Numbers Do Not Lie

Dr. Hermann Gottlieb K-Science Officer for the Pan Pacific Defence Corps Current M!A Status: none Currently on semi-hiatus. I will be around from time to time but will not be taking on any new threads until further notice. (Independant RP blog for Hermann Gottlieb of Pacific Rim. I am not by any means associated with Burn Gorman or Pacific Rim. Multi-fandoms welcome - tracking the tag #thepureequation)

[the-pure-equation]

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[the-pure-equation]

Remember me? I miss the bustling community we had post movie. So quiet now...

“Hello again.”

[the-pure-equation]

@kissofmistletoe

[the-pure-equation]

((Are any of my old rp partners still around????))

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starkroads:

Anthony wrinkled his nose for a second, less like a man in his seven hundred and forties and more like a teenage boy.  “Lab partners.  Never a good idea.  Mine always manage to break shit.”  He left out that they were particularly klutzy robots.  “Anyway,” he knocked back the last of his drink, “I’d count ‘survival’ as a feat, in those circumstances.”  He thought of Hell, for just a second, and Tony thought of Afghanistan, and then they shoved each other back on track.

He crossed one leg over the other, leaned one elbow on the arm of his seat, and propped his chin up in his hand.  His other hand rested loosely over his knee, empty glass dangling absentmindedly from gloved fingers.  “But when finding yourself in unexpected new universes, do you really want to talk about the trauma of your own universe?”

That earned Anthony a small smile, although the edges were laced with a distinct sadness. "Yes, I suppose you are right. Though the mind often dwells where you would least like it to." As though on cue a barrage of images flicked through his mind; the precursors, the breach -- images only heightened by the cacophony of sounds that filled his ears; the unmistakable roar of a category 3, the groan of the jaeger's -- all washed over by the unmistakable symphony of destruction. With a shudder he closed his eyes, concentrating on the warmth that was spreading through him from the scotch so generously shared with him.

Brown eyes fluttered open and he fidgeted with his glass for another few moments before placing it on the arm of his chair, sitting back more comfortably and losing some of his inherent stiffness. "In that case, please, do share the intricacies of your universe. I would very much like to know how our dimensions differ." All information was useful from Hermann's point of view and contributed to his research, helping his brain sort through the complexities and predict movements in the the flux between dimensions. 

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starkroads:

Anthony restrained the urge to say ‘you would amazed at what I can imagine.’  As entertaining as the reaction might be, it would lead to too many questions, and besides, even the man he was pretending to be wasn’t quite that insensitive.  He could get his kicks in later.

The faintly metallic twang of regret, and the demon’s eyebrows rose slightly.  Guilt was more of a…personal feeling.  So how was he involved with them?  Despite seeming so unassuming.  But Tony Stark could not taste guilt, and so all Anthony asked was a perfunctory, conversational, “That bad?”

He’d spent too much time amongst mortals (and a god who seemed to periodically forget that he wasn’t, in fact, an ordinary human), he decided.  He wasn’t supposed to be curious about them.  Or maybe this was just a side effect of those in Starki’s circle.  But should he just squash his curiosity (after all, it seemed unlikely they would run into each other again), or just follow the rabbit where it led?

Hermann let out a quiet snort, lifting the tumbler to his lips once more at polishing off the last of the delicious liquid. He found himself speaking barely before he'd pulled the glass away, the alcohol having a rather, loosening effect on him. "We were at war for over ten years. The devastation was catastrophic. Most of the coastal towns.. There isn't much left. We survived, but I wouldn't call it anything else much over that."

He looked up at Anthony, eyeing him curiously. "We did win in the end so I suppose that is a triumph. Human ingenuity bested the destructive beasts even if I did have to endure a neurological link between my irritating lab partner and one of the foulsome things." Yes it was there. That small trace of unmistakeable pride that after all, he had been correct. That eventually, it was his calculations and Newton's idiocy that had finally given them the upper hand they needed. 

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An Overdue Date and Tech Porn

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starkindustriesonline:

"Hmm." Still significantly bigger than his suits, but also significantly smaller than the Jaegers. It would still be interesting to experiment with later. Better time period, more resources. Perhaps there was more to this than an apocalyptic world merely hadn’t had the time to see.

