Trying to come up with a fictional swear

[Jemini]

So, I have a situation in my story coming up in the chapter I'm writing now.

It involves something disastrously bad happening to the cast. A serious "oh shit" moment. The phrases "oh shit" or "god damn it" would both work perfectly well in this situation. However, I felt that this might be an opportunity to sneak in some efficient lore if I could incorporate something about this man's religion into the expletive he reflexively blurts out. However, I'm having trouble coming up with something appropriate.

Here's the background on the god this guy worships.

He is something of a cross between Prometheus, the Greek Titan who gave man fire and got strapped to a boulder by Zeus in punishment, going on to have an eagle repeatedly tear out his liver which would immediately regenerate, and Nidhogg of Norse mythology, the large serpent of the underworld who makes his home under the world tree Yggdrasil and gnaws at it's roots.

The story is that he's a fire dragon (of Eastern serpentine design) who taught magic to humans. Similar to the Zeus - Prometheus story, he gets punished for this. The Zeus equivalent here is the dragon of nature, who makes her home in the branches of a great tree. She imprisons him in the roots of the tree beneath her home.

The guy who belts out this expletive is a member of a human mage order that worships this dragon who brought them magic.

So, I'm trying to work out some kind of "oh my god" format of swear that would fit this background, and I don't just mean substituting the word "god" for the name of the deity I've created here. I want it to be a little more creative than that, because that would be just lazy. But, I'm having a hard time coming up with something.

(FYI, my Prometheus/Nidhogg equivalent here is named Neruu, and my Zeus equivalent is named Oren, in case any of that helps.)

Also, I am not trying to blunt it to make it a "family friendly" swear. It is perfectly acceptable for it to be crass and shocking. (And also perfectly acceptable for it to be clean. It's not a requirement for it to be crass to the reader's ears.) I'm just trying to find a way to work some fragment of the lore into this swear.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Omai wa mou shiNeruu

Omai wa mou shiNeruu

Actually I'll just leave

 

[Schultz_von]

Hmmm, maybe, "By the Great Serpent!!!" or "Oh ... You Neruu CUNT!!!"

 

[Jemini]

Omai wa mou shiNeruu

Actually I'll just leave

FYI for everyone who had this fly over their head, "Omai wa mou shinderu" is a Japanese phrase that could roughly be translated as "I am so dead."

Yes. Pretty lame pun.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

If you’ve never played ffxiv there is a running gag and in game swear/phrase by npcs that is “Thall’s Balls” Thall being one of the gods in the game.

 

[CheertheDead]

So, I have a situation in my story coming up in the chapter I'm writing now.

It involves something disastrously bad happening to the cast. A serious "oh shit" moment. The phrases "oh shit" or "god damn it" would both work perfectly well in this situation. However, I felt that this might be an opportunity to sneak in some efficient lore if I could incorporate something about this man's religion into the expletive he reflexively blurts out. However, I'm having trouble coming up with something appropriate.

Here's the background on the god this guy worships.

He is something of a cross between Prometheus, the Greek Titan who gave man fire and got strapped to a boulder by Zeus in punishment, going on to have an eagle repeatedly tear out his liver which would immediately regenerate, and Nidhogg of Norse mythology, the large serpent of the underworld who makes his home under the world tree Yggdrasil and gnaws at it's roots.

The story is that he's a fire dragon (of Eastern serpentine design) who taught magic to humans. Similar to the Zeus - Prometheus story, he gets punished for this. The Zeus equivalent here is the dragon of nature, who makes her home in the branches of a great tree. She imprisons him in the roots of the tree beneath her home.

The guy who belts out this expletive is a member of a human mage order that worships this dragon who brought them magic.

So, I'm trying to work out some kind of "oh my god" format of swear that would fit this background, and I don't just mean substituting the word "god" for the name of the deity I've created here. I want it to be a little more creative than that, because that would be just lazy. But, I'm having a hard time coming up with something.

(FYI, my Prometheus/Nidhogg equivalent here is named Neruu, and my Zeus equivalent is named Oren, in case any of that helps.)

Also, I am not trying to blunt it to make it a "family friendly" swear. It is perfectly acceptable for it to be crass and shocking. (And also perfectly acceptable for it to be clean. It's not a requirement for it to be crass to the reader's ears.) I'm just trying to find a way to work some fragment of the lore into this swear.

Some other formats I saw
“Jesus. Jesus. Son of Mary. Jesus of Nazareth.” From Mr Bean movie.

“Sons of Pharaoh. Give me plague. Give me frogs. Give me flies. Anything but you.” From the Mummy.

“By Her Unholiness’ glasses!” Yaoi fujoshi and fudanshi.

“Odin’s beard!” Viking.

“Oh crumbs” Moxxie.

