#my favorite rendition of my favorite traditional Christmas song

[anthrofreshtodeath]

O come, thou dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here - disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadow put to flight…

[differenzeartistiche]

Gavin Creel is 47 today!

It’s my yearly tradition to bring back this old post of ranked performances to celebrate the birthday of this wonderful performer, so here we go! Updated this year with Into the Woods!

Gavin Creel, 16 performances, ranked!

16. Nick Piazza in Fame

This show has some merits, although it’s definitely not one of my favorites. It’s Gavin’s professional debut, and I can forgive him some naïveté in an otherwise competent, beautifully sung performance. His rendition of “I wanna make magic” is lovely.

15. Charles Darnay in A Tale of Two Cities

Ok, so this was a concert performance, so it’s not really fair to compare it to the others, but I’ll just throw it in here. Mainly because it’s such an unusual show for Gavin. It’s something that tries very hard to be on the level of Les Miserables, without much success, and Gavin is not a huge fan of that kind of show. That said, it’s a nicely sung performance of a classic romantic hero role. Nice, nothing more.

14. Jean-Michel in La Cage Aux Folles

Great show, poor but still competent production. The role is easily the most boring in the whole play, but he gets to sing the cute “With Anne on my arm” and he nails it.

13. Troy in American Horror Stories

Oh this was a fun one, Gavin playing outside his comfort zone, far removed from his preferred genre and into an over-the-top, sexy role that is rather unique in his career. I wish the material he had to work with was better, but his scenes with Aaron Tveit were superb.

12. Hollis Bessemer in Bounce

Sadly a lesser show by Sondheim, I still love some aspects of it, and Gavin’s wide-eyed artistically-inclined dreamer is one of them. His big solo “Talent” is the best song of the show and touches me on a very personal level.

11. Matthews in Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure

Gavin voicing a Disney villain! A Disney villain with a secret! A Disney villain with a French accent! Talk about playing against type. There’s something of Kodaly here, and of Lumiere and of Pepé Le Pew. You can tell he had a blast recording this role, and the design is exquisite.

10. Cinderella’s Prince / The Wolf in Into the Woods

This is Gavin at his hammiest, and I’m here fot it. He obviously has loads of fun with the Wolf, oozing sleaziness from every pore, and as the Prince he’s perfectly balanced between superficial, phony and clueless, you can really believe that this candy-colors clothed fool was “raised to be charming, not sincere.”

9. Bill in Eloise at the Plaza / Eloise at Christmastime

Effortlessly hilarious on screen as he is on stage, he goes full-on old-time Hollywood star in the Christmas-themed sequel and I love it. A mix of Dick Powell and Fred Astaire.

8. Dr. Pomatter in Waitress

Sara Bareilles’ little gem of a musical often finds its strength in the absolute realness of its characters, flawed human beings looking for a little sparkle of happiness. Drew Gehling’s Dr. Pomatter was awkward and fun and sad-eyed, but I think Gavin wins infusing the character with tenderness and truly lived-in melancholy. A few weeks in a well-worn musical could be seen as a footnote in a great career, but it’s such a lovely performance, enhanced by the incredible chemistry he has with Bareilles.

7. Bert in Mary Poppins

My introduction to Gavin and since then I’ve come to appreciate him as heir to impossibly gangly male leads like Dick Van Dyke, so this feels like such a natural fit. I find the show a little bloated, but watch him defying gravity in that “walking on air” scene: it’s irresistible.

6. Ugly in Honk!

Having him play the ugly duckling ALSO feels like a natural fit. Gavin’s at his best when he plays lost and confused dreamers, and the fairy tale touch with the surreal setting makes for a wonderful variation on that theme.

5. Steven Kodaly in She Loves Me

Easily the odd man out of the list. The evil, scheming, suave and self-centered Kodaly is a delightful departure from all the romantic leads and clueless buffoons of Gavin’s career. The showstopper “Ilona” brings out all the manipulative nature of the character, a snake that always finds a way out and always gets what he wants. A remarkable performance that makes me want to see him branch out into even more strange territories.

4. Jimmy Smith in Thoroughly Modern Millie

Again with the old-time charm and humor. Millie is a show dominated by women, and Gavin’s male romantic lead manages not to be swallowed whole by them by being so wonderfully easy-going, hilariously aloof and occasionally sassy. It does also help that in “What do I need with love” he has one of the catchiest numbers of the show.

3. Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly!

PUDDING. That alone deserved the Tony. It’s an overwhelmingly funny turn that makes the best of the original, almost vaudevillian nature of the show. So full of tricks and ticks and winks to the audience, deliciously aware of its own absurdity, it’s the kind of scene-stealing performance that not every actor can pull off. And oh my god, has anyone ever sung Jerry Herman’s beautiful tunes so gorgeously? You almost wish he could have sung “Put on your Sunday clothes” in its entirety.

2. Elder Price in The Book of Mormon

Somewhere between the rubber-faced humor of Jim Carrey, the earnest straight man hilarity of Jack Lemmon and the physicality of Dick Van Dyke. A perfect combination that captures the sarcastic, yet disarmingly sweet nature of the show, with its hints of meanness and self-devouring doubt.

1. Claude Hooper Bukowski in Hair

Unquestionably the masterpiece of Gavin’s career. A towering performance that starts with the iconicity of the role and the visuals associated with it and finds the core of Claude’s humanity: a scared, earnest, sometimes self-centered, mostly clueless young man that has to face something so much bigger than himself, something that is so far from the made-up world of fake accents and films in space that he has created for himself and that will eventually consume him. Moments like “Where do I go” and “The Flesh Failures” are moving and brutally honest.

[cyarskaren52]

what was your favorite holiday song

The 20 Greatest Black Christmas Songs Of All Time

Get into the holiday spirit with these festive songs.

Jasmine Washington

The Daily Grind Video

Get ready to spread some holiday cheer, because the most wonderful time of the year is here! The greatness of Black Christmas music is one of the things that remains the same even in a period of unprecedented changes.

The right playlist can make virtual and/or socially distant celebrations feel reminiscent of life pre-COVID-19 pandemic. 

And there’s a melody for everyone, too. Adorable jingles acclaim the innocence of young children. Soulful records offer encouragement in a time of despair. Sweet ballads fuel romance. Comforting holiday-themed tracks uplift the brokenhearted. Unique recreations of traditional carols highlight the religious aspect of the holiday. There are even festive records with sultry requests for Santa.

Source: Michael Loccisano / Getty

The greatness of Black Christmas music isn’t limited to our personal preferences either. At their best, these classics have landed at the top of the charts and have influenced the way people commemorate the season every year.

Check out 20 of the greatest Christmas songs by Black artists below, and be sure to tell us which ones you’re adding to your playlist.

1. Alexander O’Neal “My Gift to You”

Alexander O’Neal offered a never-ending souvenir of love on “My Gift to You.”

2.  Boyz II Men Featuring Brian McKnight “Let It Snow”

What’s the festive season without a little romance? Boyz II Men and Brian McKnight’s “Let It Snow” honored the “joyous thing” that is love. The collaborative effort peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in 2012.

3. Destiny’s Child “8 Days of Christmas”

The chart-topping trio celebrated the early 2000s and all of its millennium glory by asking their “baby” to give them CDs, belly rings and a “crop jacket with dirty denim jeans” on “8 Days of Christmas.”

4. Donny Hathaway “This Christmas”

Donny Hathaway unknowingly delivered a Black Christmas anthem with “This Christmas.” According to American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), it was the 30th most-performed holiday song of all time. Aretha Franklin, Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige, John Legend and Ne-Yo are among the singers who’ve recreated the classic tune.

5. Eartha Kitt “Santa Baby”

Eartha Kitt came under fire after the suggestive tone of “Santa Baby” led to boycotts following its 1953 release. According to Billboard,songwriter Philip Springer called the sultry sensation “the first sexy Christmas record.”

6. Ella Fitzgerald “Frosty the Snowman”

The First Lady of Song’s “Frosty the Snowman” rendition served up a jazz swing that made her cover one for the ages.

7. The Jackson 5 “Give Love on Christmas Day”

While most holiday songs focus on the act of giving, this number by The Jackson 5 shines a light on what’s really important. “What the world needs is love. Yes, the world needs your love,” they sang.

8. The Jackson 5 “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”

Filled with holiday hit after hit, The Jackson 5 Christmas Album spent four weeks at No.1 on Billboard magazine’s special Christmas Charts. It went on to sell more than 3.5 million copies worldwide. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” is one of the album’s standout tracks.

9. Kirk Franklin & The Family “Jesus Is The Reason For The Season”

Back in 1996, Kirk Franklin & The Family set the record straight about why they were celebrating. If you listen closely, you may hear familiar voices like that of David and Tamela Mann.

10. Luther Vandross “Every Year, Every Christmas”

Celebrating the holidays may not be a remedy for a broken heart, but Luther Vandross shared his optimism on “Every Year, Every Christmas.”

11. Mahalia Jackson “O Holy Night”

The Queen of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson, offered her special soulful take on this beloved hymn.

12. Mariah Carey “All I Want For Christmas”

The holidays just aren’t the holidays without Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” on repeat. In 2019, the single helped earn Carey the record for the longest span of Hot 100 No. 1s: 29 years, four months and two weeks, Billboardreports.

13. Nat King Cole “The Christmas Song”

Songwriters Bob Wells and Mel Tormé wrote Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song” on a hot summer day as a way to cool down. Talk about irony!

14. Otis Redding “Merry Christmas, Baby”

Otis Redding flipped the script on “Merry Christmas, Baby.” The crooner spoke from the delight of a gift recipient whereas most carols focus on the act of giving.

15. Run-D.M.C. “Christmas in Hollis”

Heralded as hip-hop’s earliest mainstream holiday song, “Christmas in Hollis” almost wasn’t recorded. According to The Source, D.M.C. expressed his apprehension about the project to fellow group members, Rev. Run and Jam Master Jay. “Nope. We’re not doing it. That’s what they try to do to hip-hop. They commercialize you and try to make you corny,” he reportedly said. Fortunately, the trio reconsidered and celebrated the single’s 33-year release in November.

