this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2023
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Star Trek memes and shitposts

Come on'n get your jamaharon on! There are no real rules—just don't break the weather control network.

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[–] jet@hackertalks.com 37 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (8 children)

Hot take: Batleths are bad weapons. Probably introduced as a form of handicapping.

Shadiversity's take on Batleths which surely wont cause any controversy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsElSDXPgSA

[–] Infynis@midwest.social 32 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Could also be that Klingon muscles are different from ours, they have a whole bunch of redundant organs after all, and the Batleth is designed to take advantage of their unique strengths

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 15 points 1 year ago

That is a excellent point, I hadn't thought of that, I just assumed all humanoids are about the same, but your totally right

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 year ago

All the extra pointy bits could be good for puncturing multiple organs at once

[–] DrChaotica@startrek.website 5 points 1 year ago

Physics does not work that way, you insolent fool!

Regardless of Klingon muscles, the fact that the blade sticks out sideways from the handle creates a lever arm that tends to make it droop due to gravity whenever it's held horizontally. Even if Klingon hands are different, they're not that different that it's somehow advantageous to keep torquing upwards so the blade points at the opponent instead of the floor.

[–] LilDestructiveSheep@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Don't see a batleth as a weapon. See it as extention to your arms and movement - or something similar did Worf say to Alexander.

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah it often is described by Klingons as a monastic weapon, meant to teach a lesson or discipline while training with it. I don't think the idea is for like a formation of Klingons to march into battle all wielding Bat'leths.

You train with a Bat'leth and then when a real battle comes you are more prepared to fight with other weapons, or even unarmed. It even makes sense in that the Bat'leth is a very complex object. I can totally see how simply trying to spar with it would force you to think more about all the different ways you can use the thing in your hands to your advantage.

That makes sense. Interesting!

[–] The_Picard_Maneuver@startrek.website 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] WarmSoda@lemm.ee 13 points 1 year ago

I rest my case, your honor.

[–] Wogi@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I thought that was cannon? It's that not specifically mentioned somewhere? I can't remember when I heard it but I always thought that they were made to be hard to use, because winning a battle with a regular weapon is easy and therefore less honorable.

And if you watch the actors try to swing these things around they always look awkward.

[–] emptyother@programming.dev 8 points 1 year ago

Give it to a bunch of bored monks. If they could make something as useless as two chained sticks into a cool weapon..

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] PlasmaDistortion@lemm.ee 6 points 1 year ago

Basically dark age knights could have beaten Klingons in battle.

[–] GregorGizeh@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Even worf seems to agree, by Picard s3 he has a sort of batleth / katana hybrid instead of a classic one. Though I think he already said in DS9 that he actually prefers the mekleth.

[–] gregorum@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It’s a Mek’leth (modified in PIC S03), which he has stated before is his preferred weapon. He even uses it in The First Battle of Deep Space Nine to defend against the attempted Klingon invasion.

[–] frezik@midwest.social 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It's worth noting, too, that Worf is an in-universe badass even by Klingon standards. He easily takes out Duras. He won a major Bat'leth tournament in Parallels. He beats Gowron to the floor in Apocalypse Rising. Later in the Dominion War, he takes on every single Jem'hadar in a prison and beats them all, which Mar'tok can't help but be impressed by. Late in the war, he beats and kills Gowron easily.

If Worf says the Mek'leth is better, then we should take his word for it.

Also, Gowron is a chump ass bitch and I'm tired of pretending he's not.

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[–] rynzcycle@kbin.social 37 points 1 year ago

This will keep happening until Amazon starts cracking down on cheap Ferengi knock-offs with fake reviews.

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This sharpener has no honour!

[–] Sharpiemarker@feddit.de 12 points 1 year ago

Made by some p'tahk no doubt.

[–] BreadOven@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Everyone knows you must sharpen them with real stones from the home planet, lubricated with the blood of your enemies.

[–] Loid@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I was looking at the market and noticed that the blood of your enemies was too expensive. Is olive oil a good substitute?

[–] XTornado@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago

Have you seen olive oil prices lately? You enemies blood is definitely cheaper.

[–] tias@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 year ago

I think this is one of those times when there's really no substitute for producing your own.

[–] JWBananas@startrek.website 2 points 1 year ago

If you can't get fresh, instant is fine

[–] MoodyRaincloud@feddit.nl 2 points 1 year ago

Olive oil is too thick and will go rancid and harden. Use mineral oils

[–] BreadOven@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I've definitely heard of people using it. Although I've also heard an oil with a higher smoke point may be better.

[–] zarathustra0@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What kind of person sharpens a batleth? What do they think they are going to use it for?

Do they want to chop off random parts of their body?

[–] The_Picard_Maneuver@startrek.website 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The sharper the bat'leth, the greater the honor.

[–] XTornado@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

If using your enemies blood, yes. A electric sharpener alone.... not so much.

[–] cl4p_tp@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What about Valyrian steel?

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Is there any canon on the origin of the batleth?

Like, it's a fake weapon, badly designed, intended to look cool. But in universe, what's the history?

There's multiple ways to give a canon reason a badly designed weapon is such a cultural icon. Maybe it's based on the horns of a predator, or something like that, as an example.

I'm not a deep delver into such things, but I wonder if there's an official history behind it.

[–] Nahvi@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Like you guessed it is a cultural icon. The emperor that united their home world used it.

In Star Trek lore, the Klingon Kahless created the bat'leth around CE 625. According to Klingon mythology, he formed the blade by dropping a length of his hair into some lava from inside the Kri'stak Volcano, then cooling, shaping, and hardening it in the lake of Lursor.[5] He then united Qo'noS, the Klingon homeworld, by killing a tyrant named Molor with the weapon, which became known as the Sword of Kahless.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat%27leth#Use_in_Star_Trek

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago

See, that makes sense why it's a less than ideal design. We have weird weapons here on earth that have significance, but aren't ideal designs. The batleth is more of a hungamunga than a longsword :)

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[–] The_Picard_Maneuver@startrek.website 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I feel like there must have been a scene between Worf and his son where he explains it.

[–] Nahvi@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Probably, though the scene that came to mind for me was from the DS9 episode where Worf, Kor, and Dax find the sword of Kahless.

[–] OpenStars@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago

This guy Bat'leths:-)

[–] bi_tux@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

What about klingon daggers? But even if, it can't repair/improve klingon pain sticks, so it's useless anyway

[–] xusontha@ls.buckodr.ink 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

DANG IT! Well now I gotta find another one...

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I haven't found a blade yet that I can't sharpen with my Lansky kit. It would just take a couple hours to get the thing razor sharp

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