Chapter Text
“Please excuse him. He’s a kaiju groupie, he loves them.”
Newt bristles. “Shut up, Hermann. I don’t love them, okay? I study them.”
But of course, the conversation goes downhill from there, like it always does.
Nobody understands how Newt feels about the kaiju, or why he would get these tattoos.
Worse than that, nobody ever asks. They jump to conclusions, judging him and assuming he’s either a groupie or an insensitive jerk. (Okay fine, he can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, but that’s beside the point.)
Like this Becket guy, who’s clearly already made up his mind about him. And Hermann, who… well, that one stings, honestly. Even with all the shit that’s gone down between them, Hermann should know how seriously Newt really takes this. The tattoos are his way of showing that. He’s permanently etched these creatures onto his skin—how much more serious can he get?
At least he’s trying to do something, unlike those inlanders who like to pretend nothing’s wrong, or the rich assholes who can afford to pack up and move away from the coast. Newt may not be one of the guys in the giant robots, but he’s contributing too. His work is fucking crucial, thank you very much.
Science is what will save them.
Curiosity. Understanding. And, yeah, maybe there is some love there, too. Even if it’s not what people think it is. How could you not love something so fascinating, even a little? The kaiju are proof of alien life! Humans aren’t all alone in this big scary universe. Granted, in this case, it’s not exactly a good thing, but still. It’s huge, and so is the implication that there could be others somewhere out there, too (hopefully friendlier).
He wants to learn everything he can about them, how they work, where they come from, how they’re made. Because that’s what his data is telling him—the kaiju are grown. By whom, though, and why? There has to be a reason, a plan, a purpose, more than just attacking one coastal city at a time. There’s a bigger picture, one they can’t see yet.
Newt’s got his own plan to change that.
As soon as he presents his Drift idea, Pentecost will be sure to approve it, and everyone will see that Newt’s been right all along. They’ll have to take him seriously after that. And if it’s not approved—though come on, why wouldn’t it be—then he’ll just have to get creative. Because this is how they’ll win.
Nobody understands, but that’s okay. They don’t have to.
Newt knows what he’s doing.