NOW AND FOREVERMORE

#MAGICBELIEF. selective christmas dualmuse featuring buddy hobbs from elf (2003) and jack frost from rise of the guardians (2012). oc, crossover, and duplicate friendly. non-rp blogs may follow and interact. low activity, minimal graphics, dash-only sideblog. main is @dealpartner, optional to follow. believed by loo ( he/him, 21, white ).

disclaimer: due to the nature of my sources, themes of and references to christianity are unavoidable. christmas features prominently in both films (+ easter in rotg).

elf & guardian / prompts ( always accepting, unprompted welcome ) / plotting call / interaction call

RULES BELOW CUT.

@wonderwinters believed . . .

are you expecting a white christmas this year?

to buddy from heat miser.

WINTER-THEMED PROMPTS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

BUDDY KNEW OF THE MISERS. How could he not, when all of the North Pole did? Both of them did important work, but only one curated Christmas season. Papa Elf said he should mind what he says to not accidentally offend Heat Miser, then Papa listed conversation topics Buddy should not bring up. That instruction is clear now, but not seconds ago, when he blundered and misremembered what not to say as what he should say.

historical context

firstly, nowhere does the song mention or include christmas, but it’s regarded as a christmas song due to winter being explicitly mentioned. also for being included in christmas media, ex: elf. it was written by frank loesser in 1944 and popularized in neptune’s daughter (1949), a romantic comedy musical i know nothing about. before selling the rights, frank and his wife, lynn garland, sung the song together at their housewarming party to indicate to guests it was time to leave. their performance was highly regarded, as said by garland:

"We became instant parlor room stars. We got invited to all the best parties for years on the basis of 'Baby.' It was our ticket to caviar and truffles. Parties were built around our being the closing act."

it’s important to consider the time period this song was written, and the way people were expected to act. men were expected to court women, to be “go-getters”, and women had to play coy. to openly want a man was considered “unladylike” and risked an unsavory reputation. this reflects in the lyrics.

when loesser sold the rights to the song, garland reported, “I felt as betrayed as if I'd caught him in bed with another woman.”

the song itself and variations

the core aspect of the song is playful, coy flirting. it’s a conversation that happens to be sung. one singer gives reasons to leave, mostly revolving around other’ reactions (mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, neighbors, etc.). the other singer provides explanations. furthermore, both singers equally interrupt and talk over each other and never in a hateful way. it shows equal footing. also worth noting is when both singers sing the song’s name together, harmoniously.

many famous-and-not singers covered baby, it’s cold outside, each adding their own individuality. for example, the original recording starts with loesser saying “hey baby, where you going?” and then at the halfway mark, “hey baby, come back.” these lyrics aren’t included in covers.

dean martin’s cover ft. a female chorus emphasizes his voice over the other singer and there’s little to no interrupting/overlapping voices. the instruments are fast and upbeat, the lyrics are said quickly and playfully. the female chorus suggests a sense of community, as there’s more than two singers and that this is a performance; just as the original song was before it was sold, and how the two singers act towards each other.

frank sinatra’s cover ft. dorothy kirsten sits between martin and the original in terms of pacing. there’s again little to no overlapping. notably, frank adds some words, such as the loud “MAN” when saying “MAN, it’s up to your knees out there!” there’s some laughing in the background after this which is cute, but also suggests, like in dean martin’s cover, this is a performance. it’s for entertainment and joy.

also in sinatra’s cover, just before the song ends with them songing together, kirsten says, “on the other hand, you’re too warm, as i said before. what’s that?” sinatra replies, “well i thought i’d lock the door, you see, there was a draft blowin’ in and it’s gettin’ kind of chilly, honey. GULP!” then kirsten, “what was that?” then sinatra, “i swallowed the key!” and kirsten resumes singing, “you’re a fool.” to which sinatra sings “but you’re so thrillin’.”