Tony played with the blueprints and diagrams for a few more moments before he slid away from the computer, rising from the stool he’d been seated on. “I can look at more of the data later. I want to see one of these things up close.” Gods, to be able to work on one of them… If he’d been a part of this world, he knew exactly where he would have been signed up. Elbow deep in metal and oil and prayers, alongside every other engineer worth half his salt, piecing these Jaegers together.

"I know it must have been a terrible time to live in, but I envy you the chance to get to see these Jaegers in their prime." He smiled wryly. "Of course, people say the same thing about Iron Man." Considering where it had all started, he couldn’t imagine many people would actually want to walk that mile in his shoes to get to where he had gotten.

Hermann nodded with a small smile, indicating the doorway with his cane before leading the way. "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, as they say." He lead Tony through the twists and turns of the Shatterdome, strolling slowly and taking the time to let Tony truly appreciate the grandeur of the place. He spoke as he walked, telling Tony of the almost perfect effectiveness of the jaeger's in the beginning -- how, subsequently, pilot's were idolised and worshipped. He told of the adaptation of the Kaiju, how they seemed to learn the jaeger's weaknesses, how, bigger and bigger Kaiju were bursting through the breach and they were losing jaeger's and rangers at an alarming pace. As they crossed the cafeteria, a few technicians and crew milling around idly, he mentioned the Coastal Wall program. How, in his opinion, it was doomed to fail and so he had stayed true to the PPDC, becoming part of the resistance rather than a government department. In some ways, he had preferred it that way, less meddling, more freedom to do what was necessary.

For a man who spent his time shying away from human interaction, burying himself in his work, he was truly revelling in having Tony's utmost attention -- in sharing a snapshot of his life with the man he had come to admire so much. He was just getting started on their precarious arrangement with the black market when they entered the hanger. He trailed off, glancing up out of habit at the war-clock with a brief shudder. The sight brought back a steady stream of memories, some more than others he desired to forget. Standing tall and proud toward the end of the hanger were two jaegers; Crimson Typhoon and Cherno Alpha. Both looked worse for wear but had been patched up as well as could be in the hysteria of post-war. In spite of that, the two grand machines seemed, almost despondent. As though both knew the fates of their pilots.

Turning, he stepped over to one of the carts the technicians used to ferry materials around the large expanse of the hanger, climbing in the drivers side, cane propped against the centre and gesturing for Tony to take the other. With a couple of failed starts he got it idling, tentatively driving the cart forward, crossing the hanger with a quiet pace as he explained some of the more, defining features of both machines. "The jaeger with three arms is Crimson Typhoon, Chinese Mark 4. If I recall correctly it weighs 1722 tonnes and is powered by the Midnight Orb 9 core. It was the only jaeger to be piloted by three pilots rather than the standard two."  As he slowed to a stop, beneath the grand machine he gestured to the one adjacent. "And that monstrosity is Cherno Alpha, Mark 1, Russian -- our longest serving jaeger. This, I am more intimately familiar with. Far sturdier than the other three we housed during the final years of the war, weighing 2412 tonnes, powered by the Stun Core 08 and carrying an arsenal that boasts incinerator turbines and z-14 Tesla fists." His voice lowered and he glanced away. "We lost both during the double event that preceded our final assault on the breach."

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A Chance Meeting

[shroudedinfrost]

Loki found that playing dumb was quite useful in pulling the wool over people’s eyes, so in response to Hermann’s tale the young man simply released a heavy exhale, feigning awe.

"That’s…"

"… Well, it’s beyond me, really," said Logan with a shake of his head. "I’m just a librarian,see? Sounds like y’were lucky to get away though. Even luckier to have Tony find ya."

Yes, Tony did seem to find stray dogs everywhere. It was almost funny. Almost. And judging by that sentimental little smile, this one was awfully attached to his new owner, too.

"So… you two are a thing, huh? Or, like me, are you just another bed-warmer ‘til Prince Charming graces us with his presence?”

[the-pure-equation]

He startled at that, blinking with part surprise and part offence. "That is not overly prudent to talk about," he said stiffly, eyes moving to roam across the comfortable room, the inviting atmosphere, everything that screamed the word 'home' to him. Everything that is, minus the man who made it so. "Although, I suppose there is no real harm, it seems we're all in the same boat, as it were."

