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yourmomxx · 5 months

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➵ angels talking - social media au | ln4 (2)

❥ pairing - lando norris x fem!singer!reader

❥ plot - the aftermath of you announcing your new relationship

❥ warnings - none

❥ a/n: as always, the pictures are taken off pinterest and therefore do not have any consisency regarding the reader’s looks (as it is a self-insert and the photographs merely are for visualization)

part i | part ii - the number four

masterlist | requests

⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

♔꙳⋆ instagram ꙳⋆

landonorris

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landonorris golden days with my golden girl

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bella.ltn screaming crying throwing up they’re so cute

paddockgirl not lando being a simp on main

↳ landonorris1 @/paddockgirl he’s just like us fr

carlossainz finally official🙏

↳ f1updates @/carlossainz oh hi carlos

kellypiquet tu ferais mieux de la garder @/landonorris

sebastianvettel real happy for you mate

↳ 33maxverstappen @/sebastianvettel we miss you on the grid

realobama her confused face in the second picture she’s just like me fr

hotchswife at first i didn’t know what to think of this but now i just think it’s amazing

suziesalmon new WAG alert

mollym the internet is going to eat this up

coconutananas NOOOO LANDOO

ynforreal guys we lost yn in the world of single ladies😔✊

↳ lanadelslay @/ynforreal i don’t know how to stay strong in this time of grief

lilymhe LANDO I LOVE YOU FOR THIS

↳ alexalbon @/lilymhe ???

alexalbon you just had to start dating my girlfriend’s favorite singer mate didn’t you?

lilyzneimer wishing you guys all the best

alexandrasaintmleux ♥️♥️

↳ lanadelslay @/alexandrasaintmleux ALEX HIII

ao3chick love how all the driver’s girlfriends are commenting like moms signing cards in the name of their kids

danielricciardo congrats!!!

↳ landonorris @/danielricciardo i saw your comment on her post

↳ danielricciardo @/landonorris what comment on whose post? i don’t even speak english🦡

lastlaplando not them being cute

julie.ss highway looking real cozy right now🤭

f1n1fan seb being the proud mom i love him🫶

♔꙳⋆ twitter ꙳⋆

♔꙳⋆ instagram ꙳⋆

yourusername

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yourusername excited to tell you that my new song ‘444’ is available to listen to now on all music streaming platforms! oh, and also that my new album will be released november 22nd😘save the date

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itsbrutalouthere not her telling us about a new album TWO WEEKS before it comes out

sabrinacarpenter song is so amazing babe

papayagirl someone please call taylor swift and get that girl some marketing help😭

lukehemmings 🔥🔥

oliviarodrigo LOVE IT

iknewyouweretrouble I just listened to the song and i am deceased

ynisbabe 444? EXCUSE ME THE MATH

hannahmountana this song is so hot i can’t -

jessicag you did so well with this!!

amslerin please come to la on the next tour i wanna see you live so bad😩😩

jana_gp GIRL WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE ANGELS TOLD YOU HES NOT RIGHT FOR YOU

↳ xemily @/jana_gp WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE NUMBER 444 WAS A SIGN TO LEAVE HIM

ynlnn the background music? the vocals?? i can’t anymore

tswizzle 444 the math is so beautiful on this one

kellykiwi the mv awakened something in me

urnamehere i love this song so much

hamiltonh 444? a fourth album? lando the number four?? BESTIE

therealyn queen of manifesting fr

ferrarisupreme “444 you saved my life i really got these angels by my side” lando norris the man👏 that👏you👏 are👏

tangledinu NEW ALBUM YES

midnightprentiss already presaved i’m so excited

ameliadahlia why is everyone talking about math here?? someone explain i’m so lost😭

↳ sabrinajenga @/ameliadahlia @/girlsplainingcelebrities made a post explaining it all, i’ll tag you🫶

girlsplainingcelebrities

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girlsplainingcelebrities another day, another girlsplain! today, what the number four means to our favorite popstar girly, yn yln!!🩷

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boxnexx not to mention that the new album she’s releasing will be her fourth!!! so excited what she has planned for us

zeeema the whole thing with her and lando is so cute

emilyx i always look forward to your posts☺️🙏

sabrinajenga @/amiadahlia

herbsherm whoever runs this account, you have saved my ass so many times, hope your pillow is cold on both sides

leaglb whether you believe in angel numbers or not, these would be a whole of a lot coincidences

formeformulas when i heard "every time i see 444 it means no more i know for sure" i was FREAKING

cheesestrings ALSO not to mention her album comes out on november 22ND - 2+2=?

tswizzle she’s so smart i love her

ynisbabe when my teachers told me i would need maths outside of school they actually meant this

carlaarcher can we please all agree that 444 is about her relationship with arthur and that it was basically lando who made her realize he wasn’t good enough?

↳ paddockgirl @/carlaarcher GURL FR no way those two didn’t have something going on

↳ leclercsgirl @/paddockgirl besides, the media didn’t see her with any other guy during that time the song is probably set, so it CAN only be arthur

↳ itsellie @/leclersgirl would explain their radio silence with each other as well

↳ bella.ltn @/itsellie tbh if my boyfriend practically stopped posting me on his social media or acknowledging my existence the moment we got more serious i would dump that man too

vanityfair and yourusername

liked by tswizzle, papayagirl and others

vanityfair Singer-Songwriter YN YLN talks Split from Rumoured Childhood Romance Arthur Leclerc, Release of New Song and Announcement of Fourth Album, and Relationship with Formula 1-Driver Lando Norris

Click on the Link in the Bio to watch the entire Interview

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coconutananas that caption is longer than my life span😭

mollym girl was busy the past few weeks

ylnwife i am so in love with everything this woman has been doing for the past few months, this is amazing

factorfic just watched it and it is so amazing!! love how her and lando have the same sass, they fit perfectly tbh

charthurleclerc the day we find out what really happened between her and arthur leclerc will be the day i can finally rest

itsbrutalouthere "I'm a ferrari girl" -YN YLN, girlfriend of MCLAREN DRIVER Lando Norris, 2023

↳ landonorris1 @/itsbrutalouthere loved her for this

↳ bimess @/itsbrutalouthere PLS the way she was like "I love my boyfriend but everytime a ferrari is on pole I risk a breakup" she's so real

ynisbabe she looks so good here hello???

emilyzkn can’t wait for the albummmmm oh my god

jilledits i swear to god if she spills more tea about arthur i will be FERAL

wanderwall now all we need is someone interviewing lando about her and my life will be complete

jawdropforkpop i’m already so excited for her new album, i can’t even

peppyi her new song was so good, can’t wait for the album!!

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basementdoll · 10 months

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Do you remember the first time you got drunk, the first time you fell in love, the first time you got in a fight? Wednesday 13 does, and those memories aren’t all pleasant…

The Memory Remains

When was the first time you had sex?

“I was 15 and I was in the garage of my mom and dad’s house in North Carolina. I lost my virginity on a Roger Rabbit blanket, because it was really cold. The year was 1991, I believe. The girl was my high school girl and she’s now my wife. I’ve been with her for a long time.”

What were your first impressions of Murderdolls colleague Joey Jordison?

“My first impression, when I first saw him come by in his car, was that he was a girl. I was like, ‘Wow, who’s that chick?’. And he got out of his car and I realized it wasn’t a chick, it was actually Joey. But it was just that he looked so young, like a 16-year-old kid. Like I said, when I saw him in a car I thought he was a chick and then when I saw him up close I thought he was a 16-year-old kid.”

What was the first record you ever bought?

“I didn’t buy a record until I was 18 because I was too much of a cheapskate to get a job. The first record someone ever bought for me was an Alice Cooper record, a Mötley Crüe record and a Poison record in my stocking from Santa Claus. Alice Cooper had a big influence on me visually, and Mötley Crüe were a big influence because they were just a bunch of scumbags. Poison were cool, too.”

What was the first gig you ever attended?

“Mötley Crüe on the ‘Dr Feelgood’ tour. I was in the Seventh Grade, so I think it was 1988, and the venue was the Charlotte Coliseum. For a little kid who had never seen anything like that it was just awesome, to see all the lasers going off in the shape of a giant pentagram, to see the devil in the house from the first song. And to see those guys going about their stuff literally changed my life. It was such an awesome night.”

When was your first fistfight?

“It was in the Sixth Grade. It was with a guy who was once my best friend, and the fight was over a girl. Well, it was for him, because she’d left him to hook up with me. So we walked in the bathroom and he started swinging at me, and every time he swung he missed, he kept hitting the walls. He hit the walls more times than he hit me. So I just laughed at him and smacked him in the head a couple of times and that was about it. Sixth graders don’t really hurt each other that much. I do try and get along with everyone, but if I’m onstage and you throw a bottle at my head I will go after you.”

When was the first time you got drunk?

“I was 15 and it was during the time I was with my first high school band. The drummer had a party at his mom’s. They just lined up a bunch of different drinks for me and I had a go at each and every one of them. By the end of the night I was in a bedroom jumping up and down on the bed and then I passed out. But then next morning I was okay. I don’t get hangovers, not even now.”

When was the first time you ever took drugs?

“I have never, ever in my life taken any drugs apart from the ones you can buy over the counter. I have never smoked weed or done anything like that. And I’ve been around it all. It’s just not for me; I’ve never had the desire to do drugs. I drink but that’s because I want to, not because I need to. I’m a strong man.”

When was the first time you left America?

“It was on the first Murderdolls tour in the spring of 2002. And the first place we went to was Amsterdam.

What were your first impressions of Amsterdam?

“It was actually pretty scary. For a start I couldn’t believe all the people riding bicycles, about how easy it was to get run over by one of them. And there were all the drunk people, and the drug people. People stoned everywhere, people collapsed and shooting up on the street. For a boy out of North Carolina it was really quite a lot to take in, so I just observed a lot of things and kept my mouth shut.

When was the first time you ever laid a groupie?

“I’ve never done that. I know how that sounds, but it’s true. I have a cool family, I have a kid so I’m responsible.”

When was the first time you ever pissed off a tour bus driver?

