ximilialog | [Mostly Open] So we'll press, and press 'til you can't take it anymore!

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[Mostly Open] So we'll press, and press 'til you can't take it anymore!

CHARACTERS: Precursors and you. And Eventually Newton. Hopefully!
LOCATION: A holding room in Ximilia Station.
DATE: Est. two days post-mission, after the kaiju is defeated and the orb is retrieved.
CONTENT: The precursors are revealed — and are finally removed from Newt's mind.
WARNINGS: Possession and the bodily autonomy issues that come with that. More will be added if necessary!

Closed and opened starters will be added as I go, which will be announced on plurk! But if you don't use plurk or would rather keep an eye out by email/tracking, feel free to use the tracking option and mark to receive notifs any new top level comments posted to this log! The log will involve an open starter to visit the precursors where they're cuffed/contained in the room, so stay tuned.

Also no rush once the open starters are posted!

Feel free to focus on the player plot log first and come back to this later.

CLOSED STARTER | THE DOCTOR
DARKLING'S TOP LEVEL | WHILE NEWT WAS SLEEPING...
OPEN STARTER | THE PRECURSORS, REVEALED
CLOSED FINAL CONCLUSION | THE PRECURSORS, REMOVED
OPEN PROMPTS | NEWTON GEISZLER'S RETURN

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[Ah.

And there it is.

A debt of gratitude for not leaving him a winged monster on the first mission.]

Would you have been this forgiving had I started eating in Gyeongje, I wonder. I talked to so many people, while looking like- [there's really no need to explain what he looked like, it would make no sense to anyone not from Ravka. All it would do, is shine a light on matters he would rather leave unsaid.

His regret.

His own monsters.] something out of a nightmare. And I did want to. That was all I could think about, until the cure.

[Jim's face floats in to his mind, withdrawing like a beaten dog, excuses falling from his pretty mouth and the Darkling had wanted to gobble him up.]

And you think there's a cure for what Newton has done. For what he almost took from- us.

[But it's curious, what Finn will admit to. That he felt a person, and could tell the truths from lies that way.]

That depends on how far gone you were... and who you decided to eat.

[ He wishes it didn't depend on the latter. It's not like it would have been Kirigan's fault, no matter who had become a victim. At the same time, he's not going to lie. Finn doesn't know what he would have done- would do if something like that happened to someone close to him.

So maybe it's a good thing he doesn't know about what nearly happened with Jim. ]

But you didn't kill any of us, just like Newton hadn't. There has to be a way out for him. All we have to do is find it and clear the path. Removing those things that call themselves Precursors would be a start.

... Or do you blame Newton himself for what could have been?

And move them where, exactly?

[A snarling animal in the small body of one little earthling was better than this infecting someone else, and Alina's face flashes through his mind. The bruises she wears and how easily things could have spiraled. How easily he could have lost her, and how utterly unprepared he is for that eventuality.

For someone who has never given much thought to his own demise, imagining someone else's is... strange. An option that never would have occurred to him, had it not been for this deal that they all made.

The deal that will make all of this unimportant. Even her, but until that day comes, he will never look away. He would burn the world to ash to keep her safe.]

Do you even know if this is something that can be cured? Some deceases are transferred, Finn. We've seen this on more than one mission.

Not to any of us. If we have to, we'll just kill them. Without taking Newton's life in the crossfire.

The thing is, no one knows if that's possible. But just killing him now removes all other possibilities. We owe it to him to at least try.

[ They owe a lot to him. Even if they didn't, Newton's a friend to many people here. The loss of his life is just as tragic, if not more so given what he must have been going through all this time. Though... Finn understands that some lives have more weight than others. ]

If we exhaust all other options, then we'll have to do it your way. Many of the others still wouldn't understand, but that doesn't mean we can't do this right. Or, at least, as close to right as we can get.

He might have saved my life once, but I don't owe him a chance to do more harm.

[Finn's steel-like conviction that Newton was worth trying to save, that this man's life wasn't forfeit the second he failed to mention the infection that brought all of their lives in danger.