He still had yet to meet the infamous Loki and for the most part, he did not want to. Curiosity; however, appeared to be a notion that was far too difficult to ignore. He could't help noticing Tony's sudden shift in his behavior, the constant distraction, the extended absences that were far from normal of his time at the Tower. Had Loki returned? Had Tony simply found another lover worth far more of his time than Hermann? In some ways, he was beginning to feel forgotten, locked away in Tony's castle in the sky. The headache had returned again, though sufficiently dulled due to the effects of his painkillers but it still presented enough of a distraction for him to wince, eyes going temporarily out of focus.

"It is not really the relationship that I had envisioned to be fair." Which was rather redundant given that he had expected to remain alone for the entirety of his miserable life. "But then, I don't think I would have it any other way. Tony is far too kind to be restricted to someone like myself." His gaze returned to Logan, a sad smile gracing his lips. "Better suited to some one like yourself, I would imagine."

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Making Your Acquaintance

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behindthestripes:

"I used it for protecting the public before I was frozen. I was apart of World War II and stopped several bombs from being dropped on every notable city in the United States. It was by crashing my plane into the ocean…and being frozen that I did. Since I’ve been thawed out though, I ain’t been cleared for duty…there’s been a lot of…mental strain."

Hermann's eyebrow rose. So he was a soldier. It appeared that this was where he and Steve could relate. They had both lived through wars that should not have occurred in the first place. Although, in Steve's case at least, it seemed he was inherently luck to have survived at all.

"So you're a man of the past living in the future?" he mused aloud, fixing the other man with an understanding gaze. "I find life here to be quite confusing also, having come from another world entirely."

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starkroads:

His back to Hermann as he poured the drinks, the demon grinned to himself.  Kaiju was a new term for him—he filed it away for later, for whenever his curiosity started to nag at him—but the brief description did hold a few similarities to creatures of Hell.  He set the bottle back down and once again made his way back over with the glasses.

"I can’t say I have," Anthony replied, and he held Hermann’s glass out for him to take.  "I mean, a few of my business associates could probably meet that description, but they’re typically called things like Rembrandt or Artiss, not Kaiju."  He reclaimed his seat and sipped his drink for a moment.  "Sounds like your world’s a bit more exciting than mine is."  Yes, Anthony’s world of souls and gods and ghouls, and hunters that preached peace with knives and chalk.  His world was ever so dull.

Hermann let slip a small smile in-spite of himself as he took the glass offered to him. Ah, but he could relate to irritating co-workers and appreciated Anthony's quip for what it was. Perhaps he had found a kindred spirit in the alternate version of his lover too. With a quick furtive glance to his glass he tipped it back and sipped on the cool liquid. "You are fortunate," he continued, eyes flicking back to rest on the other once more.

"Exciting is one word for it, although I believe that 'horrifying beyond imagining' is somewhat more appropriate. There is not much left of my world," a wave of guilt washed over him at the memory of the destruction left in the wake of the war. He had vanished and settled into a new life with Tony when he should have been contributing to the rebuild efforts. He shuddered and took another long drink from his glass, idly twirling it in his hand.

[the-pure-equation]

Where Do We Go From Here | Newt & Hermann

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alivingmemorial:

Newton couldn’t help but grin when he saw how uncomfortable Hermann was around the new specimens. The biologist knew that his lab partner had always had a bit of a weak stomach, though to be fair he himself didn’t have the constitution he once had. Sometimes Newt could barely stand to be around these specimens, he tried not to think about it though, about how he’d taken to drinking tea in the morning, how he’d started keeping more to himself rather than seeking out human contact. He didn’t know if Hermann was experiencing any strange ‘Newtish’ behaviors, but he never asked, he didn’t really want.

He paused at the request, staring down at the sample of tissue he’d collected in a petri dish. He glanced over at the mathematician after a long while, licking his lower lip in thought. “You want me to come along-?” He asked, in that same tone of voice he’d once used before their drift together.

"Yeah- sure-" He smiled and then slipped two fingers under his gloves to peel one of them off, then the other. "Lemme just-" He began wheeling the dissection table towards the walk-in freezer, which he’d demanded to have installed, and rolled it inside for preservation. He’d been working out of a much smaller freezer for the last days of war, but now they had more funding, so, he’d demanded a new one.

