ERode

Return of a Failed Generation

The expose would be unreal.

Shame Sherry couldn't get cancelled at the height of her delusions. And alas, I don't think Ferrucio would go out of his way to call her out in his second life.

After Era Mythos [Corpo-Heroes Powered by Fame]

The larger the agency, the more tools they have to actually sway public perception and 'decide' the Hero's powers and persona. They'd be able to do stuff like launch elaborate PVs to drum up hype, get their other talents to hint at the arrival of a new Hero, launch Origin movies in the theaters, and make their talent's debut into a spectacular affair with plenty of special effects to give the illusion that they've come into being with specific powers already possessed. If that roots itself strongly enough into public consciousness, then yeah, the Hero that the agency markets as a fire-breathing Hero will, in fact, gain fire-breathing powers.

Smaller agencies have less tools for doing that, so in the case where they're trying to market a fire-breathing Hero, perhaps instead the audience would latch onto other subjects involving that Hero. Maybe they misinterpret the shitty RL special effects and think that the Hero was releasing fireworks instead. Maybe they would misconstrue the fire-breathing and think instead that the Hero has magical sneezes. Maybe they wouldn't care about the fire-breathing at all, but rather they like the Hero's good looks, so they become a Fiery Romance Hero instead.

And, ofc, as public perception changes, so too would the Hero's power. So the fire-breathing Hero may have been just a fire-breathing person, but then maybe they made a cute 'rawr xd' expression that turned into a meme, and now there's tons of fanart of that hero being a dragon-boi, so voila, he starts developing draconic elements.

After Era Mythos [Corpo-Heroes Powered by Fame]

@Silver Carrot So you're aware, Heroes are basically just regular folks who were propped up as Heroes by agencies that convinced enough of the populace of their capabilities, so they wouldn't actually be a test-tube kinda deal.

But if that's their backstory as Ratgirl? Sounds good. And having a fall from grace, then being forced to 'graduate', before being 'reborn' into a new character as per executive orders, only to get haunted still by their 'past life' is definitely a fun kinda thing.

After Era Mythos [Corpo-Heroes Powered by Fame]

@Yankee Villains are just Heroes who were more marketable as bad guys, so that's basically fine, ye. Gonna have a whole other set of problems going on if audience perception gets whacky though, so they'll probably be more micromanaged by the company (at least if it's a larger one).

@Eviledd1984 Go shoot.

After Era Mythos [Corpo-Heroes Powered by Fame]

Naw, it's a different flavor of corpo-Heroes. So it probably wouldn't be anywhere close to as depraved as The Boys. Think of it more like pro wrestling, except with audience vibes and popularity having a greater effect on what decisions management makes.

Return of a Failed Generation

Shields locked, the Royal Guard braced in unison as the crushing mass of monstrous flesh and crude steel surged towards them. It was a tide of endtimes, the disaster with a mind that had swept through the entirety of the kingdom. There was no room for prayers when the bells tolled and the scouts prophesied doom. There was no hope left for humanity, when the Demon King lived while Kaidisyum had fallen. Fires rose, and the hideous warsongs of the fiendish horde was carried skywards by the thermal drafts, as if to mock the sensibilities of the heavens themselves with their shrill cries and their thudding beats.

If they could not defend the capital, how could they defend a humble port town? If stone walls and ballista could not thwart the demonic threat, how could wooden palisades? If they could do anything, they ought to have done it already.

Since they did not do anything?

Ferrucio knew it was already over. He could hardly see through the slits of his soot-blackened helmet. His body had already felt like lead, the consequences of countless days spent repairing ships. His shield and sword were only a few steps removed from scrap. There was nothing left for him to live for, really.

His aspiration was dead. His nemesis was dead. The secret he thought he'd bring to his grave was shared with the only other who deserved it. And at the end of things, he was able to speak with someone who may have been a half-brother.

It had been a long while since his head had felt so clear.

"HOLD THE LINE!"

His shoulder jolted from the orc's chopping blow, but his fellow shieldsmen bolstered his own position. The spearman behind him thrust a pike right past his ear, skewering the monster through his eyeball, and Ferrucio followed through with a shove of his shield, sending the still-twitching corpse into the next. Wulvers pounced forth, snapping jaws and deadly claws, but he could hardly make out their form, and that predatory fear was reduced to nothing more than another impact, another near-impossible force. Air was punched out from his lungs; he drew in another smoke-filled breath as he cowered behind a warped shield and thrust blindly with his sword. Was it fur and flesh? Or just dirt? He couldn't confirm, and it didn't matter. The men behind him thrust once more, three spearheads digging into the lupine monster, and the Wulver fell back as Ferrucio advanced forth, a stomp on the monsters head as he maintained formation with the others. It was no advance, not really. Only the ebb and flow of the frontlines, the postmortem muscle contractions of a life already ended.

His tendons were fraying alongside his nerves. His muscles were tearing at the seams. Every collision worsened the fractures in his bones. Every kill was a miracle considering the circumstances. Hold the line. Hold the line. Hold the line!

