Story title borrowed from 'SYNK' by Giselle from aespa (English translation)
Chapter title borrowed from 'Astronaut' by Stray Kids
I am not affiliated with nor do I know any of the BFU/Watcher people or aespa
When Ryan was a child, he liked to look at the stars.
Growing up not too far from a large city, though, the light pollution made it difficult to see much of anything at nighttime. But that didn't stop him.
He could still see some of the brighter ones anyway.
When he laid in his backyard, looking to the night sky, he wondered what could be out there. He figured there had to be aliens, that they weren't the only ones there. Maybe there were space ships that shot lasers or fantastical space creatures like the movies said. Or perhaps there were odd foods that tasted like his favourite candy.
Maybe the aliens were small things, no bigger than the palm of his hand. Or maybe they looked like large dogs that walked on two legs. Or maybe they looked just like Ryan and his friends.
As he grew older, he still believed in aliens — ghosts as well — but now his mental image of aliens were more of little green or gray men like the 1950s depicted.
Then the SYNKholes appeared.
And Ryan's and everyone's world view completely shifted overnight.
In the span of a few years, technology grew beyond what people thought was possible in that short a time frame. Holograms were now reality. It definitely made watching basketball games even more interesting. He had not partaken in the limited space travel, but he thought that was pretty cool.
Ryan was interning at his job when Black Mamba first sent out her virus. Relegated to making quizzes instead of editing like he was hired to do, Ryan kept his eyes on the news.
He listened as the digital attacks became physical. Listened as buildings in his neighborhood were ransacked and nearly destroyed. He saw first hand the range of destruction her soldiers could achieve when his childhood home, where his parents still lived, was attacked. Thankfully, his parents were fine but Ryan couldn't help but feel the fear and the anxiety of what if.
He'd finally decided enough was enough. He put in his notice, packed his belongings and said good bye to his loved ones before stepping through a modified P.O.S.
He joined the Academy not long after moving to the SM Galaxy and started his training, overexerting himself at times. Soon he was called in by the Board and was told he was to be part of a team to discover what had happened to Team aespa.
Ryan wasn't sure what he or any of them could do: Team aespa had been gone for years. Better to know something rather than not knowing, I guess, he thought.
"Ryan?"
He brought his focus from his window back to the screen that was imbedded in the wall of his room.
"Sorry Mari. Just… lost in thought, I guess."
They smiled at each other, enjoying the shared silence. Ryan had been dating Marielle for a year before he chose to leave and become a trainee. He had wanted her to come with him, she had wanted that as well, but in the end she hadn't been able to, so she stayed behind, promising to look after his family. The long distance wasn't easy but the couple was still going strong.
He looked out the window again. "Sometimes, I can't believe that this is real, you know? That I'm in space," his voice was filled with wonder as he looked out into the cosmos, the view never getting old.
Marielle hummed, "I know." He heard her take a breath before continuing, "Wish I could be there with you."
He faced his girlfriend with a sad smile. "Me too."
She returned the smile, opening her mouth to continue when the ship's intercom system kicked on. "Ryan, Shane, I need you two in the cockpit." It buzzed off; he suspected it needed a few new parts.
"I gotta go. I'll call you soon, okay?"
Marielle nodded and the two exchanged partings. He watched as she turned off the video call from her end, holding in a sigh before exiting his bedroom.
Upon entering, Ryan found he was the last one to arrive. Katie was sitting at the main computer while Steven was at the navigation board, keeping Shane from trying to push random buttons.
Ryan went up to Katie. "What's up?"
Katie glanced up at him before looking back down. "We're getting low on some supplies, I need you and Shane to do a supply run and stock up."
"Why do I have to go?" Ryan countered.
"Because four hands are faster than two. Plus you lost the last game so you have to do it."
Steven chimed in, "Have to respect the rules of the game."
"You don't wanna hang out with me, Ryan? I'm hurt," Shane said, mock offended. He placed a hand over his chest, as if holding a hurt heart.
"I'm so sorry," Ryan deadpanned, not actually sorry.
Shane tapped the navi board, ignoring Steven's objections not to do so, then stood and lumbered to the doorway. "C'mon Ryan, the sooner we get done, the sooner we can hole ourselves up back in our rooms, avoiding each other."
