Icon from a picrew by grgikau. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.
Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it. As always, today I’m grateful to everyone who’s ever watched one of my episodes or bought my books. Because of your support, I get to do what I love for a living.
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, however you mark the day. Life is a gift, and it’s worth taking a moment once a year to reflect on the good things in our lives.
Even if you’re a troubled ex-terrorist working with a bunch of smoothnoses.
it will genuinely never stop being upsetting to me that Bajoran earrings are against Starfleet dress code but Worf’s baldric (sash) is completely fine and dandy.
both these articles are ways for Bajorans and Klingons to show pride and connection to their culture. for Worf, this need to feel connection is due to the death of his parents and his status as the only Klingon in Starfleet. for Ro Laren (TNG) and Gerron (VOY), this need for connection is due to the fact that the Bajoran people are literally the victims of the Space Holocaust. allowing Bajoran officers to wear their earrings is vital at any point in the franchise’s timeline, but especially at the time of Voyager and Next Gen, because the entirety of DS9 is happening at the same time, with the end goal of Starfleet’s oversight of the station being to bring Bajor into the Federation. the Federation cannot claim it wants to support Bajor while also denying Bajoran officers a very simple display of culture and history.
it cannot be argued that the earrings distract from the cohesion of the uniform, as the baldric is much larger and physically breaks up the lines created by the seams of the shirt. it also cannot be argued that removal of the earrings is for safety concerns (similar to the dress codes of many sports and real-life militaries). the baldric’s size and fit make it much easier to grab and manipulate in order to use against the wearer.
in-canon, the Starfleet dress code’s exclusion of Bajoran earrings is a narrative tool used to explain why the two relevant characters joined the Maquis — and, by extension, the existence of the Maquis as a whole — but that narrative does not make sense when Worf’s baldric exists.
i am fully aware that i am overthinking the entire concept. if that’s not your cup of tea, scroll on by.
truthfully, yeah. and that’s part of the reason it’s upsetting to me. it makes sense in the canon of the show. it makes sense for Starfleet to do this. but I wish Starfleet was better.
Headcanon that in Bajoran culture, it’s generally considered untoward to thank the Prophets for something a person clearly did on their own. Except when you really don’t like that person, and you want to imply that they clearly could not have done that thing without a degree of divine intervention being involved.
okay, but consider: someone else doing this TO Kai Winn
Dremi Tinuthe has been many things, a soldier, a freedom fighter, a monk, a terrorist, and now he has been elevated to Vedek. The things he saw were terrible but the prophets guided his steps and he is building a life in the Dahkur Province, hoping to concentrate on rebuilding the faith in the hills there. But theres a problem. A very beautiful problem.
Vorne Eelke was a refugee and a laborer and nothing else. Even as she works as an archivist in the the Dahkur temple, the shadows of Cardassian Rule dog her every step. She doesnt have anything in common with this privileged vedek, her life didnt allow room for his lesiure or his faith, and she can’t Stand having to have him lecture her on the finer precepts, not having been tested like her. But if thats true, how come his eyes follow her even in her dreams? How come he was there in her vision from the Orb?
I’ve spoken about Cardassian Trashy Literature, how about Bajoran Trashy Literature?
Linguistic and Cultural Implications in Star Trek - Turkish & Kurdish
Ok I am here to vent about weird appearences of Turkish/Kurdish language and culture in Star Trek, especially DS9. Why? Because I don’t have anything better to do :,)
I’ll keep adding if i can find more. Enjoy!
Case 1: Tarsus 4
As you might know, Tarsus 4 is a planet mentioned in the TOS (The Conscience of the King, s1 e13). However, Tarsus is a real and well known town in Turkey and honestly first time I heard this name, I had to replay the scene.
Arjin is the name of a Trill we encounter in Deep Space 9 (Playing God, s2 e17). However, Arjin is also a very common Kurdish/Turkish name that is usually given to boys, meaning “the fire of life”.
Case 3: Major/Minor Cardassian Characters
Damar
Damar is a Cardassian that we encounter especially in the season 7 of Deep Space Nine. His name basically means “vein” in Turkish, which is easier to ignore compared to other usages of Turkish.
Parmak: Kelas Parmak is a Cardassian character from the DS9 novels. His name, Parmak, basically means “finger” in Turkish.
Makbar
Here, another Cardassian who appeared in “Tribunal, s2 e25” of DS9. She was a Chief Archon. It is also an Arabic word (used in Turkish too) that means “tomb, grave”. Which is quite funny considering that Makbar kept announcing O’brien’s execution in that episode.
Case 4: Bajor
Bajorians are compared to the Kurds by Berman himself but when my father told me that “bajar” in Kurdish literally meant “the city”, I was, again, very surprised. This is not only parallel between Bajorans and Kurds. Bajorans have spring festivals (The Gratitude Festival) that is quite similar to Kurds’ Newroz.
Honestly, whoever named these characters seemed to have a field day.
Hazar
General Hazar was a flag officer in the Bajoran Militia. Hazar is a proper noun that has several meanings in Turkish: a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century, Caspian Sea, a rift lake in the Taurus Mountains and a feminine proper noun.
Kalem: Kalem Apren was the Bajoran First Minister. Kalem means “pencil" in Turkish.
Nane: Nane was a Bajoran Vedek and art instructor who helped Ziyal. Nane means “mint” in Turkish.
Pelin: Pelin was a Bajoran who lived on Terok Nor during the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor. Pelin is a very common name given to girls in Turkish.
Pinar
Pinar was a deputy in the Bajoran Militia assigned to Deep Space 9. Pinar is also a very common name given to girls in Turkish, even though the character is a guy.
ALT