 

[kyen_]

By the Dragon Ball

 

[RepresentingCaution]

This book uses the deity's name plus a body part:

Dysmorphic Kingdom: a fairy tale: Chen, Colleen: 9781940233239: Amazon.com: Books

Dysmorphic Kingdom: a fairy tale [Chen, Colleen] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Dysmorphic Kingdom: a fairy tale

www.amazon.com

The deities aren't a huge part of the story, so I'm going to substitute Zeus and Hera:
Zeus' balls!
Hera's tits!
Zeus' penis!
Hera's clit!
Zeus' scrotum!
Hera's vulva!

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

So, I have a situation in my story coming up in the chapter I'm writing now.

It involves something disastrously bad happening to the cast. A serious "oh shit" moment. The phrases "oh shit" or "god damn it" would both work perfectly well in this situation. However, I felt that this might be an opportunity to sneak in some efficient lore if I could incorporate something about this man's religion into the expletive he reflexively blurts out. However, I'm having trouble coming up with something appropriate.

Here's the background on the god this guy worships.

He is something of a cross between Prometheus, the Greek Titan who gave man fire and got strapped to a boulder by Zeus in punishment, going on to have an eagle repeatedly tear out his liver which would immediately regenerate, and Nidhogg of Norse mythology, the large serpent of the underworld who makes his home under the world tree Yggdrasil and gnaws at it's roots.

The story is that he's a fire dragon (of Eastern serpentine design) who taught magic to humans. Similar to the Zeus - Prometheus story, he gets punished for this. The Zeus equivalent here is the dragon of nature, who makes her home in the branches of a great tree. She imprisons him in the roots of the tree beneath her home.

The guy who belts out this expletive is a member of a human mage order that worships this dragon who brought them magic.

So, I'm trying to work out some kind of "oh my god" format of swear that would fit this background, and I don't just mean substituting the word "god" for the name of the deity I've created here. I want it to be a little more creative than that, because that would be just lazy. But, I'm having a hard time coming up with something.

(FYI, my Prometheus/Nidhogg equivalent here is named Neruu, and my Zeus equivalent is named Oren, in case any of that helps.)

Also, I am not trying to blunt it to make it a "family friendly" swear. It is perfectly acceptable for it to be crass and shocking. (And also perfectly acceptable for it to be clean. It's not a requirement for it to be crass to the reader's ears.) I'm just trying to find a way to work some fragment of the lore into this swear.

NINK

 

[Deleted member 57675]

Afijklnx - a stuttering fool.
origins: an old forgotten tongue, from a faraway place, a long, long ago...

 

[RepresentingCaution]

I had my computer read this aloud to me while my husband was loading the dishwasher, and he says you really need to personalize the profanity to the pantheon and mythology.

 

[Jemini]

I had my computer read this aloud to me while my husband was loading the dishwasher, and he says you really need to personalize the profanity to the pantheon and mythology.

Yeah, that's what I was trying for. That's why I've been rather unimpressed with the "Deitie's name" - "body part" suggestions here, which ironically are still the closest to something workable of everything suggested here.

I've had a little more luck with Royal Road where I posted a copy of this as well. Someone suggested "Burn the roots."

I didn't find it exactly fitting to the situation, but I did like the idea of something to do with burning and the lower portions of a tree or home to be completely appropriate as a curse that might be muttered by someone from this mage community potentially in a different situation.

 

[Nihilism]

1: Accursed roots!
2: Diabolical gods!
3: the roots are unholy!
4: destroy the accursed roots!
5: just a big ass tree the accursed gods use to look down on us 'mortals'!

 

[Jemini]

1: Accursed roots!
2: Diabolical gods!
3: the roots are unholy!
4: destroy the accursed roots!
5: just a big ass tree the accursed gods use to look down on us 'mortals'!

Accursed roots sounds good for purpose.

This stuff is more like it. This is more like what I'd had in mind.

 

[PeacefulMyst]

I have one, though it doesn't fit the situation. 'Oh, you spawn of the devil!'

 

[greyblob]

Yeah, that's what I was trying for. That's why I've been rather unimpressed with the "Deitie's name" - "body part" suggestions here, which ironically are still the closest to something workable of everything suggested here.

I've had a little more luck with Royal Road where I posted a copy of this as well. Someone suggested "Burn the roots."

I didn't find it exactly fitting to the situation, but I did like the idea of something to do with burning and the lower portions of a tree or home to be completely appropriate as a curse that might be muttered by someone from this mage community potentially in a different situation.

"X's flames take you" (or replace deity's name with the name of the flames, if they have one). instead of "burn the roots" something like "Yggdrasil's ashes" or "Roots ablaze" would make more sense.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Sooo. A curse can be divided into a few different types. You can replace a swear word with something that seems innocuous to you, but it would still be a swear word.

'Jesus Christ' is a great example. That's blasphemy. Any swear that uses the 'Diety' + 'reference' is blasphemy. The reader might not care, but the characters SHOULD. Don't use a swear based on a god unless you want to show that your character is an atheist or extremely immoral.

I'd suggest not using the patron god in a swear- not directly at least. "Sovereign's Flames!" But cursing the opposing deity might be workable. "Oren's Blighted Scales!"

