#vacation is making it hard

[thesconesyard]

Underneath the Western Sky

4. Desert Rains

Hikaru Sulu smiled as he walked to the barn in the rain. It had started the night before and had made itself known even into his dreams. It didn’t often rain like this in the summer without being a passing thunderstorm. The garden and his rose bush at the front gate would be very happy.

He was happy. The rain was refreshing. Sulu tipped his hat back and lifted his face. Cool raindrops splattered against him.

“What are you doing?”

Chekov hurried past him making his own way into the barn.

“Aww Pavel it feels lovely!” Sulu called after him. But Chekov had ducked through the barn door and didn’t hear him.

Sulu finally entered the barn and wiped a sleeve across his wet face.

“You’ll catch a cold doing things like that,” McCoy said to him from Honey’s stall.

“Not in the summer,” Sulu laughed back. He grinned at McCoy, who just frowned and turned back into the stall.

“Think of all the things that will grow and bloom now because of this,” Sulu continued as he crossed the barn floor.

“Aye,” Scotty agreed. “And it’ll be good for a few of the things in the garden that were looking droopy.”

“Exactly!” Sulu said.

“Keeps up like this the creek could flood,” Jim said thoughtfully.

Sulu thought he heard a noise from the doctor. He wouldn’t be surprised if he had; after all McCoy and Scotty did enjoy their evenings by the creek.

“Miss Christine will be mad if we track in mud,” Chekov mused.

“Not at you,” Jim laughed. “Just me. You’d think someone else was the owner of this place!”

“It is hard work keeping up a house Jim,” Spock said.

“It’s hard work keeping up with the cattle too,” Jim replied.

“We all have our easy jobs and hard jobs. I for one wouldn’t want to swap with the gals,” McCoy called to the others.

“Cooking is fine,” said Chekov. “But I don’t want to clean the house!”

Chuckles came from all corners of the barn.

“Well, I’m going to enjoy this rain while it lasts,” Sulu said, leading a pair of the horses out towards the barn pasture. “Floods or mud or illness be darned!”

[macksartblock]

something something four horsemen something

(bonus goof below, courtesy of my friend)

me n the boys hitting up Papa J's

[schneiderenjoyer]

[Attention! UTTU Magazine is holding a special limited run "Live Letter Interview" issue with featured guests, Vertin & Schneider!]

Grab yourself a copy and submit your inquiry through the arcane skill embedded within this edition's magazine. The message will be received in real time and you'll have your answer by way of exclusive UTTU cards!

Remember, this is a limited run, so don't miss the chance to ask all you want to know from the arcanist themself before the incantation wears off!

[jayflrt]

enha needs rest :(

[seraphirism]

Butler’s Cruise Vacation - Outfits.

[a-vague-yet-menacing-agency]

Old news but the fact that Cody was manager at hot topic is so unexplored in fandom. Like he wasn't some shithead employee he was the boss Entry level retail workers are so rarely promoted to manager nowadays, like, was Cody just that good at selling/managing the store? Also, managers make good money. Okay, haha, it's a hot topic, but store managers make like 70,000$ a year (CAD). They have health insurance. So Cody was actually doing pretty well. It's kinda weird to pretend he was on the same level as his friend with just a standard sales associate position, even if that friend was also full-time. Like the power and responsibility that Cody actually had is kind of impressive especially for 28.

AND then! To become a carnie! Like sick move and also Cody lost all his money anyway but the financial disparity! Was Murph probably thinking of like an assistant manager position which would make more sense with Cody's vibe? Probably. Is it funnier to imagine that Cody had to make sales reports to corporate and design store planograms? Absolutely.

Cody was management.

[100prcntbitter]

I have been busy

[obiscribbles]

Week 51 - March 17th, 2024 'Tequila' - The Champs Spotify / YouTube

“Well, our mothers tried to put us in public soccer, but apparently that was too much of a contact sport-“ “That- Anakin, he elbowed you hard enough to make your nose bleed-“ “And you gave him a concussion and sprained wrist, Obi-Wan. So am I wrong?” “Well I- y-you-.” “So, my point made, we were just better for baseball. Obi-Wan even made himself a jersey, wrote a number and his name with marker on the back-“ “Anakin-“ “Hand stitched a dojo patch Sensei Qui-Gon gave him on the side and everything like they sponsored him-“ “Anakin!” “But we couldn’t really afford to be on the baseball teams, so those ratty fields were where we played.” “Hm, we always came home a mess.” “No, you came home a mess, and I came home grinning behind you. Do you still have that shirt?” “Oh, I… wouldn’t know where to even start looking for it.”

