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isisdreamweaver · 7 years

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Couldn’t decide whether this fit on my OC/FC blog or writing blog but I’m writing it here.

Back in 2015, I wrote a Metroid novel for my first ever NaNoWriMo. It was a fun time. I still have yet to upload it to anywhere (probably AO3 first because I’ve got a history on FanFiction I’m trying to distance myself from + a lot of embarrassing works with gross crap I wasn’t even okay with at the time but wrote because it got me reviews and crap), but I will... eventually. I want to have most of my Zero Mission fanfic finished and that’s been slow going.

I predict... Late 2017/early 2018 maybe? Hard to tell given things are proving so. freaking. difficult. this year.

Anyways, this is really long and ramble-y so I’m gonna put a keep reading ‘ere. Nice and neat. Mmmm yeeeeasssssss. There will also be Hatchling spoilers, so if for whatever reason you actually want to read the crap I wrote when I edit it enough, you’ve been warned (actually, I’ll warn you exactly when the spoilery stuff comes up).

Being an ‘origin story’ for Samus, this pretty much lays the groundwork for my Metroid fanon and offers worldbuilding and other stuff. But mostly just Samus growing up and trying (often failing) to fight against the pain of loss as she tries to carve out her place in the universe.

As previous posts on this blog show, my version of Samus isn’t like the usual fandom interpretation, nor is she like any of her canon portrayals with the possible exception of the Metroid Prime (nothing she does in those games contradict my interpretation).

Where the popular personality for Samus tends to be cold and aloof (as Fusion and Zero Mission, both canon, seem to roll with) or cold and cruel, my version of her is emotional and kind, wanting to be the hero in spite of the terror she feels when confronted with, well... everything she meets. She’s scared a lot in Hatchling, and from what I’ve written of my Zero Mission, she spends most of that fanfic scared out of her mind.

The reason for her fear is simply that I find courage more interesting to write than fearlessness. To me, courage is knowing that when you take the leap and try to be the hero, you may not be coming back. Fearlessness is... certainly a trait, one I will write other characters as having, but a fearless protagonist just isn’t interesting to write or read to me. Personal preference ahoy.

Samus knows she’s ultimately just one woman against the horrors of the universe. She knows that each time she fights Ridley or some other threat, that fight may well be her last. She knows that every day presents new and interesting ways for her to completely frak up and die an undignified death. But she presses on, using her fear of death/desire to live to strengthen herself and win the day. And then she’ll do it all over again the next day. Why? Because she’s Samus Aran, and there are people out there who look up to her as a symbol of hope.

Hatchling, so far when I compare it to what I’ve written of my Zero Mission fanfic and the outlines of my fanfic series as a whole, really serves as the springboard for Samus’ character like it was meant to. But it also introduces a lot of other things, both related and unrelated to her, and I’d like to ramble about ‘em, however random they may seem.

To start with, I’ve completely gone against the usual depiction of Samus’ life before the Pirates attacked the colony and killed her parents. The general accepted canon/fanon is that she lived a fairly normal/perfect life, her parents loved her very much, etc etc etc, then everything changed when the Fire Nation Space Pirates attacked. And here’s where the spoilery crap comes in hide your unspoiled eyes while you can, folks. Note this is mostly backstory stuff that I’m not sure I’ll be able to fully address in my rewrite/edit of Hatchling but I will try.

In my fanon, Virginia is the captain of the security force on K2-L. She loves Samus and Solomon (yes I somehow discovered this obscure little brother in only appeared in some comic story thing during the 90′s and decided to add him) very much, but her work makes it very difficult for her to give them the time and attention they need.

Rodney, the chief engineer and leader of the mining operation at the planet, absolutely despises Samus and is only slightly less dismissive of Solomon. The stress of his job has of course made him very bitter but it’s worth noting he was already kinda sorta short-tempered and bitter to begin with. And he definitely wasn’t keen on having kids, but Virginia assured him they could make it work.

Rodney’s main issue, the big thing that creates a huge chasm between him and Virginia and quickly sets their relationship downhill, is Samus herself.

Namely, Rodney believes Samus isn’t his and even refused a DNA test because he was in ‘Get mad, stay mad’ mode and wanted to continue believing his wife cheated on him almost immediately after they got married. Why? Reasons known only to him really, but I’d say a large chunk of it is he simply wasn’t ready for this (as stated he wasn’t keen on having kids) and it was easier to deny he had any responsibility.

So who’s the unlucky chap Rodney thinks is Samus’ real father?

He’s some dork called Adam Malkovich. Last anyone heard, he dropped out of college and joined the Galactic Federation military because his family (consisting of only him and his kid brother, Ian) was dirt poor and he didn’t see any other way to help them. Occasionally you’ll hear talk about him from some of the other soldiers. Something about him having it really bad for some guy named Anthony Higgs? Who knows.

He was also, as it happened, Virginia’s best friend since childhood.

Shortly after Virginia and Rodney got married, their jobs pointed them in the direction of K2-L. A new life, a new planet, not a bad way to start.

Virginia, however, wasn’t quite ready to leave Adam behind and while Rodney was busy working things out with Federation officials, Virginia spent a weekend with Adam before the military took him out of her life and she lost her chance to say goodbye. Absolutely nothing happened between the two, because at the end of the day their relationship was purely platonic, but this was enough to make Rodney assume...

It’s a miracle Rodney and Virginia’s marriage didn’t immediately crumble.

So, needless to say, Samus’ brief childhood with her birth family was... rocky. Rodney didn’t like her and didn’t bother to hide it, and she also had a tendency to get in fights at school because let’s face it, she’s a wannabe hero running to everyone’s aid.

Also worth noting that Adam eventually becomes aware of what his time with Virginia did with her marriage and feels like the worst person ever for helping make it happen. Hurting his best friend was never his intention, and he desperately wants to make it up to her, and even try to get in Rodney’s good graces despite him personally disliking the man. But he’ll never be able to do any of these things, because Virginia and Rodney are dead.

Anyways, this has gone on way too long and I need to sleep so I’m gonna end it like this...

Hatchling is quite different from its sequel and the other fanfics I will write, and if I’m being honest, I don’t think I’ll ever write a Metroid fanfic quite like it ever again. It’s an origin story for Samus Aran, or at least that’s its sales pitch.

At the end of the day, what it really is, is a story about people making choices both good and bad, the consequences of those choices, the pain of loss and the struggle to cope with it, denial and acceptance of things you absolutely cannot change, and how relationships of any kind are complicated and often impossible to make sense of, but you don’t let any of this keep you down.

Hatchling is about rising from the ashes and carving one’s own path, wherever it may lead.

And that’s why I’m not ready to post it. So much work needs to be done to make it closer to my vision.

#its metroid fanon rambling time

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