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Archived Boards => The Archive => MindGames => Topic started by: Geezer on March 17, 2003, 03:52:43 pm

Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Geezer on March 17, 2003, 03:52:43 pm
During a war, soldiers tend to come up with a nickname for the enemy.  The nicknames seem to serve two opposite purposes - they make the enemy familiar (and therefore less frightening?) but also faceless (and morally easier to kill?).  Somewhat surprisingly, the nicknames themselves are rather benign (calling a man in a red coat a “Lobster” is almost funny while calling someone “Charlie” makes them sound like a friend), probably showing the respect that one soldier has for another, even when talking about an enemy.

So my question is: What would Alpha 1 and his buddies of the UTS call their Vasudan enemies?  And, since the Vasudans think just like we do, what would they call the humans?
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Knight Templar on March 17, 2003, 06:12:11 pm
Vasudans = Boneheads

Humans = Fleshies, Morons, puffys, pinkies.
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: karajorma on March 17, 2003, 07:18:23 pm
Before anyone else says it I`ll say "fish lovers" for the vasudans :)
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: phreak on March 17, 2003, 09:25:53 pm
zogs
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Hudzy on March 18, 2003, 10:11:12 am
I always thought it was Zods, not Zogs. :confused:
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Knight Templar on March 18, 2003, 11:32:25 am
Nope, Zod is the dude from Lightning Marshall.

Zogs is the nickname.

Welll fiiine then...  :doubt:
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Goober5000 on March 18, 2003, 03:34:11 pm
No, no, no - Zod is correct.  Ask Eishtmo, who coined the term.  It  comes from Zodiac.
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Knight Templar on March 18, 2003, 06:30:43 pm
well fiine then... :doubt:

If it's Zod, then where did Zogs come from?
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Geezer on March 19, 2003, 04:17:14 pm
Hmmmm. “Zods”, huh?  Not a bad name, but what does the Zodiac have to do with Vasudans?  Wouldn’t a nickname be much more likely derived from the name of the enemy (“Suzies”:ick ) or from some real or assumed characteristic of theirs (KT’s “Bonehead”)?
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Goober5000 on March 19, 2003, 04:40:20 pm
Something about Vasudan drug trade in the Terran-Vasudan war; the drug being Zodiac dust.
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Hudzy on March 20, 2003, 12:01:35 pm
Their wing designations were always stuff like Libra and Cancer as well. Aren't they signs of the Zodiac or something?
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Miburo on March 20, 2003, 02:53:22 pm
Hudzy got a solid point there, but then again Shivan wings were named samely on Second Great War.
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Geezer on March 20, 2003, 05:04:01 pm
By that logic, the Vasudans would be calling the humans "Greeks" because human wings are named for Greek letters...;7

Still, it's not a bad name.  I just don't see it as organic to "Vasudan-ness" the way a name based on a Vasudan characteristic would be.

Also, if we use a name coined in the T-V War project, doesn't it imply that the events of the T-V are part of MG's history?  And if that's true, then the MG team and the T-V team are going to have to do something to insure that there are no inconsistancies...  For instance, what were the Starborn doing during the T-V War?
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Goober5000 on March 20, 2003, 05:38:12 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Geezer
By that logic, the Vasudans would be calling the humans "Greeks" because human wings are named for Greek letters...;7


The name came from the drug first.  Wings were named that way later.

Quote
Also, if we use a name coined in the T-V War project, doesn't it imply that the events of the T-V are part of MG's history?  And if that's true, then the MG team and the T-V team are going to have to do something to insure that there are no inconsistancies...


Eishtmo coined that term a long time ago, even before FS2 came out.  We're just using it because it makes sense, but it's not canon, so treat it however you will.  I just wanted to clarify that if you do use it, it's Zod, not Zog. :D

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For instance, what were the Starborn doing during the T-V War?


Probably making sure it lasted long enough until they could get the Shivans to arrive. ;)

Actually, there's a major natural event that happens in the seventh year of the TVW that sets the GTA back substantially - you could say that the Starborn were responsible for that. :)
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Geezer on March 20, 2003, 06:50:06 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Goober5000

Actually, there's a major natural event that happens in the seventh year of the TVW that sets the GTA back substantially - you could say that the Starborn were responsible for that. :)


You know, this could be start an interesting road...


Anyway, should we decide to adopt it, what's the "official" pronounciation of "Zods"?  I'd guess that most people would say it as it's spelled - rhyming with "Mods" - but a RL contraction of "Zodiac" would probably keep the long "O" and be pronounced "Zoads".
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: karajorma on March 20, 2003, 06:57:39 pm
I could live with Zoads. The fact that it sounds like toads doesn`t hurt either.

As for keeping abreast of the TVW campaign well we do have Hades on our team too so we can get him to give anything the once over to see if we can keep consistancy. If we can do it with only minor changes I say do it but if we have to lose anything big it's not worth it :)
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Goober5000 on March 20, 2003, 06:59:30 pm
Ugh! :ick It should rhyme with Mod. :nod:
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Goober5000 on March 20, 2003, 07:13:54 pm
Here's Eishtmo's official word on the matter, taken from the TVWP internal.

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Zod, in real world terms, was taken from Zodiac, which are what the wings are named after. Later I created a backstory where it comes from something called Zodiac Dust, ZodDust, a drug that led to first contact with the Vasudans (the Zods actually make the stuff, trading it for pot, which has some weird effects on their biology). So when the war started, some crews took to calling them Zods while others called the Sudes, which sound enough the same for either. I just like using Zod better as it shorter than Vasudan.
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Geezer on March 20, 2003, 07:23:40 pm
So what do the Zods call the humans? :cool:
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Ashrak on March 21, 2003, 04:26:49 am
hmmm seeing the vasudans .... hmmm well shivansd are bugs.....
vasudan fishies and terrans microbrains?!
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Assassin on March 22, 2003, 06:08:22 am
Perhaps the Vasudans call Terrans Pots, then. :)
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Goober5000 on March 22, 2003, 03:33:47 pm
:lol: Maybe.

Probably the Vasudans call the Terrans worms - they're fleshy and smaller than the hard-skinned, bony Vasudans.
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Geezer on March 22, 2003, 05:19:37 pm
Or "Furrys" (Furries?) or "Squishies" :D
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: karajorma on March 22, 2003, 05:32:17 pm
Soft-skins or softies :)
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Knight Templar on March 22, 2003, 09:50:05 pm
Puffies? ;7
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Ashrak on March 23, 2003, 03:22:12 am
erm id say vasudans call terans umm /burberbz/


since that is how vasudan sounds :p
Title: A Vasudan by Any Other Name
Post by: Stunaep on March 27, 2003, 12:01:34 am
Quote
Originally posted by Knight Templar


If it's Zod, then where did Zogs come from?

the same place where Steak? namely, a misspelling.