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𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗻𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮, 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝗲𝘁𝗰.

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~ Extended Synopsis ~

Most people can name a handful of heroes that they adored, but for the citizens who live in Aerial Falls, there was only one.

To the city of Aerial Falls, the person they all adored most is Lady Mystique, their well-known super-heroine as she single-handedly transformed the city from a crime-ridden wasteland to a divine place of peace.

As such, the people call her The Savior, though not many agree with this. However, no one made this fact more known than Lotus, a former heroine-and-friend/ally who turn to a life of crime and tragically became her arch nemesis.

Although Lotus was a formidable inventor, her lack of powers caused the people not to take her seriously, so most people brushed her off.

However when Lotus claims Mystique stole her invention notebook to enhance her own powers, so the heroine could keep her fame by manipulating people into admiring her,  people began to wonder if there was some merit to her words. As such, people began to question her authority and that made the savior panic.

As such, Lady Mystique sent her liege of heroes to get a hold of her. Once the heroes got a hold of Lotus and captured her, the villain was never seen or heard of again... which is something she intended to stay that way.

Since then, Lady Mystique learned to tighten her hold over the city for fear of someone else trying to revolt against her, so after the villain's disappearance, she came up with a punishment for those who chose to follow the villain's path.

Those who tried to follow in Lotus' footsteps dealt with her liege of heroes, who usually arrived to capture the offender(s) when people threatened, insulted and/or questioned her authority. Those captured by the liege of her heroes never came back... at least, not as their old self.

However, even after Lady Mystique made Lotus out to be an example of what not to do in Aerial Falls and made changes to address the situation, her efforts weren't enough to make an impact on the civilians. Worse, the heroine was betrayed again by someone — or in this case, some people — whom she considered herself to be close to and she found her authority being questioned... once more.

When Lady Mystique discovers three of her best heroes — Flare, Void and Phoenix —
coming across evidence that provides Lotus was right about what she did, she's forced to show her true colors when the three threaten to expose her.

As such, a fight between the four break out, but Lady Mystique overpowers the three by weakening their abilities to shift the fight in her favor.

With the trio's efforts diminished, the heroine orders Lotus to unmask the traitors and after their true identities is known, the savior decides to address the three and punish them separately for their betrayal against her.

For Phoenix [aka Ember Stark], Lady Mystique subjects her to mind torture where the fire-manipulating heroine gets a hard 'reset' and becomes a shell of her former self. As a result, the heroine ends up losing her rebellious spirit and reforms as a devoted soldier to her cause.

Furthermore, Ember is only able to recall being engaged to Void and that the two have a daughter together while she doesn't remember anything in relation to Flare... thanks to the mind-wiping effect that Lady Mystique threw in.

At this, Lady Mystique is nearly ambushed by Flare and Void for what she did, but the mind-controlled Lotus [who is her right-hand] is able to act in time by grabbing a hold of Flare while the heroine grabs onto Void, who she suspects as the one responsible for the other two betraying her.

As such, Lady Mystique decides to punish Void [aka Enigma Stark] in a similar manner by subjecting him to mind torture... in a different kind of way by further using true love against him [since he is the one that is romantically tied to the two heroes].

After Lady Mystique controls Flare's mind, the heroine maliciously twists the hero's genuine love for Void, whose heightened pheromones allow her to provoke his curse
and transform him into a ferociously large mindless beast: one she is able to control
at will [as she's the one who provoked Void's curse].

However in the process of punishing Void, her hold over Flare breaks when he becomes emotionally distraught by the outcome of his platonic [Ember] and romantic [Enigma] soulmates.

In his grief, the hero is able to free himself from Lotus and then proceeds to charge at the heroine.

However when her new pet steps in to defend her, Flare's desire not to harm Void stops him from hurting Lady Mystique. Initially, the heroine thinks she has the hero beat, yet when he attempts to emotionally connect with his lover-turned-beast, she overrides the hero's efforts and reclaims control of her monster.

With the cursed hero under her control once more, Lady Mystique orders Lotus to take the monster away. As her right-hand proceeds to leave with Void, Flare attempts to stop the latter, but the heroine is faster as she weakens his state to prevent him from getting in the way of her plans.

As such, the hero is now vulnerable and knowing how popular he is with the locals, she subjects Flare [aka Phoebus Stark] to the same mind control as his platonic soulmate, Ember. As such, the hero gets a hard 'reset' and becomes a shell of his former self in the process.

As a result of the mind-wiping effect Lady Mystique threw in, Flare can't recall being platonically afflicted with Ember Stark/Phoenix nor can he recall being romantically afflicted with Enigma Stark/Void as his husband or the fact they were in the midst of raising their daughter, Aurelia Stark, together.

