hadriel_logs | Event Log: End of Arc 2

Entry tags:

Event Log: End of Arc 2

Who: All characters
What: The event log for the End of Arc 2
Where: All over the city
When: November 25th-December 12th
Warnings: A full-scale battle, including character death, NPC death, and various other ways to suffer

It was bound to happen. The Null warned you, after all, and this has been building for awhile - and now it's here. First comes the initial attack, the agents of the Null attacking Hope's temple. Then, an SOS, warning the city of what's happened: a betrayal, and Hope being injured. Luckily for everyone, thanks to the actions of his guards Hope survives the attack. Unluckily, his attacker, the goddess Delight, escapes and lets the Null in.

Flooding into the cave, the Null will attack anyone who they believe is resisting them. They'll destroy buildings and deploy dangerous crowd control weapons, in addition to their sheer strength and speed. Confusion empties the monsters in the tunnels into the city, to help distract the Null. Some gods fight, others provide safe havens, but everyone is in danger.

After about a week and a half of the attack, Fear summons enough power to teleport the city. This stops any new Null from arriving through the tunnels, but the remaining Null must be hunted down and destroyed, or else they'll signal their location to the rest of their species. The danger will lessen as Null are taken out, but things won't really be safe until Fear moves the city again, so don't get too comfortable.

What will you do? Run and hide? Fight? Help the fighters? Turn on the gods yourself? Whatever you do, it's time to make a decision.

► This log covers November 25th-December 12th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you get taken out by the Null, please let us know here.

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[That's... useful information, and he hadn't considered it before. Rome doesn't know what kind of situation would call for him needing to sneak past a few Null, but he thinks that it could definitely come in handy during the attack, just to get from one location to another without resorting to rooftops and back alleys as he had been.

It's also the first time Tucker has really spoken about his abilities, and Rome has to admit that he's curious. He can still smell the otherness about him, but it's less of a threat now than it was when they first met- not remotely in the same pack, but capable of coexistence, which is helpful in times like these.]

What is it like for you?

[He asks, glancing up from what he's doing.]

Shifting. Being what you are.

[It's an open-ended question, not pointed and direct like he usually is. Any information here is better than what he has currently, and he has to admit that he's curious for more selfish reasons too- if they're anything alike, it's always nice to have someone to relate to, even a little.]

[Tucker tries not to tense up at the question, tries to let that knee-jerk reaction go. The proverbial cat's already out of the bag with most of the folks in the clinic(s) anyway. It's fine. No one cares. This isn't home.]

That sure is vague. It's like asking someone what it's like to be breathing, or have hands. It just is. [He's not dismissing it, though. It's not every day he gets a chance to talk about this stuff, either. He stuffs another carrot in his face and thinks it over while he chews.]

It's not divided, if that's what you mean. Like, there aren't two "me"s. It's like, I don't know, a reversible jacket, or a coin or whatever. Same thing, different views. Sometimes it's more convenient to have four legs and a tail, and sometimes it's better to have thumbs. And the change itself is like... I don't know, like lifting an arm, or walking. It's just another thing I can do.

[It's hard putting things into words when he's trained himself to never mention them.]

What about you? Same question.

Mmhm.

[He hums in agreement when Tucker speaks, understanding the normalcy of it, the day-to-day life better than someone else might. It's different for him, but- he thinks, not as different as they might have thought at one point. Like Tucker, this isn't something that he speaks much about openly- though rather than because he's hiding it, it's generally because it's considered rude. Nobody that he knows particularly cares about his experiences, or the experiences of his kind. He'd just be boring them.

With Tucker though, he's interested, genuinely- and it seems to be the same when the question is reversed on him.

Rome turns his attention back toward his leg, beginning to bandage it- the work a little shoddy due to his absent fingers- while he considers the question.]

I am- we are... parts of a whole, [he finally says, though it's difficult to figure out how to say it.] I don't know where I end and it begins, or if I- we- could ever be defined as separate entities in the first place.

[Tape now, and gauze. He works methodically, precisely, despite the sting.]

I interpret things differently. My thoughts are more canine than human- instinct, emotion. [Which might be difficult to believe for someone as stoic as Rome tends to be, but he's been rather thoroughly trained.] When I shift too, it's just another part of me rising to the surface. I still retain my rationale and greater understanding of the world around me.

[So they seem to be similar in that regard. He pauses, thoughtful for a moment.]

I was always told that I was more dangerous in my other form. Harder to control. But- it's also where I feel the most at peace.

[Tucker has to wonder if they're even more alike than it sounds, if Rome only thinks of his wolf self as different because that's what he's been taught. If Rome really is two minds, though, they're at least in synch, which is different from how he thought it would be.

Werewolves are supposed to be torn on the inside, at war with their animal self, which they can't control. But Tucker guesses that if your animal self wants the same things you do, then it's not really out of control, is it? He's met lycanthropes (or one, at least, besides Morgan and Rome,) that displayed an amount of rationality and even calm in their bestial shapes. He guesses you can tame the animal, or you can just go along with what it wants.]

Humans move on instinct and emotion more often than they'd like to admit. [It's what makes being a con artist possible.] But yeah, I get you. There's things they don't notice, things they don't think about. They don't read things the same way. Having those other aspects, I think it just makes us smarter.

[He would.]

The peace thing makes sense, if you ask me. It's easier to run, and you don't have all those human expectations on you. What would make you harder to control if you're the same person both ways? A wolf's got teeth, but it's not like you can hold a gun.

Yes, [he agrees, finishing up the bandage and lowering the hem of his pant leg. It's all but useless- the fabric is ripped over where the gash was- but it's at least a little treated for now.

