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Newt Geiszler | Pacific Rim ([personal profile] groupiedrifter) wrote in [community profile] ximilialog2021-08-14 11:31 pm

OPEN | he's just LIKE that (redux)

CHARACTERS: Newton Geiszler [personal profile] groupiedrifter and you!
LOCATION: The Ximilia Station; see each prompt for details.
DATE: Post-mission and onward.
CONTENT: Newton's time after the mission is... something. Don't worry, the Pizza Party's coming soon enough.
WARNINGS: nightmares, talk of possession/bodily autonomy kinda, nothing too wild; newton is currently struggling with the beginnings of alien possession/brainwashing from post-PR1, just as an FYI!

I. Just Another Manic Monday | The Lab | OPEN

[Newton finally gets the rest he told people he would, after checking on those who'd ended up in the infirmary.

... Sort of.

The first night, he sleeps like a rock. It's plagued with strange, abstract dreams, of course — Newton's hands becoming monster-like and impossible to use to administer a serum to anyone else, or So-Yeon's brother demanding Newton bring her back or else he would rip him apart from the inside out with those black, shadowy tendrils. But they're strangely not so difficult to manuver, those dreams. It's not like he hasn't had nightmares from time to time after an extremely destructive Kaiju attack.

It's complicated, isn't it? They spent almost two months in that city. That's long enough for most people to fall in love with someone. That's long enough to madden a new convict in prison, just before the numbing can begin. That's how long it took him to really, really like his team and the people in it. So the dreams aren't weird. They're par the course.

The next few nights, however, are uncomfortable. Different.

He wakes up startled, eyes peering around the room in a panic, as if trying to find someone lingering over him, but his memory always seems to fail him; whatever it was he had dreamt, he'd come up empty recollecting it. Either way, he ends up so shaken with feeling on these occasions that he ventures to the lab when everyone else is asleep, trying to keep his mind preoccupied. The first week, he does so by slowly piecing together the wrinkled, written copy of the reports he'd made about the infection on the planet. He can be found there at his new favorite stool at unusual hours when most have retreated to sleep, too lively and hyper for someone who should by all means be sleepy. His knee jostles as his foot bounces the speed of a humming bird's wings.

Anyone passing by can hear someone playing the Ramones as loud as they can on their iPhone — and a certain scientist obnoxiously singing along:]


♪ Hurry, hurry, hurry, before I go insane!
I can't control my fingers,
I can't control my brain,
Oh, no no, no, no, no! ♪


[It's not remotely unusual activity, if you've known him at the PPDC.

He's created a special cabinet in the lab where he has began a meager collection: behind one glass door, there's a few tiny jars marked 'GYEONGJE - MONSTER TISSUE SAMPLES H - L'. People passing can probably hear him speaking into his small recorder, putting his findings to spoken word, too. Some people can't read, after all. It's only fair.

The lab is where he lives, half the time. Maybe more, if we're talking cold hard percentages.]


... Note to self — [He says, into his recorder, looking at the very, very concerning boxes of different tech parts.] Build big-ass speakers.

II. It's Just a Jump to the Left | Mess Hall | OPEN

[So anyway, he builds a big-ass speaker.

Anyone walking by the Mess Hall at, once again, obnoxiously late hours will find the music playing much more loudly; for some poor souls, it may be reverberating in their brains if they're on the right-hand side of the Ximilia. His haphazardly created speaker, formed by what practically looks like Frankenstein's monster (actually, he's named it Frankenstein's Speaker, thank you), plays a playlist off his phone:]


It's just a jump to left...!
And then a step to the ri-i-i-iiiight!
With your hands on your hips,
You bring your knees in ti-iiight!
But it's the pelvic thrust,
That really drives you insane!
Let's do the time-warp again,
Let's do the time-warp again! ♪


[Newton is very pleased with himself where he stands and studies his work in action, eating the last scoops of peanut butter straight out of a jar as he loosely, absently wiggles out the Time Warp dance (by sheer virtue of not being able to not move his ass a little). It seems, once again, that he's rather hyperactive and full of unparalleled energy. In fact, you might just, uh. Start to realize this isn't a rare occurrence. In fact, it's going to slowly become the norm. The expected. The anticipated.

