week 0 - hermann - monday

[completelycrazy]

[Well.

This certainly is a pickle.

Newt hangs out on the outskirts as that kid--Max? Like what's-his-name the Australian jerk's dog. Great. Max does his spiel and then it's done and, first step: Gotta talk to Hermann. Double great.

Once he susses out his partner in the crowd, Newt grabs him by the arm and starts tugging him off in the direction of the nearest private-ish place. Otter Nonsense it is. Unless you have a better suggestion, Hermann??]

Hey, look, we gotta talk. [He says it with an implied "so get over your butthurt on the whole dying thing, dude." Not saying it outright is enough of an olive branch.]

Comments

[byjove]

[Hermann makes a customary protest to being dragged by the arm, but only until he gets his pace to match Newt's. If the other scientist hadn't found him, he would've gone looking himself.

It's true, they do need to talk.

... He supposes he can ignore the fact that Newton got him killed long enough to strategize.]

About this game, I presume. What exactly were you thinking?

[He's going to make sure they're on a similar page before he tips his own hand.]

[completelycrazy]

[Second olive branch: Resisting the urge to give Hermann a big ol' DUH about their conversation topic.

Anyway, time to ask outright.]

Are you a Reaper? Like, you're not, right?

[byjove]

No, of course not. [He looks more than mildly offended.]

... Are you?

[completelycrazy]

Jeez, no. Why would I ask you if I was one? I'd already know. [Keep up Hermann!]

But, uh... [Newt licks his lips and then switches to German. He lowers his voice too, just in case.]

You know we gotta win this, right? I mean, I want to live as much as the next guy, but it's more than that. If we don't make it back...

[He leaves that sentence hanging. They both know what their permanent deaths would mean for their world.]

[byjove]

[He's trying to keep up but ??? wh

whatever. He follows Newt's lead and switches to quiet German.]

The mission fails, and the world is destroyed. [If you're not going to say it, he is.] I was thinking the same, as a matter of fact. Like it or not, we're going to have to work together.

[completelycrazy]

[He puffs out a breath.]

Well, yeah, for starters. A joint strategy is the only way to go, here. You die, I die too. It's all or nothing.

[Which... is not amazing odds, but Newt thrives on the impossible.]

But, uh, even if we make it to the end... You heard the kid. There's only so many slots, or whatever. Surviving does't guarantee anything. [...] You know that plan you had? About sacrificing Hong Kong?

[He hesitates, and then shrugs.]

You still think breaking a few eggs is worth it?

[byjove]

[Hermann can't even fathom the odds lmao. But whatever, he knows he's smart enough to handle this, and as much as he refuses to admit it right now, Newt is probably the other smartest person here. They'll manage.

He listens to Newt's proposal intently, taking a moment to think about it. He'd be lying if he said it hadn't occurred to him already, but Hong Kong was different. The destruction was at the hands- or claws- of two skyscraper-sized behemoths, not his own. But still...]

... I do, yes. We don't really have another choice. [He's echoing his own words here, the irony being that last time, he was sacrificing himself.]

I think it's probably best if we let the game progress on its own if possible. People act irrationally when death is on the line. You saw that first hand at the Kaiju shelter, I'm sure. Panic will cause them to eat each other. But if things don't seem to be going as necessary...

We'll have to move them along, then, won't we?

[completelycrazy]

[Newt nods, forcing himself to agree because... Well, like Hermann said. They don't have a choice. But that doesn't make this any easier to stomach.]

Right. Right. Let's just hope we, uh, don't have to get hands-on.

[He wouldn't have any idea where to start with something like that. At least he and Hermann are on the same page, though. Is it messed up that this is pretty much the first thing they've ever agreed on? Oof.

Anyway, shoving that thought aside...]

Have you met that little girl? Mary? She's blonde and like this big? [He holds out a hand to illustrate her bigness.]

[byjove]

[Honestly, neither would he. Hermann's never thought about killing someone in earnest, as much as he's insinuated it whenever Newt leaves things on his side of the lab or eats his lunch out of the fridge.

He's sure it won't come to that. Certainly not.]

I have, yes. Poor thing. Shouldn't be here with the rest of us. [He stops short.] She should be... off the table, in relation to our previous discussion.]

[completelycrazy]

[Newt reels back, offended that Hermann has deemed it necessary to state that which should be obvious.]

For Christ's sake, of course she's off the table! Jeez. That goes without saying. But she might not be off the table for the Reapers, is the problem. I was going to say we should try to protect her. Get her into the pool at the end that gets brought back to life. Plus, that gets us an ally. Two if you count her partner. That, uh, cat thing. Haven't talked to him much, but he has a vested interest in keeping her alive, too.

[Hooray for the buddy system?]