#klingons

Cardassian - evolved for a wetland environment, mostly piscivores. not great at running and are a bit clumsy on dry terrain. 2nd, very limited mobility serrated ”beak” jaw inside the main beak. based their design off herons and bitterns

Klingon - evolved for a dry, cold tundra environment, omnivorous, willing to eat most things due to their harsh environment, digestive system is similar to vultures. based their design off ratites and vultures

I find the persistent concept of "the warrior species" in fiction a fascination phenomenon. Fantasy and science fiction consistently return to the concept of an intelligent species that is largely if not entirely driven by bloodlust, and reveres violence, often for its own sake. If it's fantasy, they're usually orcs, or might as well be orcs. If it's science fiction, they're basically alien orcs, that somehow maintained a working society long enough to invent spaceships. Your Klingons and Krogans. But they usually all follow the same archetype.

Lord of the Rings started it, but DND, Star Trek, Warhammer, Warcraft and Mass Effect really made the tropes stick. Time and again, writers return to this idea. The obvious issue is of course that no such culture has ever truly existed in real life. Such a warlike and self-destructive culture would obviously not be sustainable. It's no coincidence then, that the orcs of both fantasy and science fiction are often likened to "barbarians" or "savages." Terms historically used for peoples that the then-current dominant culture considered beneath them. Their culture is "wrong." They're the danger at the gate. The other, the scary and evil strangers, who are coming to harm you and those you hold dear. Tolkien invented them to be a convenient objective evil that you can fight with zero moral scruples, which can easily be connected to his experiences fighting in world war 1. But when you jump from a conflict between nations to an entire species that lives for war, things get muddy fast.

Visually, the most obvious historical inspiration tends to be the mongol empire, and sometimes the vikings. Fur clothing and horned helmets are standard for fantasy orcs. They'll have big swords or axes. Space orcs tend to lean sleeker due to their more advanced tech, but chains and spikes and decorative skulls may remain. Either way, you can bet they're gonna be using big, intimidating weapons and probably going into some kind of battle rage. Dealing with them often requires either careful diplomacy or overwhelming might, no inbetween.

What I find interesting is that if the writers really want to explore these societies and maybe have a few individuals be sympathetic characters to the audience, they'll all usually go down the same path: they'll establish that these warriors all follow a strict code of honour. They won't cheat or lie, they only want to decide things through honorable combat. They usually all want to die in battle and love calling for official duels to the death. Obvious valhalla allusions aside, this strangely tends to draw rather more inspiration from stereotypical ideas about Japanese samurai. Suddenly these are not savage hordes, but noble and wise warriors with their own ethics and a code of conduct. Still one that's inherently more violent than that of the "good guys" though, of course.

Once these traits are introduced, any antagonistic orcs automatically have to be "dishonorable." The trope demands they are deemed hateable not because they are violent and bloodthirsty, but because they are violent and bloodthirsty in an underhanded manner. Often a reckless and dishonorable leader has to be ousted from power for the good of the world. This is how we get Chancellor Gowron, Garrosh Hellscream, and half a dozen interchangeable Krogan warlords.

And the sympathetic orc is, of course, the most honorable one. Usually, they'll have a wisdom and calm manner that puts them above the other orcs, shows that they're more civilized. This is your Worf, Thrall, and Wrex. They typically care deeply about their people. They get along with humans, show that they're not so different from us. Unlike the rest of their warlike race, they want peace. They are, essentially, "the good one." The longer you think about it, the more suspect it all gets.

I'll be honest: I love orcs. I'll always love orcs. However they're presented, they're consistently my favorite species in any given universe. I love the Krogans, I love Klingons, and I love every big green idiot under the sun. I always enjoy their lore and find their manner compelling. But I often get the sense that I'm not really supposed to like them.

The whole trope is inherently a little icky. The mere idea that an entire culture could just be composed of violent barbarians is a fascist way of thinking, and laundering the trope through making them all strangely honorbound doesn't really solve that starting point. DND orcs don't *have* to be evil anymore, but how many written campaigns exist where every single orc *is* evil? It's a topic with no real solutions. I don't wanna lose orcs, because I love them, but I also recognize that the entire trope is pretty questionable.

Included in their history are plagues and genetic and surgical manipulation that created physical differences.

That's how this guy is Klingon

And this guy is Klingon

And this guy is klingon

And this babe is also Klingon

Klingon identity as a diaspora is kind of the whole point of the story of the Klingons. What does it mean to be Klingon?

The rallying cry of the Klingon armies during the war with the Federation is "Remain Klingon".

What does that mean? Do they even know?

Is Klingon a racial or cultural identity?

Those are questions B'elanna Torres and Alexander Rozhenko are asking themselves all the time.

Can you convert to Klingon?

Curzon Dax and the alternate timeline "Sons of Mogh" seem to indicate you potentially can.

The planet of integrated Romulan and Klingons managing to strike a balance between both cultures was such a shock to Worf because hate and mistrust for Romulans had been such an integral part of his concept of Klingon identity that it made him ask new questions about himself.

If hating Romulans is not essential to Klingon identity, then what is Klingon identity?

Worf being biologically Klingon and culturally Jewish, I think, was meant to drive home the point that, like the Jewish people, Klingons are a diaspora and not a monlith.