Aaron Stefflin (Cataclysmic Gerosha)

Aaron Stefflin is a character in the Ferris Access Channel and DozerfleetTV original miniseries Blood Over Water, part of The Gerosha Chronicles in Dozerfleet Comics. He was, along with his twin brother Mark, portrayed by actor Zach Foster. The character returns for the novel remake.

Series history
Aaron is initially depicted as being the "younger" twin, constantly teased by Mark for being sloppy, disorganized, and frequently late. The two are able to maintain a high spirit with each other even amidst the put-downs, and they arrange to go fishing. Mark warns Aaron that he needs to check some levels in a pond somewhere, and does not elaborate beyond that.

When Mark doesn't return a phone call the following morning, Aaron immediately suspects foul play and heads straight to Mark's house. It is in this that he finds an envelope marked "Confidential," bearing in it all sorts of information with which Mark intended to expose the corruption at Sleet Mountain. Aaron narrowly evades capture several times, desperately trying to piece together what the paperwork references while not entirely understanding the danger he is in. Eventually, he tries to impersonate his brother to learn the truth, nearly getting himself killed in the process. His constant reminders to Chris of what good friends they and Mark used to all be to each other end up providing the moral conflict that becomes Chris' turning point and near-redemption, convincing Chris to betray his co-workers Kyle Tugrass and George Lawence. In the process, Aaron and his heroic acts also convince Chris to spare Monica's life; a courtesy the other two conspirators would not have shown.

Aaron decides to use the new lease he and Monica have on life to his advantage; so he discovers Mark's body and then tells the authorities everything. The original mini-series leaves open-ended what becomes of him.

Novel history
In April of 2013, a remake novel was proposed to further flesh out how Aaron is connected to everyone. Original actor Zach Foster has yet to confirm how he'd feel about a novelization, nor of having the novel version of his character continue to bear a physical resemblance. The character's personality traits are expanded and elaborated upon. One major change for this version is that sheer luck ends up saving him multiple times. His adversaries are generally quite competent this time around, rather than the idiotic portrayals of them in the miniseries.

He is revealed to have to face constant attempts on his life, as Shiny Horizons and Gleeful-N-Young employees put a price on his head. His initial escape from Chris, George, and Kyle proves to be only the beginning of his adventures to expose Sleet Mountain to both the EPA and FBI.

Personality
Aaron is portrayed as being a (usually) very laid-back romantic. Details of his love life are not well-known, but it is known that he has a strong bond of family loyalty to his twin brother, as well as a firm sense of friendship loyalty with Mark's Sleet Mountain co-worker Chris. However, he also has a fairly firm sense of right and wrong, and is able to relatively reliably comprehend danger when confronted with it.

In the series, Aaron is mostly contrasted with Mark; a stuffy office worker with very little known personality, who is shrouded in mystery. Mark requires glasses to see, unlike Aaron. The reason for this is never explained, but it is assumed that Mark's frequent computer work at Sleet Mountain has damaged his eyesight while the more outdoors-oriented Aaron doesn't share that problem.

When frightened, Mark prefers to remain as calm as he can and take the rational approach. Aaron, however, is far more emotional in his responses; especially his responses to threats. Aaron has also shown himself capable of far more survival skills than his brother ever demonstrated. Nevertheless, the two of them are equally willing to throw themselves into dangerous situations to expose corruption.

He also appears to be good friends with scientist Monica Shelly, though their relationship is never fully explained in the mini-series proper.

Development
Originally, the character of Aaron was known in development merely as "Twin A," meaning, he was the "Alive Twin." He eventually acquired the name "Alvin Monaco," with his twin "M" (for "missing") being named "Mike." Mike and Alvin were then renamed Mark and Aaron, to appease the director's vision.

In the Remastered Recut of Blood Over Water, Mark and Aaron do not have listed last names. Production of the first two cuts by editor Kyle Mayer listed Aaron's surname as "Stieffel," over the Dozerfleet founder's objections. In addition to "Monaco," last names for Aaron and his brother have ranged from Sterplin to Stefflin. In the final approved-for-cable release, Aaron's last name was changed back to Stefflin and Zach's real surname was masked behind a pseudonym of Zach "Finster."

For YouTube, Zach's real surname of "Foster" was listed properly in the end credits. This ending is retained for the 3D cut.