Deleted user
Hello all.
In the book I am currently writing, one of the biggest themes is culture and self-identity. Characters travel to various locations, most of which being planets. The issue I came across is as follows: In this world, most humans left the Earth and began to colonize other planets. Some of these planets already had civilizations on them but were ultimately claimed by humans. It is because of this that many aliens are split in regard to humans. Some see humans as good because they brought over various pieces of technology to other races and made everything more interconnected. Others believe the humans are bad because they interfered with the evolution of other societies and replaced their culture with their own. Some are neutral on this.
I decided to graft elements of certain Earth cultures on to different planets as a result. The main character is conflicted on his own identity, as he is half-human half-Toge (ogre-like humanoids) and neither party respects him. The humans are seen by many Toge as harmful and incapable of understanding, while many humans judge the Toge for being too rash and having a pair of horns on their head (some humans call the Toge demons to belittle them).
The issue came up when I began designing certain creatures or characters.
I often draw characters, creatures, and other things after creating them. This helps me develop more ideas and traits around them.
I do little sessions where I draw multiple types of aliens and creatures, sometimes settings, but I often run into a problem. These aliens, creatures, settings, that are supposed to be separate from things of the Earth often draw inspiration from different cultures and other things, completely unintentionally.
I have debated on whether or not I should remove Earth from the story entirely. On one hand, this could allow me more creative comfort; I could create creatures and locations that look very similar to things from real life and not have to think "If the Earth exists and this is from another planet, why does it look so similar to something from Earth?". On the other, this could potentially ruin or complicate certain plot points and character arcs like the ones I mentioned earlier.
What do you all think? Should I remove the Earth entirely? Keep it in? Is there any other idea you may have?