With a clean slate, Lady Mystique restructures Flare's mind into believing the two are married and happily in love with each other. As his mind slowly becomes accustoms to her words, Lady Mystique uses the last of her energy to intensify his pheromones and manipulates him into being madly in love with her. With the extra dosage of power, she successfully manages to get Flare to be romantically afflicted with her.

With Phoenix and Flare now under her control [in different ways], Lady Mystique ends using Void as the primary perpetrator behind the traitorous act. As such, she convinces the people of Aerial Falls [including the reformed, mind-controlled Phoenix and Flare] to view the unpopular hero as a dangerous villain.

As the city turns against Void/Enigma Stark, the heroine decides to further sell the act by making an 'example' out of the latter. Using a powerful illusionist behind the scenes, she orchestrates an elaborate scheme of broadcasting Void being stripped of his powers and covered in chains before he entered a fight-to-the-death match with her new pet in a isolated fortress.

As the real Void tears through the illusion with ease, the illusionist behind the scenes is able to make the illusion bleed out long enough to convey to the public of the hero-turn-villain/traitor's death, so no one would say otherwise.

By [indirectly and directly] using Void to emphasize the importance of what happens to those who choose to betray her, Lady Mystique created another punishment — a much darker one — to make her point.

Anyone who wanted to follow in Void's footsteps would be stripped of their powers [if they had powers] and covered in chains. From there, the peace destroyer(s)' [her new term for traitors] fight-to-the-death with a ferociously large beast in a isolated fortress would be broadcasted to the whole public for all to see.

Not only does the example provide entertainment [as she and the rest of the city would get to see her monster provide the ultimate punishment by killing the perpetrator(s)], but the visualization served as a informative guide for those who needed a reminder of what happens to those who decide to betray her.

Because the visualization was gruesome and so inhumane, the civilians all tried to avoid the possibility of being her monster's next meal by adhering to her rules as no one in the city wanted to be known as a "peace destroyer" in their home.

So as time went on, the story of the villainous Void and the vengeful monster became passed down to the next generation to adhere by — a cautionary tale about the price of deception.

Now in the present day, thirty-nine-year old Lady Mystique continues to reign as the city's well-known super-heroine. Despite having two close-calls in the past where her authority was questioned and her reign was challenged, her power, her fame and her control over Aerial Falls persists.

However these days, Lady Mystique opened up to the public and goes by her real name, much like her husband. While the people of Aerial Falls like to refer to her and Flare by their hero personas, the public formally knows them as Zoraida and Phoebus Santos [as she had him take after her last name] — the city's cutest couple.

With her hold over her husband remaining strong and her devoted liege of heroes loyal to her cause, Zoraida's control persists as her fame and adoration grows. Loved, adored and considered to be the best by all, the heroine feels that her obsession with fame can finally come to an end.

But when a super named Astro refuses to undergo testing to determine whether they're meant to be part of the liege of heroes or the villains, the super's decision shakes Aerial Falls to the core as no one has ever explicitly refused to perform the standard protocol set by her.

Deeming the super to be unauthorized and becoming the first vigilante, Zoraida issues a immediate arrest but despite the efforts of her liege, the super escapes and sparks a new wave of curiosity and interest in the city.

The sudden interest in Astro prompts Zoraida to make the vigilante a wanted fugitive to disengage the public from focusing on the super, but the plan backfires... painfully. Instead, with the ongoing hunt for Astro, the super starts to make an impression on her people with her cunning ability to escape the liege.

With the city captivated by Astro, Zoraida's discontent with the situation grows and to her dismay, things only get worse as the vigilante's popularity strengthens among the people. As a result, the heroine's desperation to stay in the spotlight festers, especially when she factors in how the super's youthful looks.

As such, her desperation and lack of control in the situation snowballs into a unhealthy obsession to maintain her fame, her power and her control. Because of this, finding the vigilante becomes her upmost priority. As Zoraida's unsteady obsession intensifies, she decides she'll do anything to put an end to the vigilante.

Even if it means becoming the very thing she sworn to destroy...

A villain.