He could excuse the bombs.

The childish taunting on the network.

The monster that set out of eat and kill every living soul it encountered.

But he would not - could not- overlook that one life.]

You're here to make sure I won't try again.

[This wasn't the casual conversations of made in the darkness of movie theaters, nor the banter mentioned across the mat in the training room. The slight edge of teasing that snug in to his own tone of voice every once in awhile.

Following the flow of power, the gossip on the network and Finn's own words to the man claiming to not be Newton Geiszler.]

We will stop him before he does more harm.

[ The Precursors caught them by surprise. They won't let that happen again.

As to the assumption, though, Finn shrugs. ] But... yes and no. I wanted to know why. He's my friend, but I also understand where you're coming from.

[ Nothing about this conversation is casual or remotely as light as their moments together in the past. Which is what Finn hates about all of this. He breathes and... allows the tension to leave him, even for just a moment, deciding to take this in another direction. ]

You're... not as alone as you think you are. You're not the only one who had someone get hurt, and you're not the only one who would... go to extremes to make sure it doesn't happen again. To make sure worse doesn't happen.

But Newton's not the enemy. He never wanted to hurt anyone, I really believe that. We should at least try to save him, if for no other reason than because he would do the same for us.

And if we can't save him or if these things try to hurt someone again, then... we'll deal with it. Your way. Together. I'll help you, if it comes to it.

[There's a lull in conversation as the Darkling tries to take it all in, tries to parse the meaning of all the words that fall from Finn's mouth. The implications that had been pulled in to the light, the weakness Finn was willing to admit to.

Even if only under the cover of darkness. You are not alone

The shadows settle a little as he stretches his fingers against his thigh. The clearing in the woods looks like a valley of roiling darkness, the shadows rippling like waves from where they're sitting in a tiny pool of moonlight.]

Does your Force tell you that. That he doesn't want to murder us all, the second he gets a chance. Because he will have more chances, Finn. There will be times in the days and months ahead where we will be vulnerable again. Left defenseless again.

[And there's resentment brewing about that as well. Towards the station, Viveca and the commander. They reached in to him and took away the most precious thing- and it's a little muddled if that thing was purely his Small Science or if the grief and fear was from losing his connection to Alina. The coiled tether that wrapped around his heart, pulsing with her heartbeat right next to his at all time.

His dark eyes fly up, meeting Finn's and holding that gaze, mouth lax with the surprise.

Together]

I won't let him harm anyone again. But- fine. I will leave off trying to settle this tonight.

[ He watches darkness make waves against this fake setting. Once upon a time, he would have wondered about the symbolism of it all. The darkness and the light and all of that nonsense. Right now, he just finds it kind of beautiful and a good distraction while Kirigan sits in silence.

But when he speaks, it makes a smile grow on Finn's lips. He ducks his head before meeting his eyes again. ]

Thank you. That's all I ask.

But... you're right. The Force does tell me that. And the Force doesn't lie. Not any more than your shadows might lie to you.

[ It's an extra sense, is what he means. There is no lies or truths, it just is. And Newton is innocent. ]

My shadows have no will of their own.

[As a demonstration, he scoops up a handful of it. It settles like smoke against the palm of his hand, as fingers on the other hand move and the shadows congeal, take shape and slowly a small black butterfly flutters its wings.]

I will it in to being- [He lets the butterfly lift, hovering just above his skin, wings beating lazily, and his hand clenches and the shadows seep out between his fingers, falling down to join the ones around them.] and I can will it away.

Is it like that for you?

[The Force. Not quite magic, not quite Small Science, but he knows the flavour of it, has felt it respond to him, answering the call of his touch.]

I will hold you to that promise, Finn. If he cannot be cured, he will be dead. Together.

[ Finn smiles as he watches the dark butterfly flutter about, charmed by the illusion it creates. So much so, that his smile falls when it becomes part of the shadows again. ]

Sort of... The Force exists separate from me, but I can see it and manipulate it. It has its own will, though. Not really thoughts so much as... actions. Brings people together, plays out events. All is as the Force wills it or something like that.

