History Literature / TheCrocodileGod

''[[https://hitrecord.org/albums/3308487/ The Crocodile God]]'' is a TroperWork by {{Tropers/Sharysa}}, initially posted on [=HitRECord=], then her social-media, [[https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-crocodile-god the Inkshares website,]] and [[https://www.inkitt.com/stories/fantasy/211084?utm_source=shared_web the Inkitt website.]] Like many of her works, this is an UrbanFantasy that's ''heavy'' on the fantasy.

** This also happens in the myth of [[JustSoStory how the bleeding-heart dove got its "wound" of red feathers.]] The bird was once a large, prestigious fighter, but after a bloody war where he received a near-fatal chest wound, his feathers grew back red [[ImHavingSoulPains since his soul had been wounded as well as his body.]] At the end of the story, he shrinks to a dove's size and his red feathers evoke a WoundThatWillNotHeal to [[HurtingHero reflect his emotional pain.]]

* OurSoulsAreDifferent: In addition to heavy focus on {{Reincarnation}} in general, souls can be [[HurtingHero broken through trauma.]] The ancient Tagalogs believed that men and women had different souls, and that LGBT people (especially transgender people) had "souls that do not match their body." The myth of the sambar deer hinges on the fact that different species have different souls, as BecomeARealBoy denotes.

* BornUnderTheSail: The ancient Tagalogs were frequently called "people of the rivers and seas," and Haik naturally turns this UpToEleven as their sea-god descended from the Maori.

** Lola the dragon sheds light on why Haik's volcano-god grandfather was so abusive to him and Lumawig: Being one of TheOldGods who grew up with humans and spirits [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking routinely fighting and killing each other,]] you couldn't show vulnerability for too long [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome because it was seen as weakness,]] and the volcano-god may have thought his own grandsons were going to kill him [[DentedIron for getting too old...]] which implies that [[KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil kinslaying was NOT a special crime]] when they were young.

* EternalSexualFreedom: DownplayedTrope and [[JustifiedTrope justified]]. In the newly-colonized Philippines, the ''indio'' islanders are more relaxed about premarital sex than Christian islanders and the Spanish, partly because marriage ranges from "a formal ceremony" to just "agreeing that you're married and moving in with each other" as in cohabitation/common-law marriage (especially among the lower classes). Mirasol assures Haik that [[BeneathNotice her Spanish employers don't notice what she does outside of work,]] and while the mistress of the house worries about Mirasol having sex before marriage, Mirasol just starts taking medicinal tea to keep from getting pregnant. The REAL issue with marrying Haik is cultural, since [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome her master pulls a gun on him the moment he spots his extensive tattoos.]]

* FanFicFuel: InvokedTrope since Tagalog mythology was nearly obliterated in the Spanish conquest; everything Haik tells Mirasol only gives her a whole list of unanswered questions, and with ICE on the hunt for them, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome they have no time to talk about everything.]]

* PowerTattoo: ImpliedTrope with Haik's crocodile tattoos, since he often turns into [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile a saltwater crocodile]] or [[OurDragonsAreDifferent a dragon.]] Also, ''all Filipino tattoos'' are spiritual links to one's community--since Haik was forced to take most of his off to avoid (even more) [[TattooAsCharacterType profiling as a criminal,]] [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome the other gods haven't found him for centuries.]]
* PrematureBirthDrama: As with many incarnations of the Polynesian Maui, Lumawig was born premature. His parents grieve heavily and give the still-living baby a sea-funeral, since [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome they may have seen this as a]] MercyKill. He gets fostered by mermaids, but before they saw he was [[SuperNotDrowningSkills sleeping quietly in the water]] and therefore a god's child, [[ImAHumanitarian they were going to eat him.]]

** In Chapter 16, the whale-goddess summons ''a massive horde'' of sharks, seabirds, and Humboldt squid, commonly known as ''el diablo rojo.'' They're initially happy to see Haik after so long apart, but [[GaiasVengeance quickly become furious]] when they find out he's getting deported again. During a fight with the ICE officers, Haik gets thrown overboard [[MakeAnExampleOfThem to make everyone else stop protesting,]] and they assume he's a goner. They aren't far off--the wounded Haik [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome sparks a feeding frenzy with his blood]] and [[OhCrap starts getting dragged farther into the deep]] when a nearby mob of squid [[HorrorHunger start eating their own wounded.]] Haik [[DeathSeeker just lets himself sink]] and mostly hopes that he passes out BEFORE he gets eaten. [[spoiler: Good thing the gods' ''balangay'' showed up so Lumawig could fish Haik back to the surface.]]
** The sea in general is dangerous, and the unexplained arrival of ''many'' threatening sea-creatures is constantly [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome sending the immigrants into mass-panics.]]

* StarCrossedLovers: DownplayedTrope. Haik and Mirasol aren't ''prevented'' from being together, but all the traumas happening to them [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome seriously strain their relationship(s).]]

** In the twelfth chapter, the kraken notes that this is a problem with Haik because he's a DeityOfHumanOrigin--despite his immortality and powers, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome his heart is still human.]]

* TraumaticHaircut: Tagalog women often cut their hair as a sign of mourning. Langa-an the North Wind cuts her RapunzelHair in grief when her child Lumawig is born premature.

