Table of Contents:
1.
What does it mean to be Unattainable?
2.
What's a Chimera?
3.
Where do I look for Unattainables?
4.
Who is on the list of Unattainables?
5.
How do characters get recognition for their Unattainability?
6.
How do people become Chimeras?
7. Do the Chimeras have any silly traditions?
8. Basic List Guidelines
9.
Chimeric services
1. What does it mean to be Unattainable?
An Unattainable is a fictional character that upholds our ideals of anti-heroism, who exhibits acerbic wit and cool detachment. Unattainables go through life humming Simon and Garfunkel's "I Am a Rock" and trying to convince themselves it's true. To qualify as Uns, though, it can't be true. Perfect detachment need not apply. What makes Uns fascinating are the rare moments when they show attachments, loyalties, or weaknesses... and then cover them just as quickly.
Unattainables are usually anti-heros, loners and have an air of mystery. They never let you know quite as much as you would like to know about them. They are intelligent with a certain cynicism and a rather painful introspective quality. They tend to be isolated in some way from others, by a physical, mental and/or emotional difference, by the work they do or other circumstances which set them apart. Perhaps due to this isolation, they may have difficulty connecting with others and struggle to cope with that inability.
Just to make things interesting, we have a couple of sub-categories:
Good'Uns are quiet and unassuming, have deeply held loyalties and may harbor a secret crush on someone, but have trouble admitting it, even to themselves, so they are very isolated and lonely-looking.
Bad'Uns (also known as D'vils for inexplicable reasons) are flamboyant and love the exercise of power -- it is their cruel use of this power that they use to isolate themselves from others. Their soft spot is their need for control. With no pawns they are shadow-kings.
None of this is engraved in stone. Not every Unattainable has every attribute described above, just some combination of most of them. We're constantly refining and redefining this description, so feel free to throw in your two cents!
Standard Disqualifications of Unattainable
Wannabes
2. What's a Chimera?
A Chimera is a member of our little e-list family and a fan of the Unattainables. We are devoted to the appreciation and glorification of
those fictional characters who we know we could never approach in a million years. The aloof, detached, logical cynic with his or her heart securely locked away (or so they think).
A large majority of the characters we have identified as Unattainable have been male and an equally large majority of the Chimeras are female, but we didn't do that intentionally. Men are welcome here. This is not just a drool group (well, not too much), but a recognition of a priceless character (usually played by a priceless actor or written by a priceless author) who knows just what to say at the right moment, how to cock an eyebrow sardonically or quote an ETA down to the tenth of a second.
3. Where do I look for Unattainables?
They've been spotted in television shows, movies, books, comics; basically,
if it's a fictional story-telling medium, it probably is holding a few
Unattainables. Science fiction has a gold-mine of them and, in a "team"-type
show, look for the science nerd or computer geek. It's not a hard and fast
rule, but for some reason a lot of them are hiding there.
4. Who is on the list of Unattainables?
The list of Uns on this web-site is up to date
and it keeps getting longer and longer! An INFO post is sent out the first
week of each month with the full list, where they appear and such.
5. How do characters get recognition for their Unattainability?
We have a semi-standard format for nominations, just so we know what or who
we're discussing. First, a list-member offers a nomination, telling where the
character is from and why he or she seems to qualify. The nomination needs a
second by another list member. We allow one week for objections (though we
sometimes raise objections much much later). We assume that no comment means
yes.
6. How do people become Chimeras?
First of all, an ordinary (or so you may believe) mortal like yourself hears
about our list, quite probably from a supposedly mild-mannered friend or a
fellow fan. After you hear about us, you start thinking more and more
about this "Unattainables" thing. You're really interested. You like so
many of these characters, and here is a group of people who do too!
You ask to join the list. But be warned, NO persons or aliens under 18 years of
age will be considered for membership and anyone wanting membership must be
"known" (either RL or VR) by at least ONE current list member.
If you don't meet the age requirement or would simply prefer an all ages group,
Chimerae TNG might
be for you. It is a by-product of this list, started by one of our list members, but it is
not directly affiliated with this list.
Here's the part where it gets interesting: On occasion we have been
known to get a little wild. Many of us have been in the
gutter since 1972 (and some of us hadn't even been
conceived in 1972!). Many of us keep VR
clones of our favorite characters as "companions".
(Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.) We often share our
personal lives in detail, from the boring to the
shocking. No topic is sacred. While we do not tend
toward flames (it happened once here and shocked
everyone into silence) and we do not take serious shots
at each other, we do get rowdy, but it's all in good fun and
if you don't realize that, it could be possible to get insulted
very easily.
Underneath the drinking songs from the middle ages
and the arguments over who tried to steal whose
clone, we're a family, and we're a good family. If
you think you might fit in here, write the
List-Mom
or
WebMistress.
*******************************************
NOTE: This is an adult themed list.
Age statements are required of all prospective new
members.
*******************************************
7. Do the Chimeras have any silly
traditions?
Of course, we do! When we started, the list of Unattainables was fairly short, but it has
grown significantly over the course of time. Many members have picked their favorites to
incorporate into their sig lines. We've also chose colours that we feel
suit the Unattainables: All Unattainables have a black and silver attitude.
The Good'Uns, nice inconspicuous people that they are, have a blue
overtone, while Bad'Uns, the little devils, have hints of red about them.
Additionally, we do have a logo: The Questing Beast, from T.H. White's The Once and Future King, which we feel sums up the Chimera/Un relationship.
8. Basic List Guidelines
This list was born in Fall 1997 in the newsgroup
alt.tv.highlander. Most of the initial members came from there or are close
acquaintances of people who came from there. If you, as a listmember,
personally know someone that you believe would fit in, please let the
List-Mom know. However,
please do not post subscription or chat room info on other ng's or mailing lists without prior approval from the other members
of the list. While we welcome new members, we want to avoid trolls.
We're not trying to be exclusive, we just want to keep it friendly and fun.
We are sticking to the basic rules of alt.tv.highlander and friendly
people everywhere: Please be kind to newbies and small animals.
Put *spoiler* in the subject header if you are discussing any current
season episodes. We want this to be a free exchange of ideas, so
no one will scream if you wander off-topic from
time to time (to time...). The netiquette police are not on patrol here.
As some e-mail programs don't get along with images (.jpegs, .gifs, etc.)
or sound files and also due to the fact that Macro viruses are becoming a
little too popular for our liking, we do request that all posts sent to the list be
text only. If you have a pic you'd like to share with the Chimeras, please
place it on a webpage and send the url to the list. If you have any questions on how to do this or don't have a webpage, contact the WebMistress and she'll help you.
Cross-posting and forwarding: With the exception of humour posts (unless
noted) NO forwarding of posts off list with out getting the author's
permission either on or off list.
...and one more thing -- DO NOT send ANY virus warnings to the list
unless you've checked it out thoroughly with various
virus warning sites such as:
to determine if it is, in fact, legitimate. Once you've
done that send it to List Mom
privately and she'll determine if it should be posted to the list.
9. Chimeric services
For your reference, the people who seem to be
running the place (well, sort of):
Back to the Front Door
Graphics from:
