Synopsis: A financially struggling university student makes a desperate mistake during a physics exam and catches the attention of her cold, calculating professor. What begins as academic discipline quietly twists into something far more intimate and dangerous, blurring lines of power, consent, and control. As fear, dependence, and desire intertwine, she finds herself pulled into a psychological spiral where obedience feels safer than resistance—and escape grows harder the deeper she’s drawn in.
THIS CONTAINS SEXUAL AND DISTURBING CONTENT SOME READERS MAY FIND UNCOMFORTABLE
SUMMARY: When you know, you know. But there was so much you didn't know. A whirlwind romance and hasty marriage was bound to end in divorce. What you didn't expect was how impossible it was to find "Leon Kent" when you discovered the pregnancy a short time after he left. Still, you managed well enough on your own for almost seven years. Her name is Stella, and she's remarkable and gifted. Lucky you. Perhaps that's why someone's taken her. When all hope feels lost, you receive an unexpected call from a father that didn't even know she existed, promising to help you find her. All you can do is take this one last saving grace and set aside the unresolved feelings and sense of betrayal. Saving Stella depends on it. And who the hell is Leon Kennedy?!
RATING: 18+ for canon-typical violence and eventual smut. ✶ READER: single mom, nurse, no y/n use. ✶ SIDE CHARACTERS: claire redfield, chris redfield, rebecca chambers, minor side original characters.
TIMELINE: fic takes place in 2008, so after re4 and before re5, with obvious canon divergence.
WARNINGS: usual re violence, human & medical experimentation, typical re experimentation on children, cultish themes ✶ IMPLIED/MENTIONED: unplanned pregnancy, traumatic birth, postpartum stuff, religious fanaticism, ableism, suicidal thoughts, depression, alcoholism.
A/N: it's been years since i've written fanfiction, but the re9 announcement rekindled my love for writing. this is a result of me hyperfixating on a plot until i willed my brain to write it down.
WIP Time Travel Fix-It starring a Desperate and Exasperated Steve Harrington and a very Confused and Weirded out Eddie Munson
by missing-eddiemunson
Saturday, November 5th 1983, 10:45pm
It was a surprisingly warm night out for November. Eddie had forgone sliding on his ratty old smoking-slippers and his large oversized smoking-jacket for that evening's sesh on the porch, which was rare for the later months in a year. The air was just the right temperature for having a smoke and wastin’ a few hours thinking about the band, the campaign- just about anything other than pouring uselessly over the homework he had sitting, rotting away in his backpack, really.
Just the thought of homework made his gut twist with the familiar cocktail of guilt, shame and anger. It was only a few months into his senior year and already most of his teachers were making backhanded remarks about holding him back a year…
Like, he got it, he wasn’t the smartest guy on the planet, or even at School, but he wasn’t super senior levels of stupid- was he? God, he hoped not. If he got held back, he might just take a short walk with a long fall off the Quarries ledge and spare himself and Wayne the embarrassment of having to repeat a year and be the town's laughing stock.
He carefully inhaled the last of his joint, maybe the fourth or fifth of the night- he’d lost count, really, through pinched fingers, the embers crackled hot at his calloused fingertips and the sharp heat of the smoke burned the back of his throat before he snubbed the last of the roach out inside the dusty ashtray sitting between the two mismatched armchairs that took up the Munson trailer porch. It was good shit- surprisingly tasty for weed grown by Rick Lipton himself, but it seemed that Eddie just wasn’t in the right headspace to really enjoy it as he exhaled deeply and let his head fall back with a dull thump as it struck the sun bleached side of the trailer, the smoke escaping his lips as it curled around his space before dissipating in the wind.
Should he just pack it in and go to bed early? He didn’t exactly feel like really doing anything productive for the rest of the night… Homework was out of the fucking question, obviously. Eddie had a good solid run of not doing a single nights homework for his whole entire education career, he really wasn’t chomping at the bit to break his record now. He firmly believed that if the material was really all that important, then the teachers should and would be covering it during actual class time. They already had him eight hours a day, five days a week- he refused to let them take a single second more of his time or thoughts than absolutely necessary.
He supposed he could spend the rest of the night working on the latest campaign for Hellfire... His friends PJ, Jeff, and the twins, Jack and Zach had seen right through what he had planned to be at least a three session long maze and got it solved in one and a half, so he should really be working on a new roadblock to keep them from entering the Witches Wood’s too early on and getting absolutely slaughtered by the Big Bad Evil Guy, but for some reason he just couldn’t find the motivation to grab his notebooks or monster guides. They were sitting, maybe not even twenty steps away just inside the trailer, stacked on his desk right where he’d left them from last game night, but it currently felt like they were on another planet with how disconnected he felt from the world of Dungeons and Dragons at the moment.
The idea of messing around on the guitar popped into his head for a moment. It’s been a while since he’s fucked around with the accustic in his bedroom… He loved his electric, don’t get him wrong, she was his baby, his love, his mistress of the night, his sweetheart- the only woman he’s ever loved like that but nothing really compared to a first romance and that title was strictly reserved for his hand-me-down acoustic. It was the first thing Wayne had gifted him- probably one of his first gifts ever if he was being honest- after moving in and Eddie had treasured it beyond words. He’d play until his fingers bled, and then kept on playing even with the bandages making him sloppy. It was one of the few things in this world that made Eddie Munson truly feel at peace- the reverberation of music running up his arms and rumbling deep within his chest- it was like something inside of his flipped and all the chaos in his mind was calmed by the notes and chords and rhythms of whatever song he was trying to play at the time.