16. Stevie Wonder “Someday at Christmas”

Released in the midst of the Vietnam War, “Someday at Christmas” delivered a hopeful message filled with social and political themes. Stevie Wonder imagined what life could be without conflict and with the possibility of a “world where men are free.”

17. The Supremes “My Favorite Things”

“My Favorite Things” recounts The Supremes’ most memorable wintertime moments and how they recall them to fight through bad days.

18. The Temptations “Silent Night”

There are many renditions of this time-honored treasure, but The Temptations’ cover of “Silent Night” is now the standard. The Temptations Christmas Card was a unique release because it gave each member of the legendary group the opportunity to lead a popular Christmas song.

19. TLC “Sleigh Ride”

TLC put a unique spin on music  for the festive season with the release of “Sleigh Ride.” The lively single offered Christmas greetings and well-wishes for the new year in a way that only the trio could. The song, a mix of rapping and singing, appeared on the Home Alone 2: Lost in New York soundtrack.

20. Whitney Houston “Do You Hear What I Hear”

More than just an outstanding interpretation of the story of the nativity, Whitney Houston’s “Do You Hear What I Hear” made a lasting impact. It was featured on A Very Special Christmas benefit album, which raised money for the Special Olympics.

26 photos

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[climbthemountain2020]

Hey boo! ☃️🎄

Happy December!

There are two very short weeks left until all will be revealed 🎉 Are you excited yet? 🥳

Here are some silly questions to pass the time until them:

What is your favorite Christmas song? (Or the one you’ll have stuck in your head all season long?)

What are your favorite holiday traditions?

Have you decorated yet?

And of course some Elucien questions:

What do you think Elain’s favorite holiday activity/tradition is? Lucien’s? And what’s their favorite as a couple?

That’s all for now! Wishing you a holly and jolly week ❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚❤️

xoxoxoxo 🤭🎁🧑‍🎄

HIII BABYYYY 🎁🎁🎁🩷🩷🩷

I am SO excited and SO ready! I can't wait to know who you are! I might have a little something for you, in lieu of milk and cookies, too 😁

My favorite Christmas song is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas! Literally any version, but I'm especially fond of both Judy Garland and James Taylor's renditions.

As for holiday traditions, things have shifted substantially since I had kids of my own! Being on the parent side at Christmas is so much more fun than I ever imagined. Thanksgiving weekend every year, we have the kids go pick a very special "magic pinecone" on a hike through our woods, then they bring it inside and spray it with water from a spray bottle (magic water, of course). We then ship them to my parents for the day and put the tree up so they imagine they picked and grew it, and they LOVE this hahaha.

We did decorate a little early this year-- I needed some joy haha, so decor has been up since early November 😅

I think Elain loves holiday baking (she strikes me as someone who cooks her way through a holiday dessert recipe book as a challenge 🤣) and I think Lucien's favorite is probably taste testing them all lol. Together, I also feel like they'd love decorating a Christmas tree and handpicking each ornament.

I hope your December is off to a great start, bestie!! Tell me all your favorites too! Christmas song, treats, traditions! 🧑‍🎄🧑‍🎄🧑‍🎄

[asmrambiance]

1 Hour MORNING JAZZ - Good Mood Jazz Coffee Shop Music - Happy Jazz Bossa Nova for Work, Study

morning music

A Music of Christmas time

Music During the Holiday season Holidays

During the Seasonal holidays, music in numerous forms is famous world wide. From standard holiday carols and also songs to a key versions and similar movie themes, new music is very much associated with the holiday season festivities. The music within the holidays forms this kind of important role of which during the holiday season other designs of popular beats temporarily disappear because of radios, Musaks in addition to background music heard in shops, private offices, open transportation systems as well as other public venues. Many kinds of music coming from religiously-based forms to be able to popular vocals, classic and classical types pervade the air out of after the Thanksgiving family trip until just after the revolutionary Year.

morning music

Adaptations involving Popular Christmas Audio

Christmas music is adapted by audio artists and performing artists who re-record traditional types of music making use of their own personal style. Possibly a reason for changes of popular Xmas music is that many other genres associated with popular music aren't commonly broadcast or even played during the winter holiday, so pop, pebble and other genre music players perform their own variants of Xmas audio to keep up their own "air time" and status with the general public. Widely used, contemporary musicians moreover be want to make use of Christmas music's reputation. It is now a consistent trend for widely used music performers prefer Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey to release completely new Christmas holiday popular music albums during the year or so. Variety is the liven of life, reported by users, which typically signifies that there are new renditions of secular, almost holy, classical or conventional and popular renditions of Xmas new music each holiday season.

Christmas time music is used to brew a holiday mood. Temporary music helps to boost the holiday feeling or simply spirit that pervades everywhere and typical. Each of us has got our own Christmas holiday break favorites when it comes to beats. Some like customary holiday carols. Some like the instrumental choices of holiday audio, while there are people who look forward to new frees of holiday stand bys my music artists year after year. Christmas songs along with carols often reestablish special memories from past holiday changing seasons.

This Video Is 1 Hour MORNING JAZZ - Good Mood Jazz Coffee Shop Music - Happy Jazz Bossa Nova for Work, Study

Welcome to the Meditation Playlists. ​This channel is exclusively made for Relaxing, Calming & Meditation Music.

In this Channel, you will find Relaxation Music, Calming Music, Soothing Music, Meditation Music, Soft Music, Peaceful Music, Binaural Beats, Solfeggio Frequency, Sleep Music, Study Music, Zen Music, Nature Sounds, Ambient Music, Stress Relief Music, Chakra Music, Healing Music, etc.

We can assure you all our music is specifically made for you to attain tranquility. Taking a break from every day is a must for your body and mind and what’s better than listening to soothing music to help relax your soul. Our Healing Music will help you release all the negative energy and the fatigue, as well as all, bring positive energy and inner peace.

In our channel, we provide you with the perfect groove to calm your body and soul with our Relaxing, Calming and Meditation Music.

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[dinosaurtsukki]

haikyuu!! team christmas parties

a/n: this is a suuuuper late christmas-themed post because it was kinda crazy here but i hope you guys enjoy these headcanons of how christmas parties are like with the teams

karasuno: 

a very chaotic yet very festive christmas party

nishinoya and hinata especially are very excited for it you could tell by the way they hum christmas songs in the locker room

naturally sugawara suggests holding a christmas party in his house but the only one he sends invitations to is tsukishima because he's the likeliest one to back out

in fact, sugawara probably sends an invitation to tsukishima's house every single day and at this point both akiteru and his mom are anticipating 'kei's first christmas party with friends'

hinata was too excited that he was there at sugawara's house two hours early but they spent a lot of time decorating the entire place

yamaguchi was there just as early because he thought it would be polite and he even brought a box of chocolates for sugawara's family

all of them also decided to do a secret santa gift exchange to make things fun and so they wouldn't have to give everyone gifts

the only ones who gave everyone gifts though were asahi (HE MADE UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATERS FOR EVERYONE) and yachi who gave everyone some cookies that she baked

everyone mentally thanked kiyoko for getting yachi as assistant manager

ennoshita's secret santa was tanaka and because he knew that ennoshita has been wanting a starbuck's planner, he enlisted noya's help in getting one

did this mean they both chugged 12 starbucks drinks all by themselves in one day? yeah pretty much

when ennoshita got his gift everyone understood why tanaka and noya were extra hyper that day

kageyama also got tsukishima as his secret santa

tsukki actually tried to exchange with yamaguchi but daichi caught him and said that there were no exchanges

he was also planning to get kageyama a plastic tiara as a gift but daichi also caught him (is2g he's everywhere)

eventually tsukishima settled on giving kageyama a volleyball cause he couldn't go wrong with that

kageyama was actually really happy with the gift but kinda pissed that it came from tsukishima of all people so he was just kinda squinting at tsukishima wondering what to say

anyway they didn't fight that's a christmas miracle

yamaguchi got daichi's name for the secret santa and gifted him a coupon for a free spa visit

daichi has a new favorite child

jk yamaguchi has always been his favorite child

hinata actually got KIYOKO to give a gift too and he was anxious for an entire week worrying about what to give her

he ended up asking natsu for advice and then gifting kiyoko a cute little phone charm

she thought it was sweet and still keeps it to this day

seijoh:

oikawa already had a group chat for a christmas party when december started hanamaki and matsukawa spammed it with memes and santa emojis for the first two weeks

finally when they got around to planning, iwaizumi offered to hold the party at his house 

surprisingly, the earliest one there was kyoutani because ofc he's helping his senpai set up

imagine the both of them trimming the christmas tree i'm jlgkjalg 

kyoutani even brought his own christmas decorations (they're little dogs with santa hats on them) 

kindaichi and kunimi were next to come in and they brought a little gingerbread house that they made themselves

y'all oikawa came in last because of 'traffic' but iwaizumi's like 'bullshit, you live next door'

he was late because he was watching the doctor who christmas special 

matsukawa and hanamaki are of course in charge of all the party games that last throughout the night

they have a newspaper dance game and they intentionally paired up oikawa and kyoutani 

they were the first ones to lose the game because kyoutani wouldn't come a foot near oikawa and that's about how wide their newspaper was

iwaizumi and kindaichi easily won but kindaichi was flustered that iwaizumi carried him bridal-style

you can bet they also brought karaoke and yahaba surprised everyone with his rendition of 'all i want for christmas is you'

also matsukawa and hanamaki did a really good duet of 'baby it's cold outside'

oikawa wanted to make a speech about his friends being his family and them being his best christmas gift ever but hanamaki stopped him

oikawa ended up giving one anyway when the party ended up going on until much later and everyone cried

everyone except kyoutani who was wondering why everyone was crying until he realized that iwaizumi was going abroad for uni

shiratorizawa:

these guys are so close that they just had to have a christmas party together 

goshiki ofc volunteered his own house and was deadset on making it the best christmas ever for his senpais

except tendou may have told him that ushijima's favorite decorations were mistletoe so ofc goshiki hung mistletoe ever

the funny thing is ushijima DOES like mistletoe. he thinks its classy and simple but he doesn't know about the kissing thing

meanwhile shirabu and tendou are on the side wondering if they should tell either of them

semi lost some kind of bet (probs with shirabu and kawanishi) and now he has to dress up as santa claus for some reason

lmao angry santa semi i love it already

tendou made some handmade chocolate truffles and half of them are delicious but the other half have a piece of onion in the middle

but the delicious ones are like REALLY delicious so everyone plays this sort of russian roulette game with tendou's chocolate truffles

semi kept on getting the onion truffles until reon felt bad for him and gave him his chocolate truffle

it ended up becoming a christmas tradition

ushijima actually gave everyone a gift and it's matching knee pads

shirabu actually loves them except he doesn't want to wear them out so he never wears them

also he gets cold really easily so even though the christmas party is indoors, he's wearing a sweater and a coat and a quilt on top of that

he honestly looks so cozy that by the end of the night everyone is cuddled up next to shirabu

