penthius

"You may keep a whole skin, though you have nothing else that can be hurt," the cloaked man said in a disinterested tone. At the sound of it, her entire skin tensed, the tattoos tightening defensively. She shuddered to think what he could do to her. A slender cut across one of her tattoos, and the work of years would be gone. All the careful movements, the padding on the furniture, the refusal to cook (so many kitchen accidents!), the staying indoors to protect her fragile skin, leaving only when ridiculously well-padded, down to the gloves, even in the summer...all a waste. And what would her life be then?

Inspiration: Today is Dickens' birthday, and this is a line from one of his works, Master Humphrey's Clock.
Story Potential: Low.
Notes: And her tattoos and power are broken, so she finds a new life and eventually, her way back to a less isolating power. Eh. It could be written, it could be a decent story, but it doesn't have that spark for me.

Jan 18, 2012 -Project Flickr - Hometowns 18/366

Going for a stroll along the ramparts of the plant, he smiled behind the breath mask. He would have sighed with satisfaction, but he'd found early on that it made him sound too much like a sci-fi movie villain, and so he abstained before his employees started calling him Darth Boss. They might not have heard his sighs--the plant was noisy, everyone wore masks and earplugs, but why risk it? It was such a small community that any such nickname would have spread like wildfire. Anything new was treasured. Even gossip that people would have turned their noses up at back home. There had to be strict rules about what was and was not allowable for practical jokes.

Inspiration: This flickr picture.
Story Potential: High.
Notes: This is mostly setting, but I like the idea of taking what would seem to be an easy pollution-bad/industry-boss-evil frame and switching it around a bit. He's a good guy. The industry is incredibly foul, but somehow not actively damaging. And it's very isolated. Extraplanetary colony? Something. An interesting setting for many things. Like Antarctica.

Grandmother's paella was always rich and creamy, a savory concoction that made me think of old Spanish women passing along the correct way of cooking to their daughters and granddaughters, as they sat in the hacienda kitchen and watched every move of aged hands with great attention, knowing that a perfect paella might be their key to future happiness, and outside the caballeros whistled and sang as they worked under the hot Spanish sun. That is my idea. I have never been to Spain, and I never even saw the "Grandmother" that Grandmother's paella was made by. It was only ever a selection on the food menu, but when you have been kept in isolation--

Inspiration: A NYT.com article about a Spanish restaurant
Story Potential: Medium
Notes: Kept isolated for some reason from most people except for the chosen, designated ones, has no knowledge of family, has formed these bonds for ? Escapes, finds connections. Under the Tuscan Sun meets Alien Resurrection (OK, that pitch alone is making me want to rate this higher). Could be an okay YA book--isolation themes are really strong for adolescents.

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Entries tagged with isolation

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Grandmother's Paella: Science Fiction

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