“It was on the very first tour bus I ever got on, and it was with the Murderdolls. The bus was a piece of shit and it broke down, so me and Joey just started yelling at the driver. He got the bus started and we were like, ‘Don’t ever let that happen again’. And he told us to fuck off, and we told him to fuck off. And that was about it. But normally I get along pretty good with bus drivers, and I’ve had some very cool ones.”

When was the first time a fan asked you to autograph her breast?

“I get asked that every single day. The first time it happened I was like, ‘Are you serious?’. But over the years I’ve learned a distinction - I will sign above the breast, but I will never, ever sign on the nipple. I just tell them no, because I think it’s stupid. But I’ll sign the chest if they keep it covered up. I don’t really get a thrill from signing tits.”

When was the first time you really pissed off a headline band?

“There’s been many, but the best one was Iron Maiden. We pissed off their whole entire crew who wanted us kicked off the whole entire tour. We were in Croatia, it was extremely hot, we had a day off and we were in a hotel. We went out drinking and got completely wasted. We came back to the hotel and we were making noise down the street, throwing bottles at the windows of the hotel. The people inside the windows began shouting at us and because we didn’t know who it was we just started shouting at them to fuck off, that we would kill them if they didn’t. But it was Iron Maiden’s crew, because when you’re drunk everyone looks like everyone else. And the next day we found out we’d threatened to kill everybody on Iron Maiden’s crew, and we weren’t even allowed in the venue. So we had to buy everyone roses and apologise to every one of their 30-man crew. It took a couple of days but by the end of the tour they were hugging us again. But I think Iron Maiden themselves would rather not ever see us again.”

#wednesday 13 #murderdolls #joey jordison #my scans #“WOW who's that chick?”#i fucking loooove this page its going on my wall

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agentrouka-blog · 3 months

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Whenever antis still spout that "Jon never forgave Sansa!" I think of the last scene between them and how he ended up hugging her so hard I thought he might burst. Like he was genuinely sad he would never see her again. If he never forgave her, you think he would have been stoic when she hugged him and kept his arms to his side, but he didn't. If the script said he didn't forgive her, then Kit's acting choices were interesting. lol

You can't come to me with show!questions, I'll get grumpy and bitter! 😂

The fact that she asked for forgiveness at all is enough to make my blood boil. What for? Apart from the D&D Sansa Apology-and-Thank-You Tour that began and ended with Jon for entirely fictional "crimes".

The visually beautiful hug is kind of drowned out by the incoherence of it all. It looks pretty and obviously emphasizes how much Jon cares about Sansa, but at this point I, the viewer, no longer care about their relationship because it's devoid of consistent connection. Lots is implied but nothing of meaningful substance is shown.

I'm very sorry, this is probably not the answer you were looking for, but show!Jonsa has really lost its appeal over time for me because it essentially boils down to lots of people caring about Jon without holding him accountable and Jon being a completely opaque blob we are meant to decipher by the power of micro-expressions or body language.

#anti game of thrones #jonsa #anti d&d

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kittyball23 · 7 months

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You Can't Harmonize Alone (a Trolls fanfic)

Summary: What if there was another little Trolling present at the scrapbook storytime at the end of Trolls World Tour?

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It seemed like no time had passed at all by the time that the rebuilding was done.

All the villages that had been destroyed during Barb’s world tour – their structures, their decorations, their memorials and mementos – had all been successfully restored to their former glory. Only, it was better. Visually, everything had been rebuilt to the colorful manner that it had looked before, but every inhabitant resided within with a new sense of being. Because now, the six musical tribes of Trolls knew that they could live in peace with one another, celebrating their differences instead of living wary of each other.

It was vital that the young came to learn of this notion, and so the Pop Queen had taken it upon herself to educate them, reading from a scrapbook that she had made shortly after the adventure had occurred. It was one that told the history of the Trolls – the true one, that she’d come to learn.

“In the beginning we were divided,” Poppy told the little Trollings. “Our ancestors thought we were just too different to get along. Turns out they were wrong. Very, very wrong.”

The pictures she was showing them had the Troll ancestors depicted, one of them – the Pop ancestor – had a little speech bubble that read “We’re sorry.”

“You have to be able to listen to other voices, even when they don’t agree with you,” Poppy continued with her explanation. “Our differences aren’t bad. Our differences are good. Our differences make us stronger. More creative. More inspired…” She paused, showing the Trollings the pages of the scrapbook and admiring how invested they were in the story.

“So,” Poppy went on, “whether your song is sad and heartfelt, loud and defiant, or warm and funky, or even if you’re a little bit of each… it’s all these sounds that make the world a richer place. Because you can’t harmonize alone.”

Poppy beamed, quite satisfied with her conclusion and grew even happier to see that all the other little Trollings were just as joyful. The Funk, Rock, Classical, Techno, Country, and Pop kids all glanced at each other, all smiles and curiosity.

She sighed, about to close the scrapbook, when the little Trolling who’d been calmly seated upon her lap held the pages open and stared at them with awe.

“Wow!” she asked, and then looked up at Poppy with her large, familiar blue eyes. “Is that really a true story, Mommy?”

Poppy giggled, caressing the girl’s cheek and pushing away some strands of rich indigo hair that was falling into her eyes. Before she could give her an answer, another voice responded.

“Yes, it is.”

The Trolling whirled around, and beamed a little gap-toothed grin. “Daddy!”

Branch, looking quite regal in his leafy king’s crown, bent down and embraced his daughter. He then looked up at Poppy – his queen, and his wife – with a sparkle in his eye that she recognized as one of deep love. She did not resist when he offered his hand to her, and she easily took it, giving it a gentle squeeze. The words she’d just said rang out in her head again: You can’t harmonize alone. Well, that wouldn’t be a problem. Not when she had the best husband in the whole wide world by her side, and their little youngling. She could swoon about it all day, get lost in those ocean-blue eyes and the sweet sound of her daughter’s joyful giggle, though her reverie was broken at a sudden, loud CHOMP!

Poppy yelped, and Branch and their daughter gasped at the sight of Clampers suddenly biting on the scrapbook with her large, gnawing teeth!

“Clampers!” Poppy reprimanded. “Let’s not eat our history!”

The Country Trolling peered at her sheepishly, let go of the scrapbook, and grinned up at the Pop Queen apologetically. “Sorry, Miss Poppy.”

Just then, Tiny Diamond entered into the pod, groovily riding atop of a toy dump truck. “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” he bopped, “I’m done with my nap, and ready to play!” He shot glitter up into the air with flourish, prompting the Trolls to all laugh.

Poppy and Branch’s daughter giggled. “Can I go play with him?” she asked her parents.

“Of course!” Poppy answered brightly, while Branch nodded. “In fact, let’s all go!”

The Trollings in the pod cheered and quickly hurried out after the Pop King and Queen, to celebrate together in a grand party between all of the Troll Kingdom.

And the music never stopped!

__________________________________________

A/N: I'm glad with the way that Trolls World Tour ended, but this scenario came to mind after thinking about the ending scene in Boss Baby (where it had turned out that Tim had been telling his daughter the story all along). Besides, if Broppy had gotten married and had a kiddo that quickly, we wouldn't have seen any proposal or wedding!

#trolls #trolls 2 #trolls world tour #broppy #branch trolls #poppy trolls #dreamworks #fanfiction #kittyball writes

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pinchinschlimbah · 1 year

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Gerard’s “Are they costumes?” has been rotating in my brain for the past 24 hours and I need to yell about it.

As many have noted, while at the surface level this comment was directed towards the audience, it does feel like it echoes the larger question of the outfits Gerard has been wearing throughout this tour. Are they costumes? Are they drag? Are they just clothes?

Thinking about “We’re all born naked and the rest is drag”- anything you intentionally choose to visually present yourself in a certain way, especially in the context of knowing you’ll be on stage in front of tens of thousands of people, is on some level a performance, a playing of a character to convey a specific vibe. Even if that character is “some guy in a t shirt and jeans”, that outfit was still an intentional choice and still evokes a particular response that a different outfit would not.

Thinking about “give a man a mask and he’ll tell you the truth”- often people feel more free to express their truest selves when it can be under the guise of a “costume”, something supposedly inauthentic and performative, because it gives them the safety of plausible deniability or the freedom finding power from the character they’re playing that they couldn’t find access to as their everyday selves. This is especially true in regard to queer people, where queerness in the form of performance and entertainment is much more widely accepted/tolerated than when those people continue to be outwardly queer off stage or screen in their day to day lives.

I think both of these sentiments exist simultaneously.

Without getting into too much detail for anonymity’s sake, my full time job centers around creating custom clothing for queer and gnc people- many of which are intended for performance/entertainment purposes and are undeniably “costumes”. And yet when I do fittings, I consistently feel and hear from these people that these pieces aren’t just costumes to them, but that they’re helping them to manifest some version of themself that up until now has only existed inside their own brain. I’ve seen quite a few people cry when they first looked into the mirror in their custom outfit and saw their fantasy version of themself existing in real life for the first time. Fantasy and authenticity can go hand in hand. Just because it’s a costume doesn’t mean it isn’t also real, and just because it’s dressing up in a performative way doesn’t mean it’s purely a “costume” in the sense of pretending to be something you’re not.

Thinking of my 16 year old self, just starting to come into my queerness and gender nonconformity without yet having the words to identify what I was feeling. Going to school on a daily basis in what was basically my best attempt at Revenge-era Gerard cosplay (suit jackets, striped or red necktie, red eyeshadow, heavy black eyeliner, skeleton gloves, etc) because emulating someone who owned that performative flamboyant androgyny in such a captivating way was what made me feel most confident and safe to do so during a time where I was feeling very lost and insecure about who I was and where I fit into the world, and as a result I was able to learn more about myself than I would have otherwise.

Are they costumes? I see you. Don't worry, I see you.

#gay yelling #mcr #my chemical romance #gerard way #shouts into void

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foxes-that-run · 3 months

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Clean

I'm so sad we didn't get videos for 1989TV, but we did get some great visuals in the lyric videos. Especially Cleans, which references a lot of other songs. I see similarities to the music video for Style, Out of the Woods, Late Night Talking, Falling and Cardigan. I think this fits how often this song has been referenced in other songs by Harry and Taylor.

