Post #3867212

@aminorjourney@insearchofportlandia.com My head-canon from watching/reading/playing far, far too much Star Trek is that the actual window we get into the cultures is very, very narrow. The majority of Federation citizens aren't in Starfleet or colonizing new worlds; they're living normal lives on Earth/Vulcan/Andoria/Tellar Prime. But nobody's writing stories about a replicator repair man in Neo-Portland or a dentist in Hurutam. Likewise, the Klingon warriors we see are the exception, not the general population. The examples we see get the most screentime are the extremes, and will surround themselves with extremes (or people that tolerate extremities). Also, think about how we tell stories. Yes, there's Man Against Man. But there's also Man Against Himself, and Man Against Nature. Training an instrument until your fingers bleed is battling your own limits; honor could come from rigor and discipline. Likewise playing together in a band requires a trust and loyalty in the same vein as fighting together and understanding each other's weaknesses, and anticipating where you can lift your buddy up. In the same way, a farmer battles the very ground and heavens to wrestle nutrients from their grasp. Your opponents cannot be beaten or subdued; what's more honorable than charging into a battle you must fight but cannot win? Likewise a Klingon physician will battle Death itself for some idiot who thought his bat'leth was enough to defeat four drunk petaQ, or a cancer ravaging a beloved grandmother. There's likely a widespread expectation of basic combat proficiency, knowing how to handle weapons safely. How much the average Klingon actually uses a d'k tahg in day-to-day life is probably a lot less than the relative screentime we see in the shows. Keep in mind that the vague, squishy definition we have of "honor" likely isn't the same that a completely alien culture would build over centuries of history. Yeah the warriors get the attention. Same way "high profile" professions like actors and lawyers do in modern America today. But if all you watch is reruns of Law and Order and The Soup!, you wouldn't know there are folks outside those professions. That's how I address the drastic, boring monoculture that the few thousand hours of media (TV, movies, novels, games, comics) presents, anyway. And now I want a sitcom about a Tellarite interior decorator.