welcome sleepies, to our very first meme saturday! every month a little mod-hosted meme will go up for us to play around with admist the chaos, and this theme was chosen by popular demand! we've all heard about texts from last night, but have you heard of......
MURMURS FROM LAST NIGHT
strange things happen in the night. maybe you drink, or dream, or get high as a kite, and it's hard to hide it! especially when we're all collectively connected in a way! the rules are quite simple! you may even know them by now.
π post a top level for your character and include a few text starters, like the ones provided.
π interact.
π thrive.
π if you wish for your threads to be game canon, the sky is the limit (just make sure your thread partner is okay with it!).
π We might have some special guests later.
When it comes to advice, I suppose I just question it as a universal. I found myself with strange bedfellows as a prisoner of war. It's rare to ever see a Human, a Klingon, a Cardassian, and some Romulans working together due to being past or present enemies, but there we were, digging our way into the walls to use the components for a long-distance communicator.
What sort of enemies do you have that they need to be dealt with with such finality?
[Yes, he's being nosy. But he's also intrigued. People in this place have come from many worlds, with unique situations that he's curious about.]
[And he misses arguing philosophy with someone at lunch.]
[Runeterra is full of enough weird shit that those both seem equally possible.]
As for my enemies, if they weren't dealt with strongly they would only be encouraged. When one has power, there will be those who will do anything to take it. Sometimes because they want that power for their own, and sometimes because they simply don't wish for you to have it.
They're species. Ones humanity has come aross during interstellar travel. We have, at various times, been at war with all of them, but we have a common enemy now. An empire called the Dominion is trying to invade our quadrant of space and means to conquer all our peoples.
Until recent Dominion interference, the Klingons had been staunch allies for years, after a cessation of hostilities long before I was born. And regardless of that interference, a Klingon in the camp took great pains to ensure my survival.
[Martok had made sure the attention of the Jem'Hadar was as fixed solely on him as it could be and in turn Julian had done all he could to treat his wounds and keep him alive.]
[When it comes to Silco, it sounds like the man has some kind of role on Earth he feels will be stolen from. Julian isn't sure if it's crime lord, military leader, or war lord, but it sounds like something from the darker times of his world's history. He doesn't say so, and knows better than to directly ask.]
[It's not as if most people would describe themselves honestly to begin with, in a role of power.]
We have a saying on Earth: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Your way of thinking is alien to what I'm used to, something I've encountered more often as an officer exposed to other cultures and the universe outside. On Earth, the old power struggles are not what they once were.
Yes, I imagine our culture is quite different from yours. You seem focused on collaboration, cooperation, and peace. All things that are thin on the ground where I'm from. People are people anywhere, though. Can you really say that there are none on 'Earth' who think more selfishly?
[Silco wouldn't believe it even if Julian did claim that. He would believe that Julian believed it, though - the doctor is almost charmingly naive. It makes one want to take advantage of his starry-eyed nature.]
I wouldn't expect to see that sort of thing here, if I were you. Short on resources, at the whims of mad gods, and without any sort of real structure - you ought to start looking after yourself, Doctor.
Of course there are selfish people on Earth. And there are some that believe that peace and safety only comes through brutality and deception.
[He thinks of the attempted coup on Earth that the captain had to prevent.]
But their plans are stopped by everyone else.
The reason I seem focused on collaboration is the same reason we ought to prioritize it in this place: the risk of self-destruction. My people were so selfish and so prone to conflict they almost went extinct several hundred years ago. They had weapons that could obliterate entire cities and during the great wars, many cities fell. The water and food was poisoned. Countless species of plants and animals went extinct. Wealth imbalance stopped existing because there was no wealth to have. Just everyone starving to death, picking over the rubble, fighting over scraps.
You learn to share a world peacefully when civilization has to be rebuilt on the corpses of millions of starved and irradiated dead. Evolution for us wasn't some high-minded fantasy. It was a necessity. And a choice. An ongoing one.
I was curious specifically because worlds that haven't made that choice are almost like a window into our past.
It sounds to me like all the most selfish and conflict-prone people wiped themselves out - or were wiped out by others - and you were able to build a peaceful world atop their bodies. That it lasted, after that, is more of a surprise, but those qualities can't be bred out so easily.
So long as people exist, there will be those who are happy to exploit others to enrich themselves. Your best bet for a peaceful little utopia like the one you speak if is to find those people quickly and snuff them out before they can get a foothold here.
[Silco, of course, is quite aware he's one of those people - he's also fairly sure Julian would never do such a thing. As serious as he might sound, this is all a bit more like teasing, proposing something extreme just to see Julian's reaction.
It's far more that even the conflict-prone were simply exhausted by that way of life.
[He thinks about the proposition, feeling like it's not that different from one Garak's little thought exercises. He wonders if he should play up his own naivete.]
[He then decides it won't matter. This seems like the kind of man that might see right through an act of innocence. Especially since Julian's been scouting for an appropriate weapon. He's not been hiding that he's the equivalent of a military officer to some. The nature of his morality won't be difficult to guess.]
