writing, ocs and other things

wip intro | Compromised (working title)

genre | spies/thriller/romance

status | outlining first draft (camp nanowrimo)

pov | third person limited (alternates b/w characters)

themes | enemies to lovers, working against the odds, spies, friendship, betrayal, diverse rep

synopsis

             Iskander is a renowned secret spy who’s known for taking his cases and completing them cleanly. Ever since he joined the agency, there was never a mission he was unable to finish, until now, that is. His new mission was to take out the kingdom of Arsha, as well as its princess Raina, who was seen as a danger to the country with her rebellious behavior and connections to Prince Derrick of La Colle. He goes undercover as her bodyguard to take notes and observe her from afar. However, somewhere along the observations and time spent with her, he finds himself falling in love with Raina. Furthermore, Raina may not have been the right target and someone else might have been the one pulling the strings all along. Iskander finds himself stuck between saving his love from his own agency or continuing with the mission as planned. All he knows is that this mission is compromised.

            As a princess, Raina is used to compromising her comfort for others and having to go along with the rules even if she doesn’t want to. But after her mother recently got assassinated and Raina took her place on the throne, she isn’t sure what’s right or wrong anymore. With very little to go on for, Raina finally lets herself go and live her life as she pleases. It wasn’t uncommon for the paparazzi to catch Raina sneaking outside the palace late in the night or during the day, either catching a concert or sweeping through a shop, emptying it of all its possessions. That’s where her new bodyguard Iskander stepped in. At first, she is very frustrated with him and would rather have nothing to do with Iskander at all. But as he cared for her and got to know her on a level deeper than most people do, she finds herself falling for him. However, a rumor of betrayal and a traitor in the midst leaves her wondering who Iskander really is. Would Raina have to compromise her trust for Iskander for her own safety?

              At the end of the day, they both will have to make some sacrifices to get through it, especially if they want to stick together. Will those sacrifices be worth it? Only time will tell. 

Hello!!

I realized I partly already answered this in the first part of the ask, but in the genre itself specifically, I think their motivations for how they move in the world would be very different as well. In the original world of Compromised, they live under a monarchy, of which Raina is a major player being the heir to the throne while Iskander lives under her reign, but also has his own job and life separately outside of that. For Raina, she would move about in accordance with what her father or her advisors would do whereas for Iskander, he would move and do things depending on what would help his family and later in the story, Raina as well.

Whereas in Shifting Gears, because the world is so dependent on people intermingling their lives and worth into what they provide to Pixicity, I think there would be restriction for what Raina can do but in the sense of not jeopardizing her job, rather than her royal status in this setting.

For Iskander, I think his motivations would largely remain the same in the sense of caring for his family and doing what's best for them, to whatever it takes, even if it means going against Pixie Technologies.

I think if I were to do a similar plot of Iskander being hired to protect Raina, I could see Raina hiring Iskander to protect her when she notices how he's not scared to go against Pixie Technologies and offering him help to get the city's resources in exchange!

TY FOR THE ASKS AGAIN!! THIS IS SO SWEET

Hello!!

FIRSTLY, thank you so much for the ask this is so sweet!! ❤️❤️

and yes!!! it is a cyberpunk story!

For context, Shifting Gears is a cyberpunk story concept I came up with years ago, which starts off with the world descending into chaos. In the chaos, Pixie Technologies (a large conglomerate) offered jobs and shelter and food for anyone who needed it, only asking for their employees and anyone under the company to dedicate all their resources and lives to the company in return.

In the future, the world has stabilized largely and has a epicenter in Pixicity (where the headquarters of Pixie Technologies sits) which appears to be a utopia on the surface. Within however, there are people who see the faults of the company, with some moving away to the nearby city of Azaadi. Azaadi is known for being one of the few cities who were successfully able to fend off Pixie Technologies' move in with their new tech and houses, by making a deal to offer their crops, resources and minerals in exchange for Pixie Tech to leave their environment as is. In the plot idea I had, I envisioned one of the workers in Pixicity stumbling upon Azaadi and realizing there may be more to their life and the world than what Pixie Technologies has shown them.

For Raina and Iskander in this setting, hmmm, I can imagine Iskander being a resident of Azaadi as his family tends to live on the outskirts of the city so I can see that happening for this story as well! For Raina, I could see her being one of the citizens of Pixicity and being oblivious to the horrors underneath the city and then only realizing how awful it is when she loses her job.

I'd like to imagine in this setting, they both meet when Iskander goes to Pixicity to drop off resources and Raina meets him as she's the one assigned to make sure all the resources are in place and meet the company's requirements. I think it would take longer for them to get to know each other in this setting as rather than Iskander and Raina bring brought together for a purpose like in Compromised (bodyguard and princess). In this one, they would have to find each other on purpose which makes it sweeter in my opinion!

I hope this makes sense and I will answer your 2nd ask in a bit as well! THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH FOR ASKING, it was so fun delving back into Shifting Gears as I haven't thought about it beyond world building ideas, so this was lovely, thank you!!