Music soothes the beast, or something along those lines, right?
Maybe just one more joint and then he’d head inside, throw together something to eat that vaguely resembles food, and then he’d pick around on the ol’ girl for the rest of the night… Yeah... That sounded like a good enough plan to Eddie. With his mind made up and a small nod to himself to cement it, he popped open his grey metal lunch box and began gathering up the needed supplies- his grinder, his paper, his weed, all that fun stuff- when the peaceful quiet of the air was broken by the loud crunching of tires on gravel.
Someone was peeling into the Forest Hills Trailer park and it sounded like they were going at least twenty miles over the speed limit. Eddie looked up, wide eyed and frozen in place, as a set of headlights came screaming into the space in front of the trailer that was usually occupied by Wayne’s truck, lighting up the whole porch with the high beams, and momentarily blinding Eddie with their glare.
Before the bright white stars even cleared from his eyes, the teen was already trying to stash his shit away in a panic, shoving the metal lunch box under and behind the chair as inconspicuous as possible- holy shit, had one of the neighbours called the cops over him smoking a bit of pot outside? Why the fuck didn’t they just come over and yell at him to quit it like a normal fucking person!? Fuck fuck shit fuck, he couldn’t get arrested! Not now! Wayne was just starting his shift! If he got called into the station about his fuck up of a nephew again-!
Upon further inspection, now that his vision had cleared, the car didn’t look much like a cop car though… for one, the thing didn’t have red and blue lights flashing. It didn't even have any lights on the top. The driver's side door flung open, without even cutting the engine and a man's figure popped out. It was hard to see who exactly it was, as a set of high beams was currently still trying to blind him, but even from here Eddie could tell it probably wasn’t a cop. Cop’s didn’t typically wear what looked to be polos and khakis on duty, Eddie would know, he’d had more than just a few run ins with Police Chief Hopper and his boys in uniform to tell…
“Hello?” Eddie called out, fully aware that it was sounding more like a question than a greeting, but honestly, it was a miracle that he didn’t open with ‘The fuck you want?’ because that was all he kept thinking in his head. He raised himself to his feet, feeling weird about sitting while this other guy was standing. It was a power dynamic thing. “Can I… help you with something?”
None of the guys had called or said anything about stopping by and people really didn’t come by his trailer to make deals, it wasn’t something he’d ever encouraged- or offered frankly- wanting to keep Wayne as far removed from his shady shit as possible was one of Eddie’s biggest priority and if this guy was wanting a pick up, it’d be the last deal Eddie ever did with ‘em, that was for sure.
But the guy was silent- no reply, no retort, he didn’t even move. He just stood there, half behind his open car door, presumably staring at Eddie. He wasn’t actually sure, he still couldn’t exactly see the guy's face beyond the bright lights still aimed at the porch but it felt like they were trained right on his eyeballs. The only sound between the two for a good long moment was the rumble of the car's engine. He tried raising a hand to block the light, but it didn’t help so he quickly dropped it back to his side for the sake of seeming unbothered.
Eddie shifted his weight nervously from side to side, but tried to keep it together. Inside, he was freaking out- who the fuck was this? What did they want? Why were they here so late at night? Was this a robbery? A hit? What the fuck was going on?! He realised he was probably overreacting a bit- but that certainly didn’t stop his mouth from running ahead of him in his panic.
“...We gonna have a problem here, bud?” He asked, his tone short and snappy, fully ready now to get this bizarre and uncomfortable interaction over with as quickly as possible so he could just slip inside his trailer and lock every window and door possible until his Uncle came back home. Hell, he might even go hide under the covers like a little kid and not the legal adult of eighteen he officially was now.
Still no reply, just more of the same stiff and unnerving silence. Eddie bristled, getting his hackles up and baring his teeth like a wild dog. He was no stranger to making himself seem bigger and more intimidating than he actually felt- it came half in part with the dealing and half in part with running the D&D club for freaks and geeks.
He took half a step- a shuffle really- towards the door on his right.
“Hey! My uncle’s got a fucking gun inside- I ain’t afraid to use it, man!" A bold faced lie, through and through. Wayne didn’t own any firearms, thank god, and even if he did, Eddie would not touch them even if his life depended on it. He hated guns with a passion- had ever since his Dad took him hunting when he was like seven or eight years old and had made him shoot that little white rabbit in the side…
The bunny had screamed like a human baby and Eddie had cried so hard he puked. He refused to ever touch another firearm ever again, even refusing to help his dad carry their supplies back to the car. That had earned him a pretty nasty beating for it too, but the second his Dad shoved the cold metal of the rifle in his hands, he’d drop it like it was red hot. He couldn’t even stomach touching a gun anymore, a decade later, let alone fire one.
The man behind the car slowly began to move and Eddie’s heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest. He could barely hear the gravel that crunched under foot as the mystery man began to move, not over the blood rushing violently through his ears. Wosh wosh Wosh wosh. The man walked around his open driver's door, not making any movement to bother closing it behind him, and began to walk up the driveway, slowly, carefully and one careful step at a time. Eddie fought down the urge to look over his shoulder at the door like some kind of wild terrified panicked animal looking for an escape.
