K-Sci scraps

K-Science scraps!
==Alice and Bob==
(2015)
"At that age, I had a college degree in my hand. Hermann's got a fucking knife ...
His hands move agonizingly slow as he slices deeply into his forearms, a single straight cut into the vein on each side.
He didn't hesitate, you think with awe. And that reaction, folks, is why a couple therapists have questioned my empathy."
One potential version had "And that reaction, folks, is how Newton Geiszler was redflagged." Remind me to find you that blurb about all the work Stacker had to do to keep the NSA from arresting Newt.
Yeah, I DEFINITELY need to see that blurb.
"i expect that stacker had to do A LOT OF WORK over the yrs KEEPIN HIM OUT OF TROUBLE W THE NSA" -- cerulean-spork
It's like, 'holy crap, how is this guy not in prison yet?' The turning point: "Yamarashi is awesome!" says Newt to the guy who killed it
>crying laughing<
newt must have a most entertaining national security file.
"Sir, we got a ping. Alice (as in Alice & Bob) flagged this as 'high risk'."
"Who is it?" Reads report, >headdesk<. "Not him again."
"I'm afraid so, sir."
"as;dkfj;asdf Just... just give it to M. In fact, next time, just go right to her."
"... there'll be a next time?"
"There always is with this clown." Takes asprin.
"Why M sir? She's [a department not usually involved in profiles/risk management]."
"She's got that file down to a science. Now please, get that thing away from me. It's making my ulcer act up."
==Unknown==
===Facial Reconstruction===
From here.
:shmoo92 said (w/r/t ): Team CA discussing Kaiju with Newt/helping him with a diagram ‘cause they killed it
"No, no, no, little doctor! The spike was on the center of the kaiju face. Here!"
"You're sure? Because the recovery teams found it back here, by the shoulder. Couldn't the, I dunno, 'fog of battle' have confused you?"
"That is a poor joke. Of course we are sure. We punched it there."
"Wait--you hit the kaiju hard enough to shift a two-ton bone crest, with all of the attached skin, from the thing’s head to its shoulder?"
"Yes."
"...."
“You are surprised, little doctor?”
"I think 'terrified' is a better word. So, umm, did you … rearrange any other parts of this kaiju?"
==2020==
===Night Owl===
Night Owl
January 2020
Hong Kong, China
“Jesus, Hermann, you keep some weird hours,” Newt says as he moseys into the staff lounge and searches the fridge for food to steal. “You some kind of night owl?” Hermann startles. Unconsciously, his hand goes to his chest, checking the binding is still in place. It is and his heartbeat begins to slow.
“This is merely the first chance I have had to eat today,” he replies in a defensive tone.
“Seriously? You lose any more weight and you're going to be two-dimensional.” Newt cocks his head to study his new lab partner. “Well, you sort of already are. You're more like a walking stereotype than an actual human being.”
“I resent that characterization, Doctor Geiszler. Your dismissal of my individuality because I do not conform to your notions of proper attire and behavior is disappointing. I had expected you to have a more open mind.”
“I have an open mind. You just look like you've stepped out of a casting call for a 1950s nerd,” Newt says before he pops one of the grapes he has appropriated into his mouth and strolls out. “Later!” he calls.
Hermann watches him go. While part of him worries that Geiszler will eventually uncover his secret, another perhaps less mature portion takes perverse pleasure in how very wrong the obnoxious little man's assessment of him is.
===Ambient Noise===
Hong Kong, China
Newt bounds into the lab at exactly 10:43pm, feeling totally awesome after a long nap and a pot of coffee. He's about to toss something snarky Hermann's way when he notices the music. His jaw works wordlessly for a few seconds.
“I-is this ... Aphex Twin?” he finally manages.
Hermann only manages to quirk an eyebrow before Newt's mouth snaps back into gear.
