I have a soft spot for my kind-- and look where it got me. Rules exist for a reason. But. /But/... You can't finish your story, but you can change it. /Technically/ speaking, you can. You can choose another ending, and destabilize it from the inside. If you fail to close the loop, the story might let you go. In theory.

We have a choice, and we're choosing it. This isn't fate, Finch, this is getting bullied by supernatural assholes.

You'll do fine without a story,' she said comfortingly. 'Who needs a story?

Not yet?' I said. 'What does that mean, not /yet/?''It means the only way out is through. Through the woods, through the story, through the pain. Did you think you'd get what you want for /free/?