The closer the stranger got the easier it became to see him- short on the sides and high on the top chestnut brown hair, a white guy with pale skin haloed from the head beams behind him, about Eddie’s height and weight, a little broader in the shoulder maybe…
Holy fucking shit, was that Harrington? Steve motherfucking Harrington, the fucking King of Hawkins high school? What the shit was he doing here in Forest Hills? Shouldn’t a place like this be considered far below him? How did he even know which Trailer was Eddies? He’d never been here before, but he drove in like a missile seeking its target. Shit, was Eddie a target right now? Was he about to get his ass beat right now? What the hell’d he even do to Harrington? They didn’t interact!
Okay, maybe Eddie jumped on his lunch table and maybe he kicked over Harrington’s soda can the other day, but it wasn’t like Harrington even got splashed! He’d distinctly remembered he’d gotten almost all of the mess on Hagan, who- Oh shit, Harrington’s right hand man, Hagan… of course Harrington was here for revenge…
Fuck.
Eddie didn’t really have time to run away... Harrington was climbing his porch stairs now, his sneaker clad feet thudding ominously with every step.
He looked just about as scared as Eddie felt, which- that didn’t make any sense did it? Harrington was the one who drove here, Harrrington was the one who just showed up out of the middle of nowhere with no warning, was the one here presumably to kick his ass- Eddie was the one who should have looked terrified, not Harrington!
“Listen, uh…” He stuttered, trying to find the words to talk his way out of eating his own teeth tonight. If there was anything Eddie Munson was, it was quick with his words. “About that Soda kick- It wasn’t like I was actually aiming for Hagan’s face- It’s just such a big and annoying target, you know? A total and complete accident- could’ve happened to anyone really, so let’s just let bygones be bygones, am I right?” He raised his hands up high, trying to show he meant no harm.
Harrington moved quickly and instinctively, Eddie tensed up tight. A sucker punch to the stomach without bracing for it was the woooorst he could speak from experience, having lost his cookies more than once that way-
But instead of violent hands punching at his middle or striking his face or boxing at his ears, warm trembling arms slid under his own and wrapped tightly around his back. A torso pressed firmly against his own, impossibly solid and real and shaking with every breath- rattling in and shivering out. He could smell the other boy’s cologne, something rich and woody and musky that stuck in his nose. Eddie assumed a bottle cost more than Wayne’s whole paycheck. After a moment, he could feel the hot wet air of Harrington’s quivering breath on his neck, and something wet hit his skin in a drop,quickly followed by another and another and another.
‘Was… was Harrington crying?’
Time seemed to stand still, and for half a moment there, Eddie, frozen in place stiff as a board, hands extended outwards as if he were afraid to touch Harrington back, was convinced he was dreaming. He had to be dreaming, Eddie only ever got to be this close to Steve Harrington in his dreams, though typically then there was more kissing and less fear and confusion and concern.
He’d smoked too much, fallen asleep on the porch and was gonna wake up any moment now, Eddie was sure of it. But the rattle in Steve’s breath, the subtle trembling through his frame, the silent gasping little almost–but-not-quite sobs that were sneaking their way past Harrington’s lips… Eddie would never have imagined this.
A dog barked loudly from somewhere in the trailer park, probably Mr. Nowack’s mutt Scruffy, getting upset at the local wildlife again, but the harsh sound was like the breaking of the spell for Harrington- he jumped back like he’d been burned by Eddie, like Eddie was a glowing hot iron about to burn him if he got to close, quickly putting space between the two of them, eyes darting nervously to the dark and shady tree-line, searching for something that Eddie couldn’t see.
He had certainly been crying, Eddie noted as if the wet spots on his neck weren't enough of a clue. Harrington’s eyes were red rimmed and his face red and splotchy. His bottom lip was stiff at first glance, but the longer Eddie starred the tiny trembles of held back tears began to make their way to the surface. ‘Ugly Crying’ His brain provided, but that was preposterous, there was nothing Ugly about Steve motherfucking Harrington in the slightest.
“Are you….” Eddie trailed off. Clearly Harrington wasn’t fine, Eddie didn’t need to ask him pointless questions he already knew the answers to, but, it wasn’t like Eddie could just say nothing either!
“Don’t go in the woods.” Harrington said, more breathed out, than actually spoke. It was rushed, and slurred together, Eddie almost didn’t understand him, but he was pretty adept at understanding a slurred-speech, years of living with his dear old Dad having honed that skill.
“Excuse me?” Just because he understood what he said didn’t mean Eddie had any idea of Harrington meant by that.
“The woods. There’s… something dangerous in there.” Harrington rushed out again, hushed and breathy, not even really looking at Eddie, dark eyes still glued to the tree-line. Jumping back and forth from shadow to shadow- searching- vigilant- scared.
“Something dangerous?” Eddie couldn’t help but note. Not someone, something. Odd choice of words… “What? Like Coyotes or-?”
Steve pursed his lips shut, like he was trying to hold the answer inside and didn’t trust himself not to spill it out. He shook his head back and forth negatively though, answering Eddie's question nonverbally.
Given the wide-eyed shell-shocked look on his face, the same kind that Wayne would sometimes get if he wasn’t ready for a loud noise. Eddie doubted that Harrington was willing, or was even physically able to say much more on the matter, and he wasn’t about to push it.
“Okay. No going into the woods for me tonight.” Eddie nodded. Not that he had any intention to either way, but if it would calm Harrington down- “I swear, man.” He’d swear by it.
“Swear on Dustin’s Mom’s cookies?” Steve retorted back, not missing a beat.