“It totally is! Holy shit, dude! I thought you only listened to stuff written before the railroad was a thing!” He bounces over to Hermann's desk, leans against it, and crosses his arms over his chest. Hermann looks up at him with a carefully blank expression. “I'm not sure what I think about this development. This is totally messing with my view of you.” Newt smirks at his lab partner.
“I'm not averse to modern music. It just has to be sufficiently interesting.” Hermann pauses. “And non-disruptive.””
“Wait a second. Did you just imply some of my musical choices are interesting?” Newt's eyes sparkle with hope.
“I implied no such thing.” Hermann's glare locks back into place.
Newt throws up his hands and rolls his eyes. “Fine. Whatever. I'll take what I can get here.”
Hermann turns back to the simulation running on his screen.
“One request, though,” Newt says, pushing away from the desk.
“Hmmm?”
“Could you turn it up?”
===Show and Tell===
2020
PLUS ONE - SHOW AND TELL 
Okay. Newt needs something to distract himself from the last Kaiju attack and the new samples just aren't hacking it. The Kaiju was dead, yeah, but the Jaeger almost went down, too. Like that one from Anchorage did a few months back. Hermann got so upset back then he was impossible to be around for a couple of days.
So he finally does it. He finally goes to the studio at the edge of the Bone Slums and has the design applied to his forearm. Not the creature from a couple of days ago, but an old favorite instead. It takes all afternoon and when he gets back he was almost high on happiness at seeing it in living color on his skin. Or maybe he's only buzzed on adrenalin. He makes a beeline for the lab and for Hermann. There really isn't anyone else in Hong Kong he wants to show.
"Hermy!" he calls as soon as he clears the door at a jog. "You'll never guess what I just did!" He crowds up to Hermann at the man's desk, rolling up his sleeve, barely able to contain his excitement, nearly bouncing on his toes. This is so awesome, he just has to show it off right now. "Yeah, so, since you'll never guess right, I'll be nice and spare you the effort." 
He flashes a forearm still covered in film from the tattoo parlor. For a moment Hermann looks impressed, maybe even ... flattered. Then his face collapses into a black scowl and he jerks himself to his feet, knocking his cane from its place hooked over the edge of his desk.
"What exactly does this mean, Doctor Geiszler?" Hermann snarls. He picks this moment to lord his extra three inches of height over Newt, doing his best to loom. "Are you out of your Kaiju groupie mind? Don't you know people wake up every day fearing it could be their last because of these ... monsters? Don't you know what we do here?!"
Hermann is as mad as Newt has ever seen him and Newt has seen him mad a lot. Usually, he's the reason Hermann is angry, so at least that's that same. Every muscle and tendon in the man's face and neck is as tight as a bowstring and Newt can actually hear the teeth grinding in the back of his jaw. For one of very few times in his life, Newt takes a step back from another person.
"I don't even know anymore why are you here. You're always playing and being obnoxious and inconvenient. I've lost count of how much damage you've caused to our lab with your entrails and barely-contained fumes. And now, to top it all, you just made yourself a walking monument to the very beings you should be helping destroy! This is not even ridiculous anymore, Newton ... ."
Hermann's face flushes bright red and, as he stares down his nose, Newt feels so much like an insect about to be squashed it's not funny at all. Or maybe like someone about to be stepped on by a Kaiju. And then the ... jerk has the nerve to smirk at him. He knows ... Hermann knows how much he's hurting me. And he's getting off on it. Not even Kaiju smirk like that.
"Dude ... ," Newt starts as Hermann spins on his heel, grabs his cane, and limps away with the stiff dignity only a pissed off Brit can manage. All of the day's excitement drains out of Newt and he folds into Hermann's recently vacated chair exhausted.
Godammit, this is as bad as their first meeting. It's that day all over again. Newt presses the heels of hands against his eyes under his glasses. Just when he was starting to think he and Hermann might, someday, kinda, get along, and maybe, possibly, in the distant future, be friends ... .
Dammit.
===New Tattoo===
2020 (+1; which series?)
