Been meaning to make an Aster lore post (and lore about Z-777 and this AU in general) since I have many thoughts about her right now so here.
CW: Abuse, violence, medical malpractice/horror/gore, Urbanshade generally being terrible and making Aster feel terrible
Aster's birth was not planned, and she was the result of a one-night stand between a strange man and Beatrice Hawkins, the wife of Urbanshade operative Judas Hawkins. Judas got promoted because of this, his co-workers were not happy about that.
Judas and Beatrice are just Bojack Horseman's parents but involved in corporate conspiracy bs. Judas was the more physically abusive, controlling parent, Beatrice was, like her namesake, a neglectful, verbally abusive alcoholic.
Learned how to fight through schoolyard brawls. She bites. Hard.
Aster has a sneaking suspicion that the community she grew up in was a cult. It definitely was.
She and Sebastian were partnered up for a project or smth (this was probably before he switched to engineering. It was amicable but eventually grew into something genuine. Their college era makes me sick they really could've had it all but fucking Mr. Shade stole that from me and I hate him for it.
Urbanshade was aware of this. They were unaware of just how much it escalated (they still are) but they could tell he was getting attached to her and vice versa.
They could excuse a casual passing friendship or even a casual hook-up/friends w/ benefits deal, but a genuine bond is a big no-no.
And then they hire Sebastian to do some engineering/electrical work and he stumbles upon something shady, probably a weapons cache (or even the storage for the previous Z-777 harvests). In smart horror movie character fashion, Sebastian decides to not play hero and wisely peaces tf out, but Hawkins probes him about his feelings before he can get to the door and oh yeah bro's smitten.
An attachment is an attachment, and attachments lead to problems. And Urbanshade is very good at getting rid of its problems. Who gives a damn that Sebastian's literally just some well-meaning guy and Aster doesn't know about any of this, fuck them kids.
They were initially going to tamper with a later job and get Sebastian killed, but they didn't account for Aster being there and getting caught in an explosion caused by Judas and a rookie operative. She has her first "death", Sebastian is framed and snatched up by Urbanshade. Judas is brutally demoted down to the lowest operative rank.
Naturally, Urbanshade is pissed as hell, and has to do some esoteric occult shit that ultimately dooms Aster to bring her back to life. The community gets sacrificed, Judas and Beatrice are allowed to escape but Beatrice divorces his ass.
Urbanshade sends Aster to a hospital under their jurisdiction, she wakes up almost a year after the incident and sets out to prove Sebastian's innocence after learning the truth. She manages to get some evidence from that night to the cops which helps clear his case, but Urbanshade yoinks her too.
Ten years of torture babeyyyyy. She gets Z-9, another supernatural anomaly attached to her along the way, giving her a monster form that activates when she feels strong survival-based emotions (anger, fear, etc).
Urbanshade eventually goes behind Mr. Shade's back and uses her on Z-2, an anomaly that's been causing trouble in the Blacksite. It's basically a hungry, sentient house, and it wants Z-777 instances.
Mr. Shade is pissy about it, but calms down once they explain that Z-9 is trapped as well, as it's been haunting him for a while, too.
Aster spends an undetermined amount of time in Z-2 before breaking free thanks to Z-9, and runs out during the heat of the Blacksite. Blah blah blah, alliance with Sebastian and Painter, blah blah blah.
The scars on her neck are from a shock collar she used to have to wear early on. They removed it once she became more compliant and subdued. The ones on her wrists and ankles are from pulling on the restraints before her regeneration fully manifested.
Aster was kept alive due to how useful she was to the company as a source of money, but was kept isolated from the EXR-Ps outside of occasional behavioral/psychological tests. No one really stops to think about the transplants and transfusions, given how useful they are
Z-777 is not the person, but the anomaly itself. It's a biological phenomenon that makes everything compatible with everything, and allows the body to adapt to almost all conditions. How the effects vary depending on the methods of harvest cannot be explained.
Z-777 is also said to have some indirect sway over luck. Urbanshade says that about Aster making profits skyrocket, but Sebastian also lost twelve years of his life, the community she was raised in was burned down, Mrs. Solace lost her son, etc. so....
Z-777-2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 all died at some point during their own experimentation periods. Aster is the most successful instance since Z-777-1, hence why Urbanshade is so hellbent on holding onto her. They cannot afford to wait for a Z-777-8.
Aster has the opposite kind of touch trauma from Sebastian and becomes unresponsive instead of violent when people get up in her personal space. She also tends to dissociate/shut down in stressful/overwhelming situations and has developed self-destructive habits thanks to her regenerative abilities.
Despite everything, Aster does genuinely feel good about all the people outside of Urbanshade who did end up getting donations from her, which ultimately saves them from the cons of Z-777's properties. One of the recipients just so happens to be Mrs. Solace, who was suffering from a mild health condition that worsened after Sebastian's "execution".
Aster was a Paramore/Avril Lavigne girlie. She would've liked Olivia Rodrigo's rock music. She listened to Hurricane Streets by Hey Monday and Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls on repeat for hours.
She liked to draw and often got in trouble for not paying attention in class because she was doodling. Her and Painter bond over that in the Blacksite.
Kind of a gifted kid, she didn't know what she wanted to do with her life after college and remained undecided. Probably would've done good in law thanks to her having a knack for finding loopholes, but that was never her thing
She wanted to be a singer and definitely had the potential for greatness. She and Sebastian used to have little jam sessions in their dorms when they got bored.
Did parkour as a hobby, her height and weight made her very good at it. She can, in fact, do a sick flip.
I don't have a set love language for her, but physical affection and quality time are the ones she does the most :)
She likes the rain and water in general. She often went night-swimming in the lake near her house or the college pool when she needed to relax or just wanted quiet time to herself.
A very, very repressed romantic. She was mildly disillusioned by her parent's crumbling, messy marriage but still wouldn't hate having a "The Notebook" moment. She would absolutely love it.
The light gold in her eyes came from the experimentation and glow in the dark.
Biting as a love language real.
A very, very good kisser.
Just a walking ray of sunshine and good vibes and that warm, comforting feeling of home and safety and that feeling that everything will, in fact be okay, but also a final girl and this meme:
