I want to write a story of The Ramayana as an under the sea version.
I will pull a lot of ideas from The Little Mermaid but want to make a twist where Sita ends up with Ravana.
Rama will be human, like Erik from The Little Mermaid. I want Ravana to be a male mermaid. Ravana will be in love with Sita but have expectations for Sita that she feels she can't live up to.
I think that I want to have Sita have some experience that allows her to be human momentarily, maybe she will pray to some of the gods. Then she will get pregnant by Rama and get sent back to mermaid life. I think the children will have to be born mermaid but have the ability to live on land too.
There is a toss up. I think I can take this story a few directions with a few different styles.
I have considered the following.
- An early focus: How Sita traded her relationship under the sea with Ravana and her friends to be with human Rama.
- A mid-story focus: How Sita and Rama live their lives and deal with the complexity of having babies that live half under the sea half on land.
- Late story focus: Where the return to mermaid life from human life makes Sita feel and the struggles she faces without Rama. (Maybe he moves on from her, but she were under the sea and hung up on him).
- I thought about writing from the perspectives of the twin babies retelling the story of their parents and the situation.
The Characters
Sita: A beautiful mermaid who's father owns the sea. Sita is promised to a brave, strong male mermaid. Sita is dissatisfied with the simplicity of the life she lives. She seeks to explore human life and the world.
Rama: A strong Human prince who is adventurous and bold. He is incredibly attractive and a temptation to many women.
Ravana: The male mermaid who Sita is intended for. He will be controlling and predictable which is not enough for the young Sita.
The Twins: The Twins if starred in the story won't get much character development. It will be made known that they are of Rama and Sita and half human half mermaid, but they would be retelling the story of their parents.
Image Information: The Fisherman and the Syren
By Frederic Leighton
Source: Wikimedia
Source:
Your Name Here presents in association with Your Money; a Funded by You production; a film by Nina Paley; written by Nina Paley; directed by Nina Paley; produced by Nina Paley. (2008). Sita sings the blues. [San Francisco]: Nina Paley Productions, LLC.
Your Name Here presents in association with Your Money; a Funded by You production; a film by Nina Paley; written by Nina Paley; directed by Nina Paley; produced by Nina Paley. (2008). Sita sings the blues. [San Francisco]: Nina Paley Productions, LLC.
It is quite creative that you want to tell the story in the twins' perspective. I think it will be interesting! And also, I like how you take this story in a more "dark" way like the actual, original story of the Little Mermaid (instead of the happy ending one like that of Disney) with some girl power in there for Sita. I will be looking forward to this!
ReplyDeleteI love mermaid stories! I really like the idea of changing the perspective to the twins. Changing up the narration of the story could provide an interesting insight into the life of these kids and how they view the difficult situation they are placed in. In reference to the comment, I also like the "dark" aspect of this story. There is an awesome opportunity for some great imagery and dialogue. I really look forward to reading this story!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool idea! I love how you’ve managed to blend the essence of the two stories. The little mermaid is a really interesting choice for this too. I almost feel like you’ve pulled a few factors from other fairy tales as well in regards to Sita being promised to Ravana by her father. I’m excited to read your story next week as it sounds like it’s going to be very engaging and clever.
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued by your story and love how you want to incorporate a few male/female mermaids. This gives me an inspiration for my next story. I also like hoe Sita will end up with Ravana and the theme/ setting makes your story really strong. I look forward to reading your story!
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