#ν ― 〈 i'm getting on a mountain / away from the people on the ground 〉 overwatch.

[animosus-blog1]

in any modern sort of verse, newt's wardrobe consists mainly of collared shirts, sweater vests, and bowties. he has so many different bowties. blazers over the sweater vests for more formal occasions. you'll rarely catch him in only a t-shirt BUT on more relaxed days he may settle for a cozy sweatshirt.

[animosus-blog1]

though jack prefers to let newt work uninterrupted ( ...unless partaking in an action AGAINST watchpoint policy ), he seeks the scientist now of his own volition, coming to him with inquiries on how to better connect with the indoraptor contained in one of the base's sublevels. "---any TIPS on how to win her over ?" he asks at one point, hoping for some insight. "...if there's anyone i'd trust to know, it's YOU." for as DIFFICULT as newt is, jack can't deny he gets IMPRESSIVE results.

  ❈  ― @soldierwatch

     “ it’s a learning process. ”

  sending an almost HAPHAZARD glance in the strike commander’s direction on his approach, the scientist’s attention very quickly directs itself back to the computer monitor. on the screen there’s a chart open showing the details of the TESTS he’s run so far on the indoraptor in an effort to learn more about her, as well as a smaller tab open in the corner that holds all the records that came WITH her from those who created her. as scientifically amazing as their work is, there’s something fundamentally WRONG, in his opinion, with recreating creatures of the past. more wrong is taking the genes of those creatures and engineering something NEW from them. the fact that this creature in particular had been made with intent to be a weapon to fight for and be CONTROLLED by humans… it’s downright sickening. 

he hates EVERY BIT of what he’s read in the indoraptor’s files. the raptor herself, however, newt holds nothing but empathy and love for. none of this is her fault and, while the process that led to her creation is something he’s greatly against, as long as she exists, she DESERVES to be treated with respect.

     “ i’ve not worked with dinosaurs before. —although, whether she can TRULY be called a dinosaur is rather up in the air, given that she was effectively manufactured and– ”  tangent cut off by the look he sees jack giving him, newt purses his lips and nods.  “ …yes, right, uhm. well, it will require a lot of work. poor thing was treated HORRIBLY before you got your hands on her, as you know, so she has a distinct distrust in humans. being raised in such an isolated situation as well, she doesn’t know how to engage with another living thing in a way that isn’t violent. —this, i think, we can change. with her level of intelligence, she’ll undoubtedly be able to LEARN, but it will take time. ”

since morrison has brought him to the main overwatch base, the zoologist has been working DAILY with the indoraptor, but it’s been a slower process than any other he’s faced before. she has begun to come around a bit, to be less bothered by his presence, but so far he’s only gone into her enclosure in order to interact with her ONCE. that one time, however, he did succeed in placing a hand delicately on her snout with no repercussions. she had been highly UNCOMFORTABLE, he had been able to tell that much, and he suspects she felt the urge to bite off his hand, but she HADN’T. they are making progress, it’s just… slow. requiring a great amount of dedication.

     “ you want her to feel SAFE in your presence. you must be gentle, but still demand a certain amount of respect — if she sees you as weak, you’ll be considered prey. there has to be a balance, you see — rather like the balance between a PARENT and a CHILD, ”  newt explains, scrolling through the data on his screen.  “ she requires both discipline and affection. you have to be a comforting figure, but one she knows to NOT manipulate. ”  surprisingly, he thinks that jack is actually one of the few ideal candidates for this. while he hasn’t seen the commander in action MUCH, the few times that he has, newt has been witness to him treating his agents precisely this way. if he approaches the indoraptor with the same attitude he does his employees… it’s entirely possible that he could SUCCEED in gaining her trust.

