A popular
concept in
fiction, whether it be all out
fantasy or simply a little
dash of
magical realism.
The world of sentient
objects differs from
work to work, along with the degree of their
ability to interact with and imitate
humans. They sometimes communicate with each other, but not with humans, like the toys in a
Jim Henson christmas special (anyone recall the name of this one? msg me?) who got up and
played with themselves when the
kids weren't in the room. (They also "froze forever", basically
dying, if the humans found proof of their
sentience, making it somewhat like a
muppet christmas horror flick. Kinda
twisted.) In
Skinny Legs and All, by
Tom Robbins, a conch shell and a painted stick teach a can 'o beans a spoon, and a
dirty sock to
locomote.(This could explain the age old question, "
What happened to my socks?")
The
fantasy genre is
riddled with talking, moving,
magical items from
swords, to
jewels, to blocks of
stone. Like
Stormbringer the vampyric sword which feeds on
souls and
sings in
combat (not
Opera, just an eerie, whistling
moan), only communicating to it's
wielder through subtle
feelings. In
Piers Anthony's world of
Xanth,
Dor has a magical
talent which causes
inanimate objects in his vicinity to
talk, usually revealing
intimate details about their
lives and suggesting that they're all
wallflowers, watching
everything and just never saying
anything about it.
The Luggage never talks, but wanders around on many tiny, pink legs, following its "owner" and eating or running over
anyone who threatens him.
Consider making up some sentient objects of your own. It's a great
exercise in fictional
character development.