The Perils of Mystica Volume 1, Part 1: A Perilous Origin

Hey Patrons,

Here we are, the first part of The Perils of Mystica! Most of you probably read the WiP of the first two chapters that I posted a while back, and this installment contains those (albeit minus all the spelling and grammar errors) as well as the third chapter. This idea has been in my head for so long and I'm so excited to finally share it with everyone!

I think that I've had an idea for Mystica in my head since I first started publishing in 2016. After releasing the first few chapters of Damsels Anonymous to a positive reception, I started thinking of what other stories I wanted to write and it seemed natural to write my own superheroine in bondage stories. As you all know, I love Phantom Lady, and love seeing her in bondage, so I wanted to do something similar to her, skimpy costume and all. At first I debated on what kind of heroine I wanted to write, such as if I just wanted her to be a normal human vigilante, a power house like Wonder Woman with a key weakness, or a vocal based heroine like Black Canary or Zatanna. In the end, I went with vocal based because, well I liked the idea of a heroine that always has to be gagged when she's caught. 

As you've all also come to know, I based my characters, at least physically, on real models, most of which are Instagram models. For Mystica, I wanted her to be different, and eventually used model Suni Sweeney as my inspiration for the character. I've been striving to make my stories and characters more diverse, and loved the idea of an Afro-Latina superheroine. The cast is *ahem* rounded out with Tatiana, inspired by Peruvian model Yliana Diaz, and Lexa, inspired by model Lexy Stevens

At the time I was reading a few of the Harry Dresden novels, and they ended up heavily influencing my work on Mystica. I decided to go with a magic based heroine who battled other magical villains, which also meant that I could play with some fun bondage scenarios that I couldn't get away with in Damsels Anonymous. Even though this is the origin story for Mystica, this wasn't actually the first idea I had for the character. Originally, I was going to skip the origin and dive into Mystica as an already established heroine, and perhaps later do a flashback to her origin or write the origin story later. Eventually though, the idea for her origin came to me and I decided that it would be important to tell that story first as a way of introducing Mystica's world and setting up the characters and their relationships with each other. 

My initial Mystica idea will end up being the second volume, which I hope to start on this year or next year. I feel like the Harry Dresden influence will be much more apparent in that story, but we won't know until I write it. Until then, enjoy what will be the first of many adventures of Mystica!