amazon_syren (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
amazon_syren) wrote2022-04-21 09:04 am
amazon_syren) wrote2022-04-21 09:04 am
Entry tags:
In which I Talk About Worf
Okay.
So ages ago on twitter, someone commented that (in TNG, at least) Worf is this very kind of staid, stick-in-the-mud guy who tries to marry the first girl he sleeps with and is kind of hard core about Honour and the entire rest of Klingon culture while, also, yes, kind of hard core about Honour, will happily stay up all night shotgunning beer, cries at the opera, and collectively never met a casual daytime look that couldn't be improved with stud leather and a titty window.
And what I thought was: No kidding. He was raised by humans.
Raised by Very Well Meaning humans in a period where humans were, collectively, still kind of hostile towards Klingons who, up until less than 50 years earlier, had been The Enemy for... about 200 years?
I mean, he was six when he was adopted by his human parents.
He would have been going mostly on memories, missing his home life, but he wouldn't have necessarily had all the experiences that you have when you go through once you hit 13 (or, in his case, 15 because that's how long it took for him to be able to visit Qo'noS) and do your first Rite Of Ascension.
He'd have known about, and gone on, the ritual Just-You-And-Your-Dad hunt that happens when you're barely out of toddlerhood, that's about cementing family ties, the importance of learning from your elders, and ritually stepping off the path of infancy and onto the path of childhood.
But he wouldn't have had a clue about (I'm making this up) the entirely different ritual hunt you go on with your same-age buddies at the halfway point between the first and second Rites of Ascension which, sure, is about responsibility and proving that you can work together, share leadership, and fend for yourselves on your own... but which is also about comradery, peer-to-peer attachment bonds, and getting out for a weekend with your friends and away from your parents and doing all the dumb shit that you do when you're out from under the parental eye for once. ("I dunno, can you hold your liquor while pitching a tent in the rain?" "<*snrk*> That's what he said!" <*uproarious laughter ensues*>)
Sure, he knew about the whole "we should get married" thing but... solid chance there was some "Avoid Teen Parenthood by heavily overstating this bit" going on.
Maybe he has memories of taking baby-sips of blood wine at Family Dinner every full moon, pouring libations to Kahless and the assembled Ancestors, and then being shooed off to bed with his brother and the other under-13s and falling asleep to the sound of his whole extended family laughing, singing, arm-wrestling, and gently teasing the youngest kids about how "Learning to hold your liquor is like learning to swing a bat'leth, it doesn't happen over night and it takes practice!"
But he never had the chance to be one of those wobbling-drunk youngsters being taken care of by a slightly-older cousin who'd still be there the next morning with a big glass of water, a multi-vitamin, to fill you in on what happened if/when you blacked out, and to tell you stories of their own embarrassing behaviour the first time they got that drunk so you know it's not just you... and maybe some garnet bling to remind you of your first hangover and the importance of pacing yourself in any battle.
Instead, he accidentally killed a friend at a soccer tournament and wound up having A Lot Of Feelings about how letting loose is dangerous and can have disastrous results.
Add Very Well Meaning human parents plus prevalent anti-Klingon racism into the mix, and chances are good that you're going end up with a whole lot of "I am a Klingon. I am an honourable warrior. I seek guidance from my noble ancestors" stuff that was supposed to keep your kid proud of his heritage and also supposed keep your kid "safe" by essentially "sanitizing" him to keep the surrounding humans comfortable.
So, yeah. He didn't get the whole thing.
Of course he's going to be a little bit weird.
This has been Fannon Corner with Ms Syren.
So ages ago on twitter, someone commented that (in TNG, at least) Worf is this very kind of staid, stick-in-the-mud guy who tries to marry the first girl he sleeps with and is kind of hard core about Honour and the entire rest of Klingon culture while, also, yes, kind of hard core about Honour, will happily stay up all night shotgunning beer, cries at the opera, and collectively never met a casual daytime look that couldn't be improved with stud leather and a titty window.
And what I thought was: No kidding. He was raised by humans.
Raised by Very Well Meaning humans in a period where humans were, collectively, still kind of hostile towards Klingons who, up until less than 50 years earlier, had been The Enemy for... about 200 years?
I mean, he was six when he was adopted by his human parents.
He would have been going mostly on memories, missing his home life, but he wouldn't have necessarily had all the experiences that you have when you go through once you hit 13 (or, in his case, 15 because that's how long it took for him to be able to visit Qo'noS) and do your first Rite Of Ascension.
He'd have known about, and gone on, the ritual Just-You-And-Your-Dad hunt that happens when you're barely out of toddlerhood, that's about cementing family ties, the importance of learning from your elders, and ritually stepping off the path of infancy and onto the path of childhood.
But he wouldn't have had a clue about (I'm making this up) the entirely different ritual hunt you go on with your same-age buddies at the halfway point between the first and second Rites of Ascension which, sure, is about responsibility and proving that you can work together, share leadership, and fend for yourselves on your own... but which is also about comradery, peer-to-peer attachment bonds, and getting out for a weekend with your friends and away from your parents and doing all the dumb shit that you do when you're out from under the parental eye for once. ("I dunno, can you hold your liquor while pitching a tent in the rain?" "<*snrk*> That's what he said!" <*uproarious laughter ensues*>)
Sure, he knew about the whole "we should get married" thing but... solid chance there was some "Avoid Teen Parenthood by heavily overstating this bit" going on.
Maybe he has memories of taking baby-sips of blood wine at Family Dinner every full moon, pouring libations to Kahless and the assembled Ancestors, and then being shooed off to bed with his brother and the other under-13s and falling asleep to the sound of his whole extended family laughing, singing, arm-wrestling, and gently teasing the youngest kids about how "Learning to hold your liquor is like learning to swing a bat'leth, it doesn't happen over night and it takes practice!"
But he never had the chance to be one of those wobbling-drunk youngsters being taken care of by a slightly-older cousin who'd still be there the next morning with a big glass of water, a multi-vitamin, to fill you in on what happened if/when you blacked out, and to tell you stories of their own embarrassing behaviour the first time they got that drunk so you know it's not just you... and maybe some garnet bling to remind you of your first hangover and the importance of pacing yourself in any battle.
Instead, he accidentally killed a friend at a soccer tournament and wound up having A Lot Of Feelings about how letting loose is dangerous and can have disastrous results.
Add Very Well Meaning human parents plus prevalent anti-Klingon racism into the mix, and chances are good that you're going end up with a whole lot of "I am a Klingon. I am an honourable warrior. I seek guidance from my noble ancestors" stuff that was supposed to keep your kid proud of his heritage and also supposed keep your kid "safe" by essentially "sanitizing" him to keep the surrounding humans comfortable.
So, yeah. He didn't get the whole thing.
Of course he's going to be a little bit weird.
This has been Fannon Corner with Ms Syren.