EXCEPT USHIJIMA ALSO INVITED COACH WASHIJO TO COME IN

ushijima: he's our coach and therefore a part of our team so of course i invited him

no one can argue with him there

coach washijo was surprisingly a nice guest but everyone was extra courteous around him

semi served him some hot tea and shirabu even gave his quilt

goshiki was hiding in his bathroom because he might get lectured on his serves

they didn't know what activities to do with coach washijo around so tendou suggested watching their volleyball games (yes, goshiki has them all on tape) and coach washijo was all like 'i watch you play all the time why would i want to do that now?'

eventually they settled on watching Polar Express and it was nice

nekoma:

their christmas party is also a costume party because kuroo said so all of them came in christmas-themed costumes

AND THEY WERE ALL GROUP COSTUMES

the third years roped in shibayama and they all dressed up as the characters from 'A Christmas Carol'

shibayama was christmas past, kai was christmas present, kuroo was christmas future, and yaku was scrooge

kuroo: it's perfect because you're short and mean

it's funny because they all end up capitalists

okay but tbh the second years plus lev also went all out for their costumes because they come in as HOME ALONE

i'm clearly biased when it comes to my favorite christmas movies

fukunaga and taketora are the two robbers, kenma's kevin, and lev comes in as the house

it's basically a cardboard cut-out of a house that he and alisa made

the first twenty minutes of their christmas party is basically just them arguing about which group had the better costume

eventually they decide to actually enjoy the party

they end up playing a lot of parlor games and even though kenma hates how loud everyone is, he's still determined to win all of them

i swear, he ended up pushing lev out of the way during musical chairs, also grabbing the chair before sitting on it

but then after that kenma decides to play games for the rest of the night except kuroo confiscated his game console (again)

you can bet yaku and fukunaga cooked the christmas dinner for everyone

kai takes a million pictures for the memories but he's really a perfectionist about it and go crazy whenever lev moves two millimeteres too far to the left

when the pictures are developed kuroo has them developed on matching t-shirts and forces everyone to wear them during practice matches

tsukishima: nice shirt

kuroo: why THANK you

kenma: thanks, i fucking hate it

inarizaki: 

ngl they're not SUPER into christmas but they're just mildly curious about the celebration

it's mostly the miya twins who initiate it as a way for all of them to have a get-together during the winter break

kita thinks it's a good idea and invites them all to his house

he's actually quite curious about christmas as a religious celebration so he reads up on it a lot and even starts to up his own nativity scene as decoration

he ends up asking his teammates if they want to bring anything to add to the nativity scene

suna brings his gundam figurines and atsumu has an acrylic standee of momo from twice

and now those are joseph and mary

aran and kita take one look at the nativity scene and go 'this doesn't look right' but atsumu looks so happy to have momo there that they just leave it be

osamu is in charge of food ofc but he can't make up his mind on what to cook so he ends up cooking a little bit of everything

ofc atsumu has to be the one to help him but he ends up tasting and eating a good portion while osamu's cooking

*insert fighting in the kitchen*

suna's just walking around taking pictures of everything and uploading them to his snapchat (which has a lot of followers)

"our chaotic team christmas party part 1 of ???"

aran and kita just want some chill time and drink hot chocolate while watching christmas specials

kita also hung up stockings for everyone and suna was expecting it to have candy but its full of fruit and healthy snacks

they still taste good though

suna’s also the first one to fall asleep right smack on kita’s couch 

atsumu’s just about to draw on his face with permanent marker but kita has a disappointed look so he stops instantly

in fact, ALL of them end up falling asleep in the middle of kita’s living room 

they look so cute aran is in the middle with each of the miya twins on his side. suna is sprawled all over the couch with his face buried in the cushions. kita is sleeping right next to the coffee table with his arms crossed over his chest

kita’s grandmother walks in on them in the living room and knows FOR SURE that she doesn’t have four grandchildren but she’s making them breakfast anyway 

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[sadsongsandwaltzes]

Could you please tell me your favorite contemporary Christmas song and your favorite traditional Christmas song (and maybe whose version is your favorite, if you have one?)

Ahhh this is so hard cuz I love so many songs!! And also, there are plenty I don’t really know how to classify. So to narrow it down I’ll just pull from traditional hymns for the traditional songs, and I’ll just pull from original songs in the past fifty years for the contemporary song.

I’ll start with the contemporary song: the first thing that comes to mind is Old Time Christmas by George Strait. This is a more secular song just celebrating and longing for Christmas season traditions.

For the traditional song…. Idk. This really could change depending on the day. There’s so many good ones! Right now, my current obsession is O Little Town of Bethlehem. Such a beautifully written song. I think my favorite rendition is from Patty Loveless. So simple and pretty.

Also special shout-out to If We Make it Through December by Merle Haggard. I still maintain that it’s not really a Christmas song, but it’s popular this time of year and it’s one of my favorites of all time.

[writerchickmarie]

John Lloyd Young - The Heart And Soul Of Christmas

There is nothing quite like the feeling you get when you hear classic Christmas songs, and the rush of memories and good tidings that they bring.

These songs are even more emotional when sung by the one and only John Lloyd Young, whose voice was made for this kind of music.  Add the elegance of a jazz pianist and string quartet, and you have the perfect combination to stir the holiday spirit.

The evening began with Tommy Faragher, who was the musical director for this special show, introducing Jacquelyn Schreiber on piano, and Quartet 405 (Eliza James, Kaitlin Wolfberg, Jayna Chou, and Danica Pinner).  The ladies started the music with a beautiful holiday medley, then JLY joined them onstage, looking happy and festive in a gorgeous tuxedo.

He kicked off with “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year”, which it is, especially when JLY is performing these holiday tunes.  Next up was “The Christmas Waltz”, which I was especially thrilled to hear, since it’s one of my favorites that you don’t get to hear too often anymore.   JLY should record this  one and release it as a holiday single - his version rivals Sinatra’s (my hand to God) and makes it current, besides being stunningly beautiful.

JLY spoke about wanting to bring out the beauty and magic of the season through the stories of the classics that he chose, and to evoke the feeling of a fireside chat with the audience - both present in person and through the livestream at home. He and the talented ensemble who accompanied him did just that throughout the evening, where it felt like a cozy, intimate holiday gathering with friends expressing the joy of the season.

He performed several traditional Christmas carols, and made us feel like we were hearing them again for the first time while still bringing back memories of growing up on these songs.  You could tell that it also brought back memories for him as he sang “O Come, All Ye Faithful/Adeste Fideles”, “The First Noel”, and “Joy To The World”. 

One of the surprises of the night was “Christmas Time Is Here”, best known through the TV special, A Charlie Brown Christmas. JLY’s rich, warm vocals made this extra special, and I could hear him recording this one as well.  He then performed his beautiful rendition of “Silent Night”, with vocal accompaniment from Jacquelyn and Eliza making it even sweeter.

JLY took a short break while the ensemble got a chance to shine.  Jacqueline’s piano and voice were the perfect jazz blend on “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, and Quartet 405 performed a flawless, ethereal “What Child Is This”.  It was such a pleasure to hear all of them doing what they do best, and makes me want to hear more.

JLY joined everyone again on stage and performed a unique yet classic version of “White Christmas”, then mentioned he was moving into a different color as he sang “Blue Christmas”. His smooth, wistful version of the latter brought out so many emotions as he put his own spin on it.

He then sang another song you don’t hear that often now - “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”.  He joked about keeping the lyrics straight with this one, because of the Old English language in it...then proceeded to sing it perfectly, without missing a beat. And he performed “Oh Holy Night” with so much passion that you couldn’t help but tear up.

JLY and the musicians told some funny stories about how they met, and also talked about how they had been planning this collaboration for well over a year.  I’m so glad that it finally came to fruition, because the results were absolutely amazing.  They all sang “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” together, then JLY finished up with a touching rendition of “The Christmas Song”  The evening concluded with the ensemble performing “Silent Night”.

I wish I could have been there in person for this special show, but I am so thankful that it was livestreamed so that we could all be a part of the hope and spirit that is much needed during another unusual holiday season.  I hope that JLY will record a Christmas album in the future - and that Jacquelyn and Quartet 405 will be a part of it.  In the meantime, I am grateful for their stellar collaborative efforts, which paid off with a Christmas to remember! 

[tessandscottforever18]

Enews Twitter (Dec 20)

My oh my! Camila Cabello is performing at the White House.

The 24-year-old artist is singing as part of the pre-taped PBS special In Performance at the White House: Spirit of the Season. She'll be performing a mariachi rendition of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and said her dad, Alejandro, joined her at the White House for the big performance.

"My mom is a Cuban immigrant, my dad emigrated to the United States from Mexico and recently also became a citizen," she told PBS in a video shared with E! News. "The fact that I'm able to pay tribute to my heritage and represent Latinos and also have my dad be sharing this moment with me it's kind of, like, a crazy moment. The fact that we're an immigrant family and we're at the White House is really special and really cool."

When it came to choosing a song, Cabello knew she wanted to do "I'll Be Home for Christmas" because she could "totally relate to that feeling of looking forward" to spending time with family at home for the holidays.

