Line #27 Fanfic/AnUndertowOfSand


1	[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/auos_cover_art_2.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:275:Ananke reaching out to Percy]]
3	->''"'A half-blood child of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds.' Who decided the sons of Kronos met the criteria for eldest gods? There are older gods. Elder Gods. And They have been watching. See with your mind, oh Child of Prophecy. For reality is a lie. Your very existence is a flaw. An anomaly. A bend in Fate. And if Fate can bend, then it can ''break''. Everything is different. Nothing has changed.\
4	Open your ''eyes''..."''
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6	''An Undertow of Sand'' is a FusionFic of ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' with the Franchise/CthulhuMythos (with bits of ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' lore sprinkled on top) written by Shujin. The premise of this fic is that the creatures, gods and monsters of the Cthulhu Mythos did in fact exist, but not precisely in the ways or by the names described by Lovecraft. Their existence did not go unnoticed by history.
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8	The gods of historical mythology are real, if hidden, much like in [=PJO=] canon, but additionally, the older gods, the protegenoi and primordials of historical mythology are one and the same with the gods described by the Cthulhu Mythos, they are just not called by those names; for names have power and the words Lovecraft coined to name the gods are not nearly old enough to get even a flicker of their attention, but the names of historical mythology ''are''.
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10	Percy Jackson does not exist. Poseidon never had a son with Sally Jackson. Our protagonist is Percy Stele, son of Dorian Stele, a lawyer in New York, and the god known by the greeks as Ananke, the goddess of compusion, inevitability, necessity, and ''fate''.
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12	It is not its only name.
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14	The Celtics knew her as The Mórrígan, the Phanton Queen. The Egyptians knew it by another name still, and came to consider its worship heretical: Horemheb tried to erase historical records of the pharaoh who adopted it; and by the time Ramesses II was in power, the period of this pharaoh's rein was described as "the time of the enemy".
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16	And a peculiar man from Providence, who wrote wonderous and fantastical tales rooted on the vistas and visions he had in his dreams, described it as an evilly intelligent messenger of hidden and terrible powers.
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18	The story is available on [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/an-undertow-of-sand-percy-jackson-and-the-cthulhu-mythos.941042/ Space Battles]], [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/an-undertow-of-sand-percy-jackson-and-the-cthulhu-mythos.90629/ Sufficient Velocity]], [[https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/an-undertow-of-sand-percy-jackson-and-the-cthulhu-mythos.15568/ Questionable Questing]], [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/32244394/chapters/79914832 Archive of Our Own]] and [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13894611/1/An-Undertow-of-Sand Fanfiction.net]].
19	----
20	!!This fic provides examples of:
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22	* AboveTheGods: The Elder Gods far surpass the power of the Young Gods, and answer for none of their rules. It is their disinterest that keeps the two separated, for if an Elder God chooses to intervene all a Young God can do is ask another Elder God for help.
23	* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Subverted. The Mórrígan is introduced as a good-humoured, patient, and understanding individual. It is not until later that we see what happens when things don't go according with Fate's designs.
24	* AdaptationalVillainy: [[Characters/ClassicalMythologyOlympians The Olympians]]. While they were portrayed as jerks in [[Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians PJO]] and in the original myths, they were ultimately seen as the lesser evil. Here, however, their actions are given much more scrutiny, and forgivness is not dished out as easily.
25	* AdaptationalJerkass: Several of the nicer olympians are given a harsher treatment than they do in canon, either by bringing forth their deeds in mythology or by scrutnizing their deeds within canon. Artemis is [[spoiler:given an ironic punishment]] for [[spoiler:derelicting her duties surrounding the protection of children]] and is [[spoiler:pursued and/or threatned]] by other gods for her slights against them, specifically [[spoiler:Aura]] and [[spoiler:Khione]]. Athena on the other hand, is interpreted, per WordOfGod, as a narcisistic psychopath.
26	-->"Yes, morals." She said that word 'morals' the same way I would complain about dog shit on my shoes. Charming, really. She shifted her hand off her eyes, peering at me with black coral orbs that shimmered with the rainbow in the light. "Ethics. Temporary discomfort is worth the King of Olympus being wary of war, rather than having him desire it."
27	* AdultsAreUseless: As per canon, nearly all demigods are children because of their short life, additionally, we see Percy's father Dorian Stele, despite being a lawyer and living in a New York penthouse, [[spoiler:having a complete break down after the Mórrígan leaves]], although, admittedly [[spoiler:that is less because he’s incapable/useless and more the fact his mind never really completely recovered after being broken by him being in a relationship with an Eldritch Horror]].
