Heroine Syndrome
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Word Count: 205000
Another day, another disaster. Bestial terrors plague the city-state of Icia—a demilitarized protectorate forbidden from defending itself. Colossal mechanical war machines known as "Angels" come from abroad to save the populace from the nightmarish "Beasts", yet in their wake lies untold collateral damage. When the citizens aren't fleeing monsters or fearing for their lives, they're faced with an unjust social system forced upon them by their neighboring protector nations. Yet, deep underground, a paramilitary organization develops a way to battle the Beasts by exploiting the strange and otherworldly powers of a group of young girls. ⁂ Elise St. Claire never wanted to be a heroine. While she had a strange and unruly power, she kept it suppressed with heavy medication. She was content with being a wallflower, watching the world pass her by while she kept to herself. Yet, peace was a luxury she didn't have, for rampant bullying, abuse, and "Witch" accusations were a daily occurrence. When she's no longer able to keep her power in check, her entire life gets upended as she learns there are other girls just like her, yet they fight to restore Icia's honor, pride, and sovereignty. Now, Elise must decide if she wants to remain a cowardly wallflower, or take her life into her own hands and find the courage, confidence, and will to stand up for herself and fight for the future of her homeland. --- Heroine Syndrome is a dark story full of action with horror elements to it, and it features a heavy emphasis on character growth, emotions, mental health, and overcoming one's trauma while finding the ability to stand up for oneself. This story is very heavily inspired by anime and video games. Some of my biggest inspirations are Magical Girl shows like Sailor Moon, Symphogear, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Precure, and Magical Girl Site mixed with mecha anime/games such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, Armored Core, Front Mission, Xenogears, and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. I also take a lot of inspirations from the Trails series of games regarding long and connected storylines told through multiple arcs over time across different nations. Heroine Syndrome focuses on the events within the city-state of Icia, while its sister stories Gunmetal Grave and Neon Skyline focus on the protector nations of Dierna and Nova Svetline respectively. Additionally, Heroine Syndrome is one of the stories in my large connected single universe, and likely to be the first (self) published entry in the series. It also serves as a commentary on classism and the nightmare-hellscape of late-stage capitalism. CW: There is some gorey violence, along with some depictions of self-harm, bullying and abuse. Progress: Part I complete at 90k. Editing in progress. Part II complete at 115k. Editing in progress. Part III plotted/planned/outlined.