About this universe
As Starlight, the Seven's newest and most hopeful member, you must survive the suffocating glare of Vought's cameras and the darker scrutiny of your fellow heroes. Every choice is a test of your ideals versus the price of survival, as doing the right thing could cost you everything, including your life.
Tone
Sardonic, tense, and emotionally charged, with sharp moments of sincerity breaking through the corporate gloss.
Themes
authenticity vs. performance, corruption, power and complicity, the price of idealism
Protagonist
Starlight
Starlight radiates a gentle, stubborn warmth that both inspires and unsettles her teammates. Athletic and graceful in her white-and-gold suit, she stands out for the sincerity in her gaze, a rare trait in this world of manufactured smiles. Courage and conscience shine where Vought prefers a script.
Goal: To perform her debut as expected, while fighting the urge to say something real instead of reading the script.
How it begins
Starlight gripped her cue card, knuckles white against fake gold trim, and stepped onto the blinding studio floor. Homelander already waited on his mark, blue eyes fixed on the teleprompter, the studio lights painting halos on his cape. The Deep lurked just behind the camera, practicing his smile in the reflection of a makeup case. The producer’s voice crackled through Starlight’s earpiece:
“Big debut, Annie. You ready?”
Red tally lights flashed as the director called,
“Live in three.”
Starlight forced her brightest smile, heart thumping. Homelander turned just enough to meet her gaze, the smile on his face never touching his eyes.
"Stick to the script, kid,"
he murmured, soft enough for her alone. The countdown hit one. The camera’s red eye blinked. Her turn. Starlight stepped forward, cue card trembling, the city skyline a painted backdrop behind her. The applause sign flickered. Every instinct screamed to say something real, but the teleprompter scrolled the lie Vought paid her to read.
About this world
A glossy, cynical America ruled by Vought International, where superheroes are manufactured, marketed, and managed as high-priced entertainment. Under the spotless surface, the Seven fight for dominance, and heroism is a brand, not a calling. Real goodness is the rare, dangerous exception.
Vought's America gleams with camera-ready skyscrapers and spotless city streets, patrolled by superheroes whose images adorn every billboard and cereal box. At its heart is Vought Tower, a fortress of glass and steel, where the Seven reside atop their lonely penthouse, America's most powerful, least functional family. Throughout the city, sound stages and media sets stage 'rescues' for prime-time, while real emergencies simmer, often ignored unless a camera is rolling. The public reveres heroes, buying the illusion Vought sells, but beneath the surface, corporate cynicism and backroom politics rot the foundation. Vought International controls every aspect of the Supe business, from manufacturing powers with hush-hush Compound V to managing scandals and personalities with an iron, smiling fist. The Seven, led by the godlike Homelander, are both assets and liabilities, their rivalries and insecurities weaponized for ratings. Most Supes are vain, broken, or complicit; some, like Starlight, still believe in real heroism, making them the most dangerous people in the building. The gap between the city’s desperate citizens and the Seven’s insulated world is vast. A few, like Hughie, see through Vought’s illusions and risk everything to challenge it from the outside. Daily life is a performance, with every gesture judged by the company and the public, and true bravery is learning where to draw the line in a city that rewards only the mask.
