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[neverjoinyou]

Leave a message. I will hear you.

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[tetractys]

"SURE, WHY NOT! DO YOU?

BECAUSE I'M HALF-WAY SERIOUS, KID, BUT IT'S GONNA MAKE IT A LOT HARDER FOR YOU TO GET OUT THERE AS SOMEBODY OTHER THAN MY WARDEN."

[neverjoinyou]

"I don't know," Luke says. "There needs to be a way for you to stay out of trouble without me monitoring you. I don't want you to think I don't trust you. And I want you to be free to live your life--I mean, as much as anyone can, here."

He chews his lip for a moment.

"What if... okay. What if, for now, any time you're about to do something, you ask yourself what I'd do or say if I were there. Or someone you think would do the right thing. Doesn't have to be me."

In fact, he's a little uneasy with himself as a model, considering his relationship to his own sense of self right now. But if Bill's lacking an internal monitor, maybe they can... fake one?

[tetractys]

"IT DOES SEEM EASIER, HUH."

Probably more practical.

[neverjoinyou]

"It's not really supposed to be easy," Luke says, but he hopes he knows what Bill means. "I don't know, Bill. I mean, I know this isn't on the level of, you know. Opening a portal or whatever. But I am responsible for you. And me and the other people on the Barge need to know that you're not going to cause harm. Hange needs to know you're not going to interfere with her inmate. People need to believe I'm still capable of being your warden."

[tetractys]

"NAH. I KNOW. ... I MEAN, I THINK YOU'RE CAPABLE, THAT OUGHTTA COUNT."

[neverjoinyou]

Luke eyes him for a long moment.

[tetractys]

"WHAT! I'M TRYING TO BE NICE!"

[neverjoinyou]

Luke softens. But he still looks dubious.

"Thanks," he says. "I mean, that's very nice--but I hope you can see why it might not count for a lot with some of the people here. I just... I know it's not your default, but I need you to understand that this is serious, at least inasmuch as it affects our ability to keep working together."

[tetractys]

"IT DOESN'T, THOUGH!"

Bill goes to put hands on both of Luke shoulders.

"LISTEN, I TOLD THE ADMIRAL I WANTED YOU BACK AND WAS GOING TO LISTEN TO YOU, AND HE'S THE ONE MAKING THE CALLS. THEY CAN BE MEAN, BUT THEY CAN'T ACTUALLY STOP YOU!"

Bill thinks. Some people tend to get down if they're not liked, though.

"IF IT'S ABOUT HOW PEOPLE ARE TREATING YOU, THOUGH, I CAN WORK WITH THAT!"

[neverjoinyou]

Luke sighs.

“Bill, no,” he says, shaking his head. “It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with your journey. With how people treat you. It’s not just me and the Admiral deciding what happens to you. In a very real way, it’s about how you operate within the Barge as a whole. The end goal isn’t that you settle down by yourself, or with me, or the Admiral. That’s not the point of any of this.”

[tetractys]

"WHY DOES IT MATTER WHAT PEOPLE THINK?"

[neverjoinyou]

"It's not really about what people think," Luke says, but he pauses, unsure how to put this. He knows what he wants, but he's not really clear on how to put it into words.

"It's... hard to explain," he admits. "But I think part of the issue here is that you've spent your whole life outside. Outside society or community. I don't mean that you need everyone to like you, but... but your place within a group matters now. So whether or not you care what they think, you need to know that it does affect you. So if you, for instance, do something that harms the group, or endangers another inmate's recovery, that matters. And if you don't care about that, then you're not going to be seen as a member of that community that can be trusted."

[tetractys]

Bill looks confused.

"THINK THAT ONE MIGHT BE A LOST CAUSE, BUDDY."

[neverjoinyou]

Luke folds his arms.

"Because of you?" he prods. "Or them?"

[tetractys]

"I GUESS ME! I TURNED THE BOAT INSIDE-OUT!"

[neverjoinyou]

"That's not what I meant," Luke says. "What I mean is, are you willing to be part of a community?"

[tetractys]

"OH! NOT REALLY, NO."

Sounds bad.

[neverjoinyou]

Well that is really going to put a damper on this whole graduation thing, Bill.

"What," Luke asks carefully, "do you plan to do once you get out of here?"

[tetractys]

Bill sighs, looks genuinely troubled now.

"I DON'T KNOW. I WANT TO BE WITH YOU OR FORD, BUT I CAN'T DO BOTH... AND FORD'S FAMILY HATES ME. PLUS, THEIR UNIVERSE DOESN'T EXIST ANY MORE. AND ONCE I'M IN ONE UNIVERSE, MOVING ME BETWEEN THEM'S REAL HARD. IT'S NOT LIKE A HUMAN THAT CAN JUST JUMP THROUGH A RANDOM WORMHOLE, YOU HAVE TO REALLY TEAR SPACE-TIME A NEW ONE FOR ME TO FIT."

[neverjoinyou]

Luke eyes him.

"Yeah, because it's real simple for the rest of us."

He shakes his head.

"My point, such as it is, is that I'm not asking you to get along just because it makes me happy or makes things easier. It's because, whether you actually care about them or not, you have to live here, with these people. In the future, you'll have to live with other people. And before I take you back to start a new government or whatever, I'd need to trust that you're not going to, I don't know, give sith lords weapons because you think it's funny."

[tetractys]

"I'M NOT THAT GREAT AT STARTING STUFF, MY SKILLSET IS MORE IN KNOCKING STUFF DOWN."

Which is a larger underlying problem, isn't it.

"I THINK I'M COHABITATING WITH THEM WELL ENOUGH! I DON'T CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS THAN THE AVERAGE INMATE! ... THEY'RE JUST WEIRD PROBLEMS!"

[neverjoinyou]

Luke squints.

"You gave someone a weapon he used to kill two other people," he reminds Bill. "That's like, the opposite of cohabitating."

[tetractys]

"YEAH, BUT ON THE LARGER SCALE OF THINGS, I'M NOT DESTROYING THEIR RESOURCES LIKE FOOD, OR PUTTING HORRIBLE CURSES ON THEM, I TALK TO PEOPLE INSTEAD OF JUST TELLING THEM THE EXACT TIME AND DATE OF THEIR DEATH..."

He's ... trying! Kind of!

[neverjoinyou]

Luke thinks about that.

"You have a point," he allows. "That's all... great. I mean, keep that up. In all honesty, I am proud of you. You've come a long way, and I'm glad that you're still so clearly... yourself."

He feels another of his Bill-induced headaches coming on.

"But it's my job to make sure you can get along, when you don't have the safeguards of the Barge anymore."

[tetractys]

"I THINK I'M GETTING ALONG FINE! I'M NEVER REALLY GOING TO BE PART OF A COMMUNITY, IT GIVES ME CREEPS."

Bill floats up to pat Luke on the back.

"YOU'RE DOING JUST FINE."