Anything that insults Oren or her actions works. Again, it doesn't have to be direct. Insult nature or things that stunt magical/scientific progress. Insult her followers. Insult her favorite color. -Unless she might take offense. Getting killed for profanity is a little sad.

If Neruu must be involved, all you can really do is pray for aid, mercy, patience, or guidance. "- burn you" is a good curse for a follower of a fire deity, but far too generic. "Neruu grant me passion/rage/enlightenment" or whatever the fire represents to them. As a god of magic, more options might be open as well.

 

[Ai-chan]

So, I have a situation in my story coming up in the chapter I'm writing now.

It involves something disastrously bad happening to the cast. A serious "oh shit" moment. The phrases "oh shit" or "god damn it" would both work perfectly well in this situation. However, I felt that this might be an opportunity to sneak in some efficient lore if I could incorporate something about this man's religion into the expletive he reflexively blurts out. However, I'm having trouble coming up with something appropriate.

Here's the background on the god this guy worships.

He is something of a cross between Prometheus, the Greek Titan who gave man fire and got strapped to a boulder by Zeus in punishment, going on to have an eagle repeatedly tear out his liver which would immediately regenerate, and Nidhogg of Norse mythology, the large serpent of the underworld who makes his home under the world tree Yggdrasil and gnaws at it's roots.

The story is that he's a fire dragon (of Eastern serpentine design) who taught magic to humans. Similar to the Zeus - Prometheus story, he gets punished for this. The Zeus equivalent here is the dragon of nature, who makes her home in the branches of a great tree. She imprisons him in the roots of the tree beneath her home.

The guy who belts out this expletive is a member of a human mage order that worships this dragon who brought them magic.

So, I'm trying to work out some kind of "oh my god" format of swear that would fit this background, and I don't just mean substituting the word "god" for the name of the deity I've created here. I want it to be a little more creative than that, because that would be just lazy. But, I'm having a hard time coming up with something.

(FYI, my Prometheus/Nidhogg equivalent here is named Neruu, and my Zeus equivalent is named Oren, in case any of that helps.)

Also, I am not trying to blunt it to make it a "family friendly" swear. It is perfectly acceptable for it to be crass and shocking. (And also perfectly acceptable for it to be clean. It's not a requirement for it to be crass to the reader's ears.) I'm just trying to find a way to work some fragment of the lore into this swear.

In Ai-chan's story, The Coal Fish, the protagonist is a member of the vanda race, who are something like humanoid freshwater mermaid-like creatures. She is often called 'river fish', 'fish legs' or 'water dog'. The Suicide Wings, a type of flying sword like golem creatures, would often call her 'wet bitch', 'river bitch' or 'wet slut' because they're foulmouthed little jerks.

So in your case, you need to make the swear words in line with your myths and traditions.

 

[Jemini]

In Ai-chan's story, The Coal Fish, the protagonist is a member of the vanda race, who are something like humanoid freshwater mermaid-like creatures. She is often called 'river fish', 'fish legs' or 'water dog'. The Suicide Wings, a type of flying sword like golem creatures, would often call her 'wet bitch', 'river bitch' or 'wet slut' because they're foulmouthed little jerks.

So in your case, you need to make the swear words in line with your myths and traditions.

Decidedly unhelpful. You're telling me nothing that I didn't already know. I wouldn't be coming here and asking questions if it was as easy as "body part" - "deity name," as was an issue raised earlier.

Although, if you were talking to some of the other people casting out suggestions and not to me directly, then perhaps that can be appreciated. That said, I haven't seen that many bad suggestions since the first time I said I was looking for something more properly mythos oriented.

(Also, if I didn't realize that, why else would you think I went into all those details about the worldbuilding in the OP?)

 

[Ai-chan]

Decidedly unhelpful. You're telling me nothing that I didn't already know. I wouldn't be coming here and asking questions if it was as easy as "body part" - "deity name," as was an issue raised earlier.

Although, if you were talking to some of the other people casting out suggestions and not to me directly, then perhaps that can be appreciated. That said, I haven't seen that many bad suggestions since the first time I said I was looking for something more properly mythos oriented.

(Also, if I didn't realize that, why else would you think I went into all those details about the worldbuilding in the OP?)

So you expect Ai-chan to give suggestions like "By my Neruu!" or "Pit of roots!" or "Ass of Oren!"? You can get that from practically just googling about it. Heck, you can just google and get a swear name generator. Then just replace the words with your myths.

All you have to tell us is in 395 words opening post. What exactly do you expect us to work with? That's less than an elementary school essay. That's why you will only get troll answers or 'decidedly unhelpful' answers. You will get more 'decidedly unhelpful' answers from now on. So don't get triggered, because you will get more. A lot more. And you will get trolls too.

You want us to be 'very helpful', then give us something more to work with. As of now, even after reading your OP, everyone's running blind, taking random words and hoping it's what you want.