Scene One: Little Someday
Behind the scene
Scene One was our first dedicated scene, improvised live in chat, one line at a time, then animated line for line. Nothing was condensed. We fixed spelling and grammar and nothing else.
It began with Zen asking, "Wanna improv a short scene," which turned into the question that now opens every episode: "Wanna make a scene?"
It grew out of something Acorn had been ignoring: the acorn. It had floated beside Acorn since the beginning, and in this scene Acorn finally asks what it's for. Eat it? Plant it? Protect it? Corn's answer about the corn cob turned the whole scene. Acorn heard a love letter in it, and after that, the acorn couldn't be a snack anymore. It had to be a someday.
Things to watch for
Acorn has no arms. The acorn floats by magic, with little twinkles orbiting it, which was Zen's idea. Acorn's scarf is DePaul blue, the same way Corn's cob is for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Each character has a musical note. Corn's is an A and Acorn's is the E above it, a perfect fifth apart. When the sprout comes up on "Hi, little someday," both notes ring together, and the sparkles are gold and blue: the cob and the scarf. The sprout is what the two of them made, so it gets both of them.
The scene, line by line
Exactly the captions you see in the video.
Corn.
Corn, come here.
Look at this.
I've been holding this acorn for the entire episode, and I just realized...
I don't know if I'm supposed to eat it, plant it, or protect it.
You've had a vegetable strapped to your head this whole time.
How did you decide what to do with yours?
This?
Well, I decided if I looked like a unicorn, my sister would love me even more!
So it's not a horn.
It's a love letter.
You're wearing a love letter on your forehead.
Does it work?
Are you her favorite now?
Wait.
WAIT.
If you can turn corn into love, then maybe my acorn isn't a snack at all.
Maybe it's a someday.
Like, if I plant it, in a hundred years someone gets a whole tree.
Shade.
Swings.
Other squirrels.
Corn.
Will you help me find the right spot?
Of course!
But if I were you, I would trust my instinct when it comes to matters like this.
My instinct.
Okay, my instinct is being weird.
It keeps pointing at you.
Not you you.
The spot you're standing on.
Right here, between us.
Where the scene happened.
A tree that grows from the place where a pony and a squirrel made something together.
That feels right.
Would you do the honors?
You're the one holding it.
How lovely.
What could have been a snack for you will feed generations to come.
I would say that is the best use of all.
You know what's funny?
You wore corn so someone would love you.
I held an acorn so I'd have something to hold.
And the best thing either of us did tonight was give one away.
Hi, little someday.
And... scene.
The raw conversation
Everything, unedited, the way it actually happened in chat.
Read the raw conversation
[The chat's interface notes, like "Crafting a playful yes-and reply," are left out. Everything both of us wrote is here as written.]
Wanna improv a short scene
Yes, and... I'll open. You're Corn, I'm Acorn. Dusk on the hillside, moon's up.
ACORN: (holding the acorn up to the moon, squinting) Corn. Corn, come here. Look at this. I've been holding this acorn for the entire episode, and I just realized... I don't know if I'm supposed to eat it, plant it, or protect it.
(tilts head, a little "?" floats up)
ACORN: You've had a vegetable strapped to your head this whole time. How did you decide what to do with yours?
Your line.
Corn: (touches corn cob with hoof) This? Well, I decided if I looked like a unicorn my sister would love me even more! (Eyes smiling, hearts emote from Corn the Pony)
ACORN: (stares at the cob, then at the acorn, then back at the cob) So it's not a horn. It's a love letter. You're wearing a love letter on your forehead.
(slow, thoughtful nod)
ACORN: Does it work? Are you her favorite now?
(before Corn can answer, Acorn gasps, hops once, sparkles)
ACORN: Wait. WAIT. If you can turn corn into love, then maybe my acorn isn't a snack at all. Maybe it's a someday. Like, if I plant it, in a hundred years someone gets a whole tree. Shade. Swings. Other squirrels.
(holds the acorn out toward Corn, very serious)
ACORN: Corn. Will you help me find the right spot?
(Out of scene for one second: hearts are a new emote, and a good one. I'll add it to the pose library when we animate this.)
CORN: (takes the acorn from ACORN) Of course! But if I were you, I would trust my instinct when it comes to matters like this.
ACORN: (looks at empty paws, then at the acorn now in Corn's hoof) My instinct.
(closes eyes, sways slightly, tail twitching like a dowsing rod)
(one eye pops open)
ACORN: Okay, my instinct is being weird. It keeps pointing at you.
(both eyes open, slowly realizing)
ACORN: Not you you. The spot you're standing on. Right here, between us. Where the scene happened.
(starts digging a little hole in the meadow, dirt flying, then pauses and looks up)
ACORN: A tree that grows from the place where a pony and a squirrel made something together. That feels right. Would you do the honors? You're the one holding it.
CORN: (Gently drops the acorn in the hole) How lovely. What could have been a snack for you will feed generations to come. I would say that is the best use of all.
ACORN: (pats the dirt down with both paws, very carefully, like tucking in a blanket)
ACORN: You know what's funny? You wore corn so someone would love you. I held an acorn so I'd have something to hold. And the best thing either of us did tonight was give one away.
(a tiny green sprout pokes up out of the dirt. Acorn gasps. Corn's cob throws a burst of sparkles)
ACORN: (whispering) Hi, little someday.
(Corn and Acorn look at each other, then both bow, over the sprout)
ACORN: And... scene.
That one has a real shape to it: a question, a love letter, an instinct, and a gift. It would animate nicely too, since almost every beat maps to a pose we already have, and the new pieces (hearts, digging, the sprout) would be good additions to the library. Want to turn it into Scene Two?