#also the formatting has been tweaking out on me wtf

[marichild]

AO3 Wrapped #2 (Mari’s Version)

crazy year it has been for fic writing. careening into four(?) fandoms and being so absolutely insane about all of them. I think you can see here that I am not normal about anything ever

words written

technically, about 362k, but a lot of that is from my monster of a vampire au from … a while ago, so around 290k, probably. lmao.

works published

37, counting out the three chaptered fics I’ve had since before the year started, and also counting in one fic that’s on anon! I don’t know how I even got here, lmao. but it’s nice to know I’ve been pretty consistent with my writing this year, by my standards, anyway.

work I’m most proud of

what should we become, in what form, although only published in december, is one work I’ve been putting so much effort into since like … august, probably. this could be because that as much as the jujutsu kaisen world has disappointed me, it’s so dear to me—especially the characters. I’ve said this before, but while I knew I would become obsessed with satosugu even before I got into this fandom (what can I say, I’m weak for best friends, devotion, and betrayal), I didn’t expect to become so, so dearly attached to the gojo & megumi dynamic. so.

this fic, while it is worldbuilding and exploring gojo’s character, does also count as a love letter to them. I’ll stop now before I get carried away— (but be on the lookout for an update this month or next!)

also! shoutout to careless as could be! although it’s a rarepair, sigma & chuuya is a dynamic I’ve been enamored by since the moment they revealed sigma’s origin. something about humanness, affirming yourself, allowing yourself to live as the way you are, no matter what you were born from. their dynamic could be interesting and I’m genuinely hoping this is the direction asagiri takes it in once the narrative shifts back to focusing on dazai, chuuya, and sigma.

I think the thing I am most proud of with this fic is the characterization, because as I’ve said before, I’m so picky about sigma and chuuya characterization, even with my own writing, so it’s just … nice to see it done, you know?

also, I would say that the fic I wrote for New Year (which I unfortunately was not able to do this year), the little blue bird that’s lost its voice, does stand out. I think it does a good job depicting what it has to be like, loving your best friend, who, well. wants to die. shin and his mindset is always something that has intrigued me, of course, and who would I be if I didn’t add to the raiden/shin tag? overall, for how little this fic was planned, reading over it, I am happy with the thread of desperation and yearning that runs through the whole thing!

work that readers enjoyed the most

I’m not even going to lie when I say that evidently people are enjoying my taegyu porn, you know i want it bad, because. well. do I even have to say anything? I see you, you horny demons /aff (it is also worth noting that I refuse to look at this unless I get a comment …)

although. a close second is because you had shared it with me, this love and that’s…well, I do feel bad? I haven’t updated in a while not because I don’t feel the spark, but due to personal reasons, the very premise of this if i stay au kinda freaks me out. although I’m trying to ease myself back into it, the fact that the scary event that puts me off writing this au happened while I was well into writing it…well. I do try to tell myself that everything is okay now, but we’ll see. zeroses, please wait for me <3

fastest work to write

I have a lot of ficlets ranging from 1k to 2k that took a few hours to write (that’s the power of xikers I guess. specifically woojungz) but talking about longer fics, it took me about two days to write couldn’t even become a nobody, my transfem dazai / dazakiko fic, which is around 6k words, or speaking of even longer fics, five days like a deranged man with tunnel-vision for we’ve met like a miracle, my 13k T4T soulseob high school au. crazy work.

I’m kind of proud of myself, because even for the short amount of time and little to no editing done, I really do like what I did with that one there, especially because I was so busy with schoolwork and stuff, lol.

slowest work to write

strictly speaking of this year, this precious moment. not because I didn’t have the fuel, but because I was genuinely scared of what I was doing. I was kind of … doing a new thing for the fandom specifically, writing about a trans man’s pregnancy and subsequent raising of the child together with his partner. it took a few months, maybe? at least four.

while I know very well that there’s nothing wrong with that at all, it was such precious and personal work to me that I needed to do it justice, and also, I wasn’t ready to face criticism for it. I want to thank my friends sol and @draco-renn for encouraging me to post it. and draco for being the number one fan of the verse, haha. xi is the real reason I wrote that kindergarten sequel, really <3

number of WIPs I’m taking into 2025

um. well. quite a bit! if I do a process of elimination and count in only the ones I’m likely to be finishing, then 28 or so. at least. it’s a problem.

