[ he picks up on all of these emotions, and a hand comes up to rest on viktor's shoulder for a moment. relax... this is fine. they probably won't blow up. ]
It's okay. [ reassuring. calm. a steadying presence, because he's played this part before, and as he waits he keeps his fingers grounded into viktor's arm to keep him focused.
the webbing peels away, a path granted, and he hears a woman's voice. assumes it's sky, really, and he lets go to allow viktor to walk forward with him right on his tail. ]
[The gap is dark, but the other side has a halogen sear to the glow of the webbing walls around them. He winces slightly against it, raises a hand to shield his eyes.
A tunnel stretches out in front of them, sterile, alien. A familiar, brown-skinned woman stands at the opposite end, facing them, one Kiraman can see, too. Sky. She resembles them, body and hair aglow but face visible. She is too far to see any movement, but a voice close to them whispers Viktor's name again.]
I can see her...? Sky!
[The woman turns away and is swallowed up by the glow on the horizon as she moves on.]
Sky!
[Goodbye, he begins hurrying froward down the tunnel.]
[ his eyes squint shut at the sudden light, and his gaze hones in on this woman. she's glowing but visible and she's far away, and in real time he's watching viktor's hallucinations get the best of him. ]
Viktor, wait a second! [ no!! he is following!! this woman is not here (probably)!! ] Saying it like that is very concerning, by the way!
[Though Viktor is not far ahead, not quite running necessarily, the webbing sneaking out tries to make a grab for Kiraman's ankles. More alien webbing stretches in front of Kiraman, between the two of them, splitting them into two tunnel prisons.
Less the weird instinct of someone not being behind you and more an intrinsic Knowing here, Viktor stops and turns around, worry spilling out of him.]
[ he's about ready to say it's because she's probably not supposed to be here, but he does not get that far before the webbing grabs him and there's a noise like a startled cat. HELLO. he's just swatting at it with his hands. ]
Man, can you maybe call off your brain? [ he's busy trying to hop out of the webbing and shake it off his ankles, pushing the webbing aside as best as he can to try and get back to viktor. ]
[His hands pull at the rubbery webs strung between them, his face desperately peering through the gaps of holes within to make sure nothing else is happening to Kiraman.
Not sure if a good or bad thing, to have emotions now, and all of them be anxiety.]
Let go!
[One of his gangly, glowing arms comes through a hole; he reaches for Kiraman.] It's trying to split us up. [Of course it is.
His arm suddenly goes rigid, all of him goes submissive not unlike when you grab a kitten by the scruff. His head tips up, and the whole of his eyes go white.]
Y̶o̵u̷ ̴d̶o̵ ̸n̷o̴t̶ ̸b̶e̷l̴o̸n̶g̵ ̵h̴e̸r̶e̷,̷ [says a voice through him, the strange ungendered echo he usually has louder, more pronounced.] D̷e̷v̸i̴a̴n̷t̷ ̷a̵b̷e̵r̸r̸a̴t̵i̶o̵n̷s̴ ̵w̵i̷l̶l̷ ̸b̵e̴ ̸a̴s̶s̴i̸m̷i̸l̶a̸t̸e̴d̶ ̷o̸r̵ ̵t̵e̷r̶m̷i̶n̴a̷t̸e̵d̴.̵
Of course it is! [ he does not like that, and he's wriggling his way closer to try and grab viktor's arm. of course, viktor is suddenly possessed by the arcane and kiraman's ready to abort to get them both out. ]
If anything's the deviant, I think it's you. [ he's just grabbing viktor's arm to try and yank him forward anyway? if anything, to break him out of that trance. ]
[Sometimes, things do not go as planned. This is, like, every day for the two of them really.
The pull bounces him into the spongy webbing, but that at least jostles him. His eyes close, and then they open again with the glow gone. His hand grabs a hold of Kiraman's upper arm for stability and uses the other to try to shove away the webs.]
[ the problem with being geniuses is their hubris really does get the best of them all the time. like now! this is still not entirely registering as a bad idea, but kiraman is grabbing viktor's arm with both hands now that he's holding on, pulling harder to get away from the webs and into a clearing that is less grabby. ]
We knew this would be a possibility, but I was hoping it wouldn't be that immediate. [ slaps a web. go away!!! ] Maybe the answer is to trick your brain somehow.
[OKAY, okay, he's coming! He's coming! He pushes through to the other side so they are thankfully once more in the same vicinity again. He does NOT let go of Kiraman's arm, though, sorry. Not today, Satan.]