Ryan sighed, "Let's at least take my scout ship. It'll be better."
"What, the History Master ain't good enough for you?"
Once again, Steven piped up, "The Unsolved still needs repairs since someone didn't check the levels before flying into that small asteroid field."
Ryan averted his eyes and looked at the buttons and screens, biting his lip. "I'm sure she can still fly-"
"No she can't." Katie interjected. She turned to Ryan and held his gaze. They had a small staring contest before Ryan conceded, mumbling an affirmation.
Ryan followed Shane through the ship's corridor, still complaining. "But that ship hates me!"
"She does not hate you."
"Every time I try to do something, push some button, it doesn't do anything! It has a personal vendetta against me."
"Don't call my baby an 'it'."
Ryan rubbed a hand over his face to try to mitigate his frustration. He heard Shane chuckle a little and groaned, "I bet you have something to do with it. Don't laugh at my pain, you bastard."
Smirking, the taller man replied, "I didn't say anything."
Ryan huffed a little laugh. "C'mon, let's go."
I feel like this needs some explanation. I'll try to keep this as succinct as possible
If you're a fan of K-pop (& by that I mean, more than just BTS and Blackpink), you're probably aware of the group aespa, or at least, heard some of their songs. If not, aespa is a K-pop girl group that debuted 11/17/2020 (last year) (fun fact: Nov. 17 is also my bday, but that's less exciting lol I just think that's so cool)
Anyway, aespa's main tracks (Black Mamba, Next Level and Savage, with aenergy as an honorary member) all have a continuing narrative, which I think is SO cool and unique. They tell the story of the group fighting the Black Mamba and the classic story of good vs evil. It made me want to write something but I didn't know what, not until I was looking at the Watcher YT channel while listening to the Savage album and my brain went "yes"
Now here we are. Then I had to do the research. Ooh boy there's a lot
SM Entertainment (the company that produces aespa, along with NCT, Red Velvet and more) created this thing called 'the SM Culture Universe (SMCU)'; basically it's a K-pop Marvel-esque shared universe with all their K-pop artists. I learned about it while researching more about aespa's storyline and I got lost in a big whirlpool of research, trying to understand this truthfully really cool but confusing concept because, even though the SMCU got started last year, there's still not a whole lot of info released about the world's narrative (& don't even bother asking any SM artists about it; they know less than we do lol)
Check out the YT videos "SMCU the Origin" on the official SME YT channel as well as "aespa 에스파 'ep1. Black Mamba' - SM Culture Universe" on the official aespa YT channel to learn more about the SMCU. Also google 'kpop SMCU' - the top articles are really helpful in understanding this, I found
That being said, since there really isn't that much info on aspects of the SMCU, I'm gonna have to take some liberties with some of the stuff here for it to make sense in this fusion AU (please don't be mad at me lol)
This will also have a lot of inspiration from various sci-fi/fantasy stuff in pop culture, including Star Wars (specifically Rebels) and a little bit of Firefly I think
(What are you thinking, Shaymandy? Starting a chapter series for something that is definitely going to take a long time when you've only recently started getting back into the hobby of writing? & in a genre you're not too familiar with?
Who am I kidding, this is exactly the kind of person I am lol always up for a challenge)
This will be an "update when I can" story. Especially considering, I don't really have a storyline. I have a vague idea of what I want to have happen and some adventures, but other than that, I have no clue what's gonna happen (since I want to follow along with each main song while still having this be its own thing) plus the last 2-3 months of the year is always super busy for me (it's a wonder I was able to get this done)
However! This will not sit unfinished! I promise you that. Idk when I'm gonna get to work on this (much less update), it'll more than likely happen after the New Year, but this will continue
Yeah… pray for me lol
~Shaymandy
P.S. sorry if the first chapter is a little janky. I wrote this on my phone notes & after I finished it, I accidentally erased the entire thing. I swear I felt my soul leave my body for a good minute. Then I spent about 30 mins panic writing anything I could remember and all the beats then spent a couple hours editing it all. I promise, in the future, I will write on my computer and smash that save button lol
P.P.S. aespa is pronounced "as-puh" and æ is pronounced "eye"