favorite character to write

*through gritted teeth* welcome, dazai osamu. I literally don’t like that dazai is so fun to write. what is wrong with him. go away you little gremlin.

okay but for real, besides the crowning king gendermess, I think my favorite to write this year has been either gojo or megumi. to absolutely no one’s surprise. there’s something fun about getting to write from their perspectives, especially exploring their respective stances on power, love, and what it means to be a sorcerer—and counting in both canon and in an au context, how they process the love they are given, how they react to more normal real-life situations. idk. they’re my beloved blorbos.

shoutout out to till alien stage. I love writing angry rebels who continually throw themselves into a wall. metaphorically and literally. I haven’t written luka perspective yet, but writing about him the way others see him … god. it’s so much fun.

favorite lines I’ve written this year:

from we’ve met like a miracle:

But. It’s Shota. He’s always been awfully good at tugging Jongseob along to his rhythm, catching all the flyaway strands of her seams as he goes, laughing in delight. And that’s the real miracle: that Jongseob’s been able to keep in step with him this entire time. She prays she never falls out of step, that their rhythm carries on.

from what should we become, in what form:

Because, he thinks as Tsumiki looks up at him with shining eyes and too-pale skin flushed with delight, searching for approval, he can’t let them become another Gojo Satoru, finding the meaning in life far too late, far too little of it. He can’t let them become another Geto Suguru, going crazy until salvation reaches him, only for that to not be enough, too.

He can’t let them become like this generation of sorcerers. He’ll be damned if either of them end up on Shoko’s morgue table, like nearly all his upperclassmen, like Haibara, or children like Riko—

“Tsumiki-chan wins!” he grins, and for once, his boisterousness feels real despite the tears threatening, despite the cursed energy crackling in the air as a result. It feels real and true and good, despite Megumi’s concerned blinking, like he doesn’t know what he’s sensing. The blinking morphs to an offended scowl.

from the little blue bird that’s lost its voice:

But, when has Raiden ever been someone who’s given up? Especially not on his friends. His best friends. The only boy he’s ever loved this much. Because anyone would be a fool to give up on Shinei Nouzen, constructed of fragile, jagged glass and unraveling stitches of frayed stubbornness, a core of bloodied, torn gold. Because even if Raiden shouldn’t, loving Shin has always been a foregone conclusion.

Because when you love someone, even the threat of shattering yourself isn’t enough to stop yourself from jumping off the edge with them, if nothing else.

and finally, from careless as could be:

“You come in here reeking of blood,” Sigma deadpans. They feel like they’re playing with a fire here, a dangerously volatile one, and it’s—it’s thrilling. Besides, it is unfair of Chuuya to say that. “I’ve heard too much about what you’re capable of.”

You scare me, they don’t say. Judging from Chuuya’s raised eyebrow, he heard the subtext loud and clear, and he smirks. He smirks.

“That’s true,” he agrees. “It’d be easy enough for me to break your neck.”

Sigma’s stomach flips. “Would you?”

this was entirely based on @fushiglow ’s post! and also @hollow-lime-green !

anyone who sees this is welcome to try this as well! I think you’d like doing this, @anticidic @ryuvnosuke @littencloud9 @sunnyyflowerrs @zukkaoru but no pressure ofcs <3

[corvixa]

I have this thing, that when an idea gets in my head, I either get it out on paper or it will create a traffic jam in my head and bugger up everything. So, not including my ongoing Fics, which includes the Gold Universe as part 4 is still nearly finished, I just need that last push on it. These are Ideas that can have anything from a few scenes, an idea, plots, or several chapters.

So I call this -

Winteriron WIP

(because what else 😅, I have a problem.)