[Civilian doctors rarely arm themselves.]
Wiping anyone out BEFORE they attempt something is barbaric.
If it's mid-attempt, their actions are harmful enough, and there's no other way to stop them nonfatally, Starfleet officers are usually armed for a reason. The war has made that an even greater necessity, albeit an unfortunate one. I much preferred the times when the oath to "do no harm" was less of a suggestion.
So you do have a little bite somewhere under the nobility. Oh, but only for the greater good, of course.
[Silco's seen what people will justify to themselves, all for that greater good - in their own minds, at least. It's never been more than another lie people tell themselves, to him. But he's amused anyway, rather tickled by Julian's response. It feels very appropriate for him, with all those ideals.]
Given what we've seen already, I would expect that sort of spine might be needed here - nearly as much as your medical skills.
I'm curious about the oath, though. Is that something doctors normally swear, on Earth? 'Do no harm'?
The expeditionary force I'm a part of can get called on for defense during invasions. One needs some bite to bite back. Note the "invasions" part because we really are sticklers for it.
And really, "first, do no harm" is only one of the oaths. Actually more like a maxim by the person the other oath is often attributed to. The other is far wordier and we take it upon graduating medical school.
[He rattles it off in a casual way that suggests this is shortened but that he has the longer, full form easily committed to memory.]
I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:
Respecting the hard-won knowledge of past physicians, applying all measures that are required, avoiding both overtreatment and nihilism.
Remembering that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.
...And so on. It goes on a bit, but I'd say the most important part is: I will remember that I do not treat an illness or an injury but a sick sentient being, whose illness or injury may affect the person's family, society, and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick. I will remember that I remain a member of society, as well as have special obligations to all my fellow sentient beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.
Plus also a part about remembering you're not God. That one's important and often ignored.
But yes, we take an oath, and yes, I take it very seriously, and yes, it is quite difficult to reconcile when it comes to dealing with the people regularly trying to stab me in the heart.
[The stray thought comes, unintentionally, an echo of his thoughts of these apparent heart-stabbers. Angry. Outraged, only filtering through because of the sensitivity of the Murmur right now. Abusingyourpower, killingkillinginfrontofme, killingring, mypatientsmine, shovedmeinabox, starvedus, blightedapeople, newborninmybloodyhands, motherdead, myoathmyoathmyoath, how dare they]
[Ihavehadenough.]
[Then, like someone noticing they've left a sink dripping, there's a conscious recognition of it and the sense of it forcibly getting shut off. Embarrassed, he doesn't comment on it.]
[For all that Silco might have commented about Julian's bite, he wasn't quite expecting that - the anger, the outrage on behalf of the vulnerable. Silco is not a kind man, nor a good one, but that was what drove him at the beginning. Seeing his own people exploited and used, treated like they didn't matter except for how they might enrich others.
Even in those days, he wasn't as idealistic as Julian, but he was kinder. Less extreme. But still angry, dedicated to his cause, ready to fight.]
Quite a lovely collection of words. The doctors in my world make no such vow.
[At least, not in Zaun. You can't expect a back alley surgeon to swear to do no harm - nor a mad scientist who's only interested in advancing his own agenda. Still, in Silco's opinion both of those things are better than no medical care at all.]
I can even believe that you might take it seriously. I imagine it must be difficult to decide when, exactly, 'doing harm' is necessary in order to prevent more violence.
You shouldn't be ashamed of your anger, doctor. Channeled properly, it will only help you fight harder.
[Something to remember - that Julian isn't completely the shiny, clean exterior he seems to like to project.]
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no subject
no subject
What sort of enemies do you have that they need to be dealt with with such finality?
[Yes, he's being nosy. But he's also intrigued. People in this place have come from many worlds, with unique situations that he's curious about.]
[And he misses arguing philosophy with someone at lunch.]
no subject
[Runeterra is full of enough weird shit that those both seem equally possible.]
As for my enemies, if they weren't dealt with strongly they would only be encouraged. When one has power, there will be those who will do anything to take it. Sometimes because they want that power for their own, and sometimes because they simply don't wish for you to have it.
no subject
Until recent Dominion interference, the Klingons had been staunch allies for years, after a cessation of hostilities long before I was born. And regardless of that interference, a Klingon in the camp took great pains to ensure my survival.
[Martok had made sure the attention of the Jem'Hadar was as fixed solely on him as it could be and in turn Julian had done all he could to treat his wounds and keep him alive.]
[When it comes to Silco, it sounds like the man has some kind of role on Earth he feels will be stolen from. Julian isn't sure if it's crime lord, military leader, or war lord, but it sounds like something from the darker times of his world's history. He doesn't say so, and knows better than to directly ask.]
[It's not as if most people would describe themselves honestly to begin with, in a role of power.]
We have a saying on Earth: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Your way of thinking is alien to what I'm used to, something I've encountered more often as an officer exposed to other cultures and the universe outside. On Earth, the old power struggles are not what they once were.
no subject
[Silco wouldn't believe it even if Julian did claim that. He would believe that Julian believed it, though - the doctor is almost charmingly naive. It makes one want to take advantage of his starry-eyed nature.]