Eddie scrunched his nose up in confusion. He didn’t know any Dustin’s and even if he did, he certainly wasn’t the type to be on good terms with someone else's mom. Eddie and mother figures didn’t tend to get on very well. Hell, the Twin’s- Zach and Jack, Their mom, Mrs Kender, didn't even like him standing on their porch. She’d fur her brow and suck at her teeth and make snide little comments like, ‘The boys will be out in just a moment, why don’t you just wait at the end of the driveway or something?’ like she was afraid he’d stain her porches' pretty white paint just by standing on it. He’d certainly never had any of her cookies, and honestly she was one of the better ones.
“Who’s Dustin?” He asked, realising that he didn’t recognise that name at all, even out of the pool of Jocks Steve usually associated with. Closest name to Dustin out of the kids in Hawkins High right now was probably Douggie Howards? But from what Eddie understood, Howards was a Soccer Jock and Steve was more a Basketball and Swimming Jock. They didn’t sit at the same lunch table- Eddie knew because he liked to rotate which group of jocks he was going to antagonise that lunch period, and not once in the three years he’d been at Hawkins High had he ever seen them sit anywhere even close together.
Not like he was the kind of guy to keep track of Harrington’s friends… He wasn’t! He just… noticed things, that's all. If those things happened to pertain to Harrington, well, then that's nobody's business but his own.
Instead of answering, Harrington finally tore his eyes away from the treeline and turned them to Eddie. Heartbroken. Wide, hurt, swimming with unshed tears, Eddie never once thought he’d see King Steve Harrington so broken looking.
“You don’t… you don’t remember?” He asked, but before Eddie could reply with ‘Remember what? Who? What am I missing here Harrington?’ Steve shook his head violently side to side, eyes pinch tight like he was trying to dispel something awful. “Sorry, no, of course you don’t remember him, you haven’t met him yet.”
“Haven’t met him yet?” Eddie repeated slowly, frowned harder, just beyond confused. “But I’ll meet him soon?”
Steve shook his head again, lips once again pursed tightly like he was trying to keep the answer in.
Eddie was about to persist but Harrington cut him off. “Just forget it. ‘S not important right now.”
Well, Harrington was a fool if he thought that Eddie would somehow ever be able to forget this bizarre encounter. No way, Jose, it would be playing on a loop in Eddie’s brain for weeks to come, he was sure of it. Hell, he wouldn’t even be able to tell the guys about it, there was no way they’d believe him if he came into school monday morning and told them all that Steve Motherfucking Harrington not only drove to his trailer in the middle of the night, but he also hugged Eddie the Freak Munson of his own volition. He’d get laughed out of the school, even by his own friends.
Kraven the hunter (2024) | Multichapter | Sergei Kravinoff x Reader
Kraven the hunter masterlist | Otaku_girl_AO3 masterlist | AO3: Otaku_girl
Summary: On a birthday night out, a little accident leads you to meeting Sergei, quite possibly the most attractive man you have ever seen. Convinced that he owes you for your ruined night, Sergei is determined to make it up to you — one way or another. Virgin!Reader and Sergei (eventual) smut ensues~
Chapter warnings: MA 18+, virgin reader. Fluff with ensuing smut~
A/N: Anon tumblr request 💚 I hope you enjoy, anon!
Links: Find the full fic on ArchiveOfOurOwn: https://archiveofourown.org/works/62249025
“Dima! Watch what you’re doing.”
Your eyes widen as a hard body crashes into you from behind. There’s no time for you to brace yourself. You fall forward, towards the burnished gold bar, your drink — a simple coke, you haven’t even worked up to ordering anything with alcohol yet — sloshes across the immaculate black marble and all down your new dress. It feels sticky and cold. You can't stand the sickly-sweet scent now that seeps through the fabric to cling to your skin below.
You remain frozen in place, half sprawled across the bartop, cheeks burning with mortification. You can feel multiple pairs of eyes on you. You don’t want to move, almost certain that at least one of those pairs of eyes — one of those people — must be laughing at you. Staying here, slumped in place isn’t a practical solution, but you can’t think of an alternative. Moving feels impossible.
It will be fine. I just need to move, you tell yourself, hands clenching against the dark, cold surface. You swallow past the lump in your throat as you try to gather your courage.
Slender hands land on your back in what might be a friendly gesture as a breathy, high-pitched laugh sounds from directly behind you. “Sorry, sorry!” the stranger — male, young, very drunk judging by the way his words slur and the scent of alcohol that hits you like a brick wall — says. Hands tug at you, urging you up before you’re ready. All that you can do is follow.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/62249025
First time (2325 words) by Otaku_girl
Chapters: 1/5
Fandom: Kraven the Hunter (2024), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kraven the hunter - Fandom
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sergei Kravinoff/Reader, Kraven the Hunter/Reader
Characters: Sergei Kravinoff, Kraven the Hunter, Reader, Dmitri Smerdyakov, Dmitri Kravinoff
Additional Tags: Virginity, Loss of Virginity, Meet-Cute, Reader Insert, no y/n, Shyness, Developing Relationship, One Night Stands, that doesn't stay one night, Self-Esteem Issues, sugar Daddy vibes, More tags to be added, Fluff and Smut, Porn With Plot
Summary:
On a birthday night out, a little accident leads you to meeting Sergei, quite possibly the most attractive man you have ever seen. Convinced that he owes you for your ruined night, Sergei is determined to make it up to you — one way or another.