"For me, it's being in Miami, being with my family," the three-time Grammy nominee shared. "Because I'm traveling so much year-round, the holidays is a time I know that I'm going to be home and I really look forward to that. And yeah, the mariachi version came about because I've been writing my album Familia this year, where I've intertwined my heritage and my music a lot. So I was like, 'How can I do that for this Christmas song to have it kind of tie into this chapter of my life where I'm really digging deeper and deeper into my roots and where I come from and the musical side of that?'"

As for her favorite holiday tradition, Cabello said it's celebrating Nochebuena. "Latinos celebrate Christmas the 24th, and it's something that we call Nochebuena," she said. "That's when we have kind of, like, our party and there's rice and beans and a bunch of our traditional food from the countries."

The Cinderella star also said that her grandmother's birthday is Dec. 24 and her mom's birthday is Dec. 25.

"So it's a lot happening in those two days," Cabello noted, "so we celebrate their birthdays, too."

[blueeyedbesson]

The Christmas Carol ~Pope Heyward~

summary: Pope hates Christmas. He hates everything about it. The carols. The singing. The colors. But when he falls for the new addition to the group, what lengths will he go to just to make sure she has a good Christmas?

word count: 1.6k

pairing: pope heyward x lea

warning: there might be 1 swear in there somewhere. not proofread. christmas

note: this is my Secret Santa gift for  @possiamo-andare​​. I hope you don’t mind but I used your name, instead of a reader insert. I really hope you enjoyed this. If not, I apologize for the quality. Times have been tough. But, I love you & wanted to make something good for you. Happy Holidays! 

Also, thank you @ijustreallylovethem​ for arranging this event for all of us. It must not have been easy pairing everyone.

masterlist

Pope was a very valuable asset to the Pogues. He was also a hard person to figure out. Everyone knew that.

One thing they did know about him, however, was the fact that he hated the Christmas season. Everything about it always managed to irritate him, even one little ornament.

His friends tried hard not to be cheerful around him during the season & up until last year, they had been successful.

That’s when Lea moved to the island & quickly bonded with all the Pogues. It all happened shortly before Christmas and since she didn’t know that Pope hated it, she was super happy to give him a great gift. He didn’t want to upset her so he smiled kindly at her and accepted the gift.

This year, everything started to change. Over the summer, Pope and Lea spent a lot of time together. That was mostly due to Kie spending more time at The Wreck, John B spending more time with Sarah & JJ never being around.

It was only natural that spending all this time together would create some kind of special bond that neither of them wanted to break. However, Pope couldn’t help the way he began to feel about her.

“JJ, what do you do when you have feelings for someone?”

“I’m not sure, Pope. I’ve never really had that connection with a girl before. I usually just hook up with one and then dump her the next morning.”

“I should’ve known that coming to you would be useless.”

“Hey, that’s offensive.” JJ acted like he was hurt but he knew it was the truth. “Look, if you really like this girl, why don’t you just tell her how you feel?”

“What if she doesn’t like me like that?”

“Then she’s stupid. Pope, you are my best friend, I know you haven’t been very lucky in the love department, but everyone gets their shot eventually. You’re a great guy & I don’t see why she wouldn’t love you.”

“Maybe.”

“Who is this girl anyway?”

“It’s um...it’s Lea.” Popes words stopped JJ in his tracks.

“Oh, the cute redhead?”

“Yeah. That’s the one.” Pope shoved his hands in his pockets & kicked the little bit of snow that had fallen this morning. They continued walking to the chateau.

“Good job, buddy.” JJ slapped his friend on his back and Pope flinched.

“I don’t need congratulations, JJ. I need help on how to impress her.”

“Okay. Well, what’s the one thing she loves more than anything?” JJ raised an eyebrow, knowing that Pope wasn’t going to like his idea.

“No. I’m not getting into Christmas just for her. I like her but nobody is worth that much change.”

“Then you’re on your own.”  JJ shrugged and plopped down on the couch on the porch. “Or maybe you should ask Kie. She’s bet friends with Lea. She might know what to do.”

“Yeah. Plus, she’s a lot smarter than you.” Pope sat on the small chair opposite his friend.

“Hey, fuck you.” JJ smiled. Within seconds, Kie was sitting next to JJ. 

“What a coincidence.” JJ smirked. “We were just talking about you.”

“What are you talking about, JJ?”

“Well, it seems that our darling little Pope here, has a crush on someone else we know.”

“Lea? I know.” she laughed along with JJ and Pope just rolled his eyes.

“I’ve been trying to tell him that if he wants to impress her, maybe he should get interested in Christmas.”

“That’s a great idea.” Kie looked over at Pope. “Nothing would make her happier than seeing you be cheerful on Christmas.”

“Why did I come to you guys for help? I’m not getting into Christmas. That’s the last I want to hear about it, okay?”

“Okay.” they chimed in together.

But it wasn’t the last he would hear about it. He went home that night & did some research on Christmas. He tried to figure out the best present to get her. He tried learning some Christmas traditions. But nothing good was coming across as a great idea. That’s when he remembered that Lea has mentioned her favorite Christmas carol on multiple occasion. He’s even caught her singing it more than  once.

So, he searched for the lyrics to the song and stayed up all night trying to learn them. 

For the week leading up to Christmas, Pope stayed home & tried putting together a little performance for her. He hardly saw anyone outside of his family.

“Does Pope hate me suddenly or something?” Lea questioned Kie & JJ as the trio decorated a tree at the chateau. She slowly placed an ornament on the branch in front of her.

“What? No. Of course not. He’s just been super busy helping his dad.” JJ quickly covered for his friend. He was the only one who knew what Pope had planned.

“Oh, okay.” Lea wasn’t convinced and her face fell. She knew he had been avoiding her and she thought it was because of something she said or did, and  JJ’s excuse only made her feel worse.

“He doesn’t hate you, Lea.” Kie tried comforting her friend but even she knew it wasn’t working. “He’ll be here tomorrow. Maybe you can talk to him about it then.”

“Yeah. Okay.” Still, she wasn’t sure of herself. If she was being honest, she had recently taken a liking to Pope. She wanted to tell him before Christmas but he had clearly made that difficult for her. 

She stayed silent for the rest of the night as they decorated the tree together.

The next morning, she rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling of chateau. It was finally Christmas day but she didn’t feel any cheer in her heart. All she felt was sadness, caused by the absence of Pope.

“Merry Christmas, bestie.” Kie plopped beside her with a cup of candy cane of hot cocoa. 

“Merry Christmas.” she sighed.

“What’s wrong? You’re usually cheery on Christmas.” she set her mug down on the table and looked at her friend. “Does it have something to do with Pope?”

“Yeah.” she sighed. “Why hasn’t he texted me or hung out with me for the past week? Is it something I did or said?”

“Actually, and I’m not supposed to tell you this, but he’s been home preparing something awesome for you.”

“He has? Why? I thought he hated Christmas.”

“I believe he still does.” Kie smiled. “But he wanted this year to be different for some reason. He helped his mom bake Christmas cookies & he helped his parents decorate the house & tree.”

“What’s gotten into our Pope?”

“I’m not sure.” she looked at her phone. “But he’s on his way here right now.”

“I should probably get dressed.” she threw the blanket off her legs and searched for the outfit she had set out. Instead of the clothes she put out last night, there was a onesie that matched the one Kie was wearing. “What’s going on?”

“Just put it on. It was JJ’s idea and we wouldn’t want to upset him in any way, right?”

“Okay, fine.” she slid the onesie over her pajamas and went to the living room. JJ was sitting on the couch and his face lit up when he saw the girls.

“Look how cute you two look in those onesies.” he smiled smugly, causing Kie to grab a pillow and hit him with it. “Ouch.”

“Merry Christmas, everyone.” Pope walked into the house and set his bag down beside the couch. “Hey, Lea.”

“Hey.” despite him ignoring her all week, she smiled widely at the sight of him.

“Okay, so what’s up buddy? Why are you suddenly so giddy about Christmas?” JJ asked, already knowing the answer. He was setting Pope up for Lea.

“Someone very special to me really loves this time of year & I thought it’d be nice to celebrate like she does.” he reached into his bag and handed presents to Kie & JJ. They opened they gifts and looked over at their friends. “Sorry, LEa. I didn’t have enough wrapping paper for your gift.”

“That’s okay.” she looked at him. “What is my present?”

“You’ll see.” he smiled and took off his jacket. The onesie he had on beneath made him look like Santa Claus, just like JJ. He put on the hat & looked at Lea. “I hope you like your present as much as I like you.” not realizing what he said, Pope began his rendition of Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree. He danced around and sang every lyric to that song, which was difficult for him. Pope didn’t like singing, carols or Christmas, but he would do anything for Lea.

When he was finished, he looked over at Lea, hoping to see her smile, only to see tears.

“No, please don’t cry, Lea. I thought you’d appreciate-”

“I do appreciate it. I loved that so much, Pope. It’s just that nobody has ever done something like that for me before.” 

“I wanted you to have a good Christmas. I know last year, I wasn’t the nicest guy during the holidays & I wanted to make it up to you.”

“Well, mission accomplished.” she smiled and looked at him. “Thank you, Pope. This was the best present I’ve ever received.”

“Anything for you.” he smiled and kept looking at her.

JJ looked over at Kie as she watched their friends. He nudged her arm when he noticed where they were standing. Her gaze followed his and she noticed the mistletoe as well.

“Hey guys, look up.” she giggled and looked at JJ. Pope and Lea looked up at the same time and JJ noticed their cheeks darken instantaneously. 

“Wow. The mistletoe.” Lea rocked on her feet awkwardly and Pope rubbed his neck.

“Are you okay with that?” Pope asked.

“Yeah. I think it’ll be fine.” she smiled and when Pope pulled her in for a kiss, JJ & Kie jumped off the couch and cheered while high fiving each other.

“Yes! Finally!”

[theofficersacademy]

The warmth of the Goddess’ blessing has blanketed the land in a rich array of color, and the people whisper their prayers for the year’s crop to grow bountiful under her care. As they wait, hearts and minds turn to thoughts of love and friendship, women weaving fresh petals into lush garlands as gifts for close friends, or to court the attention of a hopeful lover.

