Humans Are Cthulhu: Difference between revisions

[[File:nemo 1.jpg|link=Finding Nemo|frame|[[H.P. Lovecraft|Iä! Ph'nglui mglw'nafh]] [[Punctuation Shaker|Scu'ba Di'ver]] [[H.P. Lovecraft|R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!]]]]

 

''"A human once walked here?"''

|''Newton's Wake'', [[Ken MacLeod]]}}

 

{{examples}}

* The manga ''[[Peach Fuzz]]'' might be an odd version of this. The ferret sees her owner as some sort of evil God, which she really isn't, instead of just an owner.

** To be fair, the owner is... [[Kids Are Cruel|kind of irresponsible]], at least in the first book.

* ''[[Lotte no Omocha]]'': Because humans are extinct in the Monster Realm, almost everyone in Ygvarland have no idea what a human looks like, so when a human was reported walking around in the schoolgrounds, the students imagined him as a long necked monster covered in fur.

 

* A good 1950/60's comic(maybe from ''Crypt''?) tolds a story when a group of earthling(and American) scientists encounter an alien spaceship that come to [[Offing the Offspring|dispose some of their ugly mutants caused by radiation]]. When the scientists opened the hibernation pod containing the mutants, it turns out that the mutants are {{spoiler|Homo Sapiens}}. And quite good-looking by earth standards. The aliens' real appearance is left for the readers to imagine.

* In Warren Ellis's ''Ultimate Galactus'' trilogy for Ultimate [[Marvel]], he spends 3/4 of the series revealing the reimagined version ( {{spoiler|a hundred-thousand-mile long hive mind of giant, world-killing robots}}) of the planet-eating Galactus from the mainstream continuity. When [[X-Men|Professor X]] makes contact with Gah Lakh Tus, he is physically jarred by the utter horror and disgust that the being feels for organic life. In fact, the whole point of Gah Lakh Tus seems to be that of a {{spoiler|universal exterminator, that can sustain itself on any planet's core energy, but is dedicated to seeking out and killing anything organic simply because we creep the living hell out of it}}. In the end, scrappy little humanity/mutants/post-Humanity/[[Eagleland]] comes together and uses a horrific, multidimensional superweapon powered by {{spoiler|aborting a baby universe with a hydrogen bomb}}, and giving [[A God Am I|Nick Fury]] an even bigger ego in the process. Maybe Gah Lakh Tus was right to shit itself over us.

** Don't forget that in addition to that, Professor X modified Cerebro to link the minds of every human on Earth together to [[Mind Rape]] Gah Lakh Tus. After that double whammy, Gah Lakh Tus decides that trying to eat Earth isn't worth it and flees.

 

* In the ''[[Minecraft]]'' Fanfic ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20110829021924/http://www.worldofminecraft.com/node/8772 Diary of a Creeper]'', humans are depicted as alien monstrosities capable and willing to slaughter everything in the world.

* The sixth chapter of the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' fanfic ''[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1451/The-Monster-Mash The Monster Mash]'' manages to do this ''without humans existing in-universe''. {{spoiler|Twilight casts a spell to look through reality and [[Go Mad from the Revelation|goes mad from the revelation]] - screaming about how people nopony else can see are watching her. After Pinkie Pie, who's [[This Explains So Much|known about these watchers all along]], helps her come to terms with the situation, Twilight [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|breaks the fourth wall to address the reader]].}}

 

* ''[[Bambi]]''.

** In ''Bambi 2'', Bambi is lured by a deer call, thinking it's his mother's voice calling to him. Thankfully [[Patrick Stewart|The King of the Forest]] pulled Bambi away in time to keep from getting blasted, telling him that's just another of Man's tricks.

* Played straight and subverted in ''[[Finding Nemo]]'': the fish on the reef regard humans as terrifying, otherworldly beings (especially since they're wearing scuba masks, as seen in the picture above) and a source of fear and awe. The fish in a human's ''fish-tank'', however, are sufficiently used to them to regard them more as a source of free entertainment, except the one [[And Call Him George|that accidentally keeps killing fish.]]

