In the real world, people make mistakes. In the real world, people make bad choices. That is not the case in Byerly’s dream, where everyone you love is good and virtuous.
Do bad things happen in this vision of the world? Of course; it would simply be too unrealistic if there was nothing horrible going on. But not a single bad thing is caused by, or has ever been caused by, you or by anyone you care for. Anything that anyone might possibly carry blame for actually has some other cause. Did you swear yourself to a bad cause? That cause was good, actually, and just happened to be corrupted by bad actors later on. Did a historical figure you admire commit an atrocity? Actually, they were fine, and it was just misattributed to them, and now you have proof of that. Did a friend of yours murder someone? Nope; that was actually completely justifiable self-defense, and anyway, the person they killed was a complete monster.
And have you ever had doubts about your relationship to someone? Don’t worry. Every bit of apparent conflict has actually always been a simple misunderstanding. They actually love you unconditionally. Whether that’s a parent, a friend, or a partner — there will always be a reason available as to why, in fact, neither of you is to blame.
You can feel free to question this. But there will always be some new piece of evidence that will surface to show you that things are and have always been fine, actually. The more you push, the more outlandish this might get. But it won’t relent.
In the meantime, the war is still on, but only in a distant and abstract sort of way. No battles are being fought; missions are being conducted, but they’re always successful; there’s no lack of luxury, and a person can freely travel wherever they wish. There’s just a sense of doing something for the greater good without any of the hardship one normally suffers while fighting for the greater good.
“your faves are unproblematic” au
Do bad things happen in this vision of the world? Of course; it would simply be too unrealistic if there was nothing horrible going on. But not a single bad thing is caused by, or has ever been caused by, you or by anyone you care for. Anything that anyone might possibly carry blame for actually has some other cause. Did you swear yourself to a bad cause? That cause was good, actually, and just happened to be corrupted by bad actors later on. Did a historical figure you admire commit an atrocity? Actually, they were fine, and it was just misattributed to them, and now you have proof of that. Did a friend of yours murder someone? Nope; that was actually completely justifiable self-defense, and anyway, the person they killed was a complete monster.
And have you ever had doubts about your relationship to someone? Don’t worry. Every bit of apparent conflict has actually always been a simple misunderstanding. They actually love you unconditionally. Whether that’s a parent, a friend, or a partner — there will always be a reason available as to why, in fact, neither of you is to blame.
You can feel free to question this. But there will always be some new piece of evidence that will surface to show you that things are and have always been fine, actually. The more you push, the more outlandish this might get. But it won’t relent.
In the meantime, the war is still on, but only in a distant and abstract sort of way. No battles are being fought; missions are being conducted, but they’re always successful; there’s no lack of luxury, and a person can freely travel wherever they wish. There’s just a sense of doing something for the greater good without any of the hardship one normally suffers while fighting for the greater good.