Rest in peace, Ximilia crew.]


III. Not Under the Bed, Just in Your Head | Outside of Room / Communal Area | OPEN

[Newton wakes up asleep.

Wait, no, that's not it. He's asleep. He knows he's asleep. But he's awake.

He realizes it's definitely a dream when he reaches up to adjust his glasses and finds they're not there. Everything's crisp and lit a familiar, humming blue color at the edges. His hands are the pale blue of a drowned man's lips, and the space around him is practically empty, save for the pulsing, root-like growths that crack the smooth white floor. He stands there for a long moment, and then some frightening clarity comes to him.]


I've been here before. I've been here before, haven't I? In my sleep? [A long, awful shadow stretches out over him, casting him in the dark (he's always hated the dark). The veins in his wrists are glowing; the veins in the crease of his elbow, too. He looks up from the sight of it, eyes wide.] It's — It's you, isn't it? I drifted with you; I know what you are. You're —

Precursors. Yes. [It sounds like many voices at once, all bouncing around him. His blood feels like melting snow sluicing through his veins.] Very astute observations, Newton. How unfortunate it is, that you're apparently some of the best of what humanity has to offer; not very bright creatures, are you?

[Newt folds his arms. It's supposed to look like defiance, but he just looks frozen with chilled fear.]

... Fuck you, man. We met you, step for step. And we won. This isn't real. I'm just —

Like we've said: not very bright creatures. This is your mind, and it's a dream, but it is very real. Haven't you felt us?

[Newton swallows hard. Dozens of rows of beady, dead eyes look at him from high above. Outlines of unnatural, long-limbed beings lumber over him and smother out the lights. He shrinks, just a little. Just enough to lose. He never had the high ground, here. As he thinks back, his heart lurches in his chest; he can see the memories from that first drift as clearly as he could the beings looking back at him. He felt their coldness, their indifference to life; he felt the multitude of them, lurking in the shadows. He was terrified to tell Hermann the extent of it, that first time - the fear that still rattled him, right beside an exhilaration he didn't understand. He hated it. He wanted to do it again. The paradox doesn't escape him as much, now, knowing they're here.

In his head.]


... No. The — the Drift. The first trial run. You...!

Us. Yes. We'll admit, it is taking us an unfortunate amount of time to pull your feet out from under you; we've never commandeered a human being's mind before, after all. Even beings like us have... new and exciting ventures. This would be so much easier with the right equipment.

What do you mean, 'commandeered'? What the fuck? I thought we-

Killed us. Won the war. Stopped the threat. Right. Not very bright and unabashedly vain. But then again, we've already had this conversation with you, haven't we? It's a dull loop to entertain. To the point: we're not happy with you, Newton. We do value your mind, and we... had hoped you would be of greater use — as you tend to be — but it's clear you're too incompetent a species to be left to your own devices. It's not your fault, really. Just genetic misfortune.

What are you saying? What do you want from me?

Silly little man. It's easy to mock you during these talks of ours, but you are brighter than what they give you credit for. We want the power they're collecting, of course. These orbs, they're worth our time and effort, just as much as they're worth yours or anyone else's.

[His mouth parts with quiet realization.

They want to collect them, too. They want to use them; who doesn't?

He dares not imagine what they want them for.]


You failed us on Gyeongje by not completing your required task, though we do appreciate sight-seeing for potential new... 'workspaces', I think you'd call them? Future mining opportunities? Either way, we'll be giving you the proper pushes you'll need to not let us down again. You will be a perfectly respectable member of our army. You liked them, didn't you? What was it humans called our weapons? 'Kaiju'?

Well, this is your chance to be one for us. Is that not one of the greatest honors a human can receive?