In Fire & Flames - In this universe, Phoenixes and Humans live together, if one species dies then the other will too. When a Phoenix does for good, lots of natural disasters happen, starts with Tony'parents dying and then Rhodey, who is also a Phoenix, finds Tony. Who is now familyless and dying as lone phoenixes tend to die. There are several different kinds, and they come in pairs general. Golden and Ice, for example, Golden are high in magic, Ice tends to protect, especially the rare Golden, it's more tribes than individuals, there is no requirement for who likes who. It's surprising how much making a few other Avengers phoenixes tweaks things here and there, this actually goes up to the fight in Siberia and is one of the bigger WIP's. (26k)

Flash of Gold - Avengers are shifters or humans with magic, and they think they know what Tony is. They believe he is a human with magic, but they notice that he has some shifter traits, which is odd as shifters can't have magic in this AU. Only in very old stories and myth. Tony, however, is a dragon, which are myth. Instead of being like most shifters a, a human that shifts to something, he is the reverse. It only has a few scenes. Full shebang, team as Family. Steve is even a good guy. James is brought to the tower after being found and slowly integrated into the group and is wondering wtf Tony is. (13k)

The Operative Program - Howard was never meant to be a father; he was a weaponsmith. So he took the red room and the wolf spider programs and decided to create himself an Operative that he hoped would be the darker side to help Steve when he found him. Two sides of the same coin, one for the light and one to work in the shadows, Tony would be under Steve's control, he would be a weapon for the man who only picked up a shield. (Also assassin Tony is just fun.) Tony in this is a mash-up really, Tony traits, like Gold but different as he has been trained his entire life, the only reason he has developed a sense of self is Rhodey and the fact his parents died at 17. Rhodey got there first after the car crash, getting to Tony before anyone else who knew what he was could potentially claim him. Tony definitely collects people. Yinsen and Vanko for example. Chapters from Ironman up to Avengers (not complete). But enjoyed myself rewriting some out of sequence chapters, so there is a nice big scene in Siberia. (15k)

Another Persons Wish - Now this was based on a post I saw going around. Person A is married to Person B. Person A is looking back at their life and wondering if they should have married B, etc. So, A is offered a wish. Poof. Goodbye Marriage. Person A is Steve, and the story is from Tony, person B's POV. It goes from Tony planning his anniversary(because I was apparently extremely angsty when I started this!) to waking up in the past, alone and wondering what the fuck has happened. 6 chapters entirely written. Chapter 7 is in a different file and in progress when I dabble on it. (30k)

Tarnished Gold - This is an AU from my AU AU XD. Basically similar set up to the Gold Universe, Tony escapes Hydra Captivity but is brought in by Rhodey instead of spending 2 years on his own cleaning up Hydra. He only spends about 7 months before Rhodey convinces him to come in. Few other tweaks here and there but that is just side. Rhodey and James are pals too. The plot here is Howard and Maria are brought back from the Dead and Rhodey is trying to work out how to tell them what has happened and that he can't just bring them to Tony, because he doesn't know if Tony will remember them yet. Tony is a little less 'give me orders, and I'll gut you, and more 'orders made things easier'. I basically flipped his and James reactions from the original Gold universe. Tony is more in need of a hug. It's very loosely put together. I wanted something where Howard was a good dad to offset the fact I kind of made him Hydra in the next piece, and I wanted a good family man Howard with the bringing the parents back because I love reading fics that bring Howard and Maria back. (9k)

Sins of The Father - Arno has just buried his father. His mother is in a coma, he is 20 and mourning his life now he's expected to take on the business when a visitor flips his work upside down worse than the phone call about the crash. His Father? Part of a program that summoned a creature known as a Void Walker. (A creature from the Void Loki fell into, the only native species to that area, most others can't survive the void, so Loki will read as Void Touched and is 'To Be Protected' because I think that could shake up the Avengers section nicely.) Oh and he has Howards DNA. So Arno is freaked that he has a brother, that someone released and sent to him and Arno is 100% sure he is not meant to deal with severe traumatised half-human assassins that could be his kid brother. That is how Arno meets Tony and becomes very invested and turns up big brother protective instinct to 13. When summoned they're tired to a person and has to obey orders, that person was chosen as The Asset under the idea he can't disobey, which obviously fails as Winter does everything to protect Tony, including freeing him and sending him to Arno. His last order is that Tony is not allowed to go looking for or rescue Winter, which I think will be some nice drama when Bucky gets brought in (I really like this one) It has mostly set up but 2 scenes for in the future, Tony finding Coulson threatening Arno in IM2 and the data dump. (21k) (in this S/S Helped is Yelped, I'd fix it, but I've been working on this post forreeever)