He was tired and frustrated and at least once in his life he wanted to use this as an excuse. The last Kaiju attack had been vicious like none before. They almost lost a Jaeger and one of the pilots was terribly injur ed . He was in his worst mood since he left his Father's house. T he kind of mood in which he doesn't want to deal with Newton. 
But of course that was the exact day Newt decides to cross the line. Literally. 
The biologist had spent his whole afternoon away, which was great while it lasted. But as soon as he came back, Newt went straight to Hermann's side of the lab, all giggly and excited. 
" Hermy ! You'll never guess what I just did!" He was skipping from foot to foot in a very cartoonish way. Hermann sighed deeply and looked at him, trying his best to show in his face how dangerous he w as to deal with at that moment. "Yeah, so, since you'll never guess right, I'll be nice and spare you the effort." 
He got ridiculously closer, invading Hermann's personal space like he belonged there. Then he unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled his sleeve up, revealing a mosaic of greys in his skin. Hermann frowned, Newt always looked like the kind of person that would want to make a tattoo but would never get around to actually doing it. 
The smaller man's forearm was still covered in plastic film, straight from the parlor. For a split second Hermann felt proud to be the first one Newt showed his tattoos to, but when he realized the subject depicted he felt his stomach drop and burn. He stood up abruptly, cane falling from its usual place hooked at the desk's edge. 
"What exactly does this mean, Doctor Geiszler ?" He towered over Newt, who looked absolutely surprised. "Are you out of your Kaiju groupie mind? Don't you know people wake up everyday fearing it could be their last because of these... monsters? Don't you know what we do here?!" 
His neck was straining, tendons t ight and high under his firmly clenched jaw. His teeth were gritting and he felt a vein pulsing in his temple. His usually pale cheeks were red and hot with anger. 
"I don't even know anymore why are you here. You're always playing and being obnoxious and inconvenient. I lost count of how many damage you made to our lab with your slushing entrails and barely contained fumes. And now, to top this all, you just made yourself a walking monument to the very beings you should be helping to destroy! This is not even ridiculous anymore, Newton..." 
His chest was wav ing and his heart was pumping so hard he was afraid his fragile ribs wouldn't resist. He took a deep breath through his nose and looked down at Newton who was a perfect picture of confusion and hurt. In any other day he'd feel terrible and apologize immediately. But today he couldn't help but to feel a little better looking at Newt's hurtful expression. 
He pivoted with as much grace as he could muster and picked his cane before limping out of the lab. By the time he reached his bedroom, the anger had faded and all the stress and frustration turned into a bone deep tiredness. When he finally took his clothes and binds off he felt like sleeping for a whole day. 
Before he could lay down, his eye caught in the reflexive surface of his notebook's screen. He saw his ghostly grey form, bones and sad eyes under disheveled wings. The memory of Newt's face struck him hard and if he wasn't so utterly tired he'd put the binds back and get dressed again just to go beg for his friend's forgiveness. 
But as he was, all he could do was forcefully close his eyes and go to sleep, knowing full well what a monster he was.
==2021==
===Beach===
2021 July 
“C'mon, dude,” Newt whines. “It's a free day at the beach! Do you melt in the sun or something? Turn to stone?”” Hermann sniffs and continues scratching away at his board.
“I have important work that cannot wait while I waste time on a frivolous holiday.”
“Lighten up, Hermann. The Kaiju and the Breach will still be there tomorrow.”
“That is precisely the reason I continue working. I work so that it will not be there one day soon.”
“I still say you'll work better after a break.”
“Thank you for your misplaced concern, but I assure you I am completely fine. I do not require a break.”
“I can't believe you're skipping out on this. Just once, don't you want to have fun like a normal person?” Hermann tenses and pauses in his writing.
“Nothing you say will change my decision, Newton. Now please leave me to my work,” he declares.
“Whatever, dude,” Newt says, tossing up his hands in defeat as he walks out of the lab. “Your loss.””