     “ talk to her when you’re with her. continue working to have her respond to verbal commands rather than that horrid audio trigger. treat her with respect and kindness, show her that you are not the threat she has GROWN UP surrounded by, and she should begin to come around. ”

[animosus-blog1]

@brightwingxd   /   SC.

  from the beginning, he’d had NO intention of getting involved in the recall efforts. he’d heard about it, getting the same message from winston that every still-living previous employee of the organization got, but it’s been OUTSIDE his realm of interest. they don’t want scientists, anyway --- they want field agents. his work had never been very high on the list of things overwatch had ever considered USEFUL and, in truth, he’s much happier simply not getting involved in all the conflict.

  ---at least, that HAD been his plan --- to simply carry on his own field work, that of travelling to different parts of the world and observing animals in their natural habitats, learning what he can to perhaps be able to provide the world a better understanding of the more... MISUNDERSTOOD ones. plans CHANGED when he’d received a call about an experiment that had been recaptured and brought back to the main base for her safety. they needed someone who could work with her, this genetically modified and mutated bat, and who better than the ZOOLOGIST?

so here he is. at the base of operations for the recall, the last place he wants to be, to provide help to a creature whose creation he’s ADAMANTLY against but who deserves to live a fulfilling life now that she is... what she is.

     “ hello velum, ”  newt greets as the door slides closed behind him, a gentle smile across his lips. datapad in hand, the creature’s file open on the screen, he steps further into the room but does so SLOWLY, just in case a new face unsettles her at all. he’s poured over all of the information he’s been provided multiple times before coming to meet velum and, much as he’s against the sort of experimentation that LED to her creation, newt is admittedly quite fascinated. he’s curious and even rather eager to learn more her in person.  “ i’m here to get to know you and work with you. my name is newt, i’m a zoologist who specializes in animal behaviour. it’s lovely to finally meet you--- i’ve read a GREAT deal about you over the last few days. ”

[animosus-blog1]

overw/atch verse info ( i know it seems like an odd verse to add but stay with me here ):

newt is the sole occupant of a watchpoint, pre-fall, while ow is still funding all sorts of scientific and medical research. he works alone, though there used to be a couple other scientists out there with himl, but they quit or asked for a transfer bc they couldn't handle their eccentric coworker. basically though, he works with samples from animals, things like venoms and whatnot, finding uses for some of the isolated chemicals within them. he dabbles a bit with plants too, but animals are his main focus. 

because he's out there alone and so rarely does anyone come by to check up on the place... he's broken a lot of rules. as in, he's set up some enclosures for not just the animals he works with to study their samples, but animals he's found injured & sick and taken care of, as well as some others that he studies on the side, not so much for ow but rather for himself ( and the science of zoology, too ). he’s content where he is, even though it’s a lab in the middle of nowhere, and he likes working alone. that said, there are occasions where ow will stop by, or his presence might be requested at one of the bases/headquarters, but for the most part he’s the eccentric and awkward scientist who spends more time on average with animals than humans.

oh, and he has a fox, one of the animals he nursed back to health, who’s grown to enjoy stealing things from people, who has more or less free roam of the watchpoint, along with a few of the other well-behaved, less potentially dangerous creatures.

[animosus-blog1]

Animal within? :3c

your animal within ( according to newt )   ❈  ― @brightwingxd

     “ if you weren’t a bat --- or... well, a creature all your own who ORIGINATED from the chiroptera order but may no longer fall under the classification --- i think you could have been a cat. ”  turning to where velum sits nearby, newt smiles fondly. perhaps a cat isn’t the most interesting animal to be told you’re similar to, but he doesn’t mean anything rude by what MIGHT be considered a boring answer.

  “ your inquisitiveness in particular reminds me of a cat. when something catches your attention, you’re always quick to investigate. sometimes, i do think it gets the BETTER of you --- it distracts you from more important things with how focused you can get on something new. but-- it’s a trait which makes you a fast learner.

