hadriel_logs | Event Log: Null Attack

Entry tags:

Event Log: Null Attack

Who: Everyone!
What: The event log for the Null Attack event
Where: All over the city
When: May 29th- ?
Warnings: None

What starts as a normal day will begin to herald in the beginning of the end. On May 29th, you might see something in the sky out of the corner of your eye- blink and you miss it, but there's definitely something there, something that's not any kind of animal you've ever seen. Now that you know to look, you may be paying closer attention to the sky in order to catch the next one that flies past- a ship. A ship that that seems to be designed in a way that might remind you of the Null themselves.

As the days pass, it becomes unmistakable- the Null are here and are scouting out the area. It's time to prepare for an immediate attack and start putting all those contingency plans to good use. Will you gear up for a fight and fall into formation? Will you close and lock your doors and stay inside? Or perhaps there's some other plan that you want to enact?

You'll have time to discuss that on the network later, but now you need to start reacting to the Null's actions- which are apparently to start building smaller encampments around the city as they try to find the way inside. Confusion is holding them at bay for now but it might be time to start building some defensive measures and fortifications, because she won't be able to keep them at bay forever.

When they break in, they do so in a big way- with a massive explosion at Confusion's temple that rattles throughout the entire city. It's obvious that something has happened- and what exactly that something is reveals itself shortly when Null begin to flood the city, having broken through Confusion's protection.

This is when the fight escalates to an all-out war. Nobody is spared, and they're watching everyone from above. What will you do? How will you keep the ones you love safe? How can anyone survive this? All you can do is fight back, all we can do is wait. Good luck, Hadriel.

► This log covers the entirety of the Null attack
► 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 are killed by the Null, please let us know here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[she would be greatly curious to see who would prevail.

it's strange. she'd gone through her first fifteen years expecting nothing more than a match with a suitably high ranking gentleman. then Duncan came and Howe attacked and her life was changed forever.

she supposes she'd gotten so used to fighing for her life every day, she doesn't know quite what to do with herself when she's not]

I suppose I'd be amenable to that plan.

[she watches him curiously. he must be able to hear something she cannot as yet.

she nods at his instructions and does as she's bid, waiting]

[He snorts, imitating her voice as he talks back.]

I suppose I'd be amenable to that plan. Gods, you sound so formal. C'mon, let loose huh?

[In the meantime, she moves into the road and he stays in the trees, slipping between each of them until his ear picks up the sound of the footsteps. In a moment, a small message is passing into her mind, courtesy of Taako with his eyes in the sky.]

Okay, they're gonna be comin' around in a few seconds. Try to get them to shoot you. Promise you won't get hit, it's gonna be great.

[she arches an eyebrow slightly at his imitation of herself, although she's not offended. she knows that the one of the few times she's truly "let loose," she kept screaming as she stabbed Rendon Howe's corpse until there was little left of him but shattered bone and pulped flesh. Alistair had to pick her up and carry her away or she would have kept stabbing and she still struggled against his grasp and screamed for the better part of five minutes.

which of course, drew more guards.

there wasn't much left of them, either.

but she nods at his message and patiently waits for the Null to emerge.

when they do, she throws a soulrot bomb at them. she highly doubts it will do a thing to harm them, but it should be interpreted as enough of a threat for them to fire upon her.

and they do]

[Listen: big mood. The last time Taako went buck wild was during the last Null attack when he flattened two city blocks in a firestorm after he watched his boyfriend die in front of him. It was like, a lot. Just a whole bunch. He's better now.

At least, he's still pulling dumb shit. She instigates, the bomb going off and causing them to come right for her. A few shoot projectiles. Most charge forward. But as soon as it looks like it'll hit her--

A shimmering, white wall appears just before Mariane. And every one of their attacks reflects.

The bullets pierce backwards, sending foot soldiers reeling, the sword hands knocked unsteady, and a second wave of force comes as the invisible wall seems to topple, knocking the entire group of them prone onto their backs. Taako, meanwhile, lets out a truly howling laugh.]

Holy shit! Fuck that was good! Go on, stab 'em, they're all lined up for ya, holy shit--

[At least he's enjoying himself.]