With the warmer weather comes more activity along the continent’s coastline, however. The city of Enbarr, the capital of the Adrestian Empire, has long enjoyed its position as the largest and wealthiest port of southern Fódlan. Its reputation for safe and secure trade has been called into question though after a recent string of stolen shipments occurred in Adrestian waters. The Church has heard the desperate pleas of the people, and now sends you to investigate the matter and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Black Eagles Mission: Investigate the thefts!

Welcome to TOA’s first house-centric mission season since April! This season’s mission will be focused on the Black Eagle house, but there are also non-mission tasks available as well. (Please see the FAQ for details on how this works, even if you’ve read the FAQ before.)

Aside from the BE mission, there are other fun things taking place! This season will run from Garland Moon to Blue Sea Moon in TOA canon, but since it’s November-December in real life, some of our non-mission tasks are going to be in honor of the holidays (Fódlan celebrates Thanksgiving in June and Christmas in July)! Take a look!

BE Mission Task Board

Enbarr, the Imperial Capital, the crowning jewel of Fódlan, the place where Saint Seiros first alighted on this continent, the genesis of all civilization… A city that predates the Empire itself is bound to be filled with rich history and places to see. Take advantage of his opportunity and see what you can find!

The merchants, based on their personal experience, claim that the attackers were simply pirates, with no specific targets except for anyone with potential loot. Their stories share one consistent fact: that the pirates flew a yellow banner, bearing the emblem of a brown horse leaping over a lemon. They would investigate, if only they had the funds and supplies. Hey–so long as you’re bothering them all the time, why not help them out? Time is money, and you’re wasting theirs!

The nobility, having done their own investigations, claim that they have spotted ships flying a flag with a very specific emblem on it, one that originates from the Dagdan continent. They’ve always considered this truce with Dagda to be a fragile one at best, and the youngest of the group are itching for a chance to go to war. They’re also not too happy about potentially sharing the glory–you’ll have to work whatever magic you have if you want them to give up anything valuable.

You’ve learned about defensive structures from studying the battlements of Garreg Mach, but Enbarr offers a fresh perspective on city defense in an area that you’ve had little opportunity to study: defending against attacks from the sea. Enbarr’s city-watch has gladly allowed students and faculty of the Officers Academy to marvel at their state-of-the-art onagers, crucial for fending off enemy ships. It’s a unique opportunity, so you better not squander it! [Bows +1]

One way or the other, you find yourself on a ship to patrol Enbarr’s shores. It’s a tense journey, to be sure, and you watch as the sailors frequently look out to the ocean for the marauders. An alarm bell rings above you, and the crew erupts in a panic. “They’re here! They’re coming!” None of your professors have ever taught you how to fight on a boat, but sometimes experience is the best teacher. Hope you’re a quick study! [Any Weapon +1]

NEW! At last there’s a breakthrough in the investigation. A patrol brings news of an isle off the northern coast that seems to have some sort of habitation, evinced by the boats seen coming to and from the place. You’re sent to check it out from a safe distance and report your findings to the Knights of Seiros. The ocean, however, has other plans, and a sudden storm turns the waters rough as you enter the shallows. Whether you’ve planned for it or not, you’ve found yourself washed ashore this island... There’s smoke rising from the trees in the distance. Good news? Probably not. [Grants Gauntlet +1]

NEW! There’s a smaller isle off the coast of the larger one, and at a glance it seems to be nothing more than a collection of rocks. Someone in your party insists on investigating it, and sure enough... it’s an island made entirely of jagged rock. But before you shove off again to spend your time more wisely, you stumble across what appears to be a trapdoor buried beneath the stone. Inside? A treasure cache of gold, odd trinkets, and - strangely - a ridged, bone-white weapon that bears a resemblance to one you’ve seen before...

Non-Mission Task Board

The Garland Moon has come once again and brings, well, the garlands! The Pages of the Blessed Incunabula, a book club, is hosting their annual costume contest! Dress as your interpretation of characters from songs and stories and enter to see if you win! There is a category for each house, encouraging students to use their own country’s folktales. Winners get the special Lion’s Garland, a gigantic wreath of flowers that is traditionally refused by the victor and granted instead to a close friend or (potential) lover. Make your costume and fantasize about who you’ll give the Garland to (or grumble about why you can’t keep it for yourself).

Have you been searching for a hobby that blends your singing talent and love for melodrama? Well, search no more! Thespian blood runs through your veins, and the Garreg Mach Theatre Club is in need of fresh meat–ah, members–to fill their ranks for the Choir Festival! Whether you’re singing your heart out, building the sets, or making constant references to your favorite opera, help put on a musical rendition of The Lament of Saint Macuil! [Faith or Authority +1]

The Inter-House Reception is a traditional event on the 29th of the Garland Moon intended to bring down walls between students of different backgrounds at the academy. This year, it’s a grand feast in a potluck style! Bring your own dishes to the dining hall and share with all your friends. Try not to poison them though.

Wild beasts have been spotted in great flocks outside the walls of Garreg Machs. The giant birds don’t seem to be gathering to attack the monastery, but the Church can’t be too careful. Go figure out what’s been calling the creatures to the fields in such large numbers, but try not to be maimed for inciting their territorial defense. Befriend them, hunt them, or maybe even try to tame them -- good luck! [grants Flying or Riding +1]

NEW! The Rite of Rebirth is one of the most important days of the year, and in some ways also one of the most dangerous. With the Holy Tomb open to visitors for a single day, security needs to be tight to handle the massive crowds coming from all over the continent. Students with availability have been asked to help patrol. Hopefully no one causes a commotion. [Grants Lance +1]

NEW! There’s a special tea brewed for the Rite of Rebirth. The leaves must be kept fresh, so there’s no stock of them in the monastery. Archbishop Rhea calls a handful of students with free time to venture into the mountains to gather the incandescent flowers that grow at its peak. The mountain is under protection of the monastery and frequently patrolled by the Knights so the trek should not be dangerous. But as you near the top, you find that snow has blanketed the peak. Even stranger than that are the houses built out of ice, though no one seems to live here. Is this the work of magic or... something else? Whatever the case, you decide to take some time to enjoy this mid-summer winter wonderland.

NEW! As the sky is believed to be the home of the Goddess, the stars are thought to be the souls who have departed this world to join her. With the shorter nights, the Blue Sea Moon is the month when the barrier between the world of mortals and the world of the divine is thought to be the thinnest. Late at night, when the sun has finally disappeared completely, the people of Fódlan take some time to commune with their departed loved ones.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the divided task board work?

This season’s mission is assigned to the Black Eagles. Therefore, tasks from the ‘BE Mission Task Board’ must be undertaken by someone that is affiliated with the Black Eagles.

Tasks from the ‘Non-Mission Task Board’ have no house restriction and can be undertaken by anyone.

These aren’t the only threads I can do, right?

Of course not! These are just prompts to help give some ideas of possibilities. You’re always free and encouraged to make up your own threads. You’re also more than welcome to worldbuild on your own, using these prompts as a base.

How do I claim the skill points?

In order to qualify for the skill point, the thread must clearly allude to the listed task and preferably feature the task being completed; however, the point can still be claimed even if your muses narratively fail the task (failure is sometimes just as fun to write as success, after all). You do not need to message the masterlist to claim your skill point.

Can I only do one task?

Nope, you can do as many as you’d like with as many different partners as you’d like! You can do the same task with more than one person! However, you can only claim the skill point for each task once.

What if my partner leaves or drops a skill point thread?

If the dropped thread has at least 2 notes (not counting likes, only reblogs with replies in them) and you have hit at least 400 words on your end, you may still claim the skill point.

Remember to use (and track!) the #toa open tag for any open threads, and you can also post a link to your open thread on the appropriate Discord channel! If you have any other questions or concerns, shoot us a message through the masterlist or on Discord!

[happymetalgirl]

Rating Christmas Songs

Yep, it’s that time of year we get inundated wherever we go with mostly shitty Christmas music, usually the same stuff as the years before and the many years before. There are some songs among the barren crop of overplayed tunes that I think are pretty enjoyable, but for the most part I feel pretty confident that most of us are just putting up with the vast majority of the holiday playlist (I mean no one is dying to play any of these songs any other time of year, so they can’t be that great), so it’s time to set the record straight.

Here’s a rating of a few of the season’s musical staples and some brief reasons behind them. I’m sure I’m missing a few classics, but do feel free to bring them up and I will offer my thoughts on them. Granted these songs all have dozens, of not hundreds or thousands of versions, so I’m kind of going by an average of what I generally hear, not the dubstep remix version or even my favorite version necessarily.

-

“Jingle Bells”

The classic, easy to sing, easy to play on whatever instrument, upbeat childhood Christmas song. It’s hard to mess this one up, and I’m just glad it’s not trying to get all overly serious about Christmas as many of the songs further down this list do. But I mean, it’s fucking “Jingle Bells”, who actually gives a shit about this plinky-ass song.

5/10

“O Holy Night”

This one’s cool the first several years you hear it because it sounds pretty grand and epic, but it does wear off after awhile. Still, I’d rather hear this song than most, and I’ve yet to hear it truly butchered. So cheers to that!

7/10

“Jingle Bell Rock”

The failed swaggering “update” or cousin of the classic children’s Christmas song, it’s one of those songs that sounds like a bunch of upper class white folks sipping wine and putting on the usual façade of in-person Facebook-style humble bragging and life-highlighting about their year for the family they’ve not flexed on all year or since Thanksgiving. The song though is so drab and seemingly intentional sucked of lol the fun the kid’s song had, and in its place is just overly drolly Sinatra-imitation with no spirit at all. It’s the definition of background music, and it’s for the worst kind of background. Dancing to it sure as hell sucks. If you’re hearing this song, you’re probably not having as much fun as you’re supposed to be for a song that’s supposedly more “rock”.

2/10

"O Tanenbaum"

While his semi-jazzed-up approach that characterizes the rest of the soundtrack still seeps into this song, I’ve always loved the more stripped back piano-centric approach that Vince Guaraldi takes with this song on the classic A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack. The simple and sweet lullaby-esque melody at the core of the song really works well with the instrumentally minimal approach (which I do hear most often) and it evokes a sense of very sweet nostalgia (for me at least), and I can’t not like it.

