#vorpan

My take on basic Mandalorian triage terms and symbols

Shupur'sur - damage list, triage,

Ge'tal - red, DAR'KYR'JII not yet dead/urgent,

Shi'yayc - yellow, SHUPUR severe trauma,

Vorpan - green, KADALA injury,

Ne'tra - black, KYRAYC deceased,

Feel free to add on and comment

@ranahan

On Earth, the most common metal ion used for oxygen transport is iron, which makes red the most common colour for blood (but not the only one: there’s also green, blue, and colourless blood). Which then follows that red = colour of blood, bloodletting, often life, perhaps war or action; in different cultures the colour of weddings, war, or bravery.

Blue = the colour of skies and seas/water, but that’s because of Earth’s oxygen rich atmosphere and abundant water. Planets with different atmospheres or less abundant free water (desert or ice planets) might disagree.

Green = colour of leaves and living things because of chlorophyll, but nothing says that chlorophyll is the molecule for photosynthesis on other planets (unless green plants were popular in ancient terraforming efforts).

Yellow = the colour of sun (our star is actually white, but can appear yellow/orange/red because of Rayleigh scattering), fire (because the carbon-based biomaterials we have historically burned for heat and light burn mostly yellow), or gold (which many historical cultures used as a medium of exchange).

There might be some universality to some of these, just based on chemistry. Oxidation is a powerful way of releasing chemical energy, and so far as we know, the only way to produce enough biochemical energy for complex life (but that could be our sample size of 1) and iron is particularly well-suited for transporting oxygen. And if oxygen and water are necessary for complex life, then planets that support life might have some similarities in their atmospheres and available water. Carbon really is great for building complex structural molecules and it does burn with a yellow flame, so fire = yellow/orange/red could be a fairly common association if not the only one.

But we have a sample size of 1, so I wouldn’t say it’s strong evidence. Just considering the variety of colour visions on Earth, there’s little guarantee that alien species galaxy over would agree what to associate a colour with. These might have weak correlations for humanoid species and humanoid-inhabitable planets, and they might or might not be relevant to Mandalorians. The colour meanings in mandalorian culture could very well be inherited from the Taung, who weren’t human and lived on Coruscant (the biosphere of which has long since been destroyed, so who knows what grew there originally).

As it happens, we do have linguistic evidence that the Taung, original Mandalorians, or whoever spoke the language when it developed, did indeed bleed red (ge’tal, red, lit. almost blood), and live on a planet with a blue sky (kebii’tra, daytime, lit. blue space) and green plants (vorpan’oy, vegetation, lit. green life).

The one I find interesting is green = duty in combination with mandalorians historically being agricultural people. So the colour of green would have the implication of feeding your clan, because agriculture is a collaborative effort that produces food for a community, not an individual.

Blue = reliability either has nothing whatsoever to do with water, or else Mandalore historically had very reliable rains (like monsoons). It probably doesn’t refer to river floods (like the Nile), because rivers tend not to be very blue (have you noticed that rivers are more often named black, dark, red, brown, etc. than blue?). I’d also posit that traditional mandalorian agriculture would be more likely to be rainfall based than irrigation based, which would promote independent villages over centralised government. Reliability of blue could also have something to do with the permanence of sky—or the impermanence of it: viewed from the space, the atmosphere is the thinnest blue line yet all life on the planet relies on it to breathe. Or maybe it’s just a nice colour; I’m not sure if there’s an obvious connection here.

It would be very tempting to draw the connection between red = blood = honouring a parent, but I hesitate to do that because 1) mandalorians were and are aliens who may or may not have red blood, and 2) mandalorian family is not based on blood, at least not obligatorily. Even if there is a connection with blood, I’d prefer to say it’s because of its connection with life. I.E. your parent didn’t necessarily give you your life in the flesh and blood sense, but they did nurture you and teach you what it means to be a mandalorian and how to live your life. So red in mandalorian culture is perhaps a more figurative life’s blood.

The etymology of shi’yayc, ‘yellow’, is unclear. Shi means ‘just/only’. ‘yayc could be from oyayc, ‘alive’, or it could be ya- + -yc. If it does come from ‘barely alive’, it could be a reference to dying vegetation or flickering yellow flames. But I’m going to go with this idea from @izzyovercoffee :

So, there’s no word for orange in mando’a at this time.

Consider: Yellow is sometimes indicated to also mean lust for life, depending on who you ask and what source material you’re comparing it to.

It’s entirely possible that mandalorians don’t have a way to differentiate between yellow and orange. Some cultures do display a limitation in language, seeing what we would consider a range (yellow to orange) as all one spectrum under the same banner.