28	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: The gods do not have the same level of power. The gods of Olympus surpass the minor gods and nymphs in mythology, but [[spoiler:Aphrodite]] in particular, is noted by Percy to be "The only reason there was even a fight" when telling an account of [[spoiler:a rebellion within Olympus]]. The Elder Gods, however, outstrip even the Old Gods, for Elder Gods are gods in themselves, with no ties to humanity or mortals; their Names are merely masks they choose to wear -- yet, even among the Elder Gods, there is a division of power. The God of Sleep is powerful beyond human comprehension, but even he is no match for the [[{{TheChessmaster}} God Within Fate]] or the [[{{TheDreaded}} God Beneath the Pit]].
29	* BigBrotherBully: The fates that tried to get Percy aborted by their mother.
30	* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The gods, specially the Elder Gods, and, to a lesser extent, Percy. [[InsectQueen The Matriarch of the Swarm]], for instance, one of the most sympathetic Elder Gods shown, is asleep, for she sees [[HumansAreInsects humanity as defective]], and if she was awake and fully realized, she would [[FinalSolution destroy]] [[KillAllHumans humanity]] and [[OffingTheOffspring her own children with it]].
31	* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:Aura, the Titaness that insulted Artemis, was arranged to be raped]] and was then turned into a mostrosity:
32	-->The monster was vaguely humanoid. It was covered in thick, ropey scar tissue the color of blood, almost looking like it was something that had been flayed alive and all that was left was the muscle fibers stretching over pockmarked and pitted black bones. The main head was eyeless and noseless, just a cone jutting out from a humanoid head, but then it opened like a blooming flower. Slimy, drooling tentacles covered in gaping mouths like the suckers of an octopus waved at us. There were two shrunken heads hanging off its body as it dragged its knuckles on the ground. They were covered in wide, bloodshot eyes wildly rolling around.
33	* BrokenPedestal: Percy at the start of the fic started with quite the admiration and even a bit of a crush on Artemis. His high opinion on her begins to slip when he calls her out of being petty enough to want to torture her uncle Hades out of suspicious that he, unlike the rest of the gods, might be getting stronger and she tries to kill him in retaliation. Then he finds out about Aura, Khione and Callisto.
34	* BroughtDownToNormal: [[spoiler:Artemis]] after [[spoiler:derelicting her duties of protection of children]] and trying to kill Percy, is turned into [[spoiler:a rabbit]] by Ananke, an ironic punishment in several levels. See also IronicHell.
35	* BrownNote: As per canon and per mythology, if a mortal sees a god's true form they will be incinerated. Additionally, however, in this story there are certain bits of knowledge than can provoke madness by themselves, such as the oldest names of the Elder Gods.
36	* BrownNoteBeing: See BrownNote.
37	* CosmicEntity: The Elder Gods.
38	* CountryMatters: Percy several times calls the Fates, his half-sisters, cunts, much to the shock and horror of everyone listening. Since they tried to convince their mother, Ananke, to abort him, he does have a point.
39	* DeityOfHumanOrigin: [[spoiler:Kronos, the Titans, and ultimately, the Young Gods in general are either ascended humans or descendents of humans.]]
40	* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Percy [[spoiler:consumes a water deity in the dreamlands]]
41	* DivineDate: Dorian Stele is the father of Percy Stele through Ananke, the primordial greek godess of necessity, inevitability, and fate, and is currently married to the Mórrígan, the celtic goddess of war and fate.
42	* DivineParentage: The demigods, as per canon.
43	* DivineIntervention: While there are rules surrounding intervention, the gods are regular characters in the story and their intervention is common; additionally, some gods, like Ananke and Nyx, are above those rules, and can decide to intervene whenever they see fit.
44	* EitherOrProphecy: The Great Prophecy, as per canon.
45	* EnergyBeings: The Etruscan gods before being absorbed by the Olympians
46	* EverybodyHatesHades: The family of Hades voted for him to have his divine names exposed by Adreisteia. Lampshaded by Artemis:
47	--> “It is one of the worst punishments on Olympus,” Artemis said automatically. “It is agony, every inch of you tears. A million knives slicing into you, flaying you and you can feel yourself hollow out.” The monotonous tone of her voice drained my anger. I found myself gently putting her down on Luke’s bed. Her silver eyes were unfocused. “You bleed, but you do not know from where. You scream with no voice. You cannot see it, but you can feel your pieces drift away.”
48	* FantasticRacism: Elder gods towards spawns.
49	* FateWorseThanDeath: Ananke, as the goddess of fate, invevitability, compulsion and necessity, can dish out those whenever she wishes, as {{Lampshaded}} by Percy; her daughters, the Moirae, are in a similar position.
50	** What [[spoiler:Artemis did to Aura]] can be considered such.