Short pieces from the Light Through Liquor AU, which I have spent a lot more time thinking about after watching the Sandlot recently hehe.

Enjoy!

[silentgrim]

𝒟𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝒹𝒾𝒶𝓇𝓎, 𝐼 𝓂𝑒𝓉 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓉𝑜𝒹𝒶𝓎. 𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒… 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔.

[badolmen]

hey you guys know that even if the people inside that submersible are rich billionaires, dying in that metal tube at the bottom of the ocean is a horrific way to die right. like. yeah stupid choices were made by the people in there signing off on a waiver that says the sub is not approved by anyone and they could die. but it’s the fault of OceanGate for knowingly putting people into a Home Depot DIY sub rigged up with an Xbox controller all to make a profit on people’s curiosity.

[a-compass-without-a-needle]

Gotta love when you can tell that a character has absolutely been through/witnessed a form of The Horrors when the metaphorical light leaves their eyes.

[thegirlsarethriving]

just finished undertale. ok i see the vision. i now understand yall's Sans-to-Benrey obsession pipeline. and the Papyrus-to-Tommy Coolatta pipeline

[paigemathews]

Okay, but why did they write Sheila like that? Like she gets next to no screen time, despite viewing the girls as family, and then suddenly doesn't want Darryl covering for them anymore (which don't get me wrong, she's valid for it but it's a 180 reversal of the like one personality we had going for her) and like. The sisters needed friends, and Sandra Prosper is on the show for nine episodes but they just. stick her in the background, give her a line or two, and that's it. And I mean, Darryl is a main character for seven seasons, and she's his wife. Even though he wasn't one of the main main characters, you'd think they'd do literally anything with her like c'mon.

[tennessoui]

anakin should just cry on obi wan so that the old man can go through 7 stages of guilt for being such a fucking dumbass

to be fair to obiwan lmao anakin was literally married and supposedly in love with his literal wife like five minutes ago - that’s a pretty solid basis for assuming someone doesn’t love you back

[justanotherwriter140]

Kung Fu Panda 2 Scene Analysis + Discussion Post

Hey, all! Here's a KFP2 scene analysis because I felt like it. 🤷‍♀️

I have an itch to scratch and I'm going to make all of you read about it. I've been revisiting KFP2's remarkable storytelling methods—namely for conveying strong emotions without relying on dialogue and putting more faith in the narrative—and when I got to the harbor scene, I couldn't help but write something up on it. In general, writing short essays on scenes/sequences is a great writing exercise that I would recommend for fellow writers because it's a big help when you're trying to emulate a certain style or feel in your work. KFP2 is a great movie and I love it, so I often refer back to it when I'm struggling.

In short, this is me gushing. I know as a fandom we've talked this part of the movie to death a hundred times over, but it's a scene that deserves it. I'm going to be focusing on the aspects of it that interest me most, but the final battle following this scene is just as worthy of being fawned over. I am a KFP fan through-and-through and every scene (in this film especially) deserves its own discussion post. Unfortunately, I'm employed.

I've never done a dedicated sequence analysis before, but I've been delving back into studying animation and that paired with my long-time love for storytelling is more than enough to make me want to do a Tumblr deep dive on this 20~ second master-class in storytelling.

To begin, let's take a look at what's happening here:

Po swims to Tigress to make sure that she's okay. He holds her hand and gets close to her, which is something we can assume he would never do otherwise. I'll cite the attack-hug; we witnessed his (albeit completely understandable) reaction to Tigress initiating physical contact, and his instinct was to freeze in place. It tells us that physical contact is uncommon and maybe even a little awkward for them, and yet, he grabs her hand without hesitation.

My heart...ugh. I was little when this came out and I was STUPEFIED. I also realized I wanted to make movies, though, so I guess it worked out. 🤷‍♀️

Plus the little thumb-hold from Tigress. I'm nauseous. Kill me.