9/10

“Angels We Have Heard on High”

You know I’ve heard some pretty alright versions of this song when it’s pushed toward its more energetic side. That over the top run on “glOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoria” tends to be the make-or-make moment of the song, and when a singer or choir commits to it and goes all out, it can sound pretty rad; I’m sure some power metal band somewhere out there has put a decent spin on it. The rigid, traditional delivery I hear more often, though, sadly sounds more often like it’s had the life sucked out of it.

7/10

“Silent Night”

Probably my favorite of the soft Christmas songs, just soulful melodies abound here and written in a way that hasn’t encouraged too many stupid renditions.

9/10

“Santa Baby”

This song is just fuckin’ weird, and I get the place of romance it’s coming from lyrically: finally dropping the charade of Santa Claus and being romantic with the speaker’s husband after putting on the act for the children. It’s cute and endearing, but god is it always so weirdly sung, in a hyperseductive baby voice, not subtle at all, and kind of not fitting with the kind of sweet endearing romanctic tone you would think it’d be carrying if you just read the lyrics. There are definitely worse Christmas/holiday romance songs, and I can definitely imagine this song being performed more sweetly than it usually is.

6/10

“Hark! the Herald Angels Sing!”

This. Song. Is. A. Banger. Glorious and triumphant as shit! It sounds good slow and fast, but definitely best when it’s played bold and loud, as opposed to some contrived-ass attempt at a ballad. This song feels like finishing a marathon. I’d pay to hear Khemmis do this fuckin’ song.

10/10

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

Sinatra’s version of the song is probably the most famous at this point, and as a consequence, the very title I think tends to invoke his signature smooth delivery on its own. I used to hate this one, but these days I find its naturally soothing character much more welcoming, god, especially this year. I can see why some find it to droll and sloggy, but I think it’s a nice wind-down tune.

7/10

“Last Christmas”

You know, the original synth-pop version by Wham! isn’t too bad on its own; George Michael’s delivery is pretty heartfelt and I can see why it’s become such modern Christmas staple. However, in the context of Christmas background music, that repetitive chorus refrain that seems to be the only lyric anyone knows in the song, gets really grating when it’s the only thing that sticks out, the more scaled-back delivery of the verses aiding their being buried in the chatter with your eggnog-sipping relatives. Furthermore, I’ve yet to hear a cover of the song less dry than sandpaper. Positive points to the original only.

6/10

“Away in a Manger”

This song certainly gets points for its strong narrative consistency, but aside from the “the stars in the sky” line, the melody is really really lame, and infantile in a bad way, and I have yet to hear a version that doesn’t sound like it was done by or similar to an apathetic children’s choir. It’s that quintessential song that every church kindergarten choir gets forced to sing because it’s nice and slow and narrow-range that all the kids look absolutely braindead singing. Not that it’s ever the kids’ fault or anything, it’s just a boring-ass song whose weak-ass strategy hinges on a bunch of 5-year-olds getting into something they clearly don’t give a shit about.

4/10

“The Little Drummer Boy”

You know, I could envision a slow-building post-rock-esque version of this song being pretty cool, but to date, all I have heard is stiff corny solo vocal delivery a la Angela from The Office and haphazard attempts at injecting tons of energy into the song that don’t really fix the kooky melody at the core of it. I swear you can always hear whoever is singing it getting red in the face from the needless intensity.

3/10

"Christmas Time Is Here"

Another solid cut from the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas, its rather simple instrumental foundation serves as a pretty solid introductory piece for the season; it feels so much like welcoming in the winter. And then of course the jazz embellishments on the instrumental version are some of the best in the Christmas genre, though listening to the soundtrack these days makes me wonder what it would be like if a more bombastic and dynamic jazz band took these songs on a more wild ride. I would love to hear that.

8/10

“Joy to the World”

It’s a little bit cheesy, but I kinda appreciate how ridiculously celebratory this tune is. It’s another one that I think would be interesting to hear Khemmis do a quick cover of, despite the religious theme that doesn’t really fit into their style. At the very least, it always sounds fun or, indeed, joyous.

7/10

“We Three Kings”

I’m not convinced anyone cares about this song.

5/10

“The First Noel”

This is another one of those songs whose runny melody tends to lead to it being delivered so often way too seriously, never really all too fun or worthy of the seriousness either.

3/10

“O Come, O Come Emanuel”

This is another one of those songs that, on the surface, seems more genuine with its minor key and often stoic delivery, and that definitely makes it better than the vast majority of Christmas songs, but the melody and lyrics are a bit oddly mismatched, and the melody that serves as the key appeal in the song does wear thin as the years go on. Nevertheless, I always do seem to find a cool new version ever year or two.

7/10

“Do You Hear What I Hear?”

Goddamn this is such a goofy-ass song. Who the hell made this? I cannot take it seriously. One point for all the kids for the apt “do you smell what I smell?”

1/10

“Mary Did You Know?”

Again, who wrote these lyrics? Like, in the story Mary made up to explain her out-of-wedlock pregnancy, that was kind of the main thing, that this kid would do some crazy shit. I can’t take this song seriously either, especially when it gets the goofy overly operatic treatment.

3/10

“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”

It’s another one of those songs that literally just says what Santa Claus does. Musically it’s catchy-ish, but I mean it’s about Santa Claus, and it’s so often sung in that overly serious, toned down Motown style that no kid likes. I never liked hearing it then, and I don’t now.

3/10

“12 Days of Christmas”

Structurally iconic, this song really doesn’t offer anything beyond that; have you ever tried listening to someone doing the whole thing? It gets old really fast, and the fact that the “halfway” point in the song, the six geese a-laying, isn’t actually the halfway point, because the verses get longer and longer... fuck! The only thing this song is good for is for structuring workouts around, nothing regarding listening to the song. It gets one point for its utility.

1/10

“It Came upon a Midnight Clear”

We really are in a stretch of trash Christmas songs right now. I don’t think this is anyone’s favorite Christmas song. It’s so lethargic and sleep-inducing, I’m falling asleep just thinking about it.

3/10

“We Wish You a Merry Christmas”

Eh, it’s kinda not a really important song. At least it wakes you up, but apart from throwing some energy into the Christmas playlist that many are often desperate for, it’s just a cheery addition of holiday-themed white noise.

4/10

“What Child Is This?”

Finally some good fucking food. I’ve heard some baller versions of this captivatingly grand song, whose accidentals and minor key really make it one of the more interesting listens during the holiday season. I would dig an Opeth cover or a Pallbearer cover, or... a Khemmis cover.

8/10

“Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”

This is just one of those standard, old-timey, inoffensive season-themers. It’s alright, I’ve never heard any version of it that really blows my mind.

5/10

“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”

This one is almost indistinguishable from, but significantly less annoying than, “Jingle Bell Rock” and is similarly stiff in a way that it’s clearly not meant to be.

3/10

“White Christmas”

This might take the cake for the sleepiest Christmas song out there. It is SLOW, like Bell Witch should ironically do a 20-minute-long cover of it just to see how it goes.

4/10

“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”

The shopping mall theme song. It’s always given that Sinatra treatment and it only barely fits well enough into that style.

4/10

“Feliz Navidad”

This one always feels like it needs to be sung with a big, cheerful group to capture the liveliness that its main appeal is based in, which puts it at a distinct disadvantage this year. Still, it’s always a fun, sometimes even bouncy song to play during the holiday season.

7/10

“Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer”

I do actually welcome the absurd narrative that has somehow made itself one of the season’s ironic staples, and its slightly dark humor makes for a nice change of pace in the playlist with its upbeat, campy humor.

6/10

“Deck the Halls”

Fa la la la la, la la la no.

Annoying as fuck: 2/10

“Frosty the Snowman”

God, this song should be way more cheery and kid-friendly than it is. I mean, I’m sure kids don’t mind it, but it’s just yet ANOTHER one of those songs that can’t escape its old-timey suit-and-tie incarnation for the liveliness it desperately needs.

4/10

“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”

One of the more compositionally clunky of the well-known minor-key Christmas songs, this one unfortunately tends to show why minor-key songs are generally a weird fit for theme. I have heard a good few modern renditions though that make the song worth keeping around.

6/10

“Jingle in the Jungle”

This one’s for the real ones out there. “Jingle in the Jungle” is not a real Christmas song per se, but it pushes the boundaries; it’s courageous. The song comes from the television series, Bob’s Burgers, in a stressful Christmas-themed episode where the musically adventurous son of the titular character, Gene, burns out his dad’s cell phone battery waiting on hold for a radio station to request this song. The phone dies and he does not get the chance to request the song, but a Christmas miracle occurs, and the station decides to play the obscure, bongo-laden song anyway, and it sure is a fun minute-long diddy.

8/10

“Wonderful Christmastime”

Paul McCartney’s peppy Christmas tune that only kinda accomplishes its light-hearted goal is simply one of many throwaway inoffensive modern Christmas songs that seems to have only gained cultural traction due to it being repetitive and simplistic af, and being made by a Beatle.

5/10

“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”

Well it would only make sense to have the battle of the Beatles here with John Lennon’s standout Christmas track, a far more soulful, bombastic, and triumphant song that echoed his idealistic spirit in a way that makes this song not all too different from his standout solo works and compositions with The Beatles. It’s a warm, hopeful song that draws from a grounding in the harshness of reality rather than some escapist fantasies about Santa or religion. Despite the acknowledgement of the ills of the world, Lennon’s vision of Christmas and his wish for the world is a day of recognition of love and unity, which is purer than 99% of the dogmatic or materialistic Christmas music above, and definitely the song right below this one.