Virgin!Reader and Sergei (eventual) smut ensues~
my autism has taken over i cannot contain it anymore. Aphmau Project Hail Mary AU. not taking place in the aphverse whatsoever bee tee double u!!! i am also focusing on their Mystreet counterparts portrayal over their MCD ones. Diaries characterisation is important and will be used in some aspects (specifically Aphmau she is almost ENTIRELY built upon her MCD characterisations,) but creating a variant on the MYST versions and utilising how i would see fit is a very fun idea to me. after all, who doesnt enjoy a little self indulgence?
so ive had to deliberate a little on this. it wasnt the easiest job picking out who goes where and what happens when and who is who and who matters and who doesnt. Project Hail Mary already has a fairly small cast--just in general--so ive had to narrow down my selection and have a bit of a Think.
just like any AU i will make changes, and i will make said changes as it all goes along. nothing can stop me. i will put these dudes in situations. im reading PHM as we Speak as i Type i BOUGHT THE BOOK. (and its great, its genuinely such a fun read)
ahem. now, onto the Decisions.
thanks to a beautiful wonderful mutual @mouchiiarts for kickstarting this whole thought process by triggering all of my neurons with one gorgeous idea. Ryland Grace but its Travis Valkrum, and Rocky the Eridian but its Dante Nolastname. ITS GORGEOUS ITS PAINFUL ITS BEAUTIFUL..
obviously this means their characters are both going to become very different. Travis didnt grow up around or with Dante as a friend, so instead of being a big perverted weirdo for half of his lifetime, he stays a weird nerdboy!! a weird nerdboy who just so happens to discover he has a passion for science and teaching!!
his father Terry would also likely have pursued science, though he wouldnt be in the same field as Travis. whom of which obviously has to get into microbiology.
since Travis grew up without a Dante in his life, he also became much more honest and openly himself. hes a lot more playful, considerate, and quite a bit more mature than his other counterparts. he has a lot of respect for everyone he meets, and yet he would still retain some of that fun Travis charm. (a la "everybody's dummy thick when youre block shaped") dont worry. this stunning nerdboy is still an utter manfailure 🩶🩶
however he was still a not alone buddy with Aphmau!! im not gonna bring up highschool stuff in the full AU, but youre safe to assume that anyone i do not mention here did not happen in this universe! i will also clarify what schools + times + places some different people went and were in together.
for instance, Aphmau and Travis went to the same middle and highschools together! the Ro'meaves were in Aph's primary school, and stayed in her middle school until mid grade 8, wherein they moved away to another country. Laurance and Garroth went to the same highschool, meanwhile Zane and Vylad went elsewhere.
before i get into that, lets get to our second main character. the man of the hour that of which is replacing Rocky... DANTE!!
movie!Rocky is already a confident, smart-silly kind of character. hes super awesome, cheerful, definitely bossy, and more than a little demanding. i would say Dante is a perfect fit to slot into Rockys position here.
hes spunky, hes witty, hes utterly loyal, and he oozes confidence. Dante also crumbles a little under pressure, but strives forward anyway. not for his sake, but for the sake of everyone he cares about. he would absolutely befriend Travis instantly, and the two would also do literally anything for eachother. methinks theyre a perfect fit in this AU.
Perchance.
the emotional journey is the most impactful part of Project Hail Mary. and all of it is explored through two best friends who meet under dire circumstances. so what better way to reimagine this in an AU than with two best friends, who are strongly and deeply reliant on one another.
Dante is the type of character who is so strongly attached to Travis that he struggles to act on his own, meanwhile Travis can and does function fairly well without him, but does care about his friend just as strongly. they both deal with separation and closeness in ways that i think would be super fun to explore in a universe where they meet much, much later on in their lives, and where they have both lived a life without eachother.
only after meeting do they realise how deeply connected they are, and just how much the other gets to mean to them. someone who is used to working alone versus someone who has never been alone before. hahaha oh i love character dynamics..
another thing to mention is definitely the other characters. im sure you must be wondering who in the aphverse i would put in the position of Eva Stratt.. and that answer is not as obvious as it might be appearing to those reading this.
its Lucinda i have picked Lucinda.
Why? well because nothing can convince me that she wouldnt orchestrate or be able to achieve everything Stratt did and has done in the entirety of PHM.
she is capable, she is dependable, she is powerful, and cares about the safety of others and the world in a very unique manner. she wasnt afraid to face Terry/Michael in MYST s6--she stood up with Kim and Emmalyn, and the three of them did what they believed was right. in doing so, while Lucinda may have cost many, many people their lives, her decision did ultimately end up leading the rest of the season in the direction it did.
if Michael had still been in Terry, theres no telling what else couldve happened, or if he wouldve actually kept possessing Terry for the rest of the runtime. heck, Lucinda was a crucial character, a RELIC no less--sacrificing herself and the pieces she would lose to become an object of power--all to save her best friends, and the world. a world that objectively doesnt mean the same to her as the people she cares about.
but she pushed through anyway.
im also genuinely curious to have Travis and Lucinda interract more in literally any setting. their dynamic and relationship just doesnt get fully explored in most capacities, and i think they make a brilliant contrast. Travis the cowardly until it comes down to whats needed, and Lucinda the strong and sacrificial who does whats needed when its needed.
i need to think about them a lot more often. i want to examine them and watch as everything goes down in the setting of PHM.
there is also Aphmau!! she is the engineer/mechanic on the crew for the Hail Mary. i want short yet stocky and very nerdy Aph, and if i have to i WILL make her these three specific things in one awesome package myself. shes the buff womanwonder to Travis' nerdboy. she is also utterly willing to sacrifice her life to save all of her loved ones.
i would say Aphmau stays pretty similar to how she normally was portrayed in Diaries. shes honest, kind, efficient, and the type to gladly find a task to do. she also often tends to be occupied and available all at once. and yet, despite her dedication towards her work, she still accidentally finds herself so strayed from her task that she us focusing on an entirely separate, different, and not very optimally sound task. in short she often accidentally detours..
and yet, this ends up leading her to discover many efficient solutions she may have missed if she never got distracted for three days straight with something that didnt seem like a big deal at the time. shes very interesting in that way methinks..
when asked the usual questions like "well why would you do that?" all i would imagine she would have to say is; "i dunno. it just feels right. like this is what im meant to do." especially when it comes to Project Hail Mary.