So while Yellow may mean barely alive/barely dead, yellow may also mean nothing but life.

So Mando’a doesn’t have a word for orange, yet orange is used to symbolise shereshoy, an important mandalorian concept. They’ve dedicated a whole colour to it in the same vein as justice, duty, reliability, honouring a parent, vengeance and remembering the fallen have their own colours. But there’s no word for it? I call bullshit.

Isn’t it more likely that “yellow” is in fact a spectrum of colour from yellow to orange (like Yiddish blue/green) and the meaning is indeed related to both flames and the passion for life, i.e. ‘only life’ = shereshoy.

Don’t mind Vorpan. He’s just removing unwanted asks from the premises before they bother Shere  ( @puirell )

Racket: "I didn't think I'd ever find you at 79's, Commander."

Vorpan: "You wouldn't. I wasn't given a choice in the matter and told to relax."

Racket: "Well, here's your chance! Hey, maybe i can introduce you to some nice-."

Vorpan: "Racket, if you finish that sentence I will tell Bubbles you've volunteered to scrub the medbay for the next fortnight. Am I clear?"

Favorite OC: Aran

MY CHILD!!! 😭💕😭💕😭💕😭💕

I wasn’t feeling great and I created Aran to be someone who would stand up for me. They then became a member of the Bro Squad with Chad, Kit and Purse and I found some wonderful people through them. Love you bros. 💖

Newest OC: Airrue “Rue” Chall

Rue is a new OC I have that I’m writing a story about. It’s a retelling of the clone wars and how Rue’s life gets thrown out of whack because of it. She wanted to go out on adventure, but then she is given responsibilities she hadn’t planned for and now she has to worry a lot. I’m channeling all my anxieties into her. Won’t say much more than that besides that her and he nephew Leld are just 😭💕

Oldest OC: Bes’bev

I’m choosing to show my oldest Star Wars OC because most of those from before I wish I didn’t remember. Bes’bev is a clone trooper commander/captain (can’t decide) who is inspired by orcas! My group at work used to be called the orcas and when they had a star wars phase I colored in a clone trooper with a design reminiscent of an orca pattern. Bes’bev had an injury to the neck where they replaced most of his vocal cords with mechanical parts, so when he speaks he sounds a bit like a droid. He isn’t fond of it, so he signs or whistles with his unit. Bes’bev also plays the bes’bev a Mandalorian flute that you can also stab people with.

Meanest OC: Ephrain

Ephrain was a padawan commander during the clone wars. His master was killed and he was assigned a new master. He was distraught at the loss and clung to his new master who wasn’t the greatest person. He also clung to his clone commander, Vorpan. Though Ephrain struggles to remember the clone names and just calls Vorpan ‘Victor’. It’s easier and they’ll emerge victorious, right? Makes sense to Ephrain. (He’s on the right in the picture where he turns to the dark side. Did I mention he joins the inquisitors? yeah he joins the inquisitors)

Softest OC: Leld Chall

I mentioned Rue above and Leld is her nephew. He’s just so sweet and a total daydreamer. Always thinking about music in some way shape or form.

Most Aloof / Stand-offish OC: Ari Ermakeys

Ari was my favorite Pathfinder character and the one I named my tumblr after. She was an elven fire wizard with a raven as a familiar. She refused to speak with people that weren’t from her island and instead had a link with her raven, Blueberry, who would speak for her. Blueberry would tack on a condescending swear each time he’d speak. She’d blame Blueberry, but most of the time she’d been thinking it too.

Dumbest OC: Also Aran

They’re smart, but such a dumbass too. Dumb to social situations and appropriate reactions.

Smartest OC: Vorpan

Vorpan is a clone commander who is too smart and empathetic for his own good. His first general was good, but got killed and replaced by a shit general who belittled all clones and his commander didn’t see any of the clones as people except for Vorpan. His commander also called Vorpan ‘Victor’ cause he couldn’t remember and the name ‘Victor’ was a slap to the face to Vorpan because how could he feel victorious when his brothers being slaughtered by the thousands? How was a he a winner if he failed every time one of his brothers under his command was killed? Vorpan knows the system, knows the game and plays it for the sake of his brothers. Helping as many as he can escape and desert the GAR. He wishes he was brave enough to abandon his post and desert. He won’t though because he’s smart enough to realize that if he leaves, someone else who is loyal to the Republic wouldn’t help his brothers. So, Vorpan stays and plays the system. And each day another part of him breaks and dies.