He tossed his gloves in the trash and dusted himself off, not that there wasany. “Lets head out then,” he hurried over to Hermann’s side and grinned up at him.

Hermann watched Newton tidy-up with a disgusted purse of his lips, though he couldn't deny it was tinged with the barest hint of affection. At least, the biologist had done something sensible and ordered a walk-in freezer, rather than his other more, eccentric endeavors. His eyes drifted to the remains of the neural-bridge that Newton had cobbled together during the last days of the war. He was still fiercely horrified and impressed at such a feat of combined ingenuity and foolishness. But if that didn't describe his partner in a nut-shell, then he didn't know what did.

Once Newton had returned to his side he nodded, turning with the determined clack of his cane to head out of the lab and toward the cafeteria. He walked in silence for the majority of the route, seemingly lost in thought. His mood seemed to have calmed down at least, if only because Newton offered a begrudgingly welcomed distraction. As they neared the cafeteria, he nodded his head and murmured a quiet 'Hello,' to the technician they passed before turning to Newton.

"Strange. I've passed that particular gentleman on many an occasion and never once said a word to the man." He paused, head cocking to the side, "Davis, I think." Though how he had come to learn the stranger's name was another mystery in itself. Hermann didn't bother with anyone who was not in a position of authority. Striding into the cafeteria he diverted to the drinks stand, pouring himself a coffee. Perhaps the glorious hot liquid would assist in dispersing the final dregs of his dark mood.

[the-pure-equation]

Oh It's You Again | Hermann & Idle

[digital-pages-deactivated201505]

Eyebrows arched upwards as the Trickster turned, eyeing the doctor for a moment before a smile couldn’t help but tip up the corners of his mouth.

Ah, how men of science would speak of numbers and equation and facts but when met with things that they could not understand all of their words seemed to disappear. All in place of one simple word, one word that could honestly describe the most of what the Trickster did, what he stood for:

                                                                 Impossible.

He caught himself smiling, however, and that is where the idle thoughts ceased. Instead they were replaced with a light frown. He had not wished to mention the curse, but seeing as how he was indeed cursed to be honest and to follow his impulses of course he would mention it if he did not coach his thoughts. And now that the doctor had asked he had to answer.

"Indeed. I have been cursed to speak the honest truth, for how long I cannot say."

[the-pure-equation]

Hermann faltered at the God's words. Ordinarily he would have scoffed at such a thing, putting it down to Loki's trade-mark riddled speech. Yet, he himself had so very recently fallen victim to such a horrendous act of villainy. The magic that had seeped through his being and forced the terrible truth to spill from his lips. How vile, an act of pure perversion, emotional rape to the highest degree. He shuddered at the memory.

"I am terribly sorry." He said in earnest, head inclining in acknowledgement of the other. "That is a terrible fate to befall." The manner with which he spoke was almost an apology, though why he deigned it necessary to apologise to the one who had so rudely addressed him on their last visit was beyond him. He sighed and leaned back further into the couch, eyes traveling across the room to fall on the God who stood, regal and commanding attention. 

"Must you stand? It makes me uncomfortable," with a vague gesture of his hand he waved at the seat adjacent, "Please, at least sit. I have no desire to probe you of all your hidden secrets but I will be inclined to start asking if you keep towering over me like that." It had been a long day and the Doctor was incredibly weary. He found that perhaps, he didn't balk at the idea of quiet company for a short time. Given Loki's current predicament he doubted the other would be inclined to talk overly much for fear of divulging inner thoughts. That suited Hermann just fine.

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starkroads:

"Yeah, that’s Starki," he confirmed, followed by an amused, "I’ve met them both."  Though he was rather more intimately familiar with one than the other.

Ah, yes, there it was.  The mild, gray-green, arsenic taste of curiosity, and something vaguely similar to the sodium of docility.  …Men of science could be predictable, he decided, ignoring the halfhearted griping at the back of his mind.  But then, Anthony supposed he wasn’t incredibly spontaneous himself, when he wasn’t actively bored.

He reached out and plucked the glass from Hermann’s hand.  “But of course; I only buy the best.”  He grinned pleasantly, entirely unlike himself (and even unlike his host at this point) and made his way back to the bar.