Blood and an Arc - This came about from reading the Tony is a vampire fic and noticing that when he gets turned, generally Tony hates being a vampire. There aren't many where he comes back from Afghanistan a vampire and goes, huh... Well. This could be interesting. Loosely based on Vamp the Masquerade but I've tweaked it because my brain takes ideas and then runs off madly into the sunset. It is however utterly all over the place, some from Ironman and then random out of sequence chapters that I'm unsure about as I hadn't slept in a very long time on writing them and Tony went kind of Spike-ish calling James 'Pet'. I do like the idea of Tony fully embracing his changes. Yinsen never intended Tony to live, so he did something extra whilst turning him, so he is not an ordinary baby vampire and is convinced (justifiably so) that if he meets any other vamps, they'll try to kill him. In notes have Sam considering being a werewolf who works out Tony is a vamp and freaks out, because Vampires vs Werewolves and Tony is utterly confused and tells Sam he smells of mint (seriously, insomnia) Sam is baffled to find out the centuries of hatred that is claimed to be instinctual is actually taught. Sam gets kind happy he has a Vamp friend. (20k)

The Original Plan - This sets up around the end of the Mandarin (because honestly, I prefer working with Tony that has powered, especially because James has the serum and I personally think it would expand life span more than shown in Endgame. So I like evening things out and powered Tony is my jam) Tony has a bunch of plans, and they go awry. He doesn't see why and has zero clue what's going on. It's because no matter how well he plans this out, he's caught up in other people's plans. Steve is a little more "End goal justify the anything and everything." In other words, getting Bucky back is his plan and everyone are just pawns in said plan. I've taken that tactical genius title and also pushed him a little darker. After Ultron, he brings Wanda on for 3 reasons. 1 Precedence. 2 Fixing Bucky. 3 Making sure Tony doesn't find out about his parents and making sure he is on the team and available to fix Bucky's arm. That last bit changes things as instead of pulling away from the Avengers, Tony fully moves into the compound(just after AOU, it's not good). There will be no accords and Steve will find Bucky and just move him in and general plans on telling no one about the Winter Soldier. I summed up a chunk of AOU in this format, and I liked it (in an angst and pain fashion.) But it's quite long for a screenshot, so here's a chunk. Bucky is being brought in soon, but as it is, Tony is not having a good time, there might be Wanda conditions in his mind that Steve can use to convince Tony to do things... Also, because he is living there, I couldn't justify Sam not noticing there is something very wrong, so he is asking questions he didn't in canon as Tony's PTSD is more in his face living together you know? (16k)

[theboykingofhell]

9, 15, 16, 18, 26, 31, 32, 34, 41, 42, 45, 46, 47, 49, 51 for TSG, 54 :*

ricky found fucking dead in miami after looking at these PROMPTS,

9. Least favorite trope to write.

what a weirdly phrased question because if i hate it, i ain’t gonna write it... UHH. i really don’t like bringing dead characters back to life???? i don’t like writing scenes for shock horror... well, that’s a lie, i DO like to horrify the reader through my writing, but i don’t want to cheapen the emotional ~journey~ they go through by being like ‘JUST KIDDING! everything actually DOES work out in the end!!’

i have a story where narratively its kind of leading to a place where i have to make a ‘dead’ character come back (chaos actually, since i use her in red’s actual story) and it’s making me so mad like wtf thought we had a deal

15. Where does your inspiration come from?

SONGS... and just insp in general but i get a lot through music and nnnh... there’s just so many good aesthetics and quotes on my dash tbh i’m like constantly and consistently inspired, it’s great

16. Where do you take your motivation from?

imma be honest, the thing that motivates me most sometimes is either reading a rly shitty novel or seeing a shitty show and just getting livid and writing out of spite because THAT DRIVEL WAS PUBLISHED????? MY SHIT IS SO MUCH BETTER WTF... or i think to myself ‘what the fuck, what if i die tomorrow????? with my damn novel unfinished?!?!! HELL NO’... pretty much anything that reminds me that my stuff is Great but no one knows how great it is because it’s not DONE and OUT THERE yet makes me get off my ass