It's - [He doesn't think "worried" is the right word for it. There isn't the same kind of feelings behind the way it functions, he realizes. He shakes his head.] - reacting.
[He squeezes his eyes shut tightly, forcing the concentration.]
[ that's fine, he's not forcing viktor to let go. he'll be an anchor, it's fine. ]
Like a white blood cell to an infection. [ this is mumbled to himself because he is, in fact, the virus here. but viktor says hold on, and kiraman turns his head to face him. ] What are you... ?
The grip on the arm tightens ever so slightly, mostly when the concentration intensifies, and then it loosens. He opens his eyes at the same time a thin tendril of halogen stretches down toward him. It's webbing, but different.
He lets go and steps back from Kiraman, has no time to warn Kiraman really before the tendril quickly suctions to the middle of his chest. He grunts, though doesn't seem hurt. He does stagger to the side until he regains a firmer balance, as if he was pulled forward. One hand lifts to curl around the tendril.]
Alright. Now. Let's see how far we can go. Next time, perhaps we should hide you if we can.
[ the progression is like this. he's calm for a moment, exuding calm to help Viktor remain relaxed and holding them still inside this weird brain cage. and then there's a little fascination as they watch him concentrate, unsure of what he's thinking. and then there's curiosity as the tendril grows... followed by alarm as it wraps around. ]
Hey. [ he's not sure he likes this either, but it serves as a root and he can understand that. ] Does it hurt...? [ viktor doesn't seem hurt, but he could be hiding it. ] Let's see where it leads. I don't know how I can hide from your mind unless I change entirely.
[Yeah, figured that would freak Kiraman out. It's fine. It's fine....? He really should have said something instead of jumpscaring his anchor.
His head shakes.]
I'm alright.
[His hand lowers from the tendril, and he has a momentary back and forth with it until they both figure out a compromise on the whole lead and follow. The pace. The webbing slinks away, opening a path the tendril stretches through, and he's forced to get pulled along.]
[ you're so strong doing embeds this whole time. anyway yeah? yeah it did freak him out! but it's fine, he's just keeping an eye on this tendril and frowning a little as he watches it waver. as the webbing retracts and the tendril slithers forward, he begins to follow behind viktor at a slow but decent pace. ]
...I can change my appearance, I think. I customized it before, but I should be able to do the same here without a program to run it through. But I don't know how much that would help.
[HELP. I almost gave up, but I'm glad I didn't since they remembered Suo's journal being there. They might have looked again.......]
I don't know either. Perhaps it wouldn't matter. If I knew you were you, then likely the Hexcore will simply know.
[The webbing closes behind them. Once again, they are in a halogen hallway, but in the holes of the webs of the walls on each side are shards of what must be Viktor's memories, looping endlessly. Him as a child, his first meeting with Singed, his breakthrough into Piltover's academy, his first meeting with Jayce.]
It doesn't rationalize in the same way a human would. There isn't any way for it to understand human ethics. Grey area. It's logical. Things are black and white. You understand, yes?
there's a soft noise of acknowledgement, but as a fellow nerd viktor likely will recognize it as the sound of someone formulating a plan as they continue into the hallway. he pauses, standing in the middle of this space and watching viktor's life play out before him in blips and pieces. it's... sad, maybe, to think of who this man was and could have been, but it gives him some understanding of where they might be able to go. ]
Yes. So it becomes teaching it what might be black and white, and where certain orders of operation go. Or... introducing it to a new component to rewrite its rationalization. Logical is only as logical as you make it. So if there's backing behind the improbable, is that not still logical?
[He slows down until he comes to a stop, waiting on Kiraman without rushing anything. Some of the memories are embarrassing (for him), but he doesn't keep Kiraman from seeing them. Can't probably anyway.]
[Thoughtful, he idly stares at one of the looping memories. Once he refocuses on it, he glances away.]
It has no goal, I don't think. It has no motivations. Not like... humans, if that makes sense. It simply is. It conforms to whoever wields it, I suppose.
My goals became its goals since I was the conduit. I want to help others. [He lifts his head.] I want a world of peace with no disease or need for violence.
It does what it thinks necessary to make these things happen. I'm thankful for your willingness to help, but the apprehension of losing my power to help others... I guess that's why it sees you as a threat.
Do you yourself see me as a threat? [ he just has to ask, because he's never really asked viktor how much he wants kiraman meddling with him and his form. ] The hexcore is reactionary to you, but you're also reacting to the hexcore. Like symbiosis. What one does the other follows the other feeds the other takes. Neither can act independently anymore without a nudge from the first.