As Newt's footsteps fade down the hall, Hermann rests his forehead against his chalkboard. “Of course, I want to be a normal person,” he whispers. He breathes deeply through his nose and returns to work on his equation. ““I miss the sun on my skin.”
===Greyhound===
2021
"Dude, what are you wearing?" Newt yelps when his fellow scientist finally opens the door after a solid two minutes of pounding.
"Exactly what I appear to be, Newton." Hermann appears to be wearing a pair of striped cotton pajama bottoms and an honest-to-god baggy t-shirt.
Hermann is wearing a t-shirt.
"Dude ... you have arms! Human arms!"
Hermann rolls his eyes. "Is there a reason you're disturbing me?" he asks, slumping against the doorframe.
"Uh ... yeah ... right. Right." Newt shakes his head violently and continues. "The A/C is out and I wanted to make sure you hadn't liquified under all of your layers."
"I'm completely fine. I was resting in front of my personal fan," Hermann replies as he runs his fingers through his bedhead succeeding only in further mussing it.
"Oh. Okay," Newt stammers. "I'll leave you to it, then, unless you want me to bring you something cold from the mess hall? A popsicle, maybe?"
"No, thank you. Good evening, Newton." Hermann steps backward into his room and starts pushing the door closed.
Newt jams his foot in the shrinking gap. "I have to say this, dude. I have to. You look like this greyhound my neighbors adopted off the racetrack when I was a kid. You work out with the Rangers when I'm not looking or something? I mean, you're not stacked like the soldiers, but you're, uh ... wiry. You must be seriously strong."
Hermann blinks as a blush starts at his cheeks and quickly reaches the tips of his ears. "I believe the heat is getting to you. Good evening," he says definitively and applies his muscles to closing the door, nearly slamming it on Newt's booted foot.
"Good evening to you, too!" Newt yells through the steel. He pauses, then rubs the back of his neck. "If his leg was okay, he could totally take me in a fight," he mumbles. "As is, it'd probably be close. Dude's about as frail as piano wire."
He turns and strolls toward the mess in search of iced tea and popsicles. "And, a t-shirt? A band t-shirt? What the hell?"
==2022==
===Germs===
“Hermann, stop breathing my air. You're filling it with horrible germs. I really don't want your cold. Which you've had for way too long now.”
“I'm fine,” Hermann manages to say before beginning another lung-rattling coughing fit.
“You're not fine. You're sick as a dog and I don't want to be, so do something about it.”
“If I continue my work in my quarters will you cease your incessant nagging?”
“Maybe,” Newt responds. Hermann sniffles and shuffles toward the lab's exit. “You should also go to the doctor for some antibiotics like a normal person would, instead of being all stiff upper lip.”
“There's no need for that,” Hermann shouts over his hunched shoulder, triggering another round of coughs. “If only such a visit was possible,” he mumbles.
==2023==
===Tutoring===
====Spawnling====
2023
“That was downright sweet of you, helping her out like that. I never expected you to be good with kids.” Newt leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms. “You act almost like a normal person around them. Maybe I should find some more spawnlings around here to babysit. Might improve your mood permanently.”
Hermann turns on his heel and stalks back to his work, doing his level best to ignore Newt. He lets out a shaky sigh and self-consciously touches the binding across his chest, hidden under his layered clothing. His condition precludes a family of his own, but Newton's suggestion of a substitute has merit.
“Perhaps you should, Newton. I already mind you all day, how much more work could another child be?” he tosses back.
====Lessons====
2023
When Newt strolls back into the lab after his latest 'chat' with Marshal Xiong, Hermann is nowhere in sight. Someone, though, is giggling. Giggling like a small girl, in fact.
Newt mentally analyzes the tonal qualities of the giggle and decides a small girl really is the probable source. But what the heck is a small girl doing in the K-Science lab?
He follows the sound to the farthest corner of Hermann's side of the room.
Hermann sits elbow-to-elbow with a little girl with jet black hair at a table on which rests what look like a textbook and an old-fashioned spiral-bound notebook. She scratches across the paper with a pencil, apparently describing the steps she's taking to solve some sort of math problem in Cantonese, a language Newt has yet to get the hang of. As she comes to a stop, Hermann points to one of her marks and offers what sounds like a gentle correction in her language. The girl scrunches up her face, but breaks into a wide grin when Hermann asks her a question. She feverishly erases and pencils in a new number while Hermann nods in approval. Grinning from ear to ear she begins work on the next exercise.
The girl's chatter stops when she notices Newt and she begins studying her pencil intently. Hermann glances up and immediately susses the problem. “Ah, Miss Xiong,” he says, “You haven't met Doctor Geiszler before. Miss Xiong Fei Yen, meet Doctor Newton Geiszler.” The girl looks at Newt shyly and bows her head in acknowledgement of him. He offers a cheery wave and she smiles. “Doctor Geiszler and I share this workspace and he will most likely be the death of me someday.”
“Oh, sure, Hermann, poison her against me right away,” Newt whines in frustration.
“I am merely stating a fact. Now, if you'll excuse us, Newton, Miss Xiong and I have work to do,” Hermann says in a tone that clearly indicates the matter is closed. For once, Newt lets it drop at that. No need to scare the kid by starting a shouting match.
Newt immerses himself in work as close as he's allowed to the tutoring session so he can keep half an ear on Hermann and Fei Yen. After a few minutes, he hears the girl laugh at something Hermann says. Did he just tell a joke? Newt wonders. He's capable of telling jokes? His brain doesn't break if it encounters humor?
All three of them work quietly and productively until Marshal Xiong walks into the lab. Newt ducks behind a convenient sample tank that allows him to maintain a decent view of Hermann's side of the lab. Fei Yen runs to the Marshal babbling happily and showing off her notebook. The Marshal smiles, says something that sounds encouraging, and hugs the girl.
Hermann limps over to the pair and speaks briefly with the Marshal in Cantonese. Newt kicks hims a little for not learning the language. He catches a 'thank you' from the Marshal and 'you're welcome' from Hermann before the mathematician stoops to accept a hug from Fei Yen. With that, the little girl takes the Marshal's hand and they leave, Fei Yen talking excitedly and pulling the woman along.
Newt steps out from his hiding place and asks Hermann, “She's the Marshal's daughter?” Hermann nods. “You're tutoring the Marshal's daughter?”
“Miss Xiong is having difficulties with her mathematics homework. The Marshal asked for my assistance.”
“That was downright sweet of you, helping her out like that. I never expected you to be good with kids.” Newt leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms. “You act almost like a normal person around them. Maybe I should find some more spawnlings around here to babysit. Might improve your mood permanently.”
Hermann turns on his heel and stalks back to his work. Newt hears him sigh and watches his hand move to the spot in the center of his chest that he tends to touch when he gets upset. Idly wondering what set Hermann off this time, Newt heads to his computer to type up his notes.
“Perhaps you should, Newton. I already mind you all day, how much more work could another child be?” Hermann tosses his way as Newt pulls out his chair.
===Experiment 626===
When Newt says he'll love something, there is a great chance of him not liking it in the slightest. If it is about movie night, you can double those chances.
It would be wiser to decline the biologist's invitation but Newt had become wise in the ways to trick Hermann. He begins by asking if he had a good night and wasn't feeling too tired. He then asks if he had any reports late or any readings he should finish. Hermann innocently gives Newton all the information he needs to know that there is no actual reason for his invitation to be declined. So when he asks all Hermann can do is sigh and agree.
They leave the lab by eight and stop by the mess to get some food. Newt then guides Hermann to one meeting room he somehow had the keys to. It has confortable armchairs and a projector that is probably better than most movie theaters nowadays. Hermann sits in one of the armchairs, carefully digging into the soft back support to allow his wings some comfort. Newt plugs a pendrive to the projector and clicks the file he wants to play so fast that Hermann doesn't actually see the title before the screen turn black and a 'play' button appears.
Newt hits play and bounces into the armchair next to Hermann's. The mathematicias turns to hand his colleague his food and when he turns back to the screen there is Hawaiian music playing and Disney's logo against a tropical fish background. He blinks at the unexpected movie and turns back at Newt who is already shoving food down his throat.
"Are we watching an animated movie tonight?" Hermann asks in a clearly confused voice.
"Yup!" Newt swallows a huge chunk of his food and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. "I was thinking about some classic horror movie, like 'Alien' or 'The Exorcist' but in the last moment I decided that some good old Disney magic is what we need!" He smiles and turns back to the screen.
Hermann feels a bit idiot sitting there and watching cartoons with Newton but there is still food in his plate so he decides to at least finish his meal before coming up with some excuse to leave. He's never been too much into Disney movies, when he was a child he was always too busy studying or occasionally playing video games with Bastien. His Father never brought any Disney movies home and neither did his older siblings, so he grew up mostly unaware of the movies that clearly were part of Newt's childhood.
This one in particular he'd never seen nor heard about. It is about an evil little alien who was genetically engineered by a mad genius. Hermann cringes internally, the story hitting perhaps a bit too close home. This makes him feel kinda sick, but he keeps eating and watching it, Newt completely enthralled by the movie by his side. By the time he finishes his meal he too is enthralled by the story. The small Hawaiian girl is just really adorable and the squeaky one eyed alien somehow reminds him of Newton. Not to mention the amazing sound track!
The only thing more amusing than the movie is Newton, who laughs and yells at the screen, talks to the characters and makes really inappropriated comments all the time. He is sitting in the very edge of the armchair by the end of the movie, clearly distressed that Lilo will be taken to space in the glass cell made to contain Stitch. Hermann snorts quietly: as if he'd never seen this movie before ....
When everything ends up well Newton actually throws his arms up in celebration. He is smiling broadly and Hermann can feel and answering smile forming. "It was awesome, wasn't it?!" Newt asks, jumping off the armchair and offering a hand to pull Hermann up.
"It was really enjoyable." He answers, taking Newt's warm hand and pulling himself up.
They quickly clean the room before leaving and walk in companionable silence, Newt quietly humming a hula-like tune.
"Thank you for the evening." He says as they reach his room. "It was an unusual movie choice, Newton, but it was really good."
"It was a very appropriate choice, Herms!" Newt replies with a snort. "Stitch reminds me so much of you!"
At that Hermann actually freezes, wings going completely still under his clothes, heart hammering his hollow ribs. "He is moody and dangerous but also kinda cute." He winks and Hermann laughs weakly, failing to conceal his relieve at Newt's silly comment. "You okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine thanks." He scratches his chest but it is just an excuse to check his binds. "I'm just tired, the movie ended later than I had imagined."
Newt smiles fondly at him. "Okay man. But seriously, if you need anything, remember we are ohana!" He giggles and waves, leaving Hermann at his door.
As his figure diminishes down the corridor, still humming to the movie's soundtrack and actually doing some little hula moves with his hips; all Hermann can do is echo the blue creature's words: ohana means family.
==2024==
===Goodbye===
2024 January
"So ... this is 'goodbye,' huh?" Newt asks as he leans against the base of Hermann's ladder, scooting it just enough to interrupt the flow of the mathematician's latest equation. "K-Science is over."
"Yes," Hermann sighs as he climbs down, "I suppose this day has been coming for a while."
"Yeah. Stupid politicians and their stupid budget cuts." Newt throws up his hands. "We're getting so close, too!"
Hermann slouches into his swivel chair. "Indeed," he says, taking a sip of coffee. He grimaces and sets it down.
"Cold?"
Hermann pushes the cup away.
"Uh ... where will you be going?" Newt prompts, perching on the edge of Hermann's desk.