9/10

“The Christmas Shoes”

Alright, rubbing the hands together, we’re coming to the end here, with this fucking song. It’s not the most famous Christmas song, thank God, but when I heard it for the first time, I was immediately repelled by the saccharine melody, uncannily blank-faced delivery, and sappy lyrics, but it’s one of those special songs that gradually reveals several layers of shit the more you fixate on it. For the uninitiated, the song came out in the year 2000, from the Christian band NewSong; it’s an aggressively sentimental holiday ballad with a bit of pop country vocal flair that only adds to the sinister hokey-ness of the lyrics. And that really is the ugliest facet of this song; as sickeningly cheesy as the music is, the simple lyrics here are more morbid and more disgusting than the grossest brutal death metal songs. The song is a simple narrative about a poor boy buying his sick mom some nice shoes on Christmas Eve so she can look nice for Jesus when she dies, tonight, on Christmas Eve. Yeah, it’s fucking sickening. The song is narrated from the perspective of a man in the store when the boy is buying the shoes and the narrator offers to buy the shoes for him, and he muses vaguely and confusingly on his generosity and Jesus being the “true” meaning of Christmas. Yes, there are so many questions being begged by this narrative. Why would Jesus give a shit about the shoes? Why is getting shoes this divine Christmas gesture? How do these shoes even come close to offsetting the pain and suffering and loss this family is suffering. This is like the opposite of John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas” in that it’s offering a pathetic consolation for the cruelty of a world where a loving God apparently offers only a stranger’s mild and momentary generous gesture for a poor family in the thralls of a mother’s illness. It’s grounded in the same reality that John Lennon presents, but it whitewashes it and minimizes the suffering in a manipulative way to shoehorn a rather cliche reminder to adhere to religious dogma and to keep your mind pure and holy and only on Jesus. A plain-faced telling of the narrative on its own makes it seem kind of benign, but the weirdly sappy tone of it all does a pretty poor job of hiding how contrived the emotion is and how unnatural it all is. Every facet of the lyrics is crafted to maximize the superficial primal tug at the heartstrings; it’s supposed to feel extremely tender and sweet, and aside from being completely transparently manufactured, the response it delivers to the story it sets up is creepily unhuman, the opposite of a natural response to the details of what the song presents, and its misplaced sense of justice makes the song a pretty apt representation of so much wrong with evangelicals’ attitudes surrounding Christmas.

0/10

“All I Want for Christmas Is You”

by Mariah Carrey. Ending on a positive note. Probably the best and most classic modern Christmas song to come out in my lifetime, it’s a sweet, romantic, upbeat love tune that really captures the best aspects of the holiday season. Never mind the relatives and their dumb political views and drama or the religious nonsense that people get so disingenuously up in arms about, or the consumerism. Christmas at its best is a time to appreciate love, and this song gets it.

9/10

And that is it, for me, I obviously know I will never be able to rate every Christmas/holiday song ever.

I had some time, so I had a little fun and charted the 38 semi-serious ratings of Christmas songs here, which I will also be doing with the 200-something metal albums I’ve been reviewing and now rating at the end of the year. Should be interesting. Now 38 isn’t a particularly huge sample of the huge swath of Christmas songs, nor was it random (I just listed a bunch of songs I was familiar with). It didn’t produce the normal curve I somewhat expect for the larger sample of metal albums later at the end of the year; rather, it shows a two-peak pattern, which could be due to the sample size, or maybe it just illustrates a somewhat unsurprising polarized sample of opinions on Christmas songs. The songs that I remember that are (mostly) pretty common, I either really like or really don’t like, most of the songs are not in the middle. These were songs I have heard for a long time and remembered pretty vividly, so I’ve developed some relatively strong opinions on them. Anyway, look at this graaaaaaphh.

[noisyquokka]

Dumb Traditions

pairing: Xiaojun x Reader 

genre: Fluff

length: 2.4k

warnings: Mentions of alcohol and this gif could kill you like LOOK AT HIM BEING ALL SOFT இ௰இ

@lluyangyang​​ requested 29: "Christmas is so close, I can almost smell the mistletoe I’m never going to get kissed under.“

This is so unbelievably late cause I had some personal stuff happen but I also had no idea where I wanted to go with this so I’m sorry, Em! You might’ve forgotten about this too oops 😂 either way, I hope you like it, child 👀🤙🏻

__________________________________________________________

You were not a party animal.

It was the truest statement about you, parties weren’t your thing and that was okay. But somehow, over the course of the week, your best friend had talked you into going to his holiday party. He knew you weren’t one for parties. You couldn’t stand the crowds and the number of people who would sit around making out, making bad decisions thanks to the alcohol that clouded their mind. To be frank, you didn’t care what those people would decide to do. It just wasn’t the highlight of your night. But here you were, wrapping your coat around yourself as you walked to his dorm. The thought had occurred to you that you could stop this pursuit at any time. You could stop walking, turn around and go home and you shouldn’t have to feel bad about that. But you we’re almost there and it wasn’t exactly warm outside. So you kept on your way, thinking about how you managed to get yourself into this situation.

~~~

"I’m going home for Christmas break.”

YangYang picked his head up in surprise, slowing his pace as you both strolled down the sidewalk. He had finished class for the day and was going shopping for his upcoming Christmas party, which you decided to tag along on. And tagging along just meant he pulled you away from your friends on his way out of the university. It had to be a surprise to hear of you going home though. After all, you had spent every Christmas with him and Xiaojun since you started college. You never had much desire to go home.

“So… What made you change your mind?” YangYang finally asked, dragging his feet against the salt-covered sidewalk. You shrugged, carding your fingers through your hair.

“It’s just– I don’t know. Xiaojun and I do the same thing every Christmas, you included when you’re not out partying. I feel like we could use a change.” It was true, you spent every Christmas the exact same way. Xiaojun would order takeout and you’d set up the tv to watch the same old Christmas movies, dozing off sometime before midnight. Every. Single. Year. You spent a lot more time with him because YangYang was always out with friends, normally spending the night elsewhere.

“Okay, now what’s the real reason you’re thinking about going home?” He cocked his head your way with a sly grin.

“What do you mean ‘real reason’? I just told you I-”

“No, no, no. It’s easy enough to change things up. Plus, you hesitated when you answered my question.”

“I did not.”

“You did.”

You exhaled through your nose, throwing your head back in defeat. As per usual, YangYang ate it up.

“Hey, if you don’t wanna answer, it’s fine. I was just wondering.” You emitted a mirthless laugh, shoving your hands in the warmth of your jacket pockets. It was just like YangYang to badger you and tease you about something and then act as if he didn’t want to pry. You pondered whether or not to say what was really on your mind before blurting it out.

“Christmas is so close, I can almost smell the mistletoe I’m never going to get kissed under.”

It took everything in YangYang not to burst into laughter but he failed miserably, leaving you to regret opening your mouth. Now that you’d said something, you felt dumb. Who cares about being single on Christmas? Or any other day? Nevermind that you’re a college student who should be focused on your future. You finally found the courage to smack the boy in the shoulder, a non-verbal warning.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” YangYang cackled, trying his best to control his breathing, “You’ve just never sounded so hopelessly single!”

“Gee, thanks. But don’t you ever have those days where you just crave a healthy relationship with someone? Being able to go out and have no worries because you’re with the one person who makes your day so much better?” You frowned at the chunk of ice sitting in the middle of the sidewalk, taking your frustration out on it with a kick. The brunette gave a half shrug, sweeping his hair from his line of vision. Sometimes you wished you could read this boy’s mind. YangYang was hard to read from the day you started hanging out with him, which was an odd day in and of itself, considering how much partying he did. Everyone expected the quiet one to be friends with anyone that wasn’t Liu YangYang and yet here you were, 5 years later. You wondered if anyone realized just how shy he could be until you got to know him.

“Is this about you catching feelings for Xiaojun?”

“No! Can’t I just be sick of being single?” You sputtered, running a hand through your hair. He bit his lip, a shitty attempt at hiding his smirk that only made you frown deeper.

“If you’re so sick of being single, you gotta put yourself out there, you know? Maybe meet some new people… at a holiday party, for example…”

“You just dodged my question with another question to shamelessly plug your holiday party that you know I’m not going to.” He chuckled, elbowing you in the side.

“I didn’t say my party! It’s been a while since you came to one of mine though.”

“Not this again.” You pinched the bridge of your nose. This was the twelfth time in the past two days that YangYang mentioned his holiday party. The second most popular to his New Year’s parties. You stopped at the crosswalk, pressing the button for the light to change.

“I’m just saying, the last time you came to one of my holiday parties was the last year of high school. Things aren’t as crazy as they used to be.”

“I have a pretty good idea of what your parties are like thanks to Xiaojun’s monthly recaps. Almost everyone attends, your dorm gets crowded… It’s amazing you haven’t had cops show up at your door yet.” You muttered. He gave a dismissive wave of his hand, knowing how Xiaojun described his parties.

“Fine, I could start the party earlier. By the time the evening comes, it won’t be as packed and you can come hang out and enjoy yourself a bit more. And Xiaojun will be there!” He wiggled his eyebrows in a playful manner.

“YangYang-”

“I’ll even buy your favorite drinks! Deal?” He didn’t give you another second to intervene, answering with a high pitched “Wow, YangYang, you’re such a cool and supportive best friend. It’s a deal!”

Your expression dulled, feeling his arm wrap around your shoulder as you walked across the street.

~~~

Thinking about it you never really gave him a yes or no answer at the end of the day. It didn’t matter now that you were standing right outside of the dorms. If you wanted to, you could still text Xiaojun and spend the night eating takeout and watching Christmas movies like normal. But knowing he was in there meant a call or text would most likely go ignored. Not because he was ignoring you, but because of the loud music and being a co-host for his roommate. With a deep breath, you walked up to the door and knocked. And there it was; that dreaded minute of waiting for the door to open. You weren’t able to feel this anxiety before, you would always be here before the party started when you used to attend. The longer it took for no one to answer the more you thought about walking away. Maybe it was better to walk away.

And then the door opened. You tensed as Xiaojun suddenly appeared, eyes lighting up at your presence.

“I was hoping you’d come,” He beamed, stepping outside beside you, “I ordered some lattes from the cafe. I need to go pick them up though.” He checked the time on his phone before slipping it in his back pocket.

“I’ll join you. If that’s okay of course.”

