Help with Ideas for Slang Terms

[Andreah]

One of my RP characters in background lived homeless in the slums of the Rogue Islands, and I thought there would (or ought to be) be a slang that develops in that environment that she would occasionally use.

 

Has anyone else used such a thing, and if so, are you willing to share some terms you came up with?

 

Or more generally, what sorts of terms (consistent to the game's content guidelines!) do you all think might work?

 

E.g., what words would they use for the various villain groups, for heroes, for police, for upper income Rogue Island residents. How would they greet each other, or give farewells. What sort of expressions might be in use for other everyday things, like finding a good food stash, getting some work for pay, finding places to stay/sleep, what do they call friends, or people they don't like, how would they express good fortune or bad luck, and so on.

[Magairlín]

I've had a couple characters like that and I'm curious what other people use. I've always thought some people still spoke French as a holdover. I haven't thought of any specifics - my current character is a bit of a grammar nut and it'd be nice to know what she might've heard.

[High_Beam]

Well the only thing I can say is don't go overboard and end up becoming unintelligible like some of those cats in Praetoria (ugh First Ward).  The point on the French is interesting when you read on the Rogue Isles lore (etoile isles if I remember right, spelling is probably wrong).  Martin Henri and the Luddites may well be holdovers so maybe there are some hooks in their patter.

[Crasical]

I always imagine that people who insist on referring to it as the Etoile or use of French are in, broadly, in one of two camps: The people who want to legitimize the Isles as a nation and so consider 'Rogue Isles' to be derogatory, OR those engaging in culture-wank and pretending like the isles haven't been heavily Americanized since President Oakes made it a villain haven back in the 1920s, harkening back to a rich cultural heritage that hasn't existed for a century (and probably is so romanticized that the version they imagine never actually existed).

 

 

[twozerofoxtrot]

I think @Crasical brings up a good point: the Rogue Isles in game aren't presented as anything other than a really depressing version of the continental US, right down to many of the same villain groups being present.

 

That said, I think there's a lot of room for exploration of ethnic enclave communities like you'd find in the US; the game certainly supports this with a variety of contacts. So if you wanted to derive a patois from one of these backgrounds for your character to be able to employ slang (Etoile Creole, for example) you reasonably could. 

 

I do this myself with at least one of my longstanding characters who is a member of the Etoile Cuban expat community. She canonically owns a bodega in Port Oakes that serves as a front for her illicit spellbook "acquisitions" activity.

[American Valor]

Interesting I have several characters that fit that bill I gave it alot of thoughtand went southern country small townish simple. I assume that might offend some one but  not sure howelse to explain it. I flavor the speaking with letter droppin and using slang words I heard as a kid myself. Words like aint, iffen, all yall, etc are examples. I have used Firefly terms, I've used some old school shadowrun terms like chummer and frosty. Badges, RIP'ers and Candistripers, Pinwheels (Longbow). and everyone favorite Capes

 

This is just some things I've use My slum homeless were generally from Mercy or as I like to refer to it; No Mercy isle.  ymmv 

 

AV

 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by American Valor
spellin issues

[Andreah]

I've tentatively called the slang "Gutterslang" without having it specified in any detail. Slag being what it is, different groups might have slightly different lexicons of it and call it different things. Perhaps on Cap it's more French borrowed words; more Sicilian mafia related in Port Oakes, etc.

[High_Beam]

10 hours ago, twozerofoxtrot said:

I think @Crasical brings up a good point: the Rogue Isles in game aren't presented as anything other than a really depressing version of the continental US, right down to many of the same villain groups being present.

Well that's somewhat true but there are a number of native villain groups you do not see on the mainland (except in instanced missions); Gold Brickers, Luddites, Snakes, Coralax (yes there are a few that pop up in Hollows but only after CoV came out).  If you read deep into the Mu/Circle/Coralax stories there is a rich and local history there to work with that is not driven by the mainland (or European) thought.  I mean the issues between Hequat and Ermeeth and the deal with the Prince of Demons and the fall of two civilizations that technically haven't fallen is a massive playground of story telling.  I have several alts and a hundred plus pages of story built around it; I mean my character Runeslingers main story arc after the defeat of most of the Pantheon is helping the spirits of Oranbega break the Blood Pact with the Prince of Demons and make peace with the Mu.

[Crasical]

If you're a magician or an immortal, sure, but for the man on the street the Orangeba/mu war was literally prehistory. Not a lot would know and even fewer would care.

 

  

13 hours ago, twozerofoxtrot said:

That said, I think there's a lot of room for exploration of ethnic enclave communities like you'd find in the US; the game certainly supports this with a variety of contacts. So if you wanted to derive a patois from one of these backgrounds for your character to be able to employ slang (Etoile Creole, for example) you reasonably could. 

 

Absolutely. Statesman returning to the United States, waging a one-man war on crime, and prompting a lot of villain groups, criminal rings, and secret societies to jump ship to the Isles where they're out of jurisdiction also happens within a few years of the Great Depression. And supervillains coming back from America after successful crime sprees have lots of cash and a need to spend it; you probably had a lot of people relocating into the Isles to get a bit of that ill-gotten-loot by running services for villains, from casinos to bars to restaurants to dry cleaners to more esoteric services for mad scientists and evil wizards. Plenty of reason why ethnic enclaves would pop up from those families starting new lives in the isles.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Crasical

[kito]

I have used a few slang terms and picked a few. I have never made them out into a list but can if you have interest in them there. Nothing special just things like daddy long legs (Lord recluse) or candy canes (longbow) etc