18. What’s your revision or rewriting process like?

depends! for books it mostly just consists of rereading after a long period of ignoring my story and just tweaking lines that seem out of place or that ruin the flow i’m imagining. if i’m rewriting, then i have two word documents out (which the program scrivener makes SO easy god BLESS that program) and just... rewrite it word for word while STARING at the old version. that always makes the prose come out slightly different, it smooths out stuff or lets me cut away or add things i really like and, most importantly, it adds length, which i tend to struggle with a lot because i like just being TO THE POINT

with playwriting though it’s mostly about the format.. i write all plays like i write everything online... in lowercase with little regard to actual grammar. so i gotta actually pretend i give a damn about the english language and format it all properly and add stage directions cuz in a first draft for plays, i always just focus on dialogue and that’s it

26. Standalone or series, and why?

standalones are far more fun and way more satisfying and, quite honestly, require way less fluff. i keep FORGETTING how much fluff is needed in a goddamn novel. MULTIPLE BOOKS OF FLUFF no FUCKING THANKS

31. Hardest character to write.

in the rp: tyler (because he dissociates in a way that literally cuts me off from? any parts of his character? which is like the ESSENCE of his character but it’s VERY unenjoyable to write tbh) and nicki (because i put too much pressure on myself to make her seem a certain way instead of letting it happen naturally)... tbh canon characters and/or characters that are based on people are generally just rly hard sometimes cuz there’s SO MUCH IMAGINED PRESSURE TO MAKE THEM GOOD!!!

in original shit: honestly i’m really tempted to say aaron and that’s just because he’s so... unlikeable to me???? but also i think it’s just because i’ve really only written one scene for him (i always write in order unless a scene is just KICKING MY ASS to write, like this particular scene) and... he seems like a Lot... of annoying bullshit to have to write out lmfao that bitch

32. Easiest character to write.

red because i’ve been writing him for like 7-9 years now, i would hope he’d be easy by now... honestly, really explosive and dramatic characters too like bert or nora come SUPER easy for me, they’re so fun to write (especially dialogue-wise) because they’re very emotional and i can get PARAGRAPHS based on one reaction. characters who try and hide shit from everyone, INCLUDING ME, are so annoying,

34. Handwritten notes or typed notes?

typed because they’re legible,,,,, but then again, my handwritten notes make more sense because they’re kind of fully crafted ideas like ‘***make nisha and aaron meet at 42nd street for transformation chap???’ while a typed note will be like... ‘42nd street+aaron’... what did that mean, ricky-at-5am... why did you do this to us

41. How many stories do you work on at one time?

two... kind of as a minimum, sort of as a maximum... like there’s usually the MAIN story and then there’s something i’m kind of doodling in the side, something that’s just sort of cooking in the backburner that i’m not too serious into the process of it, but it’s goin... i’ve never tried to do 3 stories at a time but i feel like my attention would be too divided and it wouldn’t work

42. How do you figure out your characters looks, personality, etc.

UHH........................................... i’m very fond of faceclaims cuz idk i just kind of... feel how they look... i don’t ever really envision a full person though, i get like traits... i’ll be like... oh she has long black hair and she’s not white and her eyebrows look like this... and then i’ll see a pic of pooja mor and be like THAT’S HER THAT’S EXACTLY IT. idk what it is about eyebrows and why that’s literally always the deciding factor of how a character looks, but there it is

personality just kind of... man, characters just poop out of me, i don’t decide any of this shit wtf jhsfjg

45. Worst piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten.

once someone told me to stop making the boys kiss in the first chapter of my story so i made the boys fuck instead

46. What would your story _______ look like as a tv show or movie?

scrolls WAY up... sees you didn’t add a story as a prompt WELL i’m still riding the tsg train here so

a tsg movie better look like the 90′s, goddamnit.. not like... found footage really, but i want something in the quality to be a little fuzzy and sort of tinted that one kind of grayish brown color i always associate with the 90′s for some reason... like, i can’t stop thinking about all these amber lighting and how dull everything looks, and how higher in quality things look the further and further it goes, like, it’s something i would concentrate a lot on visual cues with because i focus so much of the storytelling of tsg on nisha’s narration. sometimes you don’t know how many days have passed because nisha doesn’t know how many days have passed, if she dissociates, i’d want that shown on camera, if she keeps repeating the same number over and over again, i’d want to watch one little piece of a scene getting repeated again and again. it’d be VERY disorienting as a movie tbh but it’d be fun...