"Thank-you kindly," he murmured absently as he watched Anthony's retreating back. How simply strange, so many different worlds, so many similarities yet an abundance of differences both subtle and glaringly obvious. On a whim he elected to bring up his own past. "Have you heard anything of a species called Kaiju?"

His hand idly traced along the fabric of the chair where it rested against the arm, eyes going out of focus as his memories wandered. "Pan-dimensional alien beings, disgusting creatures if I do say so myself, seemingly bent on the destruction of Earth?" They hadn't any sign of them in Tony's dimension. Yet, he couldn't help wondering if there were worlds like his, attacked by the monstrous beings, that hadn't made it through that final, brutal assault. This Anthony, seemed to be equally familiar with the multi-verse as his Tony. Perhaps he had heard a thing or two.

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"Merry Christmas, Hermann." He caught the other in a brief, warm kiss before he pulled back to look up at him. "I know you're supposed to bring something wrapped, but you didn't, so I don't feel too bad, sooo..." He offered up a manila envelope, looking both anxious and eager. Inside was paperwork, detailing the information he had compiled on Hermann's leg injury, and the plans for implementing Stark tech to repair it.

He was smiling as Tony made his excuses knowing full well that it wouldn’t bother the mathematician in the slightest. Hermann had, partly hoped that Tony wouldn’t get him anything this holiday season, if only so he could feel some sort of pride in the knowledge that just for once, he had done something for Tony. 

Of course it was in the engineers nature to be overly-kind and so he had feigned surprise at the gesture, eyes widening the slightest measure as Tony’s figure approached him with gift in hand. Tony gave too much, and it was one of the many reasons why Hermann felt such a binding sense of loyalty to the other. He took the envelope that was held to him, looking at it curiously before carefully unsealing it and pulling the contents from within. 

He was silent, propping his cane against the bench and leaning his frame against it for support while he read through the first page. At first, his expression was utterly perplexed, the information that was presented to him as he shuffled through each page taking several moments to sink in. Then the confusion was displaced, his visage shifting to show something else entirely. He was uncertain how long he’d been standing there, seemingly stuck on the same page and reading with unseeing eyes but he realised, rather belatedly, that he was trembling.

"Tony… I…" His eyes roamed the page, papers splayed out and rustling in his quaking hand. "This…" He finally looked up, swallowing thickly as though seeing the engineer for the first time. "I have no words." With a deep breath, eyes closing for the longest pause, he regained his composure enough to utter a whispered, "Thank-you."

[the-pure-equation]

ooc: Blog Update

Hi all,

You may have noticed I've been fairly absent lately, apologies my dears. My muse is being fickle and at this time I'm officially going semi-hiatus.

I'll be around to do replies every so often but I won't be taking on any new threads until my muse starts behaving again.

Sorry guys, you've all been wonderful rp partners~ I'll miss you much <3

[the-pure-equation]

Where Do We Go From Here | Newt & Hermann

[the-pure-equation]

alivingmemorial:

Newton felt a wave of relief wash over him when he realized Hermann wasn’t actually angry or irritated with him at the current moment. He returned to poking and cutting away at the kaiju specimens that he’d recently gotten from Otachi and Leatherback. He was currently busy cutting away at one of the tendrils that had been extracted from Leatherback’s crest. It was a very interesting muscle. Not all Kaiju had thing like this.

He glanced back up though when Hermann questioned what he was doing. “Oh- well right now I’m dissecting the thing to see what exactly this little guy is- then I’ll be taking these tissue samples here-” he picked up a small glass vial and shook it lightly, the small slice of tissue inside still glowing, “and shoving them into one of the machines to see what these tendrils are made up of.” He had a lot of work to do on this single sample, and he had way more to work with.

He raised a brow and laughed. “That’s Otachi’s ovaries-” He leaned over and poked the large sack-like structure, spreading his fingers against the membrane to make the marble-like orbs inside more visible. He took his hand away though when he noticed the disgusted look on his colleague’s face.

"That is vile," Hermann replied without missing a beat, nose upturned in disgust as Newton fiddled about with the Kaiju remains, a hand moving to cover his mouth as he pushed back the bile that rose in his stomach. He backed away slowly, eyes averting for a moment to recover before cautiously drifting back to rest on his lab partner, purposely steeling his gaze away from the specimen table.