Aph is always intrinsically connected to destiny in some way. i figure her seeking a destiny out among the expanse of space, where she can do something right to save the lives of her adopted sons, and many many more children back on earth. would be gut wrenching.. and just so totally Aphmau.
she oftentimes throws her life away at every chance if it means the people she cares for get to live a day longer. her Leaving Levin and Malachi behind would also be roughh and horrendously wonderful to think about. i really want to explore that in some way. i want to see her grapple with the fact that she will never see her family again, and that she has to be okay with that. shes going to space to save them, but she has no idea if they will be alive by the time her mission ends.
Aphmau and Travis are obviously close. though their lives lead them down different paths--and they didnt see eachother for a long time after school--they rediscovered eachother during the Hail Mary project. a big, beautiful; " ohmygosh youre my best friend from highschool?!?! what do you MEAN we both got some of the awesomest jobs ever??!" and they cross paths gleefully from then on.
however, because Travis is taking the place of Grace, neither he nor Aph expected him to be sent on the Mary. no one couldve planned for the accident to happen.
and so simply imagine.. the whole time they were bonding, they knew they were going to separate and never see eachother again. they had both come to terms with it. and then, all of a sudden, the only option left is Travis. and Aphmau is selfishly happy that he IS going with her on this mission. after all this deliberation. he is actually going to be one of the people she spends her last years with, as the three of them save the Earth together.
hahaha did i say Three?
anyway Vylad was the Pilot. Why? pain. Why else? because i thought it would actually be really neat!! who doesnt love a little Vylad content in any capacity?
he has a penchance for travelling and experiencing as much of the world as possible. what better opportunity to showcase more of that side of him than by making him an astronaut!! and a space pilot at that!
although a small portion of his career is based off his parents wants, Vylad would genuinely find excitement at being one of the first humans to leave our solar system. in fact, he would likely find a strong sense of purpose as one of the astronauts chosen for Project Hail Mary.
Vylad has always appeared the type to poorly value his own life, at least from what ive experienced of his character in MCD. hes not suicidal, not at all, but he also doesnt care what happens to him.
so long as the people he cares for survive. so long as his absence assures their safety. Vylad would gladly take on the duty of risking his life on the Mary.
however, he was completely unprepared for Travis to become his future space-partner. why might that be? well, anyone who understands a little of the plot in PHM generally understands the idea that.. hey.. maybe Grace wasnt Stratt's first choice.
and well, theres a reason he became the only choice. something really bad had to happen to the original options for the science crew on the Mary.
and to make matters more wonderful in this AU, Zane was supposed to be the third crew member on the spacecraft.
hes got attitude, hes got spunk, AND hes got the brains to end up an experienced scientist entering a space program, just like his little brother.
this means that the original crew for the Hail Mary were Vylad and Zane Ro'Meave, and Aphmau Shalashaska.
the reason Vylad and Zane went to a different school compared to their brother Garroth, is because they both started researching and training in their respective feilds.
again, although this was spurred on by their parents and not entirely of their own volition, both brothers ended up in places far greater than intended.
and Zane, well, he personally loves his job. especially when he gets picked as a member of the Hail Mary crew, and suddenly gains a shitload of clearance, authority, and a ton of gadgetry and equipment, ALONGSIDE plenty of Astrophage to study and examine. he basically got everything he ever needed in one fell swoop, all thanks to his DNA.
although Zane is still rather prideful, he is admittedly uncertain about his position in the Project.
Zane is a strong-willed and brave man, but he has a significantly stronger value on his life in comparison to the rest of the crew. the idea of dying is horrifying to him. but to console his own worries, at least he gets to die in space with his childhood best friend, and his younger brother. he wont be alone in the end.
history is sure to remember him. Zane Ro'Meave, one of the three people who sacrificed their lives on a one-way trip twelve light years away to save the earths dying sun from. well. dying.
that is, if he doesnt die in an accident that couldve been avoided, if not for a simple measuring mistake. haha.
to round out the Ro'Meave brothers--and because i freaking loved movie-Carl-who-was-once-Steve-in-the-book--Garroth is permitted to take on the role of Carl in this AU.
he plays a significant role in Travis' discovery of Astrophage's breeding process. they bond and become buddies quickly, almost effortlessly. Travis and Garroth's dynamics in the aphverse are just so neat to build upon in the scenario of this AU.
Garroth is goofy and free-spirited at heart, but even he clearly understands the weight of the Project. and he wouldnt be working for the government for nothing either.
just like his brothers, Garroth was subsequently sucked into his father's schemes and ended up in a very important position in the world. and Garroth being Garroth would likely not enjoy it one bit.
at least not until Travis becomes the lead scientist in literally everything and anything related to Project Hail Mary. Garroth, while still fulfilling his job, builds solid comraderie with Travis. though they would likely grow distant over the years the Hail Mary took to scheme out and launch, methinks they would relax with eachother during their downtime. theyre just two nerdguys who got sucked into solving the worlds up and coming apocalypse together, despite one being severely less qualified in. literally any science ever. but still, i think they deserve to have a solid and impeccable friendship.