47. Do you start with characters or plot when working on a new story?

characters!!!! plot is such a backburner thing for me, if you have rly great characters, you already have a great plot right there. the plot is just set so i can see how characters react to things, man... 

49. What do you find the hardest to write in a story, the beginning, the middle or the end?

THE MIDDLE, FUCK THE MIDDLE.... endings are literally the easiest thing for me, beginnings similarly so, it’s just getting from that BEAUTIFUL starting scene to that GORGEOUS ending that fucking kills my poor undeserving asshole

51. Describe the aesthetic of your story _______ in 5 sentences or words.

low-res pictures of old cemetaries... that’s five words right there, i’m sorry but the END IS IN SIGHT, I’M ALMOST FREE AND CANT BE BOTHERED

54. Any writing advice you want to share?

can’t stress how useful having an insp blog is... creating a story through the unconscious collection of pictures and quotes that just feel relavant is just SO useful not just when it comes to really constructing a character an an atmosphere to your story, but making a fucking plot????? my tsg blog is like my most perfect insp blog because i got the idea to seperate it by chapters, and i’ve found that i can literally just... go into the chapter tags... and make connections and build on plotlines that i had NO IDEA ABOUT when i made or filled those tags, IT’S REALLY FUN and it keeps me inspired to write

[jafreitag]

Baby, it’s (still) cold outside…

As our Instagram profile says, Liner Notes is a music blog that OM and I founded in 2010. That’s sorta true, sorta not. Back then, we did start writing about music online under the same moniker, but it was only a semi-regular column on a news website called Hypervocal, run by one of our pals. We were happy for the exposure, for sure, but we weren’t running our own show. We would submit material, and the HV guy would format and edit it, and then post it. He would use pretty much whatever we sent, tbh, with really minor tweaks. At some point, he didn’t (and explained why), and thin-skinned me bristled and quit. Apologies, SS. I get what you were saying, and should’ve been cooler. If you don’t mind, I’ll throw you a few hits from this iteration of LN back to your archives.

Eight years ago, OM wrote a thing about holiday music, and offered advice about compiling a decent playlist for family time. Want to know what life was like in the pre-Spotify-era? O offered some insight “Last year, I decided enough was enough and I put together my own playlist of ‘Christmas’ songs. Now I make sure to get my iPod hooked up to the speakers as soon as the party starts. It’s a Rumsfeldian pre-emptive strike, and it’s saved me from hours of cloying holiday radio.”

Dad, what’s an iPod? And what’s Rumsfeldian mean? #nvrmnd

I also wrote a thing about holiday music. Just as dated, but in a different way. OM sounded cool, like a guy giving you the 2010-411 on how to Don Draper TF outta some yuletide jams. I sounded like a trying-to-be-funny douche. And wtf is up with all of those links?? OMF. (Links were the undoing of the HV/LN relationship, fwiw.) In my defense, I was finding my internet voice – trying to impress my then-gf/now-wife, and imagining the hundreds? thousands? of people who would be cracking up when they read my shit. Admittedly, those are the same two drivers behind LN now, but I’m much better at my fake job. Right? Right. Ugh, this is tl;dr already.

There’s a point. The classic “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” was written in 1944 by Frank Loesser, and popularized in 1959 by Dean Martin. This is what I said about the song in 2010 on HV:

“[Dean Martin’s] duet with Doris Day [], ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside‘ is at best an ode to blue balls, at worst a theme song for date rape.

You can imagine Doris, in a plaid skirt and a red sweater pulled over a white turtleneck, standing at the window and fretting about the blizzard raging outside, while Dino, in a black silk robe that barely covers a leopard-print thingamajig from the International Male catalog, mixes up a roofy across the room. It gets way creepy at the end, as the predator tries to convince the prey to ‘stay’ by forecasting his lifelong sorrow if she caught pneumonia in the snowstorm and died. What?! The result, unclear — they both agree, simply, that it’s cold outside. Okay, then.”