... I won't... Fuck. I refuse! [He runs his hands through his hair and trembles like a leaf. Then blinking hard, he shakes his head, paces in a tight circle and mutters under his breath; his chin snaps up sharply, and he points at the beings that tower over him and spits:] This is insane! No, fuck no, I won't let you! I'll tell everyone about you before you can even do anything. I'll warn Hermann, and-

[A horrible peal of laughter drowns his thoughts out. He suffocates in it. A mental monsoon, one that makes him cower down like a child, the dignity draining out of him. He curls up with his hands over his ears, looking too much like the limp, whimpering mess that Otachi's offspring had almost devoured on the tangled streets of Hong Kong. The Precursors look down, and their voices drip with restrained amusement and hollow pity when he peers back up at them from the ground.]

Oh, Newton. You won't remember this.

You never do.


[Newt wakes up drenched in sweat, eyes peering around the room in a panic, as if trying to find someone lingering over him, but his memory always seems to fail him; whatever it was he had dreamt, he'd come up empty recollecting it. The dark shadows that cast all over his room become overbearing, and he turns on every light in his room before giving up on the prospect of staying in it, rushing out into the community area to pace his nerves away.

Only he'd forgotten his glasses, and he pretty quickly makes his presence known by bumping his knee super hard into a table and saying motherfucker! with feeling.

Maybe Newton Geiszler literally can't enter a room without being a beacon of physics in action.]


IV. Mission Impromptu Sleepover | CLOSED to Hermann

[Look, he's not particularly proud of where he ends up, but something just... pulls him here. He's not sure how to explain it, but the decision was... it was like being in a game of tug-of-war, only your arms are the rope, and you're just hoping nobody rips them off. One half of him said to go back to his room, to face the dark and the restless sleeping, and one half — the drift half — it said go on, it'll make you feel better.

Anyway, that's how he ends up sneaking into Hermann's room. Hermann's only just been cleared to leave the medical bay, albeit with a wheel chair and lots of teasing from Newton and reminders to not try to go using his cane until he's sure he's good (which dredged up a lot of fantastic bickering, thanks for asking). Point is, he doesn't wanna interrupt his rest, so he'll just... not bug him.

If he's quiet, he tells himself, he can go in, get some shut-eye, and then leave before Hermann even knows he's there.

It's foolproof.

So he does what any sane friend would do! He finds a spot on the floor, whips a blanket over him that just manages to cover those chicken legs of his, and tries to close his eyes and sleep from the comfort of... Hermann's bedroom floor.

It's fine. It's not weird at all.]


V. Wildcard

[I'M EASY TO PLEASE, hit me!

I'm open to PMs or [plurk.com profile] simpledog PPs if you wanna plot something out that isn't on here!]
coordination: (I train hard and eat lots of meat.)

[personal profile] coordination 2021-08-17 01:53 pm (UTC)(link)
I think that can be pretty common.

[ Yzak's around a lot of older soldiers - he figures if he ever had to take some some kind of teaching role for new recruits or something, plenty would be older than him.

More mature, sophisticated, adultlike than him, though? Absolutely totally not! ]


So they don't just grab people from the same place and ask them together or something like that. Interesting. [ He shrugs, though, after hearing that. ] I was just curious. Because there seem to be more than just you two, who didn't come here alone. [ He also might be lowkey envious, but dare you to ever try to get him to admit he gets easily lonely. ]

You didn't always have very safe working conditions during your war, did you? Somehow ... I wonder if he'd think something similarly about you.

[ Just like that whole 'don't tell him!' concern on their last mission. God, Yzak thinks, what a couple of dumbass nerds. ]
coordination: (You spilled my coffee I fucked your mom)

[personal profile] coordination 2021-08-18 02:35 am (UTC)(link)
Since he agreed to come here on his own, too, I don't think you'll be getting that wish any time soon.

His presence here is appreciated, anyway. By more than just you!
coordination: (innocent but sensual)

[personal profile] coordination 2021-08-18 05:45 am (UTC)(link)
Why would I tell him something like that!? Tell him yourself!

