanfics are the most blessed and cursed writing ever, that being said i highly recommend

@lesbianfreyja - alex is truly one of the wokest ppl on this entire webbed site and her fanfics make my heart warm

other lovely blogs: @araki-iasip @glirsty @hyruling @honeyreynolds @vichoney @macfoundhispride @iasoup @honkycateau basically everyone i reblog from is amazing ily!