 

* The original Felix Salten ''[[Bambi]]'' novel. Early on, humans are just [[Carnivore Confusion|another predator]], only they are the only ones capable of bringing down a deer (thus the deer protagonists' fear of humans). The deer then believe that humans are Gods, and only the cleverest of them have figured out that guns aren't just magic ("he is only dangerous when he has his third arm"). The humans' use of guns and dogs are a point of contention for the other animals, but mostly because it's just unfair. The ending of the book comes when the Old Buck {{spoiler|shows Bambi [[Not So Invincible After All|a human who has been killed by a gun that backfired]]}}.

* ''[[The Call of the Wild]]'' and ''[[White Fang]]'', at least, have the wolves consider humans as gods—but not all of them are evil, and White Fang manages to develop a positive relationship with a benevolent human. On the other hand, Buck {{spoiler|killing a human at the end of ''Call of the Wild'' completes his transformation into a wild beast, realizing that they are just as mortal as any other prey.}}

** Fray, the destructive force of nature of which ''[[The Carpet People]]'' (by [[Terry Pratchett]]) live in constant fear, is presumably some human activity. Most likely footsteps, but it might be a hoover. Beyond that, humans are [[The Precursors]], given the entire world is inside a shaggy carpet and the major resources are metal from a dropped penny, wood and ash from a matchstick and rare varnish from the distant Achairleg.

* ''[[Discworld]]'':

* More seriously, Granny Aching casts humans as an ''ethical'' Cthulhu in ''[[The Wee Free Men]]'', in her "We have a duty" speech to Tiffany. Humans are like gods to livestock, ordering their births and deaths, but have a corresponding responsibility to care for and defend them.

* Taken to its logical conclusion in ''Flies'' by [[Isaac Asimov]]. A maker of fly spray can't figure out why flies constantly circle around him, joking that he must smell like a lady fly in heat. As it turns out, {{spoiler|they believe he's a god punishing them for their sinful ways.}} This is one of the few stories Asimov wrote that qualifies as horror, particularly when you realize the [[Aesop]] he's [[God Is Evil|leading up to]].

** His short story ''With Friends Like These...'' takes a look at the theme from another angle. Ages ago, the old galactic civilization deemed humanity too dangerous and [[The Wall Around the World|sealed off Earth]] until it became a myth, but now aliens needs Mankind's skill at battle against another alien race. So a few representatives go to Earth, see a quiet pastoral culture relaxing in a hammock, and ask the "mythical creatures" to help. Cue the [[Freak-Out|little shock]] when aliens see {{spoiler|that humans are so calm because their hammock is [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien|too high]] on [[Abusing the Kardashev Scale For Fun and Profit|The Kardashev Scale]] to worry. Not only have humans evolved psionic powers and are in telepathic contact with various other mammalian species (which presumably they [[Uplift]]ed), not only is the whole planet filled with machinery and computers for miles below the surface, but ''the entire freaking planet Earth (with moon) breaks orbit to follow the aliens' starship''!}}.

** A story-within-a-story seen in ''Carnivores of Light and Darkness'' tells of two warring anthills contacting a man, probably to get him to help destroy the other mound. One group of ants sees this as a divine miracle.

* There's a short story out there called "The Hunters" where the world is invaded by ferocious and pitiless aliens who relentlessly destroy all of civilization. [[The Reveal]] is that {{spoiler|this is another planet, and the invading aliens are actually human conquerors}}.

* Oddly enough, the short story [http://www.flashfictiononline.com/fpublic0036-memory-h-p-lovecraft.html "Memory"] by [[H.P. Lovecraft]].