Timeline

Clean was written on 9 February with Imogen Heap. Taylor said in the Grammy Pro event:

“When you get your heart broken, or you loose someone from your life, or when you’re trying to recover from a breakup, it’s almost the same kind of struggle that someone goes through when trying to beat addiction. It’s not one habit your breaking, it’s every single minute of the day you’re breaking a habit. And it’s exhausting. I had this metaphor in my head about being in this house. There’s been a drought but you feel like there’s a storm coming, and so instead of blocking out the storm you punch a hole in the roof and just let all the rain come in. And when you wake up in the morning, it’s washed away everything that used to hurt you. And then you’re clean.”

Taylor also said it and Shake it Off were the last song's written, but Style was actually the last song written on 19 February 2014.

Live performances

Clean was on the 1989 mainset list proceeded by the Clean Speech which changed slightly every night. There is a wonderful Masterpost of Clean Speechs most of these. The Speech generally stated with a scene setter that they are all there together, going through things and would end with variations on " And then I think that if you continue to move through your life, and replace old habits with new ones, I think you can erase that feeling that everyone sees your mistakes when they’re looking at you. And that’s the moment you know that you’re finally clean." The middle section of the speeches varied depending on what Taylor wanted to say. I think these are a nice call back to Speak Now Arm Lyrics, which started after she may have first met Harry.

Since the 1989 World Tour it has been played Clean on:

21 July 2018 - end of (Cruel) summer end of Live on Tour, Camille BUA, Harry went to Italy, she went to Turks and Caicos with Joe.

1 April 2023 - show after Joe BUA

28 May 2023 - Between Maroon and Hits Different. TR and TK first seen soon after.

Lyrics

The drought was the very worst (Oh-oh, oh-oh) When the flowers that we'd grown together died of thirst It was months and months of back and forth (Oh-oh, oh-oh) You're still all over me Like a wine-stained dress I can't wear anymore

Is it over now? "With the wilt of the rose (Uh-huh)", Harry responded to this in Sunflower Vol 6 with "Plant new seeds in the melody"

Wine on clothes is many songs: Olivia: "This isn't the stain of a red wine, I'm bleeding love", Little Freak: "Red wine and a ginger ale / But you would make fun of me for sure", Maroon: "The burgundy on my T-shirt when you splashed your wine into me" and "Your roommate's cheap-ass screw-top , that's how", The 1: "Rosé flowing with your chosen family" and Grapejuice "There's just no gettin' through / Without you / A bottle of rouge"

Hung my head as I lost the war And the sky turned black like a perfect storm

Taylor has used war as a metaphor for a fight in several songs. And described dark skies for relationship trouble.

This Love: "Skies grew darker, currents swept you out again"

Coney Island: "Did I paint your bluest skies the darkest gray?"

Rain came pouring down When I was drowning, that's when I could finally breathe And by morning Gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean (Oh, oh, oh, oh)

The imagery of rain pouring down, washing away but also as a metaphor for depression has been a theme in Harry and Taylors songs. Most remarkably in the music videos for Falling/Cardigan, which references these lyrics in Clean.

Clean is referencing Everything has changed, a song about the start of Harry and Taylor's relationship, Clean being an (ending at that time.)

Everything Has Changed: "All I know is pouring rain and everything has changed"

How You Get The Girl: "Stand there like a ghost, shaking from the rain"

Peace: "But the rain is always gonna come if you’re standing with me"

There was nothing left to do (Oh-oh, oh-oh) When the butterflies turned to dust that covered my whole room So I punched a hole in the roof (Oh-oh, oh-oh) Let the flood carry away all my pictures of you

Everything has changed is also the only other song Taylor has referred to Butterfly's "And all I feel in my stomach is butterflies, the beautiful kind" which Harry referenced in Olivia "The summertime and butterflies / All belong to your creation / I love you, it's all I do"

Dust is also only in:

Holy Ground: And the story’s got dust on every page

Everything Has Changed: So dust off your highest hopes, and

Right Where You Left Me: Dust collected on my pinned-up hair

Finally, as the closing track, 1989 was a very photo driven marketing campaign, the line of 'washing my pictures of you' and references to photos in the album bring that story to a close.

The water filled my lungs, I screamed so loud But no one heard a thing

Harry referenced this line in the Falling Music Video, which Taylor then referenced in the Clean TV Lyric Video:

Ten months sober, I must admit Just because you're clean, don't mean you don't miss it Ten months older, I won't give in Now that I'm clean, I'm never gonna risk it

Clean likens their relationship to an addiction, which they do in several songs (Grapejuice "There's just no gettin' through / Without you A bottle of rouge", MMIH “gotta get better / give me some morphine.”)

Is it over now? "Let's fast forward to three hundred takeout coffees later" 300 take out coffees, one a day is 10 months.

The song was written 9 February 2014, 10 months prior was April 2013. One Direction was playing UK shows and Taylor on the US leg of the Red Tour. They were MIA on tour breaks 23 - 25 April 2013 after Harry arrived alone in LA, Harry wearing the Peace Ring when he left LA. Finding that timing makes me feel:

#haylor #taylor swift #1989

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bettyshoweduptotheparty · 7 months

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what's your wildest clown theory right now? ;)

What qualifies as 'wild'? 😉

If you mean, what theory keeps my brain twisting in knots the most, then it's the current possibility of 1989tv being some sort of double album drop. With the constant colour alternation of blue and black recently, I know most people assume it's reputation. And that would be the most obvious conclusion, but I have so many more questions, it literally keeps me up at night.

Like, why the heck is 1989 on this wall twice, once in white and once in black??

The only other thing that's on there twice is obviously Karma, and notably also in two different colours. One of them being orange, the very same colour that Taylor randomly changed her lover nail on tour to:

March to June: pink ⬇ July-August: orange ⬇

You can't tell me she just ran out of pink nail polish, everything is for a reason with this woman, especially when she's meticulously painted her nails the eras colours for EVERY single show, except 7/7 when they were all purple for Speak Now tv release. WHY TAYLOR??

Reputation on the wall also has the number 2024 in it, so if it was coming as a double drop before the end of the year, was that just a red herring? It would also break the 112 day pattern... so while I see all the rep hints and snakes, I think something is off with it just being reputation sooner than we think.

But if we think back to when this Karma album theory started, it was right in between 1989 and reputation era. The big supposed hint was the TS6 plane in the LWYMMD mv that gets grounded and then spray painted to be reputation instead. So, if anything, Karma was going to be some form of TS6, so why the hell did she change her 7th finger to orange and not the 6th one?? I really have no idea, but it brings me to my other big rumination of this year, which is the visuals from the Eras tour, and there is one other overlap of that karma origin era of 2016 with the lover era and that is when she burns the lover house during the 1989 set. I did a whole theory post on it, but basically, the lover house gets a bit charred during the lover set, and then she brings it back hours later during the final song of the 1989 set to be completely obliterated by blue flames. BUT, while the house burns with blue flames first, it then suddenly changes to red/orange fire before it collapses:

So the most iconic thing to come out of the Lover era gets destroyed by 1989...The blue flames were definitely a choice. But then why not just let it burn down in blue flames? The colour change is also a choice. The final death of the lover house is orange...whatever that means. But it does somewhat support the double drop theory: 1989 (blue) unexpectedly changes to orange. So could the double album be 1989 and karma? Tbh, I don't think karma was ever a full 'lost' album. We got reputation only a year later, that wouldn't have been enough time to write a whole new album, so I think some of these songs are actually on reputation, in one form or another. I've often joked with a friend that karma is just reputation but with all female pronouns to make our Karlie stan album what it deserves to be 😆😁 (for the record, I don't think that's it either but it wouldn't surprise me if Taylor tried to put some of these songs out with female pronouns and was told no. There's a reason that the last ever song she recorded with Big Machine was getaway car...And fun fact: the first ever song released under her new label was what? ME! out now, on...you guessed it, Lesbian Visibility Day 😉).

I know we now have a song called karma and believe me, that little giggle when she announced that song title in MMWM will haunt me forever, that woman is enjoying playing with us! So do I think the karma album theory is dead? Not sure, but maybe we will get some more of those songs as vault tracks on 1989 and rep tv, that was, after all, the time they originated from. Or, if I'm totally wrong with all of this, we may get a 1989/rep tv double drop after all and karma will be TS11, just like karma is track 11 on midnights. Who knows...? What I am excited about is that we're now crossing over to the left side of the Man wall and that's certainly looking juicy. Can't wait for rep tv, whenever it's coming. The reality of a new cover makes me nervous though and I think given the lore around the rep cover, it would make sense if she just dropped it without announcing it two months in advance. It would mirror the OG rep release and also avoid giving us two months to dissect the new cover to find which one of Karlie's body parts she has 'borrowed' this time, because she must be aware that that's what people will be looking for as soon as the cover art drops. So 1989, rep, karma, I think all is on the table, and luckily we won't have to wait that much longer to find out. 🤞

#gaylor #kaylor #1989 tv #reputation tv #anon ask #wild theories

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doomandgloomfromthetomb · 8 months

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Galaxie 500 - The Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 16, 1990

A very pleasant surprise from the Galaxie 500 vaults — a lost video of a pretty unique, drum-less semi-unplugged show during the spring of 1990. Wobbly early camcorder visuals, sure, but it hits that oddly nostalgic sweet spot just right (and the sound is quite good, all things considered).

Damon, Naomi and Dean had just released their unbeatable On Fire the previous fall, but in the cozy environs of the Middle East Upstairs (where they had played some of their very first gigs), they workshopped a bunch of new material destined for their This Is Our Music swan song. A lot of the arrangements seem to be generally in place, though some of the lyrics — especially on "Way Up High" — have yet to be finalized. There are also some typically terrific covers, including Naomi taking the lead on a dreamy rendition of Young Marble Giants' "Final Day" and an inspired take on Red Crayola's "Victory Garden." Come ride the fiery breeze of GALAXIE 500!

Damon Says: The tape is a time capsule of the late 80s/early 90s scene at the Middle East: the attitudes in the crowd (and on stage!), the banter, the smoking, the cookies…

Thanks to the late Tucker Stilley for filming all those years ago, Mimi Lipson for unearthing it all these years later and G-500 for generously sharing. And hey, Damon and Naomi are kicking off a short tour in a couple weeks ... in Iceland! Go see 'em.