"Me?" Hermann stiffens. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll fight until a Kaiju kills me. Where are you going?"
Newt crosses his arms over his chest. "I'm not leaving. I've got too much left to learn."
"Oh joy. I was hoping for my final months to be peaceful," Hermann grumbles under his breath.
"We're the last scientists standing." Newt cocks his head. "I figured you'd be one of the last out of here. It probably will take a Kaiju to pry you out of this lab."
Hermann snorts. "You're still here because this is the only place you have access to your precious entrails."
"Well, that and," Newt says as he scratches the back of his head, "no one else will hire me. I pretty much burned all my bridges when I moved here."
["Surely there's a university ...." Hermann trails off.]
"Nah. My rep precedes me. From all the way back at MIT and the tenure fiasco." Newt pushes his glass up onto his forehead and rubs his eyes. "My specialty's pretty much shot now that folks want to ditch the coasts, too. I'm not the most marketable guy."
["I-I hadn't realized--"]
"Eh. Whatever," Newt offers with an unconvincing shrug. "It's fitting, though, right? The two of us making the last stand together? First into the science on forums, last scientists on the front lines." He grins hopefully at Hermann.
"I suppose there is something poetic about the situation."
"Yeah. I'd drink to that. Hey, we should drink to that!" Newt shoves himself off the desk and to his feet. "I'm sure there's something around here ... "
Hermann smirks. "I believe Mister Graves left us his stash of brandy."
Newt pauses mid-stride. "Wasn't he whining about how he couldn't find it while he was packing?"
Hermann hums in agreement and his smirk grows wider.
"You sneaky bastard!" Newt squeals.
Hermann shrugs in response.
"Where did you hide it?"
"Behind your four copies of Kaiju: Myth and Reality."
"Excellent! I'll grab us some beakers and we can get the party started," says Newt, treking deeper into his side of the lab.
"I am not drinking from anything stored on your side!" Hermann shouts after him.
"Oh, come on!" Newt yells back. "They've been through the autoclave! They're perfectly safe!"
"I will not drink from your laboratory equipment!"
"Have it your way, Hermann. You can just drink from the bottle!"
"I have manners, Newton. For once, could you behave as though you have them?"
"I can have fun, that's why! Could you behave as though you've heard of it?"
"Just pass the damned bottle."
===Thunderstorms===
2024 [4th quarter]
The thunderstorm crashing outside is rare for Hong Kong in autumn, but here it is, bringing down the power in the Shatterdome.
Hermann pauses in his work, even though the lack of light doesn't impede his vision. Newton, however .... Newton hates thunderstorms. They scare him nearly witless, Hermann knows.
Hermann drags himself toward the conference room where Newton is supposed to be doing paperwork with Tendo Choi. Hermann doesn't worry about Newton, but if he's too upset to get a good night's sleep, he'll be insufferable to work near tomorrow.
His uneven footsteps echo along the empty halls. The rest of the base sleeps or lies low during power failures. For them, the building flickers in the orange glow of emergency lighting. For Hermann, the dim light is more than enough to see clearly.
The conference room sits empty, but soft and frightened noises come from the staff lounge a few doors further along.
"It's a monster!" Newton squeaks as Hermann reaches the threshold.
"What are you two doing here?" Hermann demands.
Through the dark, he sees Tendo shove Newton aside. "What do you mean, 'monster,' you dork? It's only Hermann ... ," he says.
Newton pushes Tendo back. "Isn't it the same?" he asks. 
Hermann flinches and he reaches reflexively for the binding across his chest. He forces the hand back into his pocket and pivots with as much grace as he can, retreating to the solitude of his quarters.
Newton will have to deal with this storm on his own.
===Monster Movie===
2024 [4th quarter]; Part Five of Inhuman/Not Everyone Agrees
 
Newt was almost asleep in the couch when the loud boom of a thunder echoed through the room. He jumped off the cushions, blindly reaching for whatever has closest. It happened to be Tendo , who had been watching The Witch Blair Project with him. The power was off and they could hear the raging storm even inside the Shatterdome's thick walls. With only emergency lights flicking in dull shades of orange it was very difficult to see what was around them. 