It's also worth mentioning that despite the fact that Po audibly says her name, she doesn't respond to hearing him. She responds to feeling him. She doesn't start to lift her head until he touches her.

Earlier in the film, it had been made a point that she "feels nothing," which was intended to refer to both her hands and her emotions. She physically and mentally beat herself up for 20 years until she couldn't feel the hurt anymore.

Even so, it only takes Po to unravel that. This is the movie further cementing the franchise-long theme of Po bringing inner peace to the valley. On a more personal note, it's also the movie telling us that Tigress's jadedness only goes as far as she lets it. She is capable of recovery, capable of feeling—it only matters that she allows herself to have those moments.

She looks up. She's relieved. She couldn't save China, but she saved Po. She didn't fail in protecting him this time. She did her job. There's a beautiful contrast between what she's feeling and what he's feeling but they share a point—kind of like a venn diagram. Both feel some kind of relief, however brief. As for their differences, Tigress's defiance is weakened and Po's is ignited. He takes on that weight for her.

The way her head slowly falls back down makes me think she's too exhausted to keep her head up any longer. She had used all of her strength to hold onto Po and look fully at him, face to face, to be sure he was alright. Tigress is the most capable member of the group, but where her most important strength lies is revealed here as well as in the rest of KFP2: in her compassion and care for others.

Po looks at Shen with scathing, genuine contempt. He's taken away too many people Po loves, and Po won't let him take away another. He's thinking about the valley, about his friends, Mr. Ping, and his duty to defend China and bring evil-doers to justice. We see the resolve in his eyes. He'll do what he has to.

The angle of the image is also worth mentioning. With the way the "camera" is tilted—now at a direct eye-level as opposed to a few shots before when Po was almost slouching below mid-frame—Po looks bigger in this shot. He's being framed as a protector. Defender of China. The Dragon Warrior. He's really, truly stepping into this role.

Tigress bows her head and Po takes on the weight, which is a huge contrast to the rest of the film. Before this scene, Tigress is the one being strong, being smart, taking charge, and leading the group. Throughout the mission, Po was consistently reckless, stubborn, and distracted. We know why. This bit is his amendment. This is him saying and meaning, "I've got this."

And then he pushes Tigress away. The little look I caught in this screenshot lingers for only two~ seconds, but what I love about animation is that everything is intentional. He watches her float away for an extra few seconds because it meant something to someone that he did.

AND THEN SHE REACHES FOR HIM. Whose idea was this? We need to have some words. You guys were evil and I love it.

She's exhausted, hurt, and is likely carrying the crushing weight of China's defeat on her shoulders, and yet, she reaches for him. It wouldn't even be for her own comfort, either, but because she still has the urge to save him. Even in her state of being borderline unconscious, she still has that instinct—that care. She can't watch her friend be killed.

I pause on this whenever I watch this scene over. To me, this frame perfectly encapsulates Po as a character. We see him facing impending doom in the form of a massive ship with a monstrous-looking cannon strapped to the front, harboring a psychotic peacock fully intending to kill him—just like he killed Po's mother—when he gets the shot.

Despite this, Po only pushes Tigress—a loved one, and while it's far more impactful to the story that it was her, it could have been anyone and the point still stands—out of the way. He moves her out of the line of fire and lures the danger away. That simple action of pushing her away is the epitome of "show, don't tell" used correctly and tells the audience everything we need to know.

And then he goes and stands on a floating chunk of fallen ship (not even solid ground!) and fights solo against an entire fleet of weaponized ships. And then he wins in what's arguably the coolest, most badass way possible.

This—this frame, not the fight itself—is easily his most heroic and selfless moment and it's my favorite frame in the KFP trilogy.

Thanks to all who read this through for indulging my intense love for this specific sequence! This analysis isn't objective, obviously, so if there are any disagreements, I'd really like to talk about them! I'm always looking for different perspectives and ideas, and I'm sure there's a fan somewhere who interpreted this scene wildly differently. I'd also just really love to hear any additional thoughts if there's something I missed. And if another scene gets you super excited like this one does for me, tell me all about it!

An update for my readers: Chapter 6 of The Days is well on its way and I can't wait to share it with you—there's some fun stuff in there and I'm really excited to post it. Thanks for reading, guys! :)

[queen-mabs-revenge]

i am not able for this level of family drama 🫠