A Worldbuilding Snag

[bloodyrosemccoy]

You know, I keep trying to give my orly aliens a broad but definitive cultural background, to give them opinions and attitudes and strong identities and understandable material culture and basically make them as real as possible. I want to give them, with their own alien twist, the breadth of human experience, from war to love, from art to industry, from stone wheel to spaceship. Theirs is a dignified and worthy entry into the ranks of alien concultures.

The only problem is, every time I make another entry into their hitchhiker’s guide, I wind up making them look FUCKING ADORABLE.

I wonder if Poul Anderson, or indeed the Na’vi anthropologists, ever had this problem.

Comments

[dark-phoenix54.livejournal.com]

Why am I picturing a civilization of Hello, Kitties!? Smart, tough, inventive Hello, Kitties!

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

*grin* That would be good, but in this case it's a civilization of 4-1/2-foot-tall creatures that look vaguely like cycloptic two-legged elephants. (This is a lie, since they actually have four eyes, but three are small and not quite so sophisticated.) They are mighty hunters and fierce warriors and you just want to hug them and squeeze them and call them all George.

Granted, they're called orlys because the first time I drew one it looked like it was making an O RLY? face, which should have been a tipoff ...

[dark-phoenix54.livejournal.com]

You know, I figured that name HAD to be something like that!

And now I'm thinking of Nibbler... please tell me the Orlys don't purr when they're happy?

[chibicharibdys.livejournal.com]

How about that race of giant alien spiders that finds humans just the cutest widdle things to walk around on two feet.

... I don't recall what I read them in, but I'm enjoying the concept greatly.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

That's terrific! Did they, perchance, meet New Trek's Baby Chekov?

Well, I've got the arhods, who think human males are just a little cartoony but that human females are hilarious--short and squeaky and weirdly bumpy and squidgy ...

Although that could all just be nibblesnush.

[chibicharibdys.livejournal.com]

...I love Futurama.