in terms of adding to the song, i believe idina menzel and michael bublé’s cover adds the most. the pace is slower than the previous two and includes overlapping. after singing “what’s in this drink?”, you can hear menzel laugh. after bublé sings “i’ll take your hat”, she says “why thank you”. at the halfway mark, you hear menzel sigh and say “you’re very pushy, you know” to which bublé says “i’d like to think of it as opportunistic.”

they resume singing. menzel laughs and quietly says “come on” in response to bublé singing “but baby it’s cold outside” to her “the answer is no.” again she laughs while he sings “look out the window”. after singing “but maybe just a cigarette more”, she says “and i don’t even smoke.” at the end, she says “okay, fine, just another drink then” and they both laugh. bublé gets the last word, saying “well, that took a lot of convincing.”

all in all, there’s more talk in this song. while there’s a mite more pushback, menzel goes along with the act. it’s all playful; part of a game, part of a performance.

finally, elf’s version, which doesn’t have will ferrell singing with deschanel but redborne, the snowman narrator. this version is lax, more than the original, with a clear romantic undertone. it feels like a song to slow dance to. there’s little overlapping and the pacing is drawn out (not in a bad way). there’s no talking or added lyrics, but it’s very original in tone alone.

how this relates to buddy & jovie

buddy is unlike any man in his world, i dare say. his elvish upbringing deeply influenced him. he’s optimistic, cheerful, full of wonder, and he’s been completely isolated from the human world for 30 years. additionally, i headcanon papa elf, buddy’s adoptive father, as aromantic and asexual. buddy’s education focused on community in a platonic sense and what’s necessary for him to build toys. his on-sight infatuation with jovie is innocent as can be.

jovie’s every interaction with buddy is special. at first she’s any retail worker during christmas time forced to dress up: miserable. she wants to get her job done. however, it’s hard not to be drawn into buddy’s orbit. there’s no malicious intent from him and he puts himself on the spot quite comically. he’s peculiarly charming without trying to be. their second meeting is unfortunate. buddy should not have been in the women’s locker room. yet somehow (mostly because it’s a movie), he comes out on top. he only went in there because she was singing, he had no idea she would be naked. he knew she was showering, but the dots hadn’t connected. he wanted to sing with her.

buddy behaves like a christmas elf and is unaware how his honesty is off-putting. yes, he’s an elf from the north pole, he was raised by papa elf, he loves christmas and singing and smiling, and he put his heart in decorating gimbel’s. it’s magical and earnest. he is about joy and community, to the point it may seem like a performance (ex: when he was mistaken for a christmas-gram and a gimbel’s worker) but he’s not acting at all. that’s clear to see after exchanging a few words with him. without realizing it, he bares himself to the world; heart on his sleeve.

Interaction Call

To encourage consistent interaction while respecting boundaries, this post lists different ways I can approach you for RP. Liking this post means you are open to one or more methods. If there is a method you don’t want, please clarify either in DMs or replies.

Like this post if you accept . . .

Random, unprompted asks

Random, unprompted DMs about potential plots or character dynamics

Old sentence starters / memes

Me introducing one of my muses to you for potential interaction

IC dash commentary about your muse/s

Being tagged in dash games

I welcome all of the above in return. You do not have to answer everything I send nor interact with every muse I throw your way. The point of this post is to drive communication.

Plotting Call

Liking this post means you are permanently open to plotting. This can be for establishing dynamics, planning threads, inserting a muse ( yours or mine ) into a specific universe, clarifying canon divergence, reworking canon, and anything else to do with roleplay.

Liking this post also means you are open to unprompted communication. I can DM you anytime for plotting purposes and you are welcome to do the same. My Discord is available upon request. I will not ask for your Discord unless you offer it.

If I DM you and do not receive a response after seven days and you have been consistently active without establishing semi or permanent hiatus, I will check in with you. If you need time or are not in the headspace for plotting, I will check in again seven days later unless you tell me not to/to check in specifically at a later date. There is no time limit or deadline for plotting, I will wait. If I do not respond in a week, you are welcome to check in.

This post will be added to my pinned and reblogged occasionally.