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~ Cast ~

𝒯𝐻𝐸 𝒮𝒜𝒱𝐼𝒪𝑅
Depicted as...
𝐀𝐔𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐘 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐙𝐀

| 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗲 | 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗠𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 | 𝗭𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱𝗮 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼𝘀 |

𝒯𝐻𝐸 𝐼𝒩𝒱𝐸𝒩𝒯𝒪𝑅
Depicted as...
??? [𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧]

| 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗲 | 𝗟𝗼𝘁𝘂𝘀 | 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻/𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 |

𝒯𝐻𝐸 "𝐿𝒪𝒱𝐸𝑅"
Depicted as...
𝐄𝐔𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐆

| 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼 | 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗲 | 𝗣𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗯𝘂𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼𝘀 |

𝒯𝐻𝐸 𝒮𝒪𝐿𝒟𝐼𝐸𝑅
Depicted as...
𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐌𝐀 𝐀𝐆𝐘𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐍

| 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗲 | 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘅 | 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗸 |

𝒯𝐻𝐸 𝐹𝒰𝒢𝐼𝒯𝐼𝒱𝐸
Depicted as...
𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐀 𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐎

| 𝗩𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲 | 𝗔𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼 | 𝗔𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗸 |

𝒯𝐻𝐸 𝒞𝒰𝑅𝒮𝐸𝒟
Depicted as...
𝐑𝐈𝐙 𝐀𝐇𝐌𝐄𝐃

| 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻 | 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗱 | 𝗘𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗺𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗸 |

More to come...

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~ Author's Corner ~

Hey! 👋🏾

First of all, how are you all doing? How's your day (or night) been? How's life? If things aren't going great or if you've hit rock bottom, just remember there's only one way to go and that's up. ♥️

{Also yes, I did just reference Buster Moon's quote from Illumination's Sing in case any of you got that.}

Secondly, welcome!

If this is your first time being here, it's great to meet you. If it's not your first time and you've read some of my other stuff, then welcome back!

Thirdly, to those who've noticed my prolonged absence/silence on here... I'm not dead. I've just been incredibly busy as a second-year uni student and haven't really found the time to be active.

Even now, I won't really be that active with finals under way soon, but I thought I could [at least] try to be on for a bit. I would love to at least get the opening chapter out of the way before final season approaches, but we'll see. Most likely, I'll have to list this project as coming soon, but if I can get the opening chapter out, then it would at least provide a start for me... but again, we'll see.

With the logistics out of the way, let me address some things in regards to this project of mine.

1. This book contains LBGTQIA+ characters!

I'm not sure if anyone actually cares about this, but I'll have this part listed in the event I get some not-so-nice-things about the sexualities and/or gender regarding some of the characters.

I'll start this off by saying three of the characters [Ember Stark/Phoenix, Enigma Stark/Void and Phoebus Stark {Santos in present time}/Flare] are in a poly relationship at the start of the book!

Yes, even if the three end up in different situations in the present day, the three will end up gradually get reintegrated with each other and regain their memories through the act of true love.

Note: the concept of true love will be different for each one, especially since Ember and Phoebus are platonic soulmates who are both attracted to Enigma [their romantic soulmate]! So, when I say "true love," please don't assume that I am only referring to the concept in a romantic manner.

Additionally even though I cast a cisgender woman for Aurelia Stark/Astro, Aurelia is a cisgender demi-girl who goes by she/her and they/them pronouns! This is why Aurelia retains her feminine features, but choose to embrace having both female and nonbinary pronouns.

2. This book will deal with sensitive topics!

With the use of explicitly displayed mind torture, explicit usage of violence, the use of excessive manipulation [emotional and psychological mostly] and more, it's safe to say that this book is not light-hearted.

To combat this, I will write trigger warnings at the front of a chapter, if I feel there is something that needs a warning [I'm usually good at detecting sensitive topics, but if I miss something, feel free to let me know].

3. The hero-related labels for some of the characters will intentionally be misleading!

For instance, Lady Mystique is canonically stated to be a heroine but she's really just a villainous hero. Even though she engages in villain-like things and does things for her own interest, she still operates as a heroine because she has a sense of honor and duty... for now.

That's why I intentionally didn't label Lady Mystique as an antihero since she does end up performing malicious-based activities, which will continue as the book progresses on [assuming I get that far ahead].

Also because this book is from Lady Mystique's perspective, I based the labels on of the way she views these characters! So even though Enigma Stark/Void is [or was] a hero, I labeled him the way that I did because of how she portrayed the guy to be the villain in her narrative.

I could go on, but then I would just be rambling about these characters so for now, that is all I'll say on the matter [unless you have questions about the others, then I'll happily answer].

...

Those are the main things I can think of at the top of my head right now, but if you have any questions for me, please feel free to ask! I don't bite, promise!

I would love to know your thoughts... even if I am painstakingly slow at responding or spontaneously go inactive [I swear it's not intentional — it just happens and I'm sorry to those who affected by my prolonged absence].

Also! In case you didn't notice I tried out a new aesthetic, styling format that I made for this book! What do you think? Personally, I think it's cute and I think it might end up as the main format for my future books/projects. I also don't own any of the gifs, but I did make the book cover.

This is also random, but if I did a second part that contained a playlist/the general vibe of the book and some aesthetics for the characters, would that be something you would be interested in? Or, nah? Let me know your thoughts! ♥️

But yeah! Thanks for checking out Obsession and I'll see you all [hopefully] next time!