I don't know how many of you remember, but I briefly posted about a new project of mine that was tentatively titled Chimken Tendies (based on a very silly inside joke). I talked a lot about it with two of my friends and this wip has since grown massively. I finally have a better working title for it too! It's now being called the Glitch wip, which is fitting for the direction I'm hoping to take the story in! Before I dive into that though, let me re-introduce it to you! (I'll be posting a wip intro under my books once I have one ready!) Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash Set several hundred years into our future, body modifications are becoming more common for those who can afford them, and many of the diseases we're familiar with have been completely eradicated (including most forms of cancer) thanks to various corporations' efforts and research. The technology for prosthetics has also come a long way and become more affordable and advanced.
One of the biggest corporations involved with all that is the LeMarque Foundation, a family run organization hailed for their incredible medical breakthroughs, known for being leaders in the field of bio- and gene-modification. They are, of course, shady as hell. This project of mine is not only my first attempt at writing cyberpunk (and sci-fi)! It'll be my first time writing something with aliens. They don't come from outer-space though. Instead, they're interdimensional beings from an entirely separate plane of existence. Ok, so not entirely separate, because they've often purposely (or accidentally) crossed over into our reality, and are the source of many fairytales and mythologies, especially those pertaining to any kind of shapeshifting or physical transformation! Which brings me to the characters: Sacha | A bodyguard for the LeMarque's son and heir, Etienne. She's a cyborg, and due to shenanigans, is technically the LeMarque's property (at least, the tech parts of her are, and she can't survive without those). Her service to them is in payment of her debt to them. She takes her job very seriously but has a secret fondness for her charge which she does an all-too-good job of hiding. When on duty, she often wears a mask to obscure the lower half of her face. Etienne | The son and heir to the LeMarque's, he kicks off the story by running away the day Sacha's out for repairs (which is the only reason he managed to get away at all). A sweet if naive kid, he hates his parents and can't stomach being around them after he discovers the secret behind their company's success and the horror of the mantle they're planning to pass on to him. Cipher | A shapeshifter and one of the most skilled of the very few shapeshifters that have been identified. He has the ability to change every part of his body down to his fingerprints (although not DNA, and he's limited to human forms). He's a direct descendant of the aforementioned aliens, though he has lived his whole life in our plane of existence, Ostensibly, he's a government agent. In reality, he's got no choice about it. He's on loan to the LeMarques to be Etienne's doppelgänger until Etienne is found and brought back. So why is the working title Glitch? Well, because it's going to be dealing with the intersection of humanity and technology, and both Cipher and Sacha have bodies that in different ways...glitch. [Cue evil laughter here]. This story will also be exploring a lot of themes related to agency, family, identity, and class warfare. There will be no romance between the main characters! There may be a revolution, or the start of one, though it won't be the main focus. It will probably be a standalone. But wait, there's more! Glitch is actually—drumroll please—the spiritual prequel to Rivener 2.0! Maybe even literal prequel, if I can manage to sprinkle references to Glitch into it. But basically, my plan is for Rivener 2.0 to take place in the same world, only much, muuuuuch later on. We're talking about a thousand years later! So Glitch wip is actually me setting up the world to be what it is in Rivener. Initially, Rivener was supposed to be more of a fantasty post-apocalyptic story than a sci-fi one. I've moved away from that entirely though. Kai's shifter abilities are actually a result of the evolution of shapeshifter genes mixing with the bio-mods that happen during Glitch's time. And this does mean, unfortunately, that the world of Glitch is one barrelling towards an apocalypse. [Cue more evil laughter]. Now I'm not a science person, and though I will be doing a little research into these concepts, for the most part (or at least, in the first draft) I'm gonna just have fun and hand-wave away any big questions of how all this is possible. Hello, we've got aliens. Anyway! I'm super excited for this wip! I haven't written any new content for it, I've just been thinking and talking about it, and waiting for the story to finish brewing in my head before I try and write it. But this is the last of my major updates, and I hope you enjoyed reading and following along with me on this. Check out the pinterest board I have for it, for more glimpses into the characters, world, and aesthetic. If you have any questions or thoughts on this wip or anything I'm writing, please do not hesitate to hit me up. I'd be ecstatic to hear from you! Also I do my best story-building in conversations with people. Until next time, happy reading and writing!
5 Comments
June
24/6/2021 07:27:32 pm
UHMMMMMM first of all i was thrilled for updates for this wip to begin with. second of all PREQUEL to RIVENER blew my mind!!! and ALIENS??? wow that's a lot of very very exciting things ahhhhh
Reply
Sumayyah
26/6/2021 06:01:22 pm
Ah thank you so much June!! YES! ALIENS!!!! i will probably hit you up for worldbuilding or just general rants lol, thank you very much for the offer :D
Reply
June
26/6/2021 07:05:40 pm
No, forreal tho, outlining the Importance of Friendship is soooo important. Like. I have never experienced a romance let’s start with that, but friendships are so ridiculous? Sometimes I think about high school and stuff and yeah it sucked in the moment but there were also some moments that were like… 🤯 when was the last time I felt so connected to so many people?? I get it man, for sure lol I'm loving this every time I read more about it! Glitch sounds like a very fun WIP, with lots to be said about humanity, technology, and the so-called supernatural. Really cool to see all three things intersect in one story, where it usually isn't the case, especially with regards to tech & supernatural elements. Also, loving that it's going to be a predecessor to Rivener! It sets the story up for some really cool and interesting discussions later on, and I can't wait to hear more about that! Looking forward to more updates, as always.
Reply
Sumayyah
8/7/2021 07:49:42 pm
Thanks so much Hyba! I hope I manage to pull of connecting it to Rivener, and also to achieve all my big goals for Glitch! Nerve-wracking but exciting!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Welcome to the blog!Featuring prompt fills, excerpts from my wips, posts about my writing process, and more. Categories
All
|