He swallowed, once, twice and then sighed, hand once again rubbing his forehead in discomfort. "Yes, well, as fascinating as that is, are you finished poking around at alien parts for now? Would you care to join me in the cafeteria?" He waited for an answer, lips pressed tightly together in the beginnings of a grimace. Perhaps some sustenance would do him good. 

He was surprised at himself for inviting Newton along. Ordinarily he found any excuse to rid himself of his presence but he realised with a start that he was the only thing keeping him grounded at the moment. Which is why he waited patiently, shoulders slumped forward a little and expression slightly more accepting than it had previously been.

[the-pure-equation]

Outside Assistance | Pacific Rim/Avengers Crossover

[what-the-stark]

  Tony had known then as he rocketed towards the rift, the warhead clutched securely to his chest, that he likely wouldn’t return.

He’d accepted it.

The cycle of grief was a relief to avoid, this time… he’d walked that familiar road way too often, and affirming his abruptly limited future in those few, desperate moments had been far easier than he would have ever expected.

It was only what he owed them, after all. His debt cancelled, if not finally balanced by his last, nearly selfless act.

That vast dark expanse was nothing he’d expected, nothing he’d even imagined in his most creative dreams. It was everything and nothing, an immense presence pushing insistently at the boundaries of his sanity, stretching the corridors of his mind until he felt that pressure inside himself like a hand gripping the memories that forged him, tugging as if testing the strength of a knot.

Disorientation swelled within him, turbulent and wild, colors bleeding in infinite streaks of painful hues behind his eyes, until all five senses were left rioting, their feedback blending seamlessly until he was unable to determine what he was, much less where.

If he cried out, he couldn’t hear it, though he felt his own panic physically like needles dancing along his dampened skin for a time before even that faded and left him enclosed in that endless, encompassing black.

It was sensory deprivation of the most brutal sort, and the only thing that grounded him, that left him self-aware, was the steady, even humming of the reactor in his chest, that familiar frequency immutable and strong, drawing him back from the edge he’d been pacing and eventually leaving him back in the body he’d once called his own.

The first thing he saw as consciousness returned was another human face haloed in the pale blue glow of his HUD, unfamiliar, but so welcome that he just lay there, looking at him and breathing for a few moments before the meaning of the man’s words drifted through to his muddled senses.

"Wh—" Tony tried to speak, and his voice broke off in a muted gasp, his body arching against the ground, the soft mechanical whirring reminding him that the suit, at least, seemed to be fully operational. His throat was painfully raw, and he wondered absently how long he’d been screaming. "Where? Where am I?"

[the-pure-equation]

Hermann's ears pricked at the sound of the stranger attempting to speak, the sound reaching him through some sort of external source and he nodded once with a short grunt. He moved away, cane clacking loudly beside him as he clattered about mumbling under his breath at the unhelpful lay-out of the med-bay before returning with a glass of water. Propping his cane against the bed and by association, leaning his frame against it for support, he placed the glass beside the man then leaned over and fiddled with the front portion of the head piece.

It came away easy enough to his surprise and he blinked for a second, holding the gold piece in his hand before his senses returned and he placed it aside, propping the man's head up and bringing the glass to his lips. "Here, you sound awful." He gave it a minute then placed it beside the face plate, gripping his cane tightly once more and pulling up a stool to sit by the stranger.

"You're currently lying in the med-bay of the Hong Kong Shatterdome, Pan Pacific Defence Corps." He paused a moment then added on impulse, "The year is 2024." His head dipped to the side, calculating gaze observing the stranger for any-sort of reaction to the date. He had his suspicions regarding the sudden arrival of the man and as a man of science he promptly felt the need to test his theory.

How simply extraordinary for the man to appear floating above the breach right after an enormous Category 3 was destroyed by Crimson Typhoon only hours ago. He was well aware of the multi-verse theory, given the arrival of pan-dimensional beings intent on destroying the planet, only a fool could argue otherwise but so far he hadn't considered alternative universes besides the Kaiju home-world. The nature of the breach; however, was not conducive to humans as far as he could hypothesise and he highly doubted any humans would be in league with the monstrosities if it were.

Which could only mean he had come from somewhere else. But where? "Why don't we start with your name?" he said matter-of-factly, dipping his head as he spoke. "I'm Doctor Gottlieb. Head of the K-Science Research Division here at the PPDC."