So. Do you guys remember Princess Machine? Or the cyborg wip, as I used to call it?
I've been lowkey planning to keep writing it on Tapas, in a serial format, because that's what it's best suited for (I think). Like I've struggled to squeeze it into a standalone, into a duology, and it just didn't work out. But now I'm like. I can post this online for sure for sure. For however long it needs to be. Like I have an ending in mind so it won't meander too far (I hope) and become unbearable, but the format will allow me a lot of room to cover everything I want to cover without worrying about word count.
But now I'm wondering like. Should I even keep writing it, in this political climate?
For those who are unaware or forgot, Princess Machine/cyborg wip is basically The Bachelor set in a cyberpunk-ish world. Or "The Selection" series but good (hopefully). It's about a bisexual cyborg janitor named Kit Sullivan who gets picked as a contestant to star in a reality TV series about marrying the country's prince. (It's a semi-constitutional monarchy, so he has/will have considerable power.)
The premise is a bit silly but the goal was always to execute it sincerely, which led to me thinking of the genuine toll it would take on a socially anxious commoner to be thrust into the national spotlight and made to perform and become a Brand. On top of her actually falling in love with the prince, despite it all, while knowing she can't/won't/doesn't want to win the competition and become a princess/queen.
Aaaaaand therein lies the problem. Like.
Is this too silly and outlandish a premise? The part where I both try to interrogate the rags-to-riches trope and the "billionaire CEO" type romances, while also making this a ... billionaire CEO rags-to-riches type romance? Esp with a PRINCE, like?
In this political climate? Am I being silly goofy? Should I just shelf this for another ten years????
I know it's all in the execution (and ending, which I won't spoil) but getting to the execution in the first place presumes I can get my foot in the door with the initial premise. Which feels. Unlikely? Am I just overreacting?
I feel like I was already teetering on the edge of believability when I made the prince likeable and mostly well-adjusted despite his circumstances, and at this point I'm wondering if it's even possible to make the reader root for Kit to get with him when we all know all billionaires must die.