[ Even he doesn't know where he's heard that before. Sometimes weird quotes just come to him... Hell, maybe he's making them up.

Anyway, Finn takes a deep breath. ]

Together... but only as a last resort. I'll hold you to that, too.

[Again, it hits him - how similar the worlds beyond Ravka and his world have chosen to interpret the Making. He nods, hand still hovering in the night air before him and he lets it fall in to the soft grass.]

We call it the Making at the Heart of the World. It's the will and the power that draws everything together. It connects us all to that beating heart at the center of creation. It is what makes us Grisha, and it is the will of it, that binds us to each other.

[Grisha theory and the ties that bind them, take years to read through and longer to understand, but perhaps Finn will get the gist of it. Of how the force that runs through them, are so alike.

Like calls to like] We call those who cannot touch the Making otkazat'sya. It means the abandoned. The orphaned.

Last resort. [Could this spread? Was it limited to Newton and his world, or could these things - this decease- reach out and infect any of them? Could it infect him, a thought that only now jolts through him and the destruction he would be able to unleash on this station - on Alina.] If- if this spreads, Finn, you know how to stop me.

[ Finn nods because he does understand. ]

Everything exists because the Force wills it.

Back home, we call people like me Force-sensitive. Then they usually join sects, the Jedi or the Sith... There are no names for those who can't feel it.

[ But he takes a breath, saying all of that almost off-hand, like his thoughts are elsewhere. And... they are. They really are. It feels like a lot to think through, but after everything that's happened, he wonders if perhaps he doesn't have to go as far as he thinks. He can trust these people. He can trust Kirigan.

He hopes he can. ]

I... understand. [ He swallows. ] The best thing someone could do to stop me is knock me out. But I, uh- I had a bad back injury a couple of years ago. Bothers me sometimes.

[ He looks to Kirigan again, not as nervous as he thought he'd feel, but a knowing look in his eye. ] That'd buy time, I think.

Sects.

[Like the religious groupings and the Apparat who rules one part of them. The sheer number of them sprawling across Ravca and their fervent devotion to their chosen saint, was... concerning.

Enough of a concern, that he kept a careful eye on the man leading them, feeding him just enough lore and stories to keep him line. But like all men, the Apparat was easily seduced by power, and what had more power than a living saint?]

We have those, as well. And a saying- like calls to like.

[Was that why he was here, talking and making promises when he could be out there, stalking the hallway until Kovach had to sleep. Until the dead silence of the station folded around all of them and the room would be... unprotected.

Perhaps that was it, that something in Finn called to him. To some part of him that understood all too vividly what they were doing out here, and the precarious balance they were all holding.]

I will remember.[Hand still clenched against his thigh, he lifts it, holding it out palm up for Finn to take-] Should I need it. No one dies here unless we are out of options.

[ Like calls to like. It's enough to make Finn smile. If Kirigan is the type of person that calls out to him, he thinks he'd be fine with that. For all of his faults- for all of both of their faults, Finn holds a lot of respect for him. Being grouped in that same sphere is... kind of admirable, to him.

With a little smile, Finn takes his hand, reaching out with the Force until he can feel the edges of those shadows and the safety they provide against his thoughts. ]

Then no one should have to die at all.

[ Hopefully. But they are a resourceful bunch, Finn will give them that. ]

Such hope.

[The sting of it still burning too bright for him, and it words come out tinged with bitterness. With years of experience telling him that hope is as vague and unattainable as a dream.

Hope, the lie sold so often.

But that doesn't make it anymore real.

Fingers closed around Finn's as tightly as they ever were, the same tight clutch that Finn had had on his after being rescued from the jail in Sedorum - a grip that speaks louder than words.

Don't let me be alone, it says. And the shadows vanish, washing back like waves until they have returned to their place as his hand is held, as the fragile heat of Finn heats his own cold fingers.]

We'll see.

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[Mostly Open] So we'll press, and press 'til you can't take it anymore!

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