#galaxie 500

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loveroftoomanyfandoms · 9 months

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Angel of God, My Guardian Dear Chapter 16: Reader

Rating: Explicit (18+, MINORS DNI)

Pairing: Matt Murdock x F!Reader

Story Summary: While speaking at a local school for visually impaired youth, Matt runs into his childhood best friend, with whom he lost touch almost 20 years prior.

Warnings/Tags: Bit of innuendo but nothing really for this chapter.

Word Count: ~1500

A/N: The previous chapter was super short and just filler because I needed something from Matt's PoV, so enjoy this bonus update!

No, no, no… ew, too much white… this one isn't even in Hell's Kitchen… nope, nope… oh wait, what's this?

Y/N paused scrolling through real estate listings as she ran across an absolutely gorgeous 4-story townhouse with a private garden. Oh wow, this is beautiful.

She and Matt had come up with an agreed-upon budget and wishlist for their future shared home the night before and were now looking at listings -- or rather, Y/N was looking at listings and reading them off to Matt while he made stir-fry for lunch.

She scrolled through the photos then took a look at the floor plan. Basement area that Matt could slip in and out of while he's out Daredeviling, private garden, massive kitchen, 4 bedrooms and an office… oh my God, it has a library.

She scrolled down to the listing price and her heart sank. $6.7 million dollars. Fuck.

She sighed.

"No luck with that one?" Matt asked.

Y/N shook her head. "Actually it's the perfect place for us, but there's no way in hell we'd ever be able to afford it. Plus it's a townhouse, not an apartment."

"How much is it?" Matt asked.

"Almost 7 million bucks."

Matt whistled. "Yikes."

"Yeah." Y/N sighed again. "It is beautiful though."

Matt shrugged. "Is there an open house anytime soon? Maybe we can tour it to see if maybe we do want to look at townhouses instead of an apartment?"

Y/N glanced back at the listing. "Um, yeah, actually there's an open house tomorrow afternoon."

"Want to check it out then?"

"Sure, why not." Y/N laughed. "Who knows, maybe I'll actually hate it once I see it."

_______________________________

"Okay, definitely don't hate it," Y/N whispered to Matt as they walked into the open house the next afternoon. "This place is even more gorgeous than it was in the pictures."

"Hi, welcome," the listing agent greeted them. "Come on in. I'm Madison with Harcourt Realty."

"Matthew," Matt said, shaking Madison's hand.

"Y/N," Y/N added. "Nice to meet you."

"Pleasure's all mine." Madison swept a hand around the foyer. "Would you like a tour?"

Y/N nodded and took Matt's hand. "Sure."

"Okay, well this lovely townhome was built in 1899 and measures out at 4,567 square feet if you include the basement -- one of the biggest townhomes in the area -- and it features 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, with an additional garden room and library. Over here we have a downstairs bathroom and closet, and through here is an eat-in kitchen, a walk-in pantry complete with a wine cooler, and a formal dining room."

Y/N looked around the kitchen area as Madison paused. She could definitely picture herself and Matt making breakfast together after a long night of lovemaking.

Madison continued to the dining room. "And if we keep going, we'll reach the garden room, which has 2 large skylights to let in the natural warmth of the sunshine and opens directly to the back garden."

Y/N and Matt followed him outside.

"Do you folks do a lot of entertaining?" Madison asked.

"Not a ton," Matt replied, "but we do have relatives that come in from out of town. We're actually thinking about expanding our family so we're looking for somewhere with room for our kids to play."

"Ah," Madison said. "Well, you'll have plenty of space for little ones and your out-of-town guests."

He gestured back inside. "Okay, if you'll follow me, we can check out the basement area."

The basement was large and roomy with plenty of storage space and entrances in both the front and back.

"Matt, sweetheart, I think this would be the perfect 'man cave' for you," Y/N said lightly, hinting at the fact that Matt could come and go as Daredevil through the basement.

Matt nodded. "Yeah, I could use this as a workout room."

Madison nodded. "The previous owners also used the space as their home gym. Now, if you're ready we'll head up to the living area."

Y/N and Matt followed Madison back upstairs.

"Here's the formal living room/den," Madison said as they reached the second floor, "and through here is the library."

Y/N sucked in a breath as they stepped into the library. Definitely gotta add lots of bookshelves to the must-have list for whatever place we choose.

Matt gave her hand a squeeze. "I know which room will be your favorite," he said with a grin.

Y/N huffed out a laugh. "Well of course."

Madison then led them upstairs once again to the spare bedrooms. "Here are 2 of the bedrooms with a shared bathroom in the middle. The right-side bedroom also comes with a fireplace and walk-in closet while the other bedroom comes with a slightly smaller closet."

Matt hummed. "We'd probably want to take the fireplace out of this room. Wouldn't want the kids playing with it."

Y/N nodded. "Yeah, I agree."

"Okay, one more floor." Madison led them to the stairs once more. "Here we have a walk-in closet right outside the primary bedroom and to the right over here is a bedroom with its own attached bath, and finally another bedroom that can be used as another walk-in closet or a small office."

Y/N grinned and turned to Matt. "This can be your office, I'm taking the library as mine."

Matt chuckled. "I wouldn't expect anything less, angel."

"Do you mind me asking what you do for work?" Madison asked.

"I'm an attorney," Matt replied, "and Y/N is a librarian."

Madison nodded with a chuckle. "Ah, well, that makes sense then. Now over here is the primary suite…"

Y/N marveled over the size of the primary bedroom and eyed the large walk-in shower in the primary bathroom with envy. Definitely could have some fun with Matt in here, she thought.

She turned towards Matt, who was smirking as if he could read her thoughts. "What?"

Matt just shook his head. "Just that we were probably thinking the same thing."

Madison gestured back towards the hallway. "Okay, shall we head back downstairs?"

Y/N nodded. She knew that she and Matt were just touring the townhouse basically for shits and giggles, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to not immediately go rob a bank so that they could afford it. "This is lovely."

Matt nodded. "We'll have to discuss some things and get back with you."

Madison nodded as well. "Well here's my card in case you have any questions, but if you decide to place an offer I wouldn't wait because I feel like this place is going to go fast."

"Yes, thank you so much for the tour," Y/N said. "We'll be in touch."

"Have a nice day," Matt added.

Y/N took Matt's hand as they left.

As they walked back down the steps to the street, Y/N sighed. "Feel like going rob a bank with me so we can buy this place?"

Matt chuckled. "You liked it that much, huh?"

"Matty, it's perfect. It has everything we want in our forever home." Y/N shook her head. "I really don't think we'll find anything even remotely like it in our price range, so if we want to stay in Hell's Kitchen we might have to start looking at renting a 3-bedroom apartment, maybe a 4-bedroom if we're lucky and find a place with bedrooms the size of closets."

Matt pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "I'm sorry, angel."

Y/N shook her head. "It's not your fault."

"We'll keep looking, okay?"

Y/N nodded. "Okay."

Suddenly Matt's watch beeped. "Oh, shit, I forgot I was supposed to go meet Foggy at the office to go over our strategy for the Donnetto arbitration tomorrow."

"Oh, okay. Raincheck on dinner then?"

Matt nodded. "Here, let me get you home first, I'll call Foggy and tell him I'm running late."

Y/N shook her head. "Oh no, sweetheart, you go ahead. I'll just catch a cab back to my place."

"Okay, I'll call you when I'm done and maybe we can have dinner at your apartment? I shouldn't be more than an hour or two."

"Okay." Y/N gave him a kiss. "Love you."

"Love you too. Here, let me get you a cab."

Y/N waited as Matt hailed a cab and opened the door for her. "Thanks, sweetheart."

"No problem, angel. I'll see you later tonight, okay?"

Y/N nodded. "Okay."

"Where we goin', ma'am?" the cab driver asked.

Y/N gave him her address and sat back with a sigh. She hoped she and Matt would find their forever home soon, but it unfortunately wouldn't be this one.

#lotmf writes #AoG Masterlist #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock x fem!reader #matt murdock x female reader #matt murdock x yn #matt murdock fanfiction

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bamboobrat · 1 year

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succession s4 e3 recap: i just called to say are you a cunt? 2/2

part 1

how are we dealing so far? personally, i am not.

tom calls his boyfriend with the news of logan's death, which turns out to be a huge mistake because greg is a dipshit with no poker face and a simp for journalist ass.

guys, i even feel bad for tom. wtf is this episode.

roman is still in denial.

the genius of the writers confirmed: i spent ages wondering if it was real myself, since we never really saw logan and it felt unreal. so thanks for the torture, i guess.

just as the kids receive news they have stopped doing compressions, the ship leaves the dock.

stress level: uncut gems.

hugo is here.

if i saw this man on the worst day of my life i would jump ship.

he informs the sibs that the board is drafting a statement and the reactions are who tf asked.

we see a shift from grief to strategy. new leadership means they need to position themselves.

tom wants people to know he was with logan as he died. karl, gerri and frank need their name on the statement. and although the healthy thing probably would be to grieve in peace, the kids need to stake their claim too.

calling a confrontation in a karaoke bar a family function is controlling the narrative. words are just complicated airflow.

this screenshot is just in here because it has gerri in it.

roman continues his denial tour, this time featuring gerri.

bla bla bla the marked bla bla bla stock prices bla bla shiv casually suggests they leave the plane in the air for a while because of business.

shoot logan into deep space for all i care.

inside you there are two wolves: one who cares about legacy and one that is suicidal.

in this scenario, i would be connor:

actually, i'm shiv, turns out:)))

i'm sure the mommy issues comes as a surprise to no one.

kendall is on the funeral planning commitee.

"funeral off the rack" was the alt title of this week's recap.

and then, just as roman has pointed out they can just be children who have lost their fathers, who need to grieve, rumors of logan's health leak.

fucking greg.

i'm always here for a good sibling huddle.

how "inspirational quote on a boomer facebook group" of them to believe they are actually needed at waystay.

don't stop believing and all that.

i repeat, don't stop believing:

you go, gerri, give him nothing!!!!:(

the way she looked so concerned for them when she entered the room:(( but then he acted like an asshole:((( and now everything is horrible:((((

WE ARE LOSING THE LESBIANS!

