The Art Commune Reading Circle
Hello nice friends! If any lurkers are not sure what a reading circle is, here is the original thread: Reading Circles This particular one is centered around stories that may not be easily able ...
Forum Discussion
There is so much going on here that I'm bit at a loss for where to start. Shirtless men... er... Sims... ants... dark pictures of Teletubbies... Animaniacs... personifications of death... hmmm...
On the subject of humans...er... Sims... and non-humans... non-Sims... doing things together, I'm reminded of all the human-non-human pairings in Star Wars... Luke & R2D2, Han Solo & Chewbacca, Leia & C3P0, Rey, Finn, & BB8, and my personal favorite (although this is from the Clone Wars cartoon series), Anakin and Ahsoka.
Take the combination of characters from The Guardians of the Galaxy - you've got your human, Peter Quill, abducted by aliens, getting himself into a boatload of trouble, and suddenly destined to save the universe, he pairs up with an unlikely group of heroes, a green-skinned alien woman, the last of her species, a magical tree-like being who seems to only be able to say, "I am Groot," a super criminal whose human spirit was put into an enhanced body (if I remember correctly from the cartoons; the movie is vague), and a genetically modified and engineered raccoon. Here again are examples of human-alien pairings that are unlikely but somehow work under pressure once differences are put aside.
For a literature example, take the Phantom Tollbooth (and if you haven't read it, I seriously recommend it as it started my journey into the world of fantasy). You have a bored, human boy, Milo, and his "watchdog," an over-sized dog named Tock with an actual clock on his side that ironically can only tick, and a foolish, flattering insect-like creature named Humbug. Unlikely pairings indeed but they each play their part in helping Milo achieve his objectives.
I realized, in all the examples I gave, not a single alien or non-human or non-humanoid character was the main character, "saving the day" so to speak. My mind is drawing a blank on an example of a main character who is non-human/alien who doesn't have at least one human friend save perhaps @MedleyMisty's Surreal Darkness (which she pulls off superbly and I can still relate to the characters). Maybe I'm just not thinking hard enough. :/
Take any other fantastical or science fiction movie, TV show, or book. All intriguing pairings... all working together for a common goal although perhaps initially under duress or out of necessity or at odds with one another, but they all innately need one another for various reasons and form a friendship, or at least a collaborative pairing. Perhaps this is because we, as humans, need one another and this naturally plays out in our storytelling.
I got a little off the Sims, I know. What I love about @RipuAncestor's story is how believable and fantastical her pairing of Tad and Amelia is. Amelia seems like someone I'd be friends with or know, someone who is down to earth and authentic, and then Tad is, by far, an intriguing interpretation of the Reaper (or Death personified). I like how everyday things find their way into your story like cups of soothing tea, figuring out stovetop cooking, and fireside chats along with mystical and magical things like supernatural covens and the Reaper as your tenant. Together, Amelia and Tad are an unusual, nearly unbelievable pairing and yet they manage to work together in a way that doesn't compromise their character.
I'm curious about human-non-human pairings - how do they start? how do they benefit one another? how do they hinder? how do they overcome obstacles? what makes them work well vs. not so well?
I'm planning to have various human/Sim and alien or supernatural character-pairings in my stories, particularly in the future. For those of you who have already crossed that bridge, thoughts? advice?
On the subject of humans...er... Sims... and non-humans... non-Sims... doing things together, I'm reminded of all the human-non-human pairings in Star Wars... Luke & R2D2, Han Solo & Chewbacca, Leia & C3P0, Rey, Finn, & BB8, and my personal favorite (although this is from the Clone Wars cartoon series), Anakin and Ahsoka.
Take the combination of characters from The Guardians of the Galaxy - you've got your human, Peter Quill, abducted by aliens, getting himself into a boatload of trouble, and suddenly destined to save the universe, he pairs up with an unlikely group of heroes, a green-skinned alien woman, the last of her species, a magical tree-like being who seems to only be able to say, "I am Groot," a super criminal whose human spirit was put into an enhanced body (if I remember correctly from the cartoons; the movie is vague), and a genetically modified and engineered raccoon. Here again are examples of human-alien pairings that are unlikely but somehow work under pressure once differences are put aside.
For a literature example, take the Phantom Tollbooth (and if you haven't read it, I seriously recommend it as it started my journey into the world of fantasy). You have a bored, human boy, Milo, and his "watchdog," an over-sized dog named Tock with an actual clock on his side that ironically can only tick, and a foolish, flattering insect-like creature named Humbug. Unlikely pairings indeed but they each play their part in helping Milo achieve his objectives.
I realized, in all the examples I gave, not a single alien or non-human or non-humanoid character was the main character, "saving the day" so to speak. My mind is drawing a blank on an example of a main character who is non-human/alien who doesn't have at least one human friend save perhaps @MedleyMisty's Surreal Darkness (which she pulls off superbly and I can still relate to the characters). Maybe I'm just not thinking hard enough. :/
Take any other fantastical or science fiction movie, TV show, or book. All intriguing pairings... all working together for a common goal although perhaps initially under duress or out of necessity or at odds with one another, but they all innately need one another for various reasons and form a friendship, or at least a collaborative pairing. Perhaps this is because we, as humans, need one another and this naturally plays out in our storytelling.
I got a little off the Sims, I know. What I love about @RipuAncestor's story is how believable and fantastical her pairing of Tad and Amelia is. Amelia seems like someone I'd be friends with or know, someone who is down to earth and authentic, and then Tad is, by far, an intriguing interpretation of the Reaper (or Death personified). I like how everyday things find their way into your story like cups of soothing tea, figuring out stovetop cooking, and fireside chats along with mystical and magical things like supernatural covens and the Reaper as your tenant. Together, Amelia and Tad are an unusual, nearly unbelievable pairing and yet they manage to work together in a way that doesn't compromise their character.
I'm curious about human-non-human pairings - how do they start? how do they benefit one another? how do they hinder? how do they overcome obstacles? what makes them work well vs. not so well?
I'm planning to have various human/Sim and alien or supernatural character-pairings in my stories, particularly in the future. For those of you who have already crossed that bridge, thoughts? advice?
