Strangetown: What if?

[strangetomato]

Every now and then, I get to thinking about alternative ways of approaching the Strangetown story, like that version where Ophelia follows in Olive's black widow footsteps, and I've recently been thinking about a good one: what if alien pregnancies were fatal for the men who carried them to term? That would really change the story, wouldn't it? I think I'm going to toy with the idea, and maybe it will develop into a short stand-alone story at some point. I think it could play out into something interesting.








Pretty awful, right? It would raise questions of why the Curious Brothers were allowing themselves to get pregnant, and they probably wouldn't be willing participants in this breeding experiment (though with Glarn's involvement, you'd have to wonder... and why they'd be willing to do it despite the consequences). The whole connection with PT would be a lot more grim too, but that could also be interesting.

I'm really not sure how I would attempt to answer these questions, but I'm enjoying this darker "what if?" scenario.

I got to thinking about this after reading an article by Katura Reynolds called "Birthing the Monster: What if a Bug-Eyed Alien Was Your Baby Daddy?" in the Genesis Issue of Bitch magazine. It was a great read. The Sims 2 wasn't mentioned as a pop culture example of this alien birthing trend in science fiction, but it's definitely following in this tradition.

So, what do you think of the idea? I'll bet there are also plenty of other ways to approach it, if one was well-versed in sci-fi. 



 

Comments

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree. There had to be a good reason for him to leave them with her, and the failing marriage angle doesn't really work, since you'd assume the alien children were the key issue there (unless he didn't want them, which could be another way to take it, but he's later shown at the telescope again, so that's sketchy).

I think that's why I always get back to thinking that Kitty had a problem with it. It seems like he made an effort to please her by having his sister take them, or he tried to cover it up entirely. And Kitty doesn't have to leave him. The twins could be completely off on their own and then they come back to get to know the family at a later time (which explains why they're back in town with roomates).

For some reason, though, I'm more drawn to the idea that the family embraces the twins and whole alien thing (supported by Jenny's marriage to PT and the activities of the brothers and alien children) and they come back, and then Kitty tries to accept it, but is unable to. Kitty could accept them, over time, but having her leave him works better with all the Strangetown drama for me.