[ ... ]

Ugh, but you won't, will you.
coordination: (discrete blowjob for straight guy)

[personal profile] coordination 2021-08-18 06:56 pm (UTC)(link)
How old are you, again?

[ HE JUST. HE JUST NEEDS THIS REMINDER. ]
coordination: (you noticed me fapping furiously)

[personal profile] coordination 2021-08-18 11:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[ SO CAN YZAK... grumpy ones, at least. ]

Who can talk someone up just fine unless they're listening. Then it's he can eat me like we're 5.

Augh, who even cares! I don't care about that! [ He throws a hand up. ] I just meant, sure it's not the safest, but he can handle it! We can handle it! It's fine!
coordination: (HEY GUYS IM STRAIGHT BUT)

[personal profile] coordination 2021-08-19 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
My emotional maturity is perfectly fine! [ H-HMMM. HMMM!!! CITATION NEEDED!!

He sure notes that trickle of blood. ]


—Hey. Your nose is bleeding.
coordination: (time much better spent pleasuring myself)

[personal profile] coordination 2021-08-19 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ Okay good we're talking about bleeding noses now, Yzak is safe from having that reversed on him, because it actually does take one to know one here. ]

Wait...

[ He leans forward, reaching to tug a small napkin from out from underneath an empty tea cup. ]

Here.

[ He stands up and closes the distance between them to offer it to him. Sure, there's probably a small tea stain or two on it, but it'll work in a pinch. And look, it's clear that Newton's having a bad night. As testy as Yzak is about literally everything, he's not mean ]
coordination: (Divorced & Now a Bottom)

[personal profile] coordination 2021-08-19 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
You're welcome. And at least chamomile smells good. But there's not a very big selection, here, anyway.

[ He was about to ask about it, Yzak remembers hearing about it before, but he'll circle back to it. For now he glances over his shoulder at the book he put down at Newton's question. ]

It's a book about folklore. Japanese, youkai specifically for that one.
coordination: (WOW 100 PCT BEEF U EXCITED)

[personal profile] coordination 2021-08-20 07:37 am (UTC)(link)
There are tons of stories about them. And, once you dig deeper into it, there are plenty of myths and tales about ones that people tend to have never heard of. So there's always something new to find. [ Listen to Yzak, starting to sound actually enthusiastically nerdy about something.]

Funky is actually a pretty good way to describe that one.
coordination: (Slay this ass)

[personal profile] coordination 2021-08-23 06:24 am (UTC)(link)
They probably will. That's how plenty of folklore we read about today came to be.

Although the whole concept of kaiju is already a genre of fiction where I'm from - though I'm not well versed in it myself.

[ As he considers this, though, he sits back down and crosses his legs, closer to the end of the seat nearest to Newton now. ]

I'm sure there'd be some overlap between them.
coordination: (Life flows like a river of shit)

[personal profile] coordination 2021-08-23 08:12 pm (UTC)(link)
One would sure as hell hope that if one puts all of that work into something that pays off on a scale like that, they'd be remembered for it.

[ It's not as though Yzak himself doesn't strive to be someone who's accomplishments will be remembered and revered. Although... ] As long as nobody else sharing your name tarnishes that legacy by doing something really stupid. [ Definitely spoken as someone who is ... familiar with the concept. ] Still, in the end your accomplishments are your own.

And you're right about not caring if you're going to be dead anyway. But hopefully people now will make sure to properly recognize what you've all done.
coordination: (Please Make My Life A Misery)

[personal profile] coordination 2021-08-24 06:58 am (UTC)(link)
Always having a goal to advance and better yourself in some way is what everyone should strive for. I intend to do the same thing, regardless of how many things I accomplish.

Rockstar is not one of them, however. [ Which at this point shouldn't be a surprising statement, coming from him. ]

What kind of 'good stuff' are you thinking of, exactly?

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