Influences

I’ll choose the science fiction, cultural and slice of life fiction elements or so to start something worthwhile? Boring? I’m not sure. Thinking through my influences I enjoy culture and slice of life, but also humor at times too. No, perhaps I’ll choose humor, slice of life, cultural and science fiction elements. I’ve enjoyed humor—because life has been kind of funny to me, much like those around me and beyond. I am a transgender man with the soul of someone who’s outercasing is dismantling. I’ve often thought about cultural aspects, how in some areas and cultures my presence wouldn’t be understood. Mind you, I understand not so evil. It would be interesting to narrate a story of someone like myself interspliced into a culture where it’s not common to seek folk like me. Pair it with science fiction, speculative alien ideas. Close encounters and the movie, what was it called…the one with the pool and the elder folk. Cocoon, which I didn’t list but was an inspiration as well as other films. I enjoy the films where ordinary people face extraordinary circumstances, which in my story I suppose the different culture would be the ordinary people, faced with extraordinary circumstances when someone like me is placed upon their presence. Or another idea, because I was a housekeeper in a retirement home, something along the lines of Cocoon, where instead my alien presence is actually a garden race to make sure the structure of the retirement is kept safe, because its a sacred home for my alien race to birth a new life. I could make my species die out, and to exceed in extraordinary ways to make sure my species is taken care of. There could be royalty and romance! The elderly could see it as a time of change and rebirth, a time of reconnecting with the newer world so to speak. I don’t have to go deep, but thinking of this situation in random Ames Iowa would be something fun to write about. Either a guard or a prince is in charge of keeping the place safe in case of intruders. The other idea would be for me to be placed within a Middle Eastern life, but not to shed stigma but to experience their history through their eyes. I thought about creating either an essay or narrative about how someone like me could impose my ideas onto others, because it’s the West’s idea. That could be something to explore as well. Much like Cocoon—damn, I remember it’s a film where the alien species are not breeding, but hanging out and chilling. It’s the power of youth in the film that is demonstrated, rather than another species wanting to start anew on sacred ground? An environment that helps the species grow? Elements that help the species procreate? Hmm. Could there be a twist, a horror where the residents are the supply for the species, not like Aliens Aliens the film, but like extra tissue to help. Because of the low birth and not enough so to speak. I thought about a princess scenario, but I’m not sure if that’s been played out. Nothing wrong with that idea, but I’d like to see something different. Thinking about this, I thought the main character would be janitorial/housekeeping to stay low from the general public.

I thought about Tender is the Flesh, which at the time reading the novel I thought about the plot holes in the novel, but how the narrative carried out stuck with me for so long. I’m curious (which takes the elements of science fiction, slice of life, and perhaps horror or culture) taking the idea of the gender war and stretching it to the extreme. The big walls of gender divide spread out, where “females” and “males” only cohabitate. Births are much like the giver, people can be assigned the jobs of providing the egg and the seed, but genders are separate. So much so, only meats are divided too, but it would be interesting either …not sure how, but either a “male” piece of meat is sent to the wrong side and that piece of “male” meat disturbs something in the “female” ecosystem. Or, I thought much like Flesh is Tender where meat consumption is spoiled and the only “protein” is through other human beings. So, like, if a piece of “male” meat is accidentally sent to the “female” side, shit hits the fan. Could be interesting gender play as well etc.