Garroth would also. not. handle both of his brothers being qualified, let alone selected as part of the crew for the Hail Mary. he would doubly flip when his childhood-crush-slash-best-friend-since-forever, Aphmau, was also selected as part of their team.
his family, his friends, the most important people to him in the world, destined to be sent off to their deaths. all so he and many other humans get to live even a little longer.
knowing him, he would probably bottle it up. and bottle it up. and bottle it up. and bottle it up. until the final launch for the Mary. until the people that truly mattered most to him were gone for good, and he would know he couldnt hold it back anymore.
although signs of his eventual breakdown would surface, Garroth would steel himself. if not for his sake, then for the sake of the astronauts, and for the sake of the rest of humanity, and everyone who dares to rely on the Hail Mary to bring earth the answers they seek, so everyone can look to a future. a lifetime. a hope.
he broke down twice in three days. because he lost more than just his family. he lost more than just his brothers. he lost two of the closest friends he ever had.
he didnt lose Laurance though!!
why is Laurance here? well i liked book Carl/Steve enough, and decided "hey, wouldn't it be awesome if there were two?"
Laurance is a fair bit more closed off than Garroth, as he doesnt carry the same emotional weight and stakes that his friend does. hes a little more jokey, a little more sassy, but very dedicated to his job.
hes a bit of a straight man in this dynamic, sort of. the Steve to Garroth's Carl if you will..
he still has some of that MYST Laurance whimsy and weirdness, but he keeps that shit contained. Garroth does prod and prod and prod until Laurance caves and joins in on the joke, but he's very reluctant towards simply being himself in his workplace. especially since the entirety of the human race's survival is dependent on EVERYTHING going smoothly.
he and Garroth met during highschool, and both connected so well that they went into the same careers. why work with people you dont know when you and your best friend can become government agents together!!
although he was not the man who helped Travis discover Astrophage's breeding process, he still would have joined Travis and Garroth in their large-scale collection of Stuff from the hardware store. however, he does get to help out with the idea of putting the Astrophage box into another box.
im going to treat Laurance and Garroth as a package deal. where one gets to partake in one side of the plot, the other is allowed to add to the next. they both have on and off time, where one persons input will be more important in a subsection of the plot, and the other can be utilised at a later scene.
unlike Garroth, Laurance withholds his reactions to the Hail Mary team setting off. he knew Vylad decently enough, he was never close with Zane as the two had conflict, and he was always nervous around Aphmau (how do you even dare to explain to your best friend you may or may not have a crush on his best friend, who is also his crush. haha) so he never ended up getting super close with her. but he still knew all of them. they were all people he cared for. they were people his best friend in the whole world cared for more than anyone else on earth.
and when the accident happened, he had to be there for Garroth.
even worse, when Garroth had to step away to grieve, Laurance had to be there for every other meeting. everything to do with the mission. watching Travis like a hawk.
it was obvious to him what would have to come next.
i want to focus on Garr and Laur's portrayal in this AU a lot closer and better than i will be able to deliver across here. but you get the general idea. heh.
but, since both PHM the book and the film doesnt personally cover anyone's POV aside from Grace's, i still find it important to bring up and.. lightly suggest my intentions for each of the characters.
if you thought i was finished though you are SORELY incorrect. i knoooww i knoooww this post is already long as hell. it gets longer dont you worry <3
you may be wondering about the Hail Mary backup crew. and atm i dont particularly have them plotted out. i have a few general ideas, but i still need to think about them. the most important member is the scientist out of all of them, since they. you know. heh. but also because in the book the two scientists on the team had a LOT. and i mean a LOT of implied intercourse happening off-the-page. and i dont know if in this particular AU, scientist Zane Ro'Meave would be all too keen on. that.
i had a couple ideas on who though.. but i must deliberate that it wont be Nana. I KNOOOW I KNOOOW.. Zana is the beautifuls ever.. but she is. not the sciencey type. nor do i believe she would have the strength to basically sacrifice herself to save everyone else.
someone who WOULD like to get the credit, the symbols, and who doesnt care much for her own life would either be Michi or Sasha. and it cant exactly be Sasha for a.. few small reasons. and im not certain how i feel about the idea of Zanchi, or if i want a Zane and Michi workplace rivalry where they just really hate eachother. obviously, if ANYONE. i mean ANYONE has some ideas they might want to throw at me over this, do feel free to. its fun to deliberate on AUs with others hehe.
now, why am i still going with talking about the characters?
well. theres one i havent mentioned just yet. it would be my second main deviation from both the book and the movie in regards to splitting two characters into two different people with two similar roles.
i have decided there are two Eridians that survived on the Blip-A. and the second Eridian is Dante's older brother, Gene.
Gene is the actual engineer/mechanic of the Blip-A's crew. hes got the skills, hes got the experience, and hes got the wider knowledge on how the ship operates and functions. hes a smartass expert with the certificates to prove it.
out of the two Eridians, Gene is the more mature and serious one. he is still quite a fair bit strange, as hes been alone in space with his brother for 46 whole entire years. but, fortunately, he is qualified and understands a lot more about science compared to Dante.
