Luke Skywalker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
neverjoinyou) wrote2026-04-05 02:51 pm
neverjoinyou) wrote2026-04-05 02:51 pmEntry tags:
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neverjoinyou) wrote2026-04-05 02:51 pm
lastvoyages IC Inbox
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"Let's forget that for the moment," he says. "I'm not your jury or executioner, here. Most of the people on the Barge have killed someone." Well, he doesn't have the actual statistics on that, but it's close enough. "For me, anyway, it's not about a list of actions you did or did not do, totaling up to 'good' or 'bad.' It's about the context. Do we do these things because we feel there's no choice, or out of self-defense, or some other overpowering factor? Or do we take pleasure in the cruelty and suffering of others?"
He watches Bill.
"I don't think either extreme is true, for you. You did what you wanted to do, because it felt good but also because it was one method of overthrowing a power he had over you, and a man is dead. You would do it again, I'm guessing, if you could tweak a few of the things that went wrong. And now you're upset because people don't understand, and are treating you in a way you don't like. Does that sound accurate, so far?"
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"YEAH..."
Where's the catch? is what that tone means.
Bill knows he's smart enough to create choices, but also knows that there are hard limits to what he's able to accomplish. One of those hard limits had, previously, been his showrunner. Bill wants to be free, and doesn't have any qualms about going the direct route to get there.
There was an element of revenge, in this, but it was cold. Almost scientific: the man in question had to be made to fight against Bill and fail in order for Bill to be certain that the scales of power had tipped.
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"Okay. So you took a course of action, chose one branch of many possible. You weren't backed into a corner, so there was some discretion about how you handled it." Luke gestures between them with a hand, then sort of to the wider world. "Now, people have different opinions about it. Some question your motives, some question your means, and some question the amount you took their needs and wishes into account. Don't you think that's fair, given that you've just admitted yours wasn't the only possible course of action?"
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"YEAH."
But it's complicated, isn't it?
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He lets that hang there.
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NOBODY CARES THAT I KILLED AL. THEY CARE THAT I CAST THAT SPELL AND MADE A PORTAL. BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU ASKED!"
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"What I asked isn't really the point," he says. "I'm trying to get you to understand why people are reacting this way. Because this is part of living in a society and having free will. You sort of have to deal with the consequences. Am I wrong?"
i spy a boy 👀
Bill is having trouble articulating and makes little fists in frustration.
"LISTEN! I DIDN'T HAVE OTHER OPTIONS FOR BUILDING THE PORTAL. NOBODY BELIEVED ME WHEN I BROUGHT IT UP - NOBODY EVEN BELIEVES ME NOW!"
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"FINE. THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND, AND THEY DON'T BELIEVE ME, AND THEY NEVER HAVE."
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"I believe you," he says quietly.
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That's sincere. It matters. It does. But the amount of people that don't can easily make both of their lives much much harder.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THEY LIKE ME! IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER IF THEY THINK I'M RIGHT. I WASN'T. BUT IT DOES MATTER THAT THEY DON'T CARE IF I WAS RIGHT OR NOT."
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"I don't know that they don't care," he says slowly. "I think it might be that... you distracted the message with a whole bunch of other stuff they cared about more. The problem wasn't that you tried to solve a problem that concerned your, and maybe everyone's, existence. It's that you did it in a way that affected other people negatively and didn't tell them and expect them to be grateful. They're not gonna be grateful, because all they know is that you messed up the ship and gave them some scary memories and couldn't be stopped until someone killed your warden."
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"THAT'S NOT ALL THEY KNOW! I TOLD THEM THE REST, SO DID FORD!"
Why Doesn't Everyone Prioritize The Same Things As Me
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"I know," he says, with admirable patience. "But you don't control how people hear it, or what they're coming into it with, or how they react. You can only put it out there, as best you can. I don't expect everyone to understand why I saved Anakin Skywalker. Maybe they all should believe me, side with me, but that's just not how things work. People have to be allowed to think differently than you, or soon, you're back to lording over a domain of one. That's what I'm trying to get you to understand. This was never going to end in a parade with everyone thinking you were right. Even if you were."
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Grumble grumble. (Yes you do, Bill, don't fucking lie.)
Luke has a point.
"BUT I'M ALLOWED TO BE MAD AT THEM, TOO. AND I DON'T HAVE TO ADMIT THEY'RE RIGHT, EITHER, IF THEY'RE NOT GONNA DO THE SAME FOR ME."
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"FINE... FINE. SURE."
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"NO. I'M FRUSTRATED. I DID THIS AS RIGHT AS I KNEW HOW TO DO IT, AND IT DIDN'T MATTER. THEY JUST TOOK IT ALL APART. THEY JUST KILLED YOU, AND HURT FORD, AND ARE TRYING TO GET YOU DEMOTED. AND SOMEONE SHOULD BE MAD ABOUT IT, SO IT HAS TO BE ME."
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"Yeah," he agrees. "And that sucks. People aren't always going to understand. Sometimes it's because you're wrong, at least partly. Sometimes it's because they're not ready. Sometimes it's for a totally different reason. But what we have to do is try our best to figure it out. And do better next time."
What he's trying to say is, it does matter.
"Be mad," he says, though a voice whispers in his ear that anger is the path to the Dark Side, "but don't let it consume you. Don't let it guide your actions."
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"WHAT'S... THE POINT OF EVEN TRYING IF PEOPLE AREN'T GOING TO CARE EITHER WAY?"
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