DOSE OF FANFIC NEEDED, STAT!

help

help!!!

indeed. how will i ever survive the six days leading up to the next episode?

(it's fanfiction, the answer is fanfiction)

i know that hugo referred to the journos when he said he had briefed "their friendliest" but i like to believe he's talking about shiv.

guys, i'm so drained.

more business. logan is the stock price. anthropomorphic shit that would probably mean something if i cared enough to focus on logan rn.

HUG!!!!!

at this point, it seems impossible that these three will turn on each other, but a lot can happen in seven episodes.

roman's adhd brain needs visual conformation.

this is very important, says woman who forgets the produce if it's at the back of the fridge.

connor wins this episode.

he got his way: statue of liberty, weirdly patriotic band, no cake.

the healthiest relationship in this show is the one that is openly transactional.

speaking of transactional relationships: shiv goes home with tom under the pretense that he has to explain to her the details of what happened on the plane.

what are we thinking? is there hope? (of course not) do we care? (i do, i do a little)

we end on kendall alone and the siblings separated. bad omen.

"i'll be broken when you die"

we await an unpredictable road ahead, friends. buckle up, fuckleheads.

part 1

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virtchandmoir · 1 year

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A CONVERSATION WITH SCOTT MOIR

At M.K. John Wilson Trophy, I had the pleasure of sitting down with two-time Olympic Champion and three-time World Champion Scott Moir. We spoke in two parts, the first before the free dance event and the second after the competition had ended.

Support us on Patreon (Senior Skaters tier) to get the full audio of the interview right now. Alternatively, follow us on YouTube. Once we hit 400 subscribers, we will release it there!

January 20, 2023

Are you more nervous now, as a coach than you were as a skater? How are the emotions different?

They’re just different. To be honest, I use a lot of the same tactics to prepare, like visual training, but it’s just a little bit different. So my athletes, hopefully, we’ve – my team and I – have prepared them well, at home. And when they get here, I’m trying to figure out what each of them needs in the moment. So I use my visualising skills for the coach that I want to be. And for me, I’m a very passionate competitive person. So most of the time, that means having very clear, simpler thoughts, and clear messages. And then also, the biggest thing that I learned from Patrice [Lauzon] is just calm energy. You know, when you’re going into these high-pressure moments, and you’ve done all the work, the biggest thing you want [is] to look back and see [that] your coach has your back, and is there for you. So really, make sure the athletes know that, but it’s a different feeling as they perform. Obviously, it’s so intense when you’re skating. Because you have the cue on every single thing.

For me, as a coach, you’re learning. So try to enjoy the moment, but also as they compete, the training exposes itself. What can we do better, where do we go compared to the field, compared to what our end goal is? So I find the competition as a coach such great feedback, such great information that I have to be quite sharp. So I don’t find I get as lost in the moment because I have to be on my toes.

How soon after retiring, did you actually sort of fully start coaching?

“Fully start coaching…” I’d say it was about three years. Luckily, I had a couple of years of retirement after 2014 as well. So I kind of knew what I was expecting. And my experience at I.AM changed my outlook on coaching, as well as on figure skating and wanting to be involved. Patrice, Marie-France [Dubreuil], Romain [Haguenauer] and the coaching staff there, Sam Chouinard, Gigi [Cournoyer]. They changed my life. And it changed how I felt about the sport, and they empowered me to be my best self and learn what that is and who that was. And it inspired me to want to do that for other people.

So it wasn’t that long after. We toured, we did all that. And Marie-France and Patrice were always very good role models for us. So they’d kind of given me that, like ‘You go on tour and enjoy‘ and Tess and I wanted to celebrate together. But not very long after – two, three years after – we kind of started thinking – because we’d already retired once and done tours and we’re doing a show – and we just looked at each other and were kind of like ‘This isn’t the same’. We both had other projects that we were putting on hold: her getting her MBA and working for Deloitte, and for me, the skating school. So as much as we miss each other daily, it was time to move on and not perform anymore. And then that, for me, kind of allowed me to start coaching and really dive in. Luckily, my family already had a skating school and they had already been training a lot of the athletes I work with today. And then the collaboration with I.AM really came together. So I came in at quite a high level. It was exciting right from the beginning.

How did that collaboration come about?

Mostly just support from Ice Academy of Montreal. I think this coaching team – they’re so sophisticated and they do what they do so well. It’s a big honour for me to call them colleagues, but I really still, in many ways, see them as my coaches and I think, for them, the coaching doesn’t stop when your career stops. They always want to inspire, and now we inspire each other a little bit more. And they are really great at not just coaching me but allowing me to find my own feet.

So after we were done skating, they just continued to coach and I was talking with Patrice and they had me come in a couple of times and their energy at their rink really inspired me. Patrice had this idea to try and multiply what they had created in Montreal and if we’re doing what we say we’re doing at the academy, some of us should be coming into maturity and hopefully we can create better skating schools throughout the world and kind of make the footprint of the movement a little bit larger. So when he said that, to me, it fired me up. And I wanted to really do my own thing. But I would have done my own thing, I think, in Montreal, if I hadn’t met my wife and missed my family and all that stuff. I still think my home is in Ontario. But professionally, I was a little bit upset, because I would love to be beside them in Montreal and join forces. And then when they came up with this idea, and we started to talk about it, and I had kind of been thinking of it as well, like ‘Hey, is there any way we could have a partnership?’ And then Patrice kind of took it one step further, and had this idea of it being a campus of our I.AM schools and so that kind of came very naturally. We were building it all up for a long time in the background, before we actually launched. And yeah, we’re still learning. We’re still young – what they built over many, many years – so they get a lot of SOS phone calls. And even just to share resources helps us a lot: dance coaches and known professionals. Like having Sam Chouinard in a couple of weeks ago really helps our kids. There’s just a certain environment, and it’s hard because we want to be our own, but what they do, they do so well. So we model a lot of the things we do after them as well.

Your first sort of, I guess, big team that came to you after you became a coach was Christina [Carreira] and Anthony [Ponomarenko]. How did they approach you? And what was that sort of communication like?

Yeah, they were looking for a new training environment. And they approached both Patrice and me. And we were, you know, – Patrice and his relationship with US figure skating – already working with the top three teams in the country – top two teams in the country now. And we are trying to decide whether there was enough room for them. And that was before MIDA [Michigan Ice Dance Academy] was up and running. And so we have this idea that they can kind of be the leaders of our school with the help of the Montreal staff. So we created this collaboration, which is what we see the whole movement being: all about collaborating in a combination of different people. For me, I think the most powerful and enlightening moment this year was bringing in Madison [Hubbell] and Adrian [Diaz] and seeing them, now, kind of taking flight, taking ownership, really helping our athletes and then going to Montreal, seeing Guillaume [Cizeron] choreographing and working with so many athletes – what a great opportunity for us to try and expand. And so it’s been pretty cool to see all of that happening.

But Christina and Anthony, they kind of threw us into the game right away in Ontario. We love working with Christina and Anthony every day and seeing what they bring to the school. Their competitiveness and their willingness to learn. They are already accomplished skaters, but we’re trying to rebuild what they’re doing.

Just to get a maturity and keep taking them to the next level. And they’re all in and you know, there are some days when I think ‘Oh, man, should you be trusting me with this?’ But we come into the lab everyday together and we try and be our best and because of that I find the job of working with them extremely rewarding.

You have a few other Canadian teams as well like Sales and Wamsteeker, Hensen/Lickers, and recently had Alyssa Robinson and Jacob Portz move to you. Can you talk a bit about them, their training, and what they’re up to?

Absolutely. Haley and Nik here at Skate America – Skate America. Jesus. Sheffield. Anyways, what’s it called…MK dance? Cup of China? whatever we’re at! But to be at a Grand Prix is big for them. They need to get in with the best of the world. In Canada, we have a thick middle field, and they’re amongst that field and they’re looking for ways to make a splash. So yesterday was quite disappointing for them. They didn’t want to be in that position. They’re looking to fight back today. But everything for them is there.

Same for Christina and Anthony – they had to do a lot last year. They’re redefining themselves, trying to push themselves to go in different directions. They’ve skated for a little bit longer, in terms of their age, but now they need to really challenge themselves to kind of break through. So it’s not easy when you get into this arena and the Grand Prix – everyone’s good. So we’ll be hoping to have a breakthrough performance today.

And then Alyssa and Jake – we were very pleased to get the call from them. Alyssa’s from down the road for me – about an hour down the road, but down the road in southwestern Ontario. She was in our synchro program at the Ilderton Skating Club before she ended up at West skating with Jacob so we’re very happy to have her home. And I think they’re an interesting team. They’re gonna make quite the splash. We love how they’re, again, they come in, and they buy in a bit more to our style. And they bring their best every day, It’s just kind of what we demand of our athletes. And they’ve been great. And it’s been tough. They came halfway through the summer, because of schooling stuff. At the beginning of summer really, but for us, that’s halfway through the summer. And they had a couple of performances early on that we didn’t think would be possible to be honest, because everything was so new and so fresh. And we’re like ‘Okay, let’s just see how it works out‘. And it worked out really well in the first couple events. And now we’re at a point where we’re trying to get them to look more mature, get them to really take a step because they give us these little really refined glimpses of maturity and speed and power. We want them to bring that to every performance. We did an event a couple weeks ago, where we were very happy with how they were performing in practice, in the lead up, and the whole goal was to try and make them be quite aggressive. So they did that until the performance. The performance they still kind of shied away to try and be clean. Of course, which isn’t the goal but really hard for an athlete to try and get away from so they have some growing to do but we’re very excited about them.