Gene was actually supposed to be the only one of the two who was sent on the Blip-A to Tau-Ceti. his brother managed to convince the Eridians making the crew selection to get him on the team too. he would be a second engineer of sorts--despite having significantly less training in the field--with the promise that Gene would help train him on their journey. Dantes main selling point for going was the fact that he was an author, and excellent at documenting detailed reports, logs, and personal biographies.
while Dante wasnt working at the engines with his brother, he would do routine checks on the ship, the crew, and their distant haul through space. however, he did have another ulterior motive..
Dante wanted to be the first Eridian to write literature about space and science fiction. and the best way to do that in a society that legitimately only JUST invented interstellar travel would require him to do it himself.
Gene obviously thought it was stupid of his brother to do that. although they would be able to safely get from space back to Erid--considering that they have an enormous amount of fuel--the role of a far better prepared, experienced, and actually trained Eridian deserved Dante's place on the ship.
Dante is completely underqualified and selfish. he doesnt fully grasp the risk the rest of the Eridians are taking sending an entire ship out into the emptiness beyond their planets atmosphere. Dante took the place of someone far more deserving, hardworking, and prepared for the journey ahead.
but Gene would have to admit. he was glad his brother did end up going. after several months of frustration.
and after they were the only two Eridians left on the ship, the two brothers had to work together. the two sole survivors who absolutely, utterly, entirely had to save their species. or Erid was well and truly doomed.
now, something that i need to briefly state is that. i have not thought of just one version of this AU. there are multiple versions of it that have been rolling around in this brain box of mine.
the most obvious one is the one where Travis and Dante are alone in space. where they are the only survivors from both of their spaceships. two unlikely aliens who band together!!
a minor adjustment to it would be simply adding Gene as well. two complete Eridians who would interact with Travis in two completely different ways.
Dante, obviously spunky, chill, and excitable, with Gene, who is grumpy, anxious, and a little too easy to aggravate. i imagine Travis would be super nervous the entire time he interacts with both of them, purely because both of the brothers energy would predictably be a tad overwhelming.
but the MAIN version that ive been thinking over is the one where Gene and Dante survive on the Blip-A, whilst Travis and Aphmau survive on the Hail Mary.
im a sucker for the not-alone-buddies, what can i say.. but i also think it would be incredibly cool to showcase and experience a scenario where there is an engineer on the Mary. not the pilot sadly, that feels a tad like a shortcut in the story for me.
what made PHM stand out was Graces inability to do a lot of things outside of the science. he was incredibly smart and brave, but he could not fly that spaceship for the life of him. and, despite Aphmau being alive in this version of the AU, and despite her capabilities and training, she was definitely not trained to be a proper pilot either.
i also think it would be super fun to explore the dynamics between all four of them. Gene being the oldest and most experienced, Dante being a little young but well practiced, Travis the scientist who knows so damn much its impressive, and Aphmau who would get progressively more confused but accepting of her new situation.
all four of them are super determined in their own unique ways too! Travis, who slowly learns over the course of his journey that no, he didnt come here willingly, he had barely any training in anything outside of Astrophage, and he came here kicking and screaming. but by everything that is holy, he is going to save earth, and hes going to do it with every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears in his leaky little body. no matter how much of a coward he may be.
Aphmau, who always felt a calling beyond her own understanding, who ends up with an amount of memory loss that takes a while to get back. she powers through, she learns, she practices, and she pushes against all the odds that stack against her and the rest of her friends. nothing can break her nor stop her from finishing the mission and saving her home. all the while she grieves and mourns the time she never got to spend with her sons.
Dante, the selfish, selfish jerk who never considered the possibilities of everything going wrong. who never considered his brothers point of view until the entirety of the Blip-A's crew all died. who stepped up and buried his pain in order to finally do things right. who made first contact with an alien species because maybe, just maybe, they were there for the same reason too. because maybe they had the answers he and his brother had been searching for, and maybe they could help eachother.
Gene, someone who had given up all hope long after everyone else in his crew died. who listened over at his brother with contempt, with pain, and with regret. contempt for the fact that his brother, his stupid and naive brother, just had to take the place of a better suited Eridian. pain at the truth, that he and his brother would die alone together in space. they would never see Erid again. they would never see their loved ones again. all the while knowing that he had hurt his brother in his anger. and regret, because he could never own up to Dante. he could never admit his fears nor his feelings. he had to stay strong, because if he broke, and his brother broke, everything theyve researched and spent time working towards would be for naught.
theres an honestly long and large amount of different versions anyone can possibly think of with everything ive laid out here. and these are just the BASE PLANS. FOR ALL OF IT. all of this silly amazing AU shit is subject to any potential change and or changes in the future. and to note ive only thought about this for like less than a week. do you understand how insane ive gone over this silly sci-fi media. im in DEEP.
it has been EATING AT MEEE I NEED TO MAKE SOMETHING LITERALLY ANYTHING I AM MAKING THINGS OF THEM ALL OF THEM EACH AND EVERY ONE!!!!! ive been slowly cooking up Eridian designs for Dante and Gene, ive been sketching different design ideas for the Hail Mary crew, im intensely thinking about the potential fic material i am likely going to make. my motivation is RETURNING i can FEEL MY BRAIN WORKING AND CLEARING.. JUST EVER SO SLIGHTLY..
anywya tee hee hope the masses like this and want to see more.. leans on wall with hand on hip ill see you guys soon.. mrehehhe..
this was a ton of fun to jot down for me. maychance i may do it more often. i miss making long posts gentle sigh..
