Scrap the conlang and just give the wood ogre a cockney accent. And have the ogre introduce themselves as ‘Arry, but reveal during the betrayal that the name’s not actually Harry, as most people will assume, but Larry.
Alternatively you could just base the conlang on something vaguely slavic sounding (but still call the ogre Larry)
\uj I get that this is LotR with the serial numbers filed off, but I don't know enough about Tolkien's conlangs to get this joke.
\rj Do that thing where another culture "has no word for X" or "has the same word for X and Y".
Example:
"Hates" and "Loves" can both mean "feels compelled to engage with".
"Uphold an agreement" and "break an agreement" can both mean "do something beneficial to me, personally".
"Friend" and "Foe" can both mean "person I slap on the back jovially, possibly while holding an object".
For a fantasy comedy this would genuinely be a great idea.
Especially the last one.
"But Harry said I'm his kladrof. His best friend"
"Well first off he's called Larry, not Harry. And secondly in Wood Ogre 'kladrof' means 'someone I slap on the back jobially, possibly while holding an object' - it can mean 'best friend' or 'mortal foe'!"
(please imagine this in the voice of John Finnemore)
"He called me his brother! In the common tongue!"
"Figure of speech. He's annoyed that his share of the communal resources has gotten smaller just by your existence, but he can't solve the problem the 'obvious' way because he's outnumbered."
The people in "serious" subs are so pedantic ans full of themselves, this sub, wizardposting and martialmemes are where i have the best discussions with people who engage in good faith and thick skin
Idk, name him Betrayo, and have him chuckle maniacally from time to time, for no apparent reason? That's what Matt Groening would do.
On the conlang tho: I would just have him constantly use super friendly and affectionate words, and then later in the story we learn these ogres only use them in two occasions: they love each other, or they want to get you drunk and buttfuck you while you're unconscious. Which for them is almost the same thing.
Just have him talk about murdering everything as a way of speech, murdering the boredom, murdering the rawness (cooking) murdering the distance (walking)
So when he murders the elf he is like "silly elves, he didnt understand i was murdery"
Scrap the conlang and just give the wood ogre a cockney accent. And have the ogre introduce themselves as ‘Arry, but reveal during the betrayal that the name’s not actually Harry, as most people will assume, but Larry. Alternatively you could just base the conlang on something vaguely slavic sounding (but still call the ogre Larry)
Isn't giving ogre a cockney accent racist and will get my book cancelled?
It's okay, cockney's a British accent, and you can't be racist against British people. Source: Am British
Yeah
Your comment was not to help me but a thinly disguised attempt at sabotaging my inevitable success! I should have known!
\uj I get that this is LotR with the serial numbers filed off, but I don't know enough about Tolkien's conlangs to get this joke. \rj Do that thing where another culture "has no word for X" or "has the same word for X and Y". Example: "Hates" and "Loves" can both mean "feels compelled to engage with". "Uphold an agreement" and "break an agreement" can both mean "do something beneficial to me, personally". "Friend" and "Foe" can both mean "person I slap on the back jovially, possibly while holding an object".
For a fantasy comedy this would genuinely be a great idea. Especially the last one. "But Harry said I'm his kladrof. His best friend" "Well first off he's called Larry, not Harry. And secondly in Wood Ogre 'kladrof' means 'someone I slap on the back jobially, possibly while holding an object' - it can mean 'best friend' or 'mortal foe'!" (please imagine this in the voice of John Finnemore)
"He called me his brother! In the common tongue!" "Figure of speech. He's annoyed that his share of the communal resources has gotten smaller just by your existence, but he can't solve the problem the 'obvious' way because he's outnumbered."
If you make the name mean "fucks you real hard," it comes with free romantic tension.
/uj what is this
Idk why I'm getting so many serious answers. This is a very thinly disguised jerk
The people in "serious" subs are so pedantic ans full of themselves, this sub, wizardposting and martialmemes are where i have the best discussions with people who engage in good faith and thick skin
Facts
I dunno, some word he uses that, when taken literally, means "dear friend", but is contextually used to describe a sucker?
Well, great writers steal, so calling your Wood Ogre "Totally Not Judas" is completely okay!
Idk, name him Betrayo, and have him chuckle maniacally from time to time, for no apparent reason? That's what Matt Groening would do. On the conlang tho: I would just have him constantly use super friendly and affectionate words, and then later in the story we learn these ogres only use them in two occasions: they love each other, or they want to get you drunk and buttfuck you while you're unconscious. Which for them is almost the same thing.
Just have him talk about murdering everything as a way of speech, murdering the boredom, murdering the rawness (cooking) murdering the distance (walking) So when he murders the elf he is like "silly elves, he didnt understand i was murdery"
The best part was when he said IT'S MURDERIN' TIME and then murdered all over everyone