[she'd consider his reaction entirely understandable. the few times someone had managed to best Alistair, she'd gone out of her way to make their last moments a misery.

despite the things she cannot name coming directly for her, she remains calm, certain in Taako and his plan.

and it certainly seems as though her trust was well-founded, given that his spell sends all of the Null's attacks back at them, leaving them knocked down in the dirt.

his laughter earns a small smile and she nods at his instructions, turning to carry them out.

the Null are flailing about, trying to right themselves, but she leaves them no time to recover, stabbing them deeply and repeatedly until she hits their cores and they cease their movements. she then moves on to the next one and the next and the next until they're all little more than scrap metal littering the ground.

she turns back to Taako with something approaching a smirk curving her lips]

Very good. Shall we do it again?

[It executes wonderfully, and she just goes. Taako doesn't need to lift a finger as she makes herself a maelstrom through them, leaving scraps of metal and circuitry in her wake. It's interesting to watch, in the same way that it would be terrifying if he wasn't so certain she wasn't going to turn around and stab him.

Once all is said and done, he swings down from the branch he was in, hitting the floor with a little hup as he starts walking towards her.]

Well you can't just repeat a show. Then they'll know what's coming. Gotta keep 'em on their toes. You have any ideas for a good ambush?

[she's a rogue, trained for speed and accuracy of attack rather than raw brute strength to overpower one's foes. once she got a general idea of where the Null tended to keep their cores, obliterating them was simplicity itself.

she straigtens up back into perfect posture as he approaches and doesn't sheath her blades just yet]

They do tend to learn from their mistakes. [she thinks a moment] I could take the bits of metal left over from these and fashion a few shrapnel traps. Then, you could use magic to herd them towards the traps.

[See, this is why he likes her. She has ideas. They're simple and not always flashy, but he needs that sometimes. Can't spend all his slots doing dumb shit and get cornered when it matters.

So he grins, shifting his weight between feet, obviously excited.]

Alright, hell yes, I can get behind this. Would they need to step in 'em or is this a divebomb sorta deal?? Gotta start formulating how to nail these suckers.

[creating a trap is simple; setting it up without getting caught is hard. that's where her ability to be sneaky comes in.

she smiles back a little shyly]

They would need to step in them to spring the traps. Preferably at a run. More of them to be hit with the shrapnel that way.

[He elbows her side playfully, a grin on his face.]

Now thaaaat, I can do. Set em up, I can get the whole lead in. Bound to be another squad around here somewhere that I can divebomb.

[she's jostled a little, but interprets it as a . . . good thing? so she smiles right back]

All right. That sounds wonderful. [and from the tone of her voice, she truly thinks so. and so she digs through her pouches and brings out three trap triggers] Now all we have to do is find a good area to plant the traps in. Nothing too open, or the shrapnel won't be able to do as much damage as it would if they were in closer quarters.

[It is absolutely a good thing. Taako just gets handsy when he gets excited, and also when he likes someone. It makes sense, sort of. But he listens to her suggestion, looking up and down the road at different places.]

If they aren't gonna do a ton of damage to other structures, what if we get 'em up to a bridge? They'll have to get close in there. Either that or we just make some barriers or something, but y'know. You go ahead and get these set up and we'll figure it out.

[about the only person Mariane gets handsy with is Alistair and she's his fiancee, but she appreciates the gesture. and she follows his gaze around their surroundings]

A bridge sounds perfect. I could set the traps up at the end of the bridge. That way, they'd still be in a tight formation, but they'd still be far enough apart for the shapnel to tear into enough of them.

[He's just a touchy feely person, what can he say?]

Hell yeah, let's go my gal. One of 'em is just down here, we can reroute their pathways and walk them right into hell.

[Immediately, Taako sets off in a trot further down the path. They'll pull off some great stunts today and keep the city protected-- at least, for now. But in the end, it was worth it.]

[she appreciates it. she spends most of her time in her own little bubble, it's good to get her out of it from time to time.

and she smiles] That sounds like an excellent plan.

[and she goes along at his side, an expression of anticipation on her face]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event Log: Null Attack

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(cw: gore)

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wrapped?

I suppose. /clings