Hold it, so that there would be no choice for the monsters, except to kill him before they could lay a hand on the Princess!

His lungs were raw.

In the throes of chaos, Ferrucio didn't even recognize his own voice.

After Era Mythos [Corpo-Heroes Powered by Fame]

@AsurasIt’s possible, for sure. It just gets hard capped by the population itself. And if the super duper famous artist gets a bit too troublesome, then they’re dealt with in various ways.

I’d say that in general, so long as there’s no actual “belief in superhuman capability” involved, they wouldn’t greatly surpass, idk, Prime Beatles or whatever.

After Era Mythos [Corpo-Heroes Powered by Fame]

You’ll have to be marketed as a Hero in order to actually manifest powers, but if you’re just a famous singer, your popularity itself becomes a positive feedback loop that would make your artistic abilities more…potent? Capable of resonating deeply with others?

Large Hero Agencies would be able to do a lotta work beforehand to drum up public interest in a new Hero. Think PVs, teasers, and setting up a storyline featuring other Heroes/Villains within their agency to make sure the debut goes off fabulously.

It’s also possible to be an indie or start from grassroots as a very low-street level Hero, but you’ll be underground for a while unless you go viral. Like actual regular Joe saving cats kinda moment.

After Era Mythos [Corpo-Heroes Powered by Fame]

Look outside, kid.

Beyond the bright lights. Beyond the walls. Out there.

There are lands where dragons and wyverns lurk. There is ocean where mountains once stood. A hundred thousand cities, turned to nothing more than elaborate ruins and oversized headstones. In the neon glow, can you see which stars should be there in the sky, and which shouldn’t?

The world outside is in disharmony, and those inside need to forget.

So honestly?

Doesn’t matter if you think it’s a lie or a scam or whatever. You’re a professional now. Keep it together and stay entertaining.

The bottom line of the City depends on it.

After Era Mythos

In 53 AE, belief shapes reality and talent agencies make idols out of mortals.

Neo-Astraea, the City of Heroes, stands as one of the few bastions of civilization left in a world irrevocably altered. Beyond the walls that stand taller than even the greatest skyscrapers, there is nothing but chaos and uncertainty, a bubbling unrest that has given birth creatures once considered mythological in nature. But within it?

The city is a place of peace and plenty, where anyone can become a Hero and gain the adoration of the masses. Through Fame, that combination of broad popularity and fandom fervor, individuals can rise up to become superhumans based off of the populace’s belief that they are. Neo-Astraea craves heroes, and the talent agencies, the PR firms, the self-marketing gurus? They are more than happy to provide.

Fan meetups every day. Bombastic battles every week! The greater a Hero’s Fame, the greater their powers become, enabling them to embody the ideal that rests in the heart of their beloved fans! And, of course, in a City of Heroes, one can hardly be only be someone who punches people hard! There are Heroes who dance and sing, Heroes whose ‘civilian’ alter ego see themselves star in TV or radio dramas, Heroes who invent inventions that unfortunately only they can use! Heroes who you can shake hands with and hug, Heroes whose lives you could read about on tabloid rags, Heroes who fall from grace so dramatically that years after their disappearance, they’re still spoken of! Hero merch, Hero photobooks, Hero vinyls and cassettes, Hero movies on the silver screen!

And of course, where there are Heroes, there too are Villains. Corporate-controlled and managed, feasting off the same Fame that Heroes do, but serving instead as a foil, a counterpart, to further draw the populace’s gaze and attention with their antics. They too have their fans, they too have their merch, they too are performers, acting out what their managers desire and what the people want to see. Following the narratives approved by Neo-Astraea’s Ministry of Self-Actualization, they do dastardly, harmless crimes, engage in heart-stirring battles across all levels of the city and, ultimately, fall dramatically to the Hero’s might.

Predictable stories, but comforting ones.

...
..
.

In Neo-Astraea, there are three Taboos.

The number 2000.

The word ‘Terror’.

The country ‘Japan’.

In Neo-Astraea, there are two Afflictions.

The Self-Propagating Villain.

The Thanatognosis.

In Neo-Astraea, there must be one Absolute.

Good will triumph over Evil.

---

Basically, To Be Hero X has seized my brain, and then I tossed in some Re Creators and Ishura for extra seasoning.

Y'all will be new Heroes having to manage public perception and dealing with executive demands in one of the last centers of civilization in the world. But don't worry about the whole 'last centers' thing. Neo-Astraea has everything you'd need to be happy, and so long as you continue to increase your fans and play nice with the bigwigs, everlasting happiness and glory is undoubtedly within reach!

Probably gonna be a character-driven RP (outside of me tossing out some funny incidents to get things going), so ideally characters should have strong, personal goals to aspire towards, even if it's only to make a billion Astra-Bucks and live in a penthouse.

I do have a whole bunch extra background lore and information, so if ya got any questions, go shoot. It'll give me excuses to bump shit.

Return of a Failed Generation

Y'know, I keep forgetting.

But this totally fits.