![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Jul. 9th, 2016 04:53 pmYou know that trope, that very common trope, where there's a character that's nonhuman, or not-quite-human -- dangerous, eerie, other, powerful, has no reason to care about the fate of human beings -- and then there's True Love With A Human Being and that changes them and makes them more human, for better or worse?
OK, it should surprise no one that one of my favorite tropes is that trope, except instead of True Romantic Love with a human being that grounds the powerful inhuman character, it's the true and unmistakable feeling of older sibling-hood. At heart, underneath your human veneer, you're an inhuman powerful whatever, except now circumstances have landed you with a water bottle (wherein water bottle means 'annoying younger sibling') and you gotta be responsible for this water bottle which means that at heart, underneath your human veneer, you are constantly feeling one of the most human emotions imaginable: SHEER EXASPERATION.
The two books that I can think of at the moment that do this are two of my very favorite books. (I reread one of them for our book club this month, which is why I'm thinking about this right now.) Three times makes it a real trope, so I'm inviting examples!
OK, it should surprise no one that one of my favorite tropes is that trope, except instead of True Romantic Love with a human being that grounds the powerful inhuman character, it's the true and unmistakable feeling of older sibling-hood. At heart, underneath your human veneer, you're an inhuman powerful whatever, except now circumstances have landed you with a water bottle (wherein water bottle means 'annoying younger sibling') and you gotta be responsible for this water bottle which means that at heart, underneath your human veneer, you are constantly feeling one of the most human emotions imaginable: SHEER EXASPERATION.
The two books that I can think of at the moment that do this are two of my very favorite books. (I reread one of them for our book club this month, which is why I'm thinking about this right now.) Three times makes it a real trope, so I'm inviting examples!