* Harry Turtledove's ''[[Worldwar]]'' series has this to some extent. Humans are twice as big as the aliens known simply as the Race, and evolve far more quickly than the Race or the other two sentient species they'd encountered beforehand, so they're not prepared at all when they invade Earth during World War II, their expectations based on recordings from 800 years before. It reaches its apex at the very end of the series, when {{spoiler|humans are able to create faster than light travel by extrapolating off the Race's technology, leaving them firmly in control of the situation that had been an uneasy balance for several decades.}}

* ''[http://www.doylebooks.com/aleprechaunstale.html A Leprechaun's Tale]'' by Steve Doyle.

* Anticipated by the title of [http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Am-Legend-S-F-Masterworks/dp/0575094168/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303819192&sr=1-1 I Am Legend]. At the end the last surviving human foresees that the coming society of vampires will remember him as a mythic horror, the Stalker Of The Daytime, the Killer That Walks In The Sunlight.

* In ''[[Chronicles of Narnia|The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe]]'', Mr. Tumnus has a shelf full of books that describe humans as purely mythical, or potentially so.

* In [[Dr. Seuss]]' short story "What Was I Scared Of?", (one of four stories in ''[[The Sneeches and Other Stories]]'') the protagonist keeps running into a ghostly pair of Pale Green Pants which he is terrified of... Until the end, when he discovers that the pants are even more terrified of him. Unlike most examples of this Trope, the story has a happy ending, with the two of them coming to terms with the fears and becoming friends

 

* ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' TOS episode "[[wikipedia:The Little People|The Little People]]". Tiny aliens (smaller than ants) worship a human astronaut who discovers (and later mistreats) them.

* Also, there was an ''[[Outer Limits]]'' episode in which some Martian creatures see the human scientist examining them as a god. They even build a statue of him. The scientist then mistreats them, cue to [[Rage Against the Heavens]]. They then get free. Solution: {{spoiler|[[Kill It with Fire]]. If any of them survived, it would just reinforce them in their belief...}}

** Interestingly enough, in a later season they attempt to contact the same aliens {{spoiler|to fight against the shadows}}. Ivanova manages to convince them by diplomatically using the most recognized language in the universe...[[Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?|insults.]]

 

* ''The Forest King'' by [[3 Inches of Blood]]. It doesn't last. The trees [[When Trees Attack|get pissed]] and [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|set humanity back by a million years.]]

 

* ''[[The Chronicles of Fate]]''. By way of [[Evolutionary Levels]], humanity has evolved into an empire of ''literal'' Cthulhus (or beings so [[A God Am I|divinely powerful]] they might as well be) called The Union. These humans, now called "Unians", have become so terrifyingly [[Time Abyss|powerful and ancient and alien]] they would seem like Cthulhus not just to rabbits or dogs or bats, but to 21st-century humans as well, even good ol' [[H.P. Lovecraft|Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth, and Nyarlathotep]] would crap their non-existent, [[Alien Geometries|infini-dimensional]] trousers at the prospect of messing with them. Know what the younger races call us? [[Eldritch Abomination|"Old Ones"]].

{{quote|"An empire vast, greater than the infinite, older than the time before time, the immaculate embodiment of might, Gods to the gods, power and radiance and grace and terror and grandeur pure, love and hate and ecstasy and death, walking the worlds as they please, striding time as others would walk across a room, conquering as others would breathe, endlessly, feared and beloved as no others are. The Union is of humanity in only the same sense as humanity is of the bacteria that its cells are evolved from. They are Precursors to all that now is, Elder things, with knowledge and wisdom reclaimed each time from an infinitude of past cycles. They are children to none but Josh, Source-Of-All, younger than none, older than all, firstborn and greatest."}}

** Not to mention that the Imperium routinely exterminates lesser alien races daily. The prehistoric Tau would have met this same fate if a chance warp storm didn't suddenly cut them off from the Imperium.

** And then, some count the Emperor of Mankind himself as the fifth Chaos God, and in that case absolutely the most potent and terrible of them all once freed from his mortal shell.