Horniest OC

No :D

OC I’d Bang

No :D

OC I’d Be Besties With IRL: Luhel Zoldand

I wrote an interactive story game where you can play as Luhel. The version of Luhel that I would play as would be my bestie. That’s the nice thing of it being interactive. 😂 So, it’s a story about Luhel finding a jedi crypt and being guided by a pair of force ghosts. It can be found here.

You don't know what you've unleashed. I spend so much time thinking about Vorpan and the 6th Brigade. Thank you so, so much for asking. 😭😭😭😭💕💕💕💕

wip ask game

The 6th Coast Brigade are SCUBA troopers. They're a very tight knit group and love and adore Vorpan. He's a bit of a stickler for the rules, but knows when to bend them. Mainly because he is terrified of his brothers being decommissioned. In his training the brother who was supposed to command the brigade failed and was replaced with Vorpan. He is so, so scared of failing and causing his brothers to die or one of his brothers making a mistake that he could have prevented.

It used to be better when their general was Chik Rovowu with her padawan Ephrain. Then Chik gets killed. Then the new general doesn't like clones and Ephrain starts to become like the new general. Ephrain only interacts with Vorpan and even then never calls him by his chosen name because he can never remember it right, so he calls him Victor. Vorpan hates it because his name is a gift from his brothers and holds so much meaning to him, but he can never get Ephrain to stop. 'Victor' is also such a slap in the face for Vorpan who always feels like he is failing, fail, failing all of his brothers. Every wound, every death, every reprimand is his fault.

I have so many more thoughts on Vorpan and Ephrain, but I don't want to make this longer than it already is. Instead, here's a link to what I've posted so far and a snippet below of what I'm working on.

Posted so far. Oh and here's a link to where I rewrote the Plague lyrics to fit Vorpan, Ephrain and the 6th Coast Brigade.

Snippet:

“Ready for inspection, boys?”

Vorpan wanted to roll his eyes at Racket’s words. Instead, he fiddled with the fit of his gloves and glanced at his four brothers gathered in the hangar bay. Tern stood at his right and didn’t bother hiding the roll of his eyes while Skyler and Airstrike chuckled at Racket’s words. Racket smirked as he sauntered up to them, the last to arrive.

“You’re late,” Vorpan murmured and the chuckles fell silent. He looked up to stare at Racket. The man at least had the decency to look contrite. He grimaced and shifted awkwardly where he stood.

“My apologies, commander. Issue with the new troopers settling in and telling the boys that we’ll be working with the same jetii as before.”

The other three regimental commanders’ expressions shifted into similar grimaces. Vorpan heaved a heavy sigh at his words. The death tally from Geonosis had gone up to 191 at the end of the day. Those troopers were instantly replaced by the Kaminoans and the Jetii Council. Something that didn’t sit well with some of their brothers. Especially Racket’s regiment that had lost the most.

“I hate to think how they’d react if they had been in some of the other regiments,” Skyler muttered with a shake of his head. “Azure told me that his batchmate’s regiment was completely wiped.”

Ibic Haar Yust - This Is The Way

A rewritten version of Plagues from the Prince of Egypt to fit into Star Wars. Featuring my Clone Senior Commander Vorpan, my 6th Coast Brigade and my Padawan Commander Ephrain. More information in the tags.

🎂: Has your OC have any contradictory interests or traits to the first preception people have of the? How do they surprise people? (For Aran!)

Odd OC Asks

Cheeeeeeeeriiiiii ily 😭💖💖💖 these are such good questions ✨

🍓: Does your OC have any particular scents they like? Or hate?

Vorpan enjoys the smell of the Star Wars equivalent of tiger balm. He's not conscious of it, but it brings back memories of easier and happier times. One of his brothers would steal a small container of spiger balm (space tiger balm) and use it on their aches and sores.

Sometimes they'd prank each other and rub a little on each other's cheeks. The fumes would rise up and cause the other's eyes to tear up. Little, petty and harmless fun.

Vorpan misses those days, but enjoys the smell and feeling of spiger balm.

🎂: Has your OC have any contradictory interests or traits to the first preception people have of the? How do they surprise people?

So, Aran the short, but fierce Mandalorain has a lot of running jokes about how they identify as a threat, have a weapon for every occasion and will offer to help move a body. They hang out with Chad, Purse and Kit the most, so obviously they help a lot of people and Aran is so selfless and reckless that they will throw themself into any danger to help others. Most of the time people see them as this tireless vengeful spirit.

Aran cries during sad holo movies. Put on a compilation of restoring faith in the galaxy and Aran will be sitting there, visor transfixed on the screen. At some point their collar will be soaked through and they've already muted their vocoder so no one will hear them sobbing.