I wouldn't expect to see that sort of thing here, if I were you. Short on resources, at the whims of mad gods, and without any sort of real structure - you ought to start looking after yourself, Doctor.
no subject
[He thinks of the attempted coup on Earth that the captain had to prevent.]
But their plans are stopped by everyone else.
The reason I seem focused on collaboration is the same reason we ought to prioritize it in this place: the risk of self-destruction. My people were so selfish and so prone to conflict they almost went extinct several hundred years ago. They had weapons that could obliterate entire cities and during the great wars, many cities fell. The water and food was poisoned. Countless species of plants and animals went extinct. Wealth imbalance stopped existing because there was no wealth to have. Just everyone starving to death, picking over the rubble, fighting over scraps.
You learn to share a world peacefully when civilization has to be rebuilt on the corpses of millions of starved and irradiated dead. Evolution for us wasn't some high-minded fantasy. It was a necessity. And a choice. An ongoing one.
I was curious specifically because worlds that haven't made that choice are almost like a window into our past.
no subject
So long as people exist, there will be those who are happy to exploit others to enrich themselves. Your best bet for a peaceful little utopia like the one you speak if is to find those people quickly and snuff them out before they can get a foothold here.
[Silco, of course, is quite aware he's one of those people - he's also fairly sure Julian would never do such a thing. As serious as he might sound, this is all a bit more like teasing, proposing something extreme just to see Julian's reaction.
Just a bit of fun.]
no subject
[He thinks about the proposition, feeling like it's not that different from one Garak's little thought exercises. He wonders if he should play up his own naivete.]
[He then decides it won't matter. This seems like the kind of man that might see right through an act of innocence. Especially since Julian's been scouting for an appropriate weapon. He's not been hiding that he's the equivalent of a military officer to some. The nature of his morality won't be difficult to guess.]
[Civilian doctors rarely arm themselves.]
Wiping anyone out BEFORE they attempt something is barbaric.
If it's mid-attempt, their actions are harmful enough, and there's no other way to stop them nonfatally, Starfleet officers are usually armed for a reason. The war has made that an even greater necessity, albeit an unfortunate one. I much preferred the times when the oath to "do no harm" was less of a suggestion.
no subject
[Silco's seen what people will justify to themselves, all for that greater good - in their own minds, at least. It's never been more than another lie people tell themselves, to him. But he's amused anyway, rather tickled by Julian's response. It feels very appropriate for him, with all those ideals.]
Given what we've seen already, I would expect that sort of spine might be needed here - nearly as much as your medical skills.
I'm curious about the oath, though. Is that something doctors normally swear, on Earth? 'Do no harm'?
no subject
And really, "first, do no harm" is only one of the oaths. Actually more like a maxim by the person the other oath is often attributed to. The other is far wordier and we take it upon graduating medical school.
[He rattles it off in a casual way that suggests this is shortened but that he has the longer, full form easily committed to memory.]
I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:
Respecting the hard-won knowledge of past physicians, applying all measures that are required, avoiding both overtreatment and nihilism.
Remembering that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.
...And so on. It goes on a bit, but I'd say the most important part is: I will remember that I do not treat an illness or an injury but a sick sentient being, whose illness or injury may affect the person's family, society, and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick. I will remember that I remain a member of society, as well as have special obligations to all my fellow sentient beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.
Plus also a part about remembering you're not God. That one's important and often ignored.
But yes, we take an oath, and yes, I take it very seriously, and yes, it is quite difficult to reconcile when it comes to dealing with the people regularly trying to stab me in the heart.
[The stray thought comes, unintentionally, an echo of his thoughts of these apparent heart-stabbers. Angry. Outraged, only filtering through because of the sensitivity of the Murmur right now. Abusingyourpower, killingkillinginfrontofme, killingring, mypatientsmine, shovedmeinabox, starvedus, blightedapeople, newborninmybloodyhands, motherdead, myoathmyoathmyoath, how dare they]
[Ihavehadenough.]
[Then, like someone noticing they've left a sink dripping, there's a conscious recognition of it and the sense of it forcibly getting shut off. Embarrassed, he doesn't comment on it.]
no subject
Even in those days, he wasn't as idealistic as Julian, but he was kinder. Less extreme. But still angry, dedicated to his cause, ready to fight.]
Quite a lovely collection of words. The doctors in my world make no such vow.
[At least, not in Zaun. You can't expect a back alley surgeon to swear to do no harm - nor a mad scientist who's only interested in advancing his own agenda. Still, in Silco's opinion both of those things are better than no medical care at all.]
I can even believe that you might take it seriously. I imagine it must be difficult to decide when, exactly, 'doing harm' is necessary in order to prevent more violence.
You shouldn't be ashamed of your anger, doctor. Channeled properly, it will only help you fight harder.
[Something to remember - that Julian isn't completely the shiny, clean exterior he seems to like to project.]