{{quote|"For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat unmoving on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls die every day, for whom blood is drunk and flesh eaten. Human blood and human flesh - the stuff of which the Imperium is made. (...) Forget the power of technology, science and common humanity. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for there is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter and the laughter of thirsting gods."}}

** Hell, even with all the talk about the Imperium is "rotting" the truth is it's the opposite. The Imperium has gotten stronger over the last 4,000 years; the only reason why the current age is called the "Age of Ending" is because all its enemies are ganging up on it at once. And the Golden Throne is failing, and the Astronomicon is going out.

* In ''[[Kult]]'', Humans are immortal superbeings, they are just slumbering and are unaware of their power. The powers that be try to make sure that they don't learn how to change this.

 

* In ''[[SimAnt]]'', one of your objectives as an ant is to drive away the human (whose feet and lawnmower are the greatest threats ants face while above ground). Once this is done, a "For Sale - Any Price" sign appears on the overworld view.

* The ending of Yorito Nagai in ''[[Siren]] 2/Forbbiden Siren 2'': {{spoiler|he enter in a dimension dominated entirely by Yamibitos LIVING LIKE NORMAL HUMANS. Nagai, dominated by the horror, shoot his machine gun against all. A new archive adds to your inventory, the "Yamibito´s Diary". The owner writes: "A terrible monster fell from the sky. The monster was destroyed, but others of its kind still remain in their nest." }}

* ''[[Chrono Cross]]'' advances the idea that humans are slowly destroying the planet, {{spoiler|and that they became such enemies of nature because of long-term exposure to Lavos, an eldritch abomination itself that was the villain of the previous game}}.

** While Lavos was using humans for it's own ends, the idea that humans are enemies of nature is dubious and given only by biased sources, like the dwarves (who pollute and construct giant toxin spewing steam tanks) and the dragons (who are part of an [[Evil Plan]] against humanity and are probably just upset that the technology of Chronopolis utterly kicked the ass of it's hippy dinosaur equivalent).

{{quote|''"How do I put this... Humans have become such dreadful beings."''}}

 

* Referenced in [http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1335 this] ''[[Questionable Content]]'' strip:

{{quote|'''Dora:''' "I've totally seen you take muffins into the bathroom."

** Exposure to humans exacerbates the condition of "domestication", which dulls the senses and causes a general loss of survival knowledge.

* Someone made the case that [http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7134170#post7134170 Parson is an eldritch abomination to the people of] ''[[Erfworld]]''. Forbidden knowledge, ability to break the (for them) set-in-stone physical laws of Erfworld, has already lived for thousands upon thousands of turns, unholy intelligence and learning - face it, he is Nyarlathotep.

** Also, there are words in his language that cannot be uttered in their universe. Specifically, even mild swears are automatically censored. And then he [[Precision F-Strike|broke that restriction]] ''by sheer force of will.''

* To the Basement-dwellers in ''[[The Mansion of E]]'', humans have become legendary boogeymen.

* ''Science and Ink'' has "[https://web.archive.org/web/20190418151538/http://www.lab-initio.com/f.html Fear of humans]", where one bear demonstrates to another why the humans should be avoided.

 

* In plush toy psychiatry game ''[[Die Anstalt]]'', the toys' owners, who so mistreated them, are so mysterious and vague they seem like an alien gods to them. They're all represented with the same barely-humanoid girl silhouette. Her pigtails look like antenna and one time she's introduced with [[Also Sprach Zarathustra|Also]] [[Shout-Out|Sprach]] [[2001: A Space Odyssey|Zarathustra]].

* The modern weapons technology of humanity causes the invading [[Legions of Hell]] to see modern humans as this in ''[[The Salvation War]]''. This is mostly because, in demonic time frames, a few centuries is nothing and the last time they visited humans were pretty much helpless, easily slaughtered sheep. Imagine their surprise when they came to claim Earth after it was condemned by Heaven to the demons and found that the humans suddenly had the "magic" to slaughter great numbers from afar. But this was nothing compared to the reaction of one of the Demonic Grand Dukes who surrendered to the humans when {{spoiler|he learned about nuclear weaponry}}: