The Black Sluggard

Considering the significe the date carries in "Black Edelweiss", I was disappointed in myself not having anything to post today. I considered doing a manip, but every concept I tried out for it came off as shallow and somewhat exploitative of the tragedies involved. So, since I have no new content to post, I thought I'd explore some of the elements behind Konrad/Kevin's backstory and why I chose them for the fic.

( plus, bonus Vonnegut fan-wankery )

Title: Black Edelweiss
Series: Zeitgeist
Follows: One Giant Leap
Wordcount: 1,253
Summary: Two weeks after Claire Bennet's televised leap from the Ferris wheel, the 12th handles it's first case delving into the strange world of specials. Evidence points the investigation toward a former Company Agent, a man Noah Bennet would swear up and down doesn't exist.
Details: Minimal details due to inflation. Full warnings and details in main post.
Warning: This interlude contains spoilers for the Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap.

( Konrad—Manhattan, New York; August 1968 )

Title: Black Edelweiss
Series: Zeitgeist
Follows: One Giant Leap
Wordcount: 2,284
Summary: Two weeks after Claire Bennet's televised leap from the Ferris wheel, the 12th handles it's first case delving into the strange world of specials. Evidence points the investigation toward a former Company Agent, a man Noah Bennet would swear up and down doesn't exist.
Details: Minimal details due to inflation. Full warnings and details in main post.

(  Konrad & Adam—Brooklyn, New York; February, 1959 )

Title: Black Edelweiss (Interlude)
Series: Zeitgeist
Follows: One Giant Leap
Wordcount: 1,400
Summary: Three days after Claire Bennet's televised leap from the Ferris wheel, Javier needs help coming to terms with what this new world of specials means for him...
Details: Minimal details due to inflation. Full details and warnings in main post.

(  Konrad & Fritz—Konzentrationslager Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland; January 1945 )

Title: Black Edelweiss
Series: Zeitgeist
Follows: One Giant Leap
Fandoms: Castle, Heroes.
Rating: R
Genre: Sci-fi, Suspense, Angst, case fic (if you squint).
Warnings: References to vivisection, torture, human experimentation, September 11th, and the Holocaust.
Details: Pre-slash, crossover, AU, genre-crack, angst, character focus slanted by shameless author bias, interpretation of minor characters bordering on OCs, angst, blatant denial of canon character deaths, questionable character deconstruction (to say the least), "morally grey", canon abuse, time travel, and angst.
Wordcount: 113k+
Characters/Pairings: Castle—ensemble, Ryan/Esposito pre-slash. Heroes—Noah, Angela, Tracy, Hiro, Peter, Sylar, mention of various others. Allusions to characters from NCIS.
Summary: Two weeks after Claire Bennet's televised leap from the Ferris wheel, the 12th handles it's first case delving into the strange world of specials. Evidence points the investigation toward a former Company Agent, a man Noah Bennet would swear up and down doesn't exist.
Notes: Takes place post-series for Heroes, and post- Nikki Heat and Knockdown for Castle. Takes place after my story "One Giant Leap" (for a given value of "after").
I'm fudging the timeline of both shows a bit, but specifically for Heroes, assuming a longer period of time between Volume 3 and 4, and that the series finale, Brave New World, took place in early December of 2010.
Disclaimer: Slash, superpowers and Nazis.
And while it seems almost a waste of time to disclaim this, no, I am not in any way a supporter of Nazi ideals, white supremacy or the Third Reich. I'm just an insane history-loving sci-fi nerd, and I like to acknowledge that Nazis, despite having been human beings moved by human desires, are one of the most universally one-dimensional characters in all of fiction, and wanted to present one that wasn't...
Remember, it's a crossover with Heroes , where things are almost always a bit "morally grey".
That said, there's enough wrong with this whole story for you to hate me, regardless. If for no other reason than because "empathic mimicry" is a horrible cop-out of a power, and is a horrendous plot device even when Peter had it.
This is without a doubt the most psychotic story idea I've ever conceived of, and I apologize in advance to anyone who actually reads this. Castle fans most especially.
Title is borrowed from the memoir by Johann Voss (which I haven't read, I just thought it fit).

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