And then Nate and Lil – they’re in Austria right now. And I’ve worked with them since they were knee high to a grasshopper, it feels like, I’m very proud of the work. My mom and my aunt have developed the school and Sheri and Cara, my cousins, and Justin Trojek they’ve really brought them from the grassroots up. And now we’ve kind of integrated this team and we’re all working together. But we – Madi and Adri and I – feel very fortunate of the work that they’ve done to bring them to this level. So for Lil and Nate, it’s about getting them exposure this year, they were a COVID Junior Grand Prix team, you know, they were due to have some international experiences and didn’t get that –obviously – because of the pandemic. So for Skate Canada to send them to Austria was a big deal for them. That’s their first international event ever. And they started out with a bang, they’ll be skating like now-ish. And every opportunity that they get, they just seem to kind of organically grow. And we’re very, very proud of them for that. And it’s little things, you forget what this sport teaches you. But as a coach now, I reflect on it much more – rising to the moment, being good people, but demanding the most of yourself every day. It’s fun to see kids I’ve known since they were 13 and 14 and see them really grasp some of those concepts and hope that it can serve them well in their life after skating.

Yeah, I know Lily and Nathan have a lot of fans already. And they were very excited when they got an international.

Good! I’m happy for them. They have a certain quality and they relate to each other really well on the ice. And that’s becoming more and more consistent. So that’s fun.

How do you decide which programs you choreograph versus having your skaters work with other choreographers?

We’re still kind of refining that, actually. But it’s a team decision really. So we meet and we’ll decide and we’ll make different decisions. Last year, I kind of oversaw everybody and was just kind of picking and choosing I guess, and then, depending on how it was going, make little tweaks. But almost everybody on our team really believes in collaborating. Our best example of that I think is Christina and Anthony’s free dance with Madison and Marie-France.

I loved what I saw in practice.

Yeah, I can’t wait for you to see it today. And then Adri and Madi and myself, we kind of all had a hand in Phantom with Haley and Nik. So everybody kind of gets a touch and we all throw ideas around and then it’s not that complicated. We sit and we have a vote ‘What do we think we should do? What’s the best strategy?’ And then we pick and I try and steer and give as much guidance as I possibly can from my career. But the goal is to have so many good people in the room that the decisions are – maybe not everybody agrees – but we know that we can give certain projects to different people. So that part, we’re really starting to really enjoy. The first little bit, I was quite intimidated by that. Now, as I empower my team and see them really grow and blossom, it’s one of the most fun parts of the whole process.

How do you feel you’re maybe growing as a choreographer yourself?

My choreography style is changing. I was very lucky, I think, to have the influence of Marie-France and Romain. I see myself more as the element guy now a little bit, as well as like ‘Okay, that’s working. Let’s try this!’ And trying to challenge the creative team. And then I jump in and get my hands dirty on certain projects, when I feel inspired, but I think I stepped back a bit this year, for some, and that really allowed me – instead of having to do so many projects – to focus in on certain things and be a little bit cleaner. I was overwhelmed a little bit last year. So I had to kind of learn that lesson a little bit. And then my choreography style is changing, just in how I prepare. So it’s a little bit more calculated. You know, I was crazy inspired last year. But it was crazy inspired, things that I wanted to do. So I am learning. And then Marie-France and Romain, I mean that’s why I am this way. One of the reasons they’ve been so successful is how they personalise their choreography for each student. And every program is different and it plays to the strength of that particular student. So I am just starting to figure out how to use that. I think I have a long way to go. Choreography is one of the things that I enjoy doing. But it isn’t a natural strength for me, I really have to work at it and I embrace that. And I’m very proud of some of the product that we’re able to create. But I also get a huge sense of relief. Having Adri and Cara and Sheri and Madi in the rink, I can just literally cruise over and be like, ‘uggghhhhh this count of eight is killing me.’ And then they seem to be able to wave their wands. And it’s not like ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ It’s like ‘Yes, we have a sweet team!’

Do you have a particular style you prefer choreographing?

Most of the styles I prefer, I haven’t been able to do yet. I think more of the classic ice skating stuff. And then a bit more passion driven. I think we’ll get get there as our athletes mature. But yeah, I like the classic skating style. But then I also really like a bit more modern. The athletes relating to each other, being able to tell a story, kind of cat and mouse, back and forth. So that’s my strength, I think. I always really dove into that as a performer, I’d get to work with the best woman in the world, Tessa, so when we got into those energies, it was so much fun. So helping these athletes kind of create their own and how they play off each other. Obviously, it’s a little different sometimes. But I think when we have that interaction that’s more playful, that’s when the product is the best. I won’t say I’m doing my best work, because my style, mostly, is exposing what lives within the athletes. Like when I work with Marie-France, she’s a genius. She’s able to switch things and change things and has a unique perspective. She works like hell to have this. I think that’s what people don’t understand. She works for it. She puts a lot of prep time in, but there is a certain touch. She just understands the speed of the game. It’s her that convinced me that ‘No, you have to awaken it from within the kids and let them take ownership’. Especially when we get to the elite level of kids in their 20s. They’ve all grown up TikTok dancing, and they want to be involved. They would like to create [and be involved in the] process more and more. So we have to empower them to take ownership of their own work.

How did Madison and Adrian approach you?

I approached them. We had Christina and Anthony and Haley and Nik came up within the year and we were hoping for our school to continue to grow. And I worked with Madison. I worked with Madison the last couple of years on their free. I felt like, in that project, more of a passenger, that got to point out the obvious things. And they kind of ruined choreographing for me for a little bit, because they’re so damn good.

So I could be like ‘I want you to try this.’ And it wouldn’t necessarily even make sense. But Madi and Zach they can make anything [make sense]. And then the first time it’s gold, and you start to think ‘Holy shit. Maybe I am a great choreographer.’ And then you work with a 10-year-old and 12-year-old and you’re like ‘Oh, no, there we go. I’m back again.’ So when I was working with Madison, I would skate over to Patrice and Marie-France, as we’re trying to grow this academy and just be like ‘You know, Madi and I, we get each other.’ She’s a genius, and how she works through things. And I kind of said ‘I want her in London.’ And then [came] the end of Adri’s career. We grew up skating together, Adri and I, but I worked with him only twice. And I saw big change in Adri. How much he’d matured in that year, how he matured in his performance, how he matured and how he handled himself at the rink and his passion I always knew. So they’re a little bit of a dream team for me. So I’ve made a list. I won’t tell you who else is on the list, because I’m hoping that they’ll end up on our team as well – one day – but they were at the top of my list. So it was another dream come true moment. At I.AM Ontario, our wish list goes: to be an I.AM academy – which happened – and to have Madi and Adrian at our campus. So we had our two first wishes. We’re hoping for a third. They were all in as soon as we talked about it. Now we wanted to be sure because Madison still performs, and Adri – and we’ve made that very clear – if he wants to perform he should. So they have that clause too as they discover themselves. They’re allowed to do that.

So this season, a lot of changes have happened with the rules. What’s your opinion on there being no pattern in the rhythm dance?

Yeah, I go back and forth on that one. What I said yesterday in the meeting – and I have to tip my cap to the dance tech committee that they’re asking us, trying to poll everyone and to work collaboratively, you create an ice dance event that everyone likes – but I don’t mind it. I don’t think there’s a major flaw right now. I miss pattern dances a bit. The problem with pattern dances is how they’re judged. I like pattern dances because of the old-school patterns on the ice. Speed, dance position, like the older style of ice dance, and nobody really seems to care about that anymore. So I always wonder, why are we keeping it around for key points when it’s not really the spirit of the dance? But I do miss it in the program this year, I would remove PST and put pattern dance back in. I thought the choreo step is fun. I think we can change the pattern to make it even more fun. But we need to be a little bit more exciting for the audience. And I think the choreo step has done that, when people turn on and everyone has access to good dancing, so to have a little breakdown moment in the program, I think that’s fun.

What are your opinion on the new choreo elements?

Love ’em. I would take more. Yeah, I like the choreo elements. I’m a little jealous that I never got to do any of them.

Do you have a favourite, maybe?

I liked the new jumps quite a bit. I always love choreo lifts. I think we need to open the freedom of the rules as well in the lifts but I’ve really enjoyed the choreo lifts, and the jumps are kind of like mini lifts so just to have a sequence of little jumps is great too. So just to have the freedom to create.

I mean really, any of them, the slide. I’d like it if they were marked to be a little bit more subtle instead of like on the big music all the time. But we’re finding that you got to battle with what scores well and what completes the program. I’d like to see a little bit more of that but other than that I really like the choreo element. I think it’s appropriately marked, the amount of points you get is good, and it affects the second mark. It helps you build a program instead of the cookie-cutter, which is tough challenge with this new system. We call it the new system, [even though] it is 20 years old.

What’s the process like for finding music for your teams?

It’s different for everybody. We don’t give music ideas to our teams until they bring some first. So mostly our more mature teams, we discuss the direction they want to go. And we talk about it. And then pretty much, we kind of go back and talk as a coaching team and then say ‘This is kind of what we think.’ And a lot of times I’ll call Marie-France and Romain and discuss things, just to double-check, especially if they get stuck. Or even, some of the judges and people I really trust.

Sort of a bigger question. But looking back over your career, what are some of your favourite programs that you’ve done?

Well, Moulin Rouge came from Tessa and I’s heart and soul. And with Marie-France and Patrice and Sam all collaborating – It’s a special one. It’s not the most original one or groundbreaking, but it came from our souls. And we love the music. And so that was probably my favourite in the end. And then programs are so much about the maturity of, I guess, the stage of maturing that you’re at. And little ones like Valse Triste, Umbrellas, you know, they have a special place in my heart as well. And also, we went back into Pink Floyd for our last number, because the Pink Floyd free dance is probably the project that I connected with the most. It felt like a great opportunity. And we didn’t get the chance to really train it and deliver it as we wanted. That’s hard. I mean, it’s art, right? So I think depending on what phase I’m in in life, I like to go into different directions at different times. But I think Moulin Rouge because it’s kind of the culmination of all of them into one program.

What’s it like training skaters that grew up being a fan of yours and see you as an idol?

I think it’s a bit of a challenge, actually. A lot of them are fans. And naturally, they kind of want to be like you. But of course, sport is so revolutionary. If they’re like me, they’re not gonna do very well, even now, it’s four years out. There’s a challenge in getting them to believe in themselves. And it’s powerful because I can remind them of the stages. Even the athletes that I train – they see me in 2018 and assume that that was me in 2008 or in 1998. That’s just not the case, my coaches will tell you that.