Apparently, in the #metoo era, a holiday song describing the lead-up to a possible sexual assault isn’t that great. Duh. But Martin’s daughter is apoplectic about the backlash, and squawking to Fox News about it. Deano, per Deana, would be going insane that political correctness culture has turned a “sweet, flirty, fun holiday song” into something more sinister. When she herself performs the song, she doesn’t want to change the lyrics.

Those lyrics?

I really can’t stay (Baby it’s cold outside) I gotta go away (Baby it’s cold outside) This evening has been (Been hoping that you’d dropped in) So very nice (I’ll hold your hands they’re just like ice) My mother will start to worry (Beautiful what’s your hurry?) My father will be pacing the floor (Listen to the fireplace roar) So really I’d better scurry (Beautiful please don’t hurry) Well maybe just a half a drink more (I’ll put some records on while I pour)

The neighbors might think (Baby it’s bad out there) Say what’s in this drink? (No cabs to be had out there) I wish I knew how (Your eyes are like starlight now) To break this spell (I’ll take your hat, your hair looks swell) (Why thank you) I ought to say no, no, no sir (Mind if move in closer?) At least I’m gonna say that I tried (What’s the sense of hurtin’ my pride?) I really can’t stay (Baby don’t hold out)

Baby it’s cold outside

Ah, you’re very pushy you know?

I like to think of it as opportunistic

I simply must go (Baby it’s cold outside) The answer is no (But baby it’s cold outside) The welcome has been (How lucky that you dropped in) So nice and warm (Look out the window at that storm) My sister will be suspicious (Gosh your lips look delicious!) My brother will be there at the door (Waves upon a tropical shore) My maiden aunt’s mind is vicious (Gosh your lips are delicious!) Well maybe just a cigarette more (Never such a blizzard before)

I’ve got to get home (Baby you’ll freeze out there) Say lend me a coat? (It’s up to your knees out there!) You’ve really been grand, (I thrill when I touch your hand) But don’t you see? (How can you do this thing to me?) There’s bound to be talk tomorrow (Think of my life long sorrow!) At least there will be plenty implied (If you caught pneumonia and died!) I really can’t stay (Get over that old out)

Baby it’s cold Baby it’s cold outside…

Per the Wiki, “this duet is a conversation between two people, a host (called ‘Wolf’ in the score) and a guest (called ‘Mouse’), in call and response form. Every line in the song features a statement from the guest followed by a response from the host. While both the Wolf and the Mouse want the night to continue, the Mouse says she ‘ought to say no, no, no, sir’ and return home, because of what family and neighbors will think.” (That passage footnotes into a Loesser archive at Yale thing, which I obv couldn’t access. But since when do wolves eat mice?)

Deana’s take is this:

“When she says, ‘Hey, what’s in this drink?’ I don’t think she’s talking about some pill being put in that drink. It’s like, ‘Is this punch?’ You know, what’s in this drink? Is it vodka? It was nice. It’s just breaking my heart that people would turn that around.

This PC is driving me nuts. You gotta sit back and relax. Have a good time. It’s OK. People gotta have a sense of humor about themselves. I understand the #MeToo movement and everything. I’m all for that. But this? We gotta relax and have fun again.”

Hm. Disagree. Fun is fine. But you can’t be “all for” #metoo and relax when some dude is roofie-ing your punch with vodka. That’s not nice; that’s criminal.

The weird thing is that the parens are flipped in the movie musical, at least at the end. According to the Wiki, the film Neptune’s Daughter features the song. It’s performed by Ricardo Montalbán (Fantasy Island) and Esther Williams, and then by Betty Garrett and Red Skelton (clowns, mostly), “but with a comic parody twist: this time the man wants to leave and the woman is the host and wants him to stay.” Quote is Wiki; video is YouTube:

Context, as always, is interesting.

Anyway. In my HV post, I touted John Lennon’s “So This Is Christmas.” It’s still an all-time classic. And it was just re-recorded by Miley Cyrus, Mark Ronson, and John’s son Sean. You can stream the audio on YouTube, or watch those folks on last week’s SNL.

Happy Christmas, and Happy Holidays from the LN family. We hope you and yours have time together to make memories. Best thoughts for the people who are sick or gone. And best wishes for a happy and healthy 2019. I’ll talk to you next year. (Don’t worry – ECM’s 31DOD posts will continue through the month.)

More soon.

JF

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