storypaint: (Default)
storypaint ([personal profile] storypaint) wrote2009-02-12 08:05 pm

Ruffled Fur (Danny/Sawyer)

Title: Ruffled Fur
Length: 217 words
Prompt: [livejournal.com profile] 31_days_exchnge: 18. that torrent of unquiet dream
Fandom: Cats Don't Dance
Pairing: slight Danny/Sawyer; mostly Sawyer gen
Other: n/a

Excerpt: If Danny ever knew limits, they only lasted until he figured out how to get around them.

Sawyer hates Danny.

She hates him because she had the dreams buried; because she could type eighty words a minute now; because she keeps the boss's schedule; because she knows her limits.

If Danny ever knew limits, they only lasted until he figured out how to get around them. A true cat, then, the sort that slips around doors and through cracks as if his bones were fluid, always ending up in the place he most wants to be.

And maybe she had been that girl once-- or dreamed of being that girl-- but that is all done. She has a job, she makes the rent... that is all that matters.

He offers his paw and she doesn't want to take it and the dreams flood her again, all of the sudden, the burning in her feet to dance and the wash of applause she always imagines in her head.

"Come on," he says, and she wants to hit him, and instead she takes the offered grip. She doesn't cry then, the joy rising in waves, but she does later, lying abed in the dark and alone.

It hurts her to realize that she's wasted so much time. What is typing skills to a dancer? What is scheduling to a singer?

When she sleeps, she dances in her dreams.

[identity profile] archangelunmei.livejournal.com 2009-02-18 04:25 pm (UTC)(link)
OMG I love you. <3<3<3<3 I LOVE Cats Don't Dance, yay for obscure yet adorable children's movies!! <3<3<3

I think I might worship you now. Or at least stalk you. A Clamp fan plus Cats Don't Dance, and an amazing fic writer on top of it all... <3

[identity profile] storypaint.livejournal.com 2009-02-18 04:28 pm (UTC)(link)
I adore this movie way too much. XDDDD You flatter me...

[identity profile] archangelunmei.livejournal.com 2009-02-18 04:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Actually, I'm working on writing an academic paper on this movie, if that tells you anything. XD The way that the animators use light and shadow, and bright color versus dull color as symbolism has always fascinated me. And the animation is just so /gorgeous/, even without considering that the story is adorable...

Damn you. XD *Goes to put the DVD in*

[identity profile] storypaint.livejournal.com 2009-02-18 04:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow, a paper on it? That's amazing.

...I can't find the DVD anywhere, but I watched the whole thing on Youtube Sunday night. XD

[identity profile] archangelunmei.livejournal.com 2009-02-18 04:38 pm (UTC)(link)
I found the DVD in a WalMart sale bin in a double pack with Quest for Camelot, and I've never been able to find it in a store again. You can get it from Amazon.com though.

And yeah, a paper. XD; I'm such a nerd. My basic points are that bright colors symbolize confidence (Danny and Darla, and the others noticeably 'brighten' during the scene in the alley and the finale), and that shadow is used to symbolize courage (Danny is almost /always/ standing in the light, while Sawyer is almost /always/ standing in the shadow).

[identity profile] storypaint.livejournal.com 2009-02-18 04:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Quest for Camelot... now, that's a forgettable film lol. I may have to look at Amazon, though.

You know, I've never noticed that... but it does seem to be true, now that I think about it. He pulls her out of the shadow to dance in the alley scene; I remember that quite clearly.

[identity profile] archangelunmei.livejournal.com 2009-02-18 04:46 pm (UTC)(link)
The other time it's really noticeable is after the very first ark scene, when Sawyer goes to try and talk sense into Danny. Even depressed, Danny's sitting in the light coming in through the door, and Sawyer's standing in the shadow.

Also, during the finale when Danny's trying to convince the others to sing with him, he's standing in the light filtering through from the stage, with the others in she shadows. When Sawyer decides to sing with him, she steps into the light.

Lol, sorry I'm rambling, but I adore this movie as much for how symbolic it is as the story.