Did you use any music now that you vetoed from your career?

There are a couple of pieces that we ended up using. To be honest Christina and Anthony’s Summertime – Tess and I always wanted to use. We love the score, but we just didn’t have the piece to go with it. We also talked about using it for Madison. And when Marie-France brought it back on the table this year – and with that first little cool piece – it was kind of one that we had always wanted to skate to and brought it back for the students. But there’s a couple of those kicking around, I’d say, yeah.

Might we see another one in the future for one of your teams?

Yeah, I don’t know. It’d be interesting. Our teams are developing so much and hopefully maturing, day in and day out. So it’s tough to tell where they’ll end up in a year’s time or so.

Do you have the same coaching method for every team or do you adapt to different teams?

I adapt on certain things. I try my best, anyways, to adapt to things. I’m still getting my legs in coaching. But most teams need different things, from team to team and we’re an elite sport. So it needs to be a personalised plan, not everyone’s gonna come to conclusions the same way. So I try and motivate. Mostly what I do is to coach every day [like I coach] in competition. So they’re not surprised.

Do you think your time as a skater and longevity as a skater helps you coach a different way?

I think so. Well, it’s the same thing with longevity as a coach. Every experience brings lessons and kind of puts more tools in your toolbox that you can use. So I think so, I really think it does. We were in a lot of situations and can at least understand what the athletes are going through. And I think that’s what makes me a powerful young coach, just because it wasn’t that long ago. I remember some of the feelings exactly. So the hard part of that is putting it through the right filter and making sure that it’s what’s right for them, not how I handled it. I can sympathise with what they’re feeling. But then help them come to a solution that’s right for them.

With Christina and Anthony – Anthony had surgery in February, I think you said, and was off the ice for some time. You’ve sort of been in the opposite situation.

Yeah, I’ve been in Christina’s shoes.

Did that sort of experience help you with how to help Christina during that time?

It did help me build a plan for Christina. I will say I was pretty shocked with how little help Christina needed. She handled the time off brilliantly. She came in, did her work and did a couple of extra projects. That filled her cup – things you wouldn’t usually get to do, like that ice princess movie thing that she did. I think there were dancers and Sam Chouinard choreographed some stuff so they were in the background. And so she was in Montreal for a couple of weeks doing that. But then pecking away, working a lot on her turns. They came in April – May, really – of last year, and then we started to pick things apart and work on everything. And there were a lot of things that she caught up on in that time when she was off – some of her turns – and to see her technical scores at this competition reflect that made me happy. But also she didn’t get crazy about it either. You know, from my experience, I was like ‘Okay, I’m gonna really go for it – really improve.’ And when Tessa came back, I wasn’t supportive, and I was kind of aggressively ready to go. And Christina was super supportive to Anthony, worked on all of her stuff, improved day in day out. So I thought she really handled that masterfully.

You had two couples here in Sheffield [Haley Sales/Nikolas Wamsteeker & Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko.] What were your overall thoughts on their performances?

I think it’s kind of very different performances. For Christina and Anthony, it’s the first competition of the year. So they’ve been doing really well with Anthony’s recovery and his ankle, but they’re stepping in with teams that have competed three or four times already. And they are coming off a really frustrating year for them. So I think it was a big week for them to perform and it filled them with quite a bit of pressure. And you started to see some of their maturity come through a little bit, where they relied on their training, focused on the cues that we’ve been working on at home, and had excellent performances. Which is exactly what they have been doing in training.

Haley and Nik had a bit of a tough week. They were struggling with a little bit of some sickness, but have been training quite well. And this week, it wasn’t the skating that I’ve been seeing at home. It was still strong, there were no major errors. So I think people need to remember and understand that the heat of competition can be crippling, and the pressure is much greater than the run-throughs they do day in and day out. So I think they felt that pressure a little bit. But they were able to still compete well, at least. Good, with no major mistakes. But they’re missing a little bit of the magic that makes Haley and Nik Haley and Nick.

Their connection and speed across the ice is a big one. And then just a little bit of the finish on their elements. They’re fantastic lifters, but they’re starting to understand how to move on the ice as well throughout their footworks, particularly him. And this week, under the pressure, we kind of went back a little bit to square movements and not letting the glide at the blade be effortless and in ice dance, you know, you really pay the price for that. It’s a great exposure for them to be at a Grand Prix, just like last year, and every time they get out, they learned more and more. And so we’ll sit down and take the lessons from this one and rebuild for the next couple competitions.

Do you set goals for your skaters each season or maybe each competition?

We set goals – the skaters set goals and I help them. I kind of see myself as the consultant. And they’re in charge. They’re driving the ship as it may be. So yeah, we set goals and we renew those goals often and share them with the team and then make sure that they’re very clear and honest with their team and themselves on what their goals are. It’d be different goals than you’d think. So very rarely, or most of the time, it’s not on placement or comparison. It’s more so on performance or getting levels or points. But, I mean, you could have seen a little bit of that as well too, with Haley and Nik. We certainly, and they certainly, don’t see themselves as that far behind the other Canadian team. And they were yesterday. And they didn’t have a great skate, but I think it kind of deflated them a little bit. We’ll be looking for them to respond a little bit better the next time that that happens and hopefully, that didn’t get the best of them. We’ll be doing kind of a recap.That’s the part I love about coaching, right? You get those lessons and sport is a beautiful thing. It’s not always pretty, it’s not always triumphant. But most of the time it gives you what you deserve, you can take what you must from it and then we have a great opportunity to grow.

What are your thoughts overall on this competition, the crowd here?

I’d like to come back every year, if I’m being honest. Britain did a really fantastic job – England and the city of Sheffield – of hosting this event. The crowd was electric. You know, I kind of liked the smaller venue, everybody in their seats, ready. It was a full arena at every event, and that brought a certain amount of energy to the building. I think, still recovering from COVID, with people not used to skating in front of groups – like some of these young athletes, you forget, they came up during COVID. So they haven’t had these big moments. I think of Lilah and Lewis in front of a home crowd with a packed stadium. That’s a pretty cool moment for them. So we really enjoyed our time here in Sheffield, and it says a lot I think about the British ice dancing fan or the ice skating fan. Happy that they were able to step up and host a Grand Prix.

I think that’s almost everything I wanted to ask. Away from skating, what are the sorts of things you do to de-stress?

Well I’m doing lots of things now, away from skating. Settling into a bit more of a, quote-unquote normal life, or at least a rhythm in life. Everyone talks about the transition from being an athlete, and I was definitely no different. I never, or haven’t yet, had depression, or any of that stuff, but certainly, it’s just finding your rhythm, right? And what you’re gonna do, even like the first little bit, you have a cheeseburger or a beer, and be like ‘Oh, I’m so bad.’ And then it’d be like, wait, no, I’m 35, this is very normal. So it still just kind of catches me off guard that stuff. But I’m very fortunate, I found the love of my life. And we got married earlier this year. So that took up a lot of our time. And we have a baby girl. So that has enriched my life in a way that you expect and everyone warns you about, but I just had no way of preparing for it – knowing how beautiful it was going to be. And then I play sports and I’m not great at very many of them. I’m on the ice every day, but I still play hockey a couple of times a week. And then I’m Canadian, so I curl a little bit, twice a week now, too. So we’re busy. We’re a busy family. And then the life of a skating coach feels like it’s 24/7 a little bit, so there’s not a lot of extra time left in the Moir household!

—Anything GOEs

#scott #off ice #i.am ontario #coach #mk john wilson 2022 #interview: anything goes #i hope scott never loses the ramble quality #and hearing his thoughts about choreo #if tessa even hinted at wanting it #he'd have her in a binding contract with i.am

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askthechronoverse · 10 months

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Part one of a visual tour of the Unicapital

Unikingdom castle and Hawkodile's treehouse. The tree house is deep inside the tree, so you're not able to see the entirety of it. It's also in a cherry tree. The Castle fountain can be turned off so the slide from it's appearance in the second movie can be used.

This is a full view of Sage Green Street. Let's take a look at each of these buildings individually:

The building on the furthest left is the Unikingdom Grand Hotel. It's one of the more popular places to stay in the capital, as the staff and current owners pride themselves on quality service and making each person stay exactly what they need it to be. It said that the staff knows almost instinctively what is needed by a traveler before they even come to the front desk. There have been stories told of people who have found money inside the minibar when they're down on their luck, a lost toy to be found in the hotel restaurant, even at least two instances of people meeting their true love in the lobby. The hotel restaurant, a decently priced place called The Phoenix Wing, is well known for a secret hot wing sauce recipe that has won quite a few awards and milkshakes that could send you to another planet.

Across the street from that is Mystakè Tea House. This isn't the exact same one that is out in Ninjago, but it is said that the proprietor has learned under the owner of that tea house. Similar rumors have popped up about this tea house as well regarding tea and its magical properties. It's unclear how much of these rumors are true or if it's all just clever advertising.

Once magic became a little more prominent in the kingdom, Fortuna Risus seemed to just appear out of nowhere. No one has seen the owner, but most dealings are done through the owner's black owlbear, a kindly creature named Empress. You could buy most magical focuses from here, as well as various things to make potions and increase your luck to increase your magical abilities.

The minidoll owners of the next building, Starla and Luna, have been in the baking business since long before the unification. Their cake recipe was the one that was used by the queen in her redo wedding and they have been known to provide cakes and pies to other leaders and royals. This could be why they called the bakery The Crowned Cake.

The Unikingdom Post Office's main branch is here. They do have a secondary Branch closer to the edge of the city, but this is the one where most people will drop off their mail and packages. This is the only place for a stamp collector to collect special stamps that are only given out on specific times of the year. The postmaster has been known to provide children with freshly baked cookies and candy if they come to visit on a slower day.

Feebee's Flowers is a Unikingdom establishment. The owner is still Feebee, who is still incredibly overly protective of her flowers. She doesn't take kindly to people who disrespect her plants and has been known to ban people from her store if they so much as look at her flowers the wrong way. But if you manage to show her the respect she believes her flowers deserve, her floral arrangements are absolutely worth it.