He nodded, descending the staircase to the dorms. You noticed his light humming of Christmas songs as you strolled down the sidewalk, sneakers scraping the snowy pavement. It was a lovely sound; Xiaojun’s soothing voice slowly emerging from those low hums. Maybe you weren’t big on Christmas but hearing him sing his own renditions made you feel some type of way. You definitely preferred him singing “Santa Tell Me” over the original as you walked into the village.

“Wow, I think you’re making me biased against Christmas songs!” You spoke up. Xiaojun scoffed but still sent you a smile.

“Is this the part where you ask me to make you a mixtape of me singing Christmas songs?”

“I would, but we spend so much time together. You’re like my own personal mp3."

"Mp3…” He scoffed again, shooting you a grin as he pulled the door to the cafe open. You chuckled and walked in, immediately being enveloped by the smell of coffee and fresh pastries. You walked up to the counter together, waiting on the order to be finished. The holiday vibes always seemed to be strongest in a coffee shop, you noticed. The smells always transitioned around November, stronger and sweeter than any other time of the year. A mixture of fresh coffee beans, cinnamon, and nutmeg blanketed the small business now, easing your mind from the anxiety that clouded it earlier.

“Here you are.” The barista smiled, sliding three drink trays and a bag across the counter. Xiaojun was quick to pay for the order, handing you the bag and one of the trays to carry.

“Is no one in the alcohol mood tonight?” You questioned, gesturing to the number of drinks he’d ordered. Xiaojun shrugged, holding the door for you once more.

“Nah, YangYang wasted money on the extra alcohol and everyone stayed pretty sober,” He replied, shaking his head in disbelief, “But there’s always New Years. Can’t expect college students to stay docile on New Years!” You nodded in agreement. Only YangYang has the craziest New Years parties around campus. It’s one of the top reasons it’s so popular.

“So did YangYang trick you into saying yes to this party or did you come by free will?” Xiaojun asked, sparing you a glance. You laughed at his choice of words.

“Hmm, let me think,” You drew your free hand near your face, tapping your finger on your chin in thought, “He might’ve cajoled me into coming.”

“Was it the favored drinks?”

“What can I say, he knows me too well!” You joked, catching a glimpse of a lopsided grin on your best friend’s face. And maybe you stared way too long, getting lucky enough that Xiaojun’s focus was on the pavement below.

"Well, whether or not you genuinely wanted to come, I'm glad you decided to. These parties have always been a little bit better with you there." He confessed, looking up at you with a genuine smile. You didn't want to read too much into what those words meant so you just allowed yourself to internally freak out, your stomach doing flips the rest of the way back to the dorms.

~~~

"I was just about to call you, I thought you were bailing on me." YangYang pulled you towards the kitchen, grabbing the drinks from your hand to replace it with an alcoholic beverage.

"Dude, chill! You know how y/n feels about parties." Xiaojun reminded, handing out the large order from the cafe. It was safe to say YangYang was a tad drunk from the way he clung to your arm, like a toddler looking for attention. The dorm was pretty empty at this point. A complete 180 to the normal parties you'd been to in the past. The few people who still stuck around were either mingling or just waiting for their drink from Xiaojun so they could take their leave. You did your best to slip out of YangYang's death grip but he stuck to your side, whining every time you tried prying his arms away. 

“You should go to bed, party animal.” You teased, making your way towards the empty couch. He still clung to you for dear life, resting his head on your shoulder once you sat down. It didn’t take much longer for the straggling guests to leave, Xiaojun playing co-host for a very unconscious YangYang who you could finally push off of you. With the push of a button, the Christmas music cut out and the blond-haired boy sighed in relief.

“You hear that? Serenity...” Xiaojun breathed, leaning against the kitchen island. You chuckled, quietly getting up to join him. He slid your drink across the counter, luckily not spilling it.

“Thanks.” You sighed. “I don’t know how you manage to help host these parties so often. I wasn’t even here for most of it and I feel exhausted.” 

“I guess I have a knack for co-hosting. It’s not one of my weekly desires though.” He replied, taking a sip of his latte. You mirrored his actions, letting the liquid warm your tummy. 

“I’m pretty sure if I were in your shoes, I’d be YangYang right now.” You said, looking over your shoulder. He was still sprawled out on the couch, one arm hanging off the side of it.

Xiaojun smirked at your comment, taking another slug of his latte.

“Huh...” 

You turned back to him, noticing where his focus was; the ceiling. You looked up yourself, mentally cursing. The sprig of mistletoe hung above the two of you, a looming reminder to the comment you made to YangYang a few days ago. Either he forgot about that conversation or he planned for this to happen and right now you had a pretty good idea that it was the latter of the two. Does that mean Xiaojun knows? Your neck suddenly felt hot, the butterflies in your stomach fluttering about for the second time tonight. You cleared your throat, leaning against the counter.

“Hey, it’s just a dumb tradition thing, right?” You chuckled awkwardly, looking anywhere but at your best friend, “What’s the worst thing that would happen if we didn’t... you know...” 

Xiaojun watched you with amusement from his spot in the middle of the doorway. You were adorable, and not helping your case with your nervous blabbering. Without a word, he leaned in, pausing a moment before pressing his lips to yours in a gentle kiss.

“This dumb tradition just gave me the guts to do the one thing I’ve been wanting to do for years.”

[theawkwardterrier]

mmmmm.... underdone brownies. Gooey is the best way to eat a brownie! Happy Sunday Vibes! I'll be working on Christmas presents. I always try to get ahead and somehow I'm always behind. What do you celebrate this time of year? (Aside form the influx of Steggy Goodness that's about the grace our dashes...)

Good on you for tackling presents while December is still in its infancy. Even if you end up getting bogged down, I see you out here with your early bird attitude!!

This year, Chanukah starts on this upcoming Thursday evening. I’m lucky enough to be staying with my family, so we’ll be able to celebrate together. I get nervous around fire, so having all those candles around isn’t my favorite, but having a holiday which includes fried foods as part of the observance is A+. We’ll definitely be having latkes at least once (I’m an applesauce girl, and I won’t budge on it) and my eema, who is not unskilled with yeasted doughs like I am, has in the past made different types of homemade jelly doughnuts - hopefully she can be convinced to do it once again. 

We don’t tend to have much of a focus on presents, but we’ll probably end up with gift cards from relatives, plus our traditional Friday night books and pajamas extravaganza. (There are two Friday nights of Chanukah this year, so who knows when we’ll be surprised with the goodies!)

And even though it’s true that multiple Jewish composers aimed their talents toward writing classic Christmas songs instead of giving us a great modern holiday soundtrack, my mom, siblings, and I always love triumphantly singing all the verses to Maoz Tzur in our terribly offkey voices. (Weirdly, not a lot of youtube videos that capture this experience, but you can sorta imagine! Here’s a lovely rendition that just includes the most commonly sung verse.)

[ambitionsource]

S2 Rewatch - Maggie’s Take [ 205 ]

ah, the holiday season... in september... part i

Favorite scene

Good old return to the segmented story format! This time around it’s a tie between two -- when the techies come surprise Lucas and throw the holiday tradition at his house (orchestrated by Dasher), and when Charlie actually goes to introduce himself to Zay’s family and puts in that effort to show that he really cares about Zay and he’s really trying. Like... the softness of that. The tenderness. And him wearing the sweatshirt too... like buddy. And then with the Dylucasher scene (which we get much more elaboration on in the holiday special)... when Dylan gives him a littol peck on the top of his head... no one else could get away with that but Dyl Pickle truly. No one. That being said, my favorite story of the group is Farkle’s, because it had the strongest concept and was the most fun to write -- a completely different tone and convention than we usually use on the show.

Favorite performance

Can’t go wrong with holiday songs, but I think the win ties between Farkle’s melancholy “River” and Zay’s impassioned “Blue Christmas.”

Favorite character (within context of the episode)

I actually think I have to throw it to Dylan Orlando (and not just because it’s his appreciation day). He just has a lot of winning small moments, like the bad Rudolph rendition, his awful holiday sweater, his line about wanting to form a cult with Asher... like he’s ridiculous. I love him so much. The only one who truly radiated holiday cheer in this episode for sure.

Favorite line(s)

“You look like adolescent Mr. Rogers. And you look like Buddy the Elf.” --Lucas James Friar, to Asher and Dylan

“I’m not worried, I’m offended. I thought we were going to start [ a cult ] first.” --Dylan Orlando

“Are you really going to spend your entire existence annoying the fuck out of me?” --Farkle Minkus

“What the hell am I supposed to do with this?” --Farkle Minkus, after receiving a thoughtful meaningful gift from his father

“You’re not doing all the labor in our relationship anymore. Emotional or otherwise. I felt terrible about… well, a lot of things, and… I just want you to know I’m in this. I know I’m all over the place but… I’m serious about what we have. I’m serious about you. I’m trying, Zay. I’m really trying.” --Charlie Gardner

An underrated moment

The moment that stands out most stark to me -- and I remember this was true when writing it as well -- is when Dream!Jack attempts to get Farkle to see all the warmth and love in his past and asks can’t you see that? And Farkle goes “I see it... but I don’t think I know it.” I can hear it so perfectly in my head, like the delivery of it, and it is such a resounding foreshadow for all of the stuff that’s going to happen to Farkle in the next few eps (or already has). Like, it’s the core of depression and mental health in a one-line synopsis, where you can know the way you’re supposed to feel, can know that you should be happier or things could be better, but you can’t recall it. You don’t know it anymore. And so that always has stuck with me when it comes to this episode.

First impression vs your reread impression

This episode is actually great in contrast to 204 and the sluggers of 207 and 208 (and I believe 206 also is like 205, but only a reread will confirm), because it moves really quickly. Though the topics aren’t necessarily light, it moves easier and feels less weighted than those more jam-packed, cathartic episodes. I also really do enjoy writing the segmented story format, and I think Es and I manage to find the perfect episode each season where it thrives in that structure (I’m very excited about S3′s). It’s not the best episode by any means, but it’s fast and fun and has some good continuation of the storylines that are about to implode soon enough at the midseason. Also makes me happy and ready to reread the Dasher special.