Suddenly, watching an horror movie in a rainy night didn't seem like his brightest idea. He'd be dead if he was to admit just how fucking anxious he was, with flashes of the movie passing before his eyes every time he blinked. 
He was slowly letting go of Tendo's arm when he heard it. An uneven sound, dry and echoing, coming closer and closer. His heart was torn between jumping off his throat and stopping completely. His hand closed back around his friend's forearm, and he heard him moaning in annoyance. The sound was very close now, a thump followed by a long dragging sound, and then another thump and so on. 
The weak lights delineated an indescribable creature coming through the corridor. "It's a monster!" Newt squeaked when it finally came into the room. 
"What are you two doing here?" The very familiar voice asked from the threshold. 
Tendo shoved him aside. "What do you mean, 'monster' you dork? It's only Hermann..." 
He playfully shoved Tendo too. "Isn't it the same?"
===Determination===
“Dude! Put down that chalk and go to bed! You've been at this for, like, twenty hours straight! Or do you not need to sleep like a normal human being?”
“I'll sleep when I've finished, an outcome at which I will arrive more quickly if you cease interrupting me,” Hermann answers, barely suppressing a yawn. Nevermind sleeping like a human being, he'd settle for sleeping at all. At least, in sleep, he can let his wings move freely, even if it means no one would call him normal.
==2025==
===Drift===
(Chapter 30 of the novelization)
Then they were in full Drift together... with the brain of Baby Otachi Junior right there with them. Gottlieb had never Drifted, and his mind went through a moment of screaming dislocation before the Geiszler Array took over and performed the neural handshake. Newt had a complete tour of Hermann’s mind, within a faction of a second.
numbers language of the universe and they will hide me I can hide behind them because they are never angry they are never wrong they choose no sides and expect nothing they are purely themselves and will never betray me
Newt had mud between his toes at Lake Como. Gottlieb was soldering together a robot can I build an intelligence that will pass a Turing test and if I could of course I can I must never say anything about it until it is done or Father will
Something triggered a response deep inside Baby Otachi’s species memory. The light around them grew strange, watery and distorted, the Anteverse seen through amniotic fluid, Baby Otachi perceiving its world through Otachi’s senses, aware in the womb, waiting knowing hungry
Precursor
Hermann had never seen one. Newt felt his mind unhinge and put itself back together. Is that what happened to me—
The Precursor knew it was being watched. It looked at Newt, right at him. It knew who he was. It did not care, but it knew. For a hundred million years this being had waited for Earth to be ready. Now it was done waiting. It looked at Hermann too, sizing them up, knowing them for what they were. It had nothing to hide from them because it did not consider them worth hiding anything from.
die all of you will die it is already over you are feeling the last dying impulses in a brain already too far gone to decay we are coming for you and you cannot touch us we have waited and now you will wait for the end we bring you
===Order In===
(Originally posted here.)
killerweasel:
:pickle-plum: 
::prompt me! 
:Newt/Hermann, zombie movies or um pizza :P
“Dude. You realize if we move to a private island, we can’t have pizza delivered anymore?”
“We don’t often have pizza delivered now. For which my digestive system is thankful and yours should be.”
“But there won’t even be the opportunity! It-it’s like we’ll be cut off from civilization!”
“Because the possibility of greasy slabs of ‘food’ arriving in response to your request is a marker of true civilization.”
“Stop being a spoilsport.”
“What are you doing?”
“Placing an order. What do you want on yours?”
“I’m not going to encourage you in this foolishness.”
“I’ll order pineapple for you, then.”
“ … mushroom and garlic.”
“That’s more like it.”
“Shut up and order.”
Category:Caffeine (or a lack thereof)
Category:Aphex Twin (reference)
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