Honestly? This would be like that place in Bob's Burgers that constantly changes to a different kind of store every so often. This could potentially be because of Feebee, who has scared people off in the past. Not many people could handle her level of flower stanning.

#worlds within and without •||• world building #visual histories •||• art #unikitty au #unikitty #lego au #lego movie #lego movie au

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black-arcana · 1 year

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The top 20 best Nightwish songs ranked

By Catherine Morris

From Nemo and Élan to Greatest Show On Earth and Ghost Love Score, these are the best songs by symphonic metal icons Nightwish - as chosen by you

It’s simply not possible to talk about symphonic metal, or indeed Finland, without hearing the name Nightwish. From their humble beginnings playing acoustic songs around the campfire in their hometown of Kitee, Northern Karelia, to the stages of arenas and stadiums around the world, Nightwish have become the most successful Finnish band globally and one of their country’s best-selling acts.

It’s been an eventful and at times, turbulent journey: in their nearly thirty year career, the band have endured less-than-cordial splits with two out of three singers, and all the backlash that went with the controversial decisions. More recently, they’ve undergone more lineup changes within the fold, but they’ve always come back, seemingly stronger than ever – and in their current incarnation, fronted by the insanely talented Floor Jansen, they continue to dominate.

With nine studio albums, a feature film and around 117 total recorded songs in their back catalogue (some of which have never been played live, we put it to you, the fans, to definitively rank the best musical offerings from the band’s varied and illustrious career. Three distinctive voices have all made their mark on the Nightwish sound during her ‘era’, and each one has had her moment of glory, as evidenced by the below list.

Which one came out as the definitive fan favourite? Keep scrolling, and you’ll see…

And if you want to read more about Nighwish, be sure to pick up this month's issue of Metal Hammerwhere Finland's finest symphonic export are once again gracing our cover. From getting Tuomas Holopainen to talk us through every Nightwish album to date, to an in-depth chat with Floor Jansen about her upcoming solo record and recent breast cancer diagnosis, there's plenty to get into for Nightwish fanatics and newcomers alike.

20. Wishmaster (2000)

From the album of the same name, the lyrics of this Lord of the Rings-inspired track might initially be hard to decipher for some (some pretty spectacularly misheard versions exist online), but the punchiness of the chorus and Tarja Turunen’s haunting siren-call in the verses make Wishmaster a firm fan favourite.

19. I Want My Tears Back (2011)

This sweet uptempo jig from the band’s conceptual Imaginaerum album takes listeners into the Disney esque dreamscape of Tuomas Holopainen’s lost childhood, with its charmingly nostalgic lyrics and Troy Donockley’s uilleann pipe riff as the song’s focal point. It quickly became a staple on tour setlists and has remained so ever since.

18. The Islander (2007)

One of the few occasions former bassist Marko Hietala provided lead vocals, with then-singer Anette only a ghostly echo in the chorus, was on this folky acoustic ditty from Dark Passion Play, which provides a soothing respite from the overall heaviness of the record and was the first Nightwish to feature Troy prominently.

17. Bless the Child (2002)

The second single from Century Child is a sparkling, operatic mid-tempo lament that’s 2000s- Nightwish through and through: spoken word, lyrics lifted from Walter Raleigh’s poetry and plenty of navel-gazing. Century Child is the band’s first album to feature an orchestra, and they certainly got their money’s worth on Bless The Child.

16. Amaranth (2007)

After Dark Passion Play ballad Eva leaked online, the world’s first visual introduction to Anette Olzon came in the form of the album’s first music video for the catchy and upbeat Amaranth. Showcasing a dramatically different singing style to Tarja, her impressively high belting won over many sceptical fans.

15. Élan (2015)

Similarly, the band’s first single that introduced singer Floor Jansen made a spectacular impression – a tribute to Tuomas’ hero Walt Whitman, the Endless Forms Most Beautiful track is a rousing ode to the beauty and mystery of life that gently introduces the listener to the album’s themes of evolution and natural history.

14. Dead Boy's Poem (2000)

One of Tuomas’ most personal compositions, the penultimate track on Wishmaster has a slow, hymnlike pace and deeply melancholic lyrics; introducing the ‘Dead Boy’ motif to represent the songwriter and employing a child narrator, the song climaxes in a stunning vocal delivery by Tarja that never fails to induce goosebumps.

13. 7 Days to the Wolves (2007)

“The wolves, my love, will come,” purrs Anette at the beginning of this Dark Passion Play track that sits firmly at the heavier end of the Nightwish oeuvre. Ostensibly inspired by Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, the build into its middle 8 section is one of the most thrilling moments on the album.

12. Song of Myself (2011)

The last proper song on Imaginaerum is a thirteen-minute-long epic in four parts. Taking direct inspiration from the Whitman poem of the same name, it’s a grandiose, sprawling track that ties together all the themes of the record and ends in a lengthy spoken-word section narrated with Troy’s soothing Northern lilt.

11. Shoemaker (2020)

Human. :||: Nature’s only entry on this list is Shoemaker, the band’s tribute to Dr Eugene Shoemaker, a planetary scientist who became the first man to be buried on the Moon per his wishes after dying in an accident. The song’s repeated outro of “Ad Astra!” sees Floor go fully operatic and it is simply, heartbreakingly beautiful.

10. Last Ride Of The Day (2011)

A rollercoaster of a song, this is the track from Imaginaerum that flips the power switch at the abandoned theme park that forms the album’s richly-imagined backdrop, turning all the rides back on for one last hurrah. The dynamics in Anette’s voice from the whisper-soft verse to the dizzyingly high final note make it a thrilling sonic journey.

9. Wish I Had an Angel (2004)

The second single from the Once album is a back-and-forth duet between Tarja and Marko, with an intoxicating dance beat and lyrics positively oozing with lust. Consistently one of their most-performed songs with each of their three singers, it’s a perennial favourite that never fails to get the crowd moving – what’s more, it charted in ten countries including the UK and went gold in their home country of Finland. Kaching!

8. Dark Chest of Wonders (2004)

It comes as no surprise that multiple Once tracks made it into the top ten, as arguably the band’s most successful album to date in terms of sales, and the one that put them on the global map. Dark Chest of Wonders is a perfect album opener in many ways: the hushed tones of Tarja’s “Once, I had a dream…” straight into a guitar riff punctuated by dramatic orchestra hits and culminating in a triumphant final cadence.

7. Storytime (2011)

The chart-topping lead single from the Imaginaerum record is a song that perhaps best encapsulates the band’s sound of that era. A testament to the imagination of Tuomas Holopainen and his love for children’s fantasy tales, his lyrics reference literary icons such as Alice and Peter Pan, as well as the beloved titular character from The Snowman, and the track opens the gates to the album’s tumultuous carnival ride in signature Nightwish style.

6. Sleeping Sun (1999)

Being the only ballad to make the top ten just goes to show the impact of Sleeping Sun, from a standalone maxi single named 4 Ballads Of The Eclipse that was released to coincide with the total solar eclipse of August ’99. Introspective and reverential, this gorgeous ode to the beauty in darkness is powerfully evocative in a way only someone who has experienced Arctic polar nights could know. So good, they recorded it twice.

5. Nemo (2004)

Undeniably a breakthrough track for the band, earning them their first entry into the UK charts and hitting the top ten in multiple countries, the lead single from Once remains their most-performed live song to date. Accompanied by a big-budget music video set against a fittingly wintry backdrop, the sparse piano hook and infectiously catchy chorus melody set it apart as one of their more accessible songs that still packs a punch.

4. Ever Dream (2002)

Famously the song that got Anette Olzon the job of Nightwish lead singer when she chose to audition for the band with it, the band’s fourth studio album Century Child saw the inclusion of Marko Hietala on vocal duties alongside Tarja for the first time, adding a brand new dimension to the band’s evolving symphonic metal sound with his powerful power-metal screams.

Ever Dream earned the band their first platinum record, and with good reason: full of light and shade, the dynamic contrasts between the verse, chorus and middle eight, as well as between Tarja and Marko’s voices, all serve to heighten the drama of the song.

3. The Poet and the Pendulum (2007)

Starting a record with an opening track just shy of the fourteen-minute mark was certainly a bold choice, and a fitting way to set the stage for Dark Passion Play.

From the youthful voice of a boy treble in the introduction to Marko’s furious, blasphemous snarls and an astonishingly beautiful performance by Anette in the final movement, it’s a multi-part epic that encompasses seemingly every emotion that can be expressed with music, albeit at the darker end of the spectrum; all of the turbulence and personal strife experienced by its composer shrouds the song in a stormy cloak of angst.

2. The Greatest Show on Earth (2015)

Enter Floor – with eight years in the band already under her belt, it’s only fitting that one of the Dutch singer’s stunning contributions to the Nightwish canon should make it into the top ten; even more so that it’s the closing track from Endless Forms Most Beautiful.

Another one of their signature multi-part compositions which, at twenty-four minutes long, is their longest, most ambitious and arguably most progressive to date, The Greatest Show On Earth is a celebration of life on our blue rock that draws inspiration heavily from Darwin’s On The Origin Of Species. A live favourite (in an abridged form) ever since Endless Forms… came out, the climactic chant of “We were here!” is its crowning moment.

1. Ghost Love Score (2004)

Of course, the number one spot on the list could only go to one song: Ghost Love Score. The ninth track on the double-platinum-selling Once unofficially sort of marks the beginning of an arc of ten-minute-plus songs composed of multiple distinct movements that have been present on every Nightwish album since.

The Poet and the Pendulum, The Greatest Show on Earth, and Song of Myself all continued this pattern, but Ghost Love Score is still, for many, the blueprint, having taken on a life beyond its original form thanks to many now-legendary performances of the song by Floor Jansen, everywhere from Buenos Aires to Wacken Open Air.

Compositionally perhaps their most accomplished song, it’s always played in its entirety, unlike the aforementioned tracks; it flows beautifully from one movement into another, changing time signatures from 4/4 to a waltz seamlessly for its cinematic “seafaring” middle string section and returning to its original themes at the end to bring it home.

Add to that the hopelessly romantic lyrics (“You were the one to cut me, so I’ll bleed forever!”) and the fantastic backing of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and there you have it: Nightwish’s best song, as chosen by the fans.

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