With that being done with, he reaches for the carrots, taking several and munching on the first as he thinks.]

The emotion feels... closer to the surface in my other form. My mind is still myself, but it feels different- the higher thought and reasoning skills are there, but not as complex, more dulled. [He rests his chin on his knee as he thinks.] It's easier to process my feelings when I'm shifted- but easier still, to let them get the better of me. That's what they're afraid of.

[And it feels weird, using a word like fear to describe his handlers. Rome never really considered if they were motivated by fear or not- just the desire for control and for order. They've always asserted that he would be put down if he gave into a more emotional side- was the threat from anger at the lack of respect for their control? Or from fear?

He's never thought about it before. He's not sure if he wants to think about it now.]

I'd like to see you, sometime. In your other form.

[Rome says a little suddenly, tilting his head to watch Tucker more fully.]

If we survive this.

[Tucker scoffs.]

Well after this long, I don't really think they need to be worried. Pretty sure you've got a handle on it.

[Maybe it's why they made Rome so robotic, but the point is: he's robotic. If anyone's going to lose their shit suddenly, it's not this one. This guy has almost too much self control.]

Not that that'll stop them, of course. People decide things about us, and then they just use any little slip-up as evidence, even if it's the only time you ever do it.

[That last part surprises him, though he's not sure why. Rome's been curious about everything else, of course he'd want to see.]

Sure, I guess. Probably nothing you haven't seen before. Hell, you might catch me runnin' around before this is over. And I don't know what you mean about "if". I'm survivin' the hell outta this.

[Rome, on the other hand, is possibly iffy. Take care of yourself, bro.]

Isn't once enough?

[He asks quietly, his brows furrowing a little. Even if it wasn't him or those he knows- it wasn't once that set his handlers in their ways, it was a history of violence and bloodshed and brutality. It makes enough sense to him that nobody would want to repeat any of that and so he remains where he is, unquestioning, contained in his world of perfect order.

Still, Tucker's insistence on surviving makes him smile a little and Rome tips his chin in a small nod.]

You seem like you could survive anything. [It's a compliment, sort of.] You're resourceful. I wouldn't have thought of shifting to confuse them.

[Time to make a Face again.]

What do you mean, "isn't once enough"? People aren't allowed to make mistakes anymore? Humans make all kinds of bullshit mistakes and get in wars and murder each other and they don't lock themselves up for it. Well, okay, they do, but not as a fuckin' species.

[You know what he means!!!]

I'll take the survival thing as a compliment, though. Fuckin' cockroach, that's me.

[He says it without a hint of shame, because he doesn't feel any. In the beginning he had no choice. If he wasn't resourceful, he would've probably died. But now it's just a handy skill to make money and get things he wants, and, in this case, continue to not die. Survival of the fittest- or the smartest.]

[Rome is starting to recognize the Face now- it's a similar Face to the one Morgan makes if he starts talking about his handler, and generally implies that it's coming time to end the conversation before someone gets angry for reasons that Rome doesn't really understand.]

It was meant as one.

[It's safer ground, talking about Tucker's craftiness. Rome considers that for another moment or two, before reaching for the bandages again, glancing around for the healers. Most of them still seem to be busy with other, likely more serious cases, and Rome feels like he's been here too long already, so he turns toward Tucker.]

Will you help me bandage my hand? [He's still missing two fingers and he can't very well get the bandages all over the cauterized and scabbed-over stumps themselves. It's not exactly a pretty sight, but it needs to happen before he can go and he needs to go before more people die.] I just need someone to hold the roll. I can probably wrap it myself.

[Oh, right. Rome's still missing his fuckin' fingers. Tucker wishes he'd wait for one of the healers, but he also knows he probably won't. So might as well help him out instead of letting him go back out there with exposed stumps.]

For the record, I still think this is a bad idea.

[But he puts the carrots down and grabs the roll of bandages. He knows he'll be too impatient watching Rome struggle to do it one-handed, so he decides to just do it himself. Not that he has any medical training, but he's willing to be Rome doesn't either, and anyway he can complain if he doesn't like it.]

I see.

[But hey, Tucker is taking a more active role than he'd tried to rope him into, so Rome doesn't complain and simply offers his hand up to be bandaged. Even if it's not perfect, it's not like he could do any better one-handed, and so he keeps his remarks and the slight hisses of pain to himself, biting at the inside of his cheek when it pulls just a little too tight here and there.

Eventually, when it's all said and done, he nods, flexing his remaining fingers to test the strength of the bandages. It's good enough for his purposes.]

Thank you.

[Tucker will never get used to being thanked, he doesn't think. Especially for stuff like this.]

Uh, you're welcome I guess.

[Let's not make a big deal out of it. He shoves the rest of the bandages into his bag with the carrots.]

Does that mean you'll be heading back out there then?

[Clearly he thinks this is a bad idea.]

Of course.

[As if it was ever in any doubt. He hops off the table, patting himself down briefly- pistol, knife, spare bandages- and nudging the raised hem of his pant leg down with the other foot. Rome straightens his jacket as best he can before turning back to Tucker, a small but friendly smile flickering across his mouth.]

I won't forget your help.

[He's already been here too long though and he doesn't give Tucker much of a chance to argue before he leaves, resolute and slightly less run down than he was when he'd entered the building.

Of course, it's the last time Tucker would see him alive until the end of all of this- but who knows? Maybe Rome would have died far earlier if not for the small kindness that'd been shown to him here.]

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Event Log: End of Arc 2

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