51	* IHaveManyNames: The gods. Names shape their focus and their domains, as a source of godly power. They are also what allow the gods to be in more than one place at the same time. Apollo Musagetes (Leader of the Muses) might be perfoming a musical piece while simultaniously Apollo Asclepious (of Healing) might be overseeing an operation at the hospital, while Apollo Agraeus (of the Hunt) and Apollo Aphetor (Archer) are hunting animals with his sister, each name containing a slice of godly power geared towards a certain domain. They are still all the same god, however, and if necessity calls, Apollo can call all his names to himself, thus holding his true power.
52	** All gods have Names of power, but the Names of a Young God shape their focus. Artemis Agrotera (of the Hunt) and Artemis Paedotrphus (Nurse of Children) are both still Artemis, but as they have different focus they are comparable to different personalities of someone with Dissossiative Identity Disorder. Elder Gods, however, are different. They are always present, their names are not personalities, but avatars. Both the Mórrígan and Ananke are just different masks the God Within Fate chooses to wear.
53	* ImmortalRuler: Zeus, as per classical mythology. Zigzagged as he was overthrown [[spoiler:by Athena]], but mannaged to come back to power. However, thanks to the Great Prophecy, an oportunity will soon arise to overthrow him again.
54	* IronicHell: What Ananke gives [[spoiler:Artemis]] for [[spoiler:dereliction of her duty of protection and nursing of children]] and for attacking Percy by turning her into a rabbit, which is an ironic punishment for several reasons:
55	** First, [[spoiler:a rabbit is a prey animal, while Artemis was a goddess of hunters]].
56	** Second, [[spoiler:Artemis had transformed many others into prey animals in the past, making this punishment a vindication on those actions; likewise, Artemis used her status as the favoured daughter of Zeus and goddess of a throne in Olympus to get away with many atrocities against other gods and nymphs, such as what was done to Aura and Calisto; by stripping her of her divinity, not only are the tables turned, but she also becomes a target by those she slighted in the past]].
57	** Third, [[spoiler:rabbits are animals [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_rabbit associated with the moon]] in many cultures, thanks to the shape and configuration of the dark spots that can be seen in the side of the moon that faces the Earth, thus the transformation is a mockery of her lunar domain]].
58	** Finally, [[spoiler:rabbits are animals that resort to canibalism with little provocation, and a mother rabbit can quite easily consume its own offspring, making the transformation also a mockery of her Names of protection and nursing of children]].
59	* JerkassGods: The Olympians in general, as per canon and classical mythology, with several gods outside of olympus also fitting the bill [[spoiler:subverted in that non-greek gods are seemingly not as awful, at least to their demigods]].
60	* MortalityEnsues: [[spoiler:Artemis]], see BroughtDownToNormal and IronicHell.
61	* MotherOfAThousandYoung: Nyx, already an example of this in classical mythology, was merged with the TropeNamer here.
62	* OfferingsToTheGods: As per canon and classical mythology, mortals can make these. Additionally, Young Gods can also do this for Elder Gods, as [[spoiler:Hermes finds out after Artemis is turned into a rabbit]].
63	* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight:As per canon and classical mythology. This additionally has the side effect of making Fate unable to lie, for her words are the truth itself.
64	* {{Psychopomp}}: Thanatos shows up shortly to bring Hypnos to [[spoiler:the House of the Night in [[{{Hell}} Tartarus]]]], as per [[MotherOfAThousandYoung Nyx's]] and [[TheSacredDarkness Erebus']] command.
65	* SemiDivine: Demigods, but also nymphs and daemons.
66	* SocietyOfImmortals: Olympus.
67	* StarstruckSpeechless: Percy gets like this after meeting Artemis, whom he has a crush on. [[spoiler:[[BrokenPedestal It doesn't last]]]].
68	* TheOldGods: The Elder Gods, specially the primordials such as the [[TheChessmaster God Within Fate]] or the [[TheDreaded God Beneath the Pit]]
69	* TheOlderImmortal:As per canon, Aphrodite is far older than the rest of Olympus, and the primordials are far older than any of the gods of earth.
70	* TomeOfEldritchLore: Mentioned by Percy:
71	-->“My Mom also mentioned this one book that has ''everything'', but it’s dangerous.”\
72	As in, ‘you can find all of the Names of my mother in it’ dangerous. Hers and the Names of others, like the god behind the Night.\
73	Names that could drive even a god mad.
74	* YouCantFightFate: {{Lampshaded}} by Athena and Dionysus:
75	-->'''Athena:''' You do not have to like the boy, but you ''will'' respect his parentage. I tell you this for your own sake, if anyone wishes you to fight Fate? ''Don’t''.\

Context Fanfic / AnUndertowOfSand