Not... in the way you may think. I'm not afraid of you hurting me. I'm not afraid of your intentions. You... are a good man. [Boy? Whatever.] I simply...
[His eyes lift to the memories.]
I'm afraid. I'm afraid of becoming the man I was before. [The one desperately injecting Shimmer into a rail-thin leg.] Weak. Sick.
I'm afraid I'll one again be dying. Stupid, I know... Considering.
[ well that's nice, because considering his everything the last thing he wants is to be seen as someone who will hurt a person who's just trying to fix things.
the rest though... understandable. ]
I don't think it's stupid. [ ... ] I said I was fine dying before, but Mist said I wasn't. At the time, I was mad at her for insisting she knew me better than I did, but looking back on it maybe she was right. Even if you know it's coming, no one likes to die. And now that you know what life could be like, it feels worse considering you could lose everything again.
...I get it. I know. [ there's a frown to it, but he does understand. ] Maybe the answer is finding a new strategy then. Like having the answer already in place before disconnecting you from the Hexcore, so it knows your body isn't in danger of shutdown.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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It's okay. [ reassuring. calm. a steadying presence, because he's played this part before, and as he waits he keeps his fingers grounded into viktor's arm to keep him focused.
the webbing peels away, a path granted, and he hears a woman's voice. assumes it's sky, really, and he lets go to allow viktor to walk forward with him right on his tail. ]
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A tunnel stretches out in front of them, sterile, alien. A familiar, brown-skinned woman stands at the opposite end, facing them, one Kiraman can see, too. Sky. She resembles them, body and hair aglow but face visible. She is too far to see any movement, but a voice close to them whispers Viktor's name again.]
I can see her...? Sky!
[The woman turns away and is swallowed up by the glow on the horizon as she moves on.]
Sky!
[Goodbye, he begins hurrying froward down the tunnel.]
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Viktor, wait a second! [ no!! he is following!! this woman is not here (probably)!! ] Saying it like that is very concerning, by the way!
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[Though Viktor is not far ahead, not quite running necessarily, the webbing sneaking out tries to make a grab for Kiraman's ankles. More alien webbing stretches in front of Kiraman, between the two of them, splitting them into two tunnel prisons.
Less the weird instinct of someone not being behind you and more an intrinsic Knowing here, Viktor stops and turns around, worry spilling out of him.]
Kiraman! Let him go!
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Man, can you maybe call off your brain? [ he's busy trying to hop out of the webbing and shake it off his ankles, pushing the webbing aside as best as he can to try and get back to viktor. ]
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[His hands pull at the rubbery webs strung between them, his face desperately peering through the gaps of holes within to make sure nothing else is happening to Kiraman.
Not sure if a good or bad thing, to have emotions now, and all of them be anxiety.]
Let go!
[One of his gangly, glowing arms comes through a hole; he reaches for Kiraman.] It's trying to split us up. [Of course it is.
His arm suddenly goes rigid, all of him goes submissive not unlike when you grab a kitten by the scruff. His head tips up, and the whole of his eyes go white.]
Y̶o̵u̷ ̴d̶o̵ ̸n̷o̴t̶ ̸b̶e̷l̴o̸n̶g̵ ̵h̴e̸r̶e̷,̷ [says a voice through him, the strange ungendered echo he usually has louder, more pronounced.] D̷e̷v̸i̴a̴n̷t̷ ̷a̵b̷e̵r̸r̸a̴t̵i̶o̵n̷s̴ ̵w̵i̷l̶l̷ ̸b̵e̴ ̸a̴s̶s̴i̸m̷i̸l̶a̸t̸e̴d̶ ̷o̸r̵ ̵t̵e̷r̶m̷i̶n̴a̷t̸e̵d̴.̵
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If anything's the deviant, I think it's you. [ he's just grabbing viktor's arm to try and yank him forward anyway? if anything, to break him out of that trance. ]
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The pull bounces him into the spongy webbing, but that at least jostles him. His eyes close, and then they open again with the glow gone. His hand grabs a hold of Kiraman's upper arm for stability and uses the other to try to shove away the webs.]
I'm sorry...
[As if he knows exactly what happened.]
It knows through me.
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We knew this would be a possibility, but I was hoping it wouldn't be that immediate. [ slaps a web. go away!!! ] Maybe the answer is to trick your brain somehow.
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It's - [He doesn't think "worried" is the right word for it. There isn't the same kind of feelings behind the way it functions, he realizes. He shakes his head.] - reacting.
[He squeezes his eyes shut tightly, forcing the concentration.]
Hold on.
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Like a white blood cell to an infection. [ this is mumbled to himself because he is, in fact, the virus here. but viktor says hold on, and kiraman turns his head to face him. ] What are you... ?
[ no, shut up, let viktor concentrate. ]
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The grip on the arm tightens ever so slightly, mostly when the concentration intensifies, and then it loosens. He opens his eyes at the same time a thin tendril of halogen stretches down toward him. It's webbing, but different.
He lets go and steps back from Kiraman, has no time to warn Kiraman really before the tendril quickly suctions to the middle of his chest. He grunts, though doesn't seem hurt. He does stagger to the side until he regains a firmer balance, as if he was pulled forward. One hand lifts to curl around the tendril.]
Alright. Now. Let's see how far we can go. Next time, perhaps we should hide you if we can.
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Hey. [ he's not sure he likes this either, but it serves as a root and he can understand that. ] Does it hurt...? [ viktor doesn't seem hurt, but he could be hiding it. ] Let's see where it leads. I don't know how I can hide from your mind unless I change entirely.
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His head shakes.]
I'm alright.
[His hand lowers from the tendril, and he has a momentary back and forth with it until they both figure out a compromise on the whole lead and follow. The pace. The webbing slinks away, opening a path the tendril stretches through, and he's forced to get pulled along.]
Is changing something you can do?
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...I can change my appearance, I think. I customized it before, but I should be able to do the same here without a program to run it through. But I don't know how much that would help.
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I don't know either. Perhaps it wouldn't matter. If I knew you were you, then likely the Hexcore will simply know.
[The webbing closes behind them. Once again, they are in a halogen hallway, but in the holes of the webs of the walls on each side are shards of what must be Viktor's memories, looping endlessly. Him as a child, his first meeting with Singed, his breakthrough into Piltover's academy, his first meeting with Jayce.]
It doesn't rationalize in the same way a human would. There isn't any way for it to understand human ethics. Grey area. It's logical. Things are black and white. You understand, yes?
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there's a soft noise of acknowledgement, but as a fellow nerd viktor likely will recognize it as the sound of someone formulating a plan as they continue into the hallway. he pauses, standing in the middle of this space and watching viktor's life play out before him in blips and pieces. it's... sad, maybe, to think of who this man was and could have been, but it gives him some understanding of where they might be able to go. ]
Yes. So it becomes teaching it what might be black and white, and where certain orders of operation go. Or... introducing it to a new component to rewrite its rationalization. Logical is only as logical as you make it. So if there's backing behind the improbable, is that not still logical?
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We have to make it see the logic behind this.
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Exactly. It's about tricking it into recognizing a pattern as a consistent logical loop rather than an outlier. So. How do you make it see logic?
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It has no goal, I don't think. It has no motivations. Not like... humans, if that makes sense. It simply is. It conforms to whoever wields it, I suppose.
My goals became its goals since I was the conduit. I want to help others. [He lifts his head.] I want a world of peace with no disease or need for violence.
It does what it thinks necessary to make these things happen. I'm thankful for your willingness to help, but the apprehension of losing my power to help others... I guess that's why it sees you as a threat.
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Do you yourself see me as a threat? [ he just has to ask, because he's never really asked viktor how much he wants kiraman meddling with him and his form. ] The hexcore is reactionary to you, but you're also reacting to the hexcore. Like symbiosis. What one does the other follows the other feeds the other takes. Neither can act independently anymore without a nudge from the first.
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[LISTEN. Look. He glances away slightly.]
Not... in the way you may think. I'm not afraid of you hurting me. I'm not afraid of your intentions. You... are a good man. [Boy? Whatever.] I simply...
[His eyes lift to the memories.]
I'm afraid. I'm afraid of becoming the man I was before. [The one desperately injecting Shimmer into a rail-thin leg.] Weak. Sick.
I'm afraid I'll one again be dying. Stupid, I know... Considering.
[HE'S DEAD.]
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the rest though... understandable. ]
I don't think it's stupid. [ ... ] I said I was fine dying before, but Mist said I wasn't. At the time, I was mad at her for insisting she knew me better than I did, but looking back on it maybe she was right. Even if you know it's coming, no one likes to die. And now that you know what life could be like, it feels worse considering you could lose everything again.
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The resistance is... subconscious. I am trying not to, but the Hexcore unfortunately can read those intentions, so I'm sorry.
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