  “ you’re also so affectionate, yet able to be perfectly independent. others may not AGREE with my observation, but i don’t believe most of the people here will stop to consider how you were living on your own in the jungle for so many years. and i know that, like a cat, you’re VERY capable of putting up a good fight if you need to. ...hopefully though, a true fight won’t ever be something you’re faced with. ”  he wouldn’t put it past overwatch to CONSIDER training her more and making her into a field agent. that is something he won’t allow to happen, not if there’s anything he can do to prevent it. it’s something he can’t stand for.

falling into a somewhat SOMBER silence, newt presses his lips together and glances away. in spite of the gloomier turn though, when he speaks up again a moment later it’s with a faint lilt of amusement.

     “ i’ve also noticed your understandable fondness for sitting up in high places. ”

[animosus-blog1]

@twotailshakes:  ( x )

[ text - newt 🐉 ]: listen, bingo is a treasure to mankind [ text - newt 🐉 ]: and itd be a damn shame if nobody knew what she was thinkin [ text - newt 🐉 ]: also i may have had a few extra drinks last night [ text - newt 🐉 ]: thats just between you and me though [ text - newt 🐉 ]: besides [ text - newt 🐉 ]: if anybody was going to enjoy that itd be you [ text - newt 🐉 ]: pretty sure i could care for your ol fox myself with how often youve rattled off care instructions like its some sorta expensive car

[ text: mccree ]  i believe ‘a few extra drinks’ is being generous [ text: mccree ]  you were quite drunk by the end of the night. [ text: mccree ]  and i’ll have you know that a fox requires far more care than an expensive car. [ text: mccree ]  any animal does. [ text: mccree ]  ...nigel in particular though, as he’ll run off with your wallet if you aren’t watching him closely enough.

[animosus-blog1]

another lil tag dump.

[animosus-blog1]

@strikecdr:  ( cont from x )

❝ Afraid not, Newton; I can patch you through to someone who can,   though, if it’s urgent. ❞

Came his voice, relayed at real time over the communications system directly into to the   watchpoint the lone scientist    had been assigned. With communications active, data flooded the screen before the strike commander’s desk;   Jack briefly eying the remote base’s most recent activity reports– another thing he’ll later be tasked with reading.   Until then, however, he proceeded to continue;      the slightest inflection of humor lacing his tone.

❝ If you need long term help with translations, I believe we might be   able to find  s o m e o n e  fluent enough who also  won’t put in a   request for transfer within the first six months– IF you’re willing to   wait, of course.   —What’s prompted you to ask, though? ❞

     “ ah, no, that won’t be necessary--- ”

  quite CONTENT in having the watchpoint to himself, the offer of long term assistance was turned down hastily, newt shaking his head despite the call being audio only. it wasn’t as though this was a reoccurring instance anyway, the need for translation from chinese, so there really was NO NEED --- a fact he was about to elaborate on when suddenly prompted by the strike commander with a question of his own. a question that earned a NOTABLE PAUSE before being given an answer.

     “ it’s really--- it isn’t all that important. there’s been a report, you see, a possible new sighting of sinomicrurus hatori -- hatori’s coral snake, a rare species, although the VALIDITY of it being a separate species from sinomicrurus sauteri is still rather up for debate as there are no records of differing morphological data between the two. not as of YET, at least. ”  a beat. ...where was he going with this?  “ ---ah, but the report, it’s written in chinese and i’ve not been able to find a translation. it’s a matter of SCIENTIFIC INTEREST, but hardly urgent. ”

none of that was REMOTELY true. though the real situation started out similarly, with data written in chinese that was worth his curiosity as a zoologist, and it was in fact about a rare snake, the stories separated DRASTICALLY from there. the truth was that he’d rescued a critically endangered lazell’s blind snake from being SOLD on the black market. ...by purchasing it himself. it had arrived this morning, and come with papers full of information newt was unable to read for himself.

probably nothing CRITICAL though.

     “ and certainly not requiring a long term translator. ---though i appreciate the offer. ”