** A constant point thanks to Spain's colonization of the Philippines, and given a personal spin of AdultFear as noted above. The [[KillTheGod literal death of Haik and Mirasol's whale-goddess daughter]] is the biggest reason for Haik's DespairEventHorizon, as he'd already lost a lot of OTHER family members. The trope is also PlayedWith in that Haik isn't ''dying'' so much as [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly lonely without followers,]] and constantly marginalized and abused.

** Memories. [[AdultFear And the LOSS of them.]]

** Family. [[AdultFear And the loss of them.]]

* OurGodsAreDifferent: The Tagalog deities are immortal but can be killed, though it takes a LOT of effort to kill an adult; moreover, Haik notes that [[ToHellAndBack he can sail back from the afterlife,]] and he himself is a DeityOfHumanOrigin as Paikea is a Maori ancestor-figure. Their stillborn first daughter is always referred to as a goddess and was born as an extremely scaled-down whale calf. Their demigod children are mortals with SuperNotDrowningSkills and {{Animorphism}} powers, but were barred from being full gods because Haik "changed his mind" [[AdultFear after making such public claims about his children's divinity caused their sister's death.]]

** As mentioned in AdultFear above, the souls of dead children may become demons if they're [[BreakTheCutie miserable and get lost on the way to the afterlife,]] similar to real-life Filipino beliefs. It's quite a contrast to adults: Haik mentions that Mirasol's soul [[AstralProjection often wanders around when she's asleep,]] and the only issue is that there are no more Tagalog shamans/elders who can teach her to manage it properly.

* PrimalFear: Haik's [[AdultFear isolation and loneliness]] is a major character point, and the fear of being hunted/eaten by {{Sea Monster}}s (both real and mythical) is a constant motif since Haik is the crocodile-god.

* AdultFear: Haik's fate as a [[DeathOfTheOldGods near-forgotten god]] [[PlayedWith plays with]] GodsNeedPrayerBadly. He doesn't literally need followers to survive, but he's [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome incredibly lonely and depressed without them.]]
** Mirasol's Spanish master [[ImperiledInPregnancy shot the heavily pregnant Mirasol]] after Haik told him that their child would be a god, and [[TragicStillbirth their daughter's stillbirth]] has ''hugely'' traumatized Haik. Their later children grow up [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior angry, warlike, and far too protective of their mother.]] Since this started piling [[StarCrossedLovers more trauma and death]] onto their ReincarnationRomance, Haik is constantly reminded of their daughter's death and [[SafetyInIndifference he's afraid of changing things in case he makes it worse.]]
** As the end of Chapter 7 notes, he's thought [[EverybodysDeadDave the other gods were dead since Spain’s conquest.]] Chapter 8 expands on how he lost a ''lot'' of family members, so no wonder his daughter's stillbirth [[DespairEventHorizon made him give up.]]
** The North Wind finds a human boy dead on Mount Pulag and thinks he got lost, so he heads out to find his parents. When he finds out the parents abandoned him on purpose and [[{{Jerkass}} aren't even grieving,]] he [[BerserkButton loses his shit.]]
** As with many incarnations of the Polynesian Maui, Lumawig was born premature. His parents grieve heavily and give the still-living baby a sea-funeral, since [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome they may have seen this as a]] MercyKill. He gets fostered by mermaids, but before they saw he was [[SuperNotDrowningSkills sleeping quietly in the water]] and therefore a god's child, [[ImAHumanitarian they were going to eat him.]]
** The souls of dead children become demons if they're [[BreakTheCutie scared or miserable for too long,]] and they often get lost in the afterlife. Langa-an resurrects her adopted son to avoid this, and the mermaid couple who adopts Lumawig also take him in to prevent him from becoming a demon. Later on it's noted that since children are too young to get tattoos, their ancestors have a hard time finding them.
** Haik had to take off a lot of his tattoos while searching for the other gods, since he was getting so heavily mistreated. Later on he realized that ''without them,'' [[MortonsFork the gods couldn't find him, either.]]
** Mirasol feels increasing despair in the tenth chapter about how hard it is to help Haik, emotionally ''or'' physically. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome She's too small to lift such a gigantic guy on her own,]] worries that he'll hurt himself when his most recent wave of depression hits, and that [[DeathByDespair he won't wake up if he falls asleep.]]
** When Haik finds out that [[spoiler: their first daughter was brought back to life,]] he's desperate to hear anything about her and [[ItsAllMyFault wonders if she's mad at him.]] He also asks the kraken if he's met her, and muses that she's all grown up and he's missed everything.

* OurGodsAreDifferent: The Tagalog deities are immortal but can be killed, though it takes a LOT of effort to kill an adult; moreover, Haik notes that [[ToHellAndBack he can sail back from the afterlife,]] and he himself is a DeityOfHumanOrigin as Paikea is a Maori ancestor-figure. Their stillborn first daughter is always referred to as a goddess and was born as an extremely scaled-down whale calf. Their demigod children are mortals with SuperNotDrowningSkills and [[{{Shapeshifting}} shapeshifting powers,]] but were barred from being full gods because Haik "changed his mind" [[AdultFear after making such public claims about his children's divinity caused their sister's death.]]

* DeathOfTheOldGods: A constant point thanks to Spain's colonization of the Philippines, and given a personal spin of AdultFear as noted above. The [[KillTheGod literal death of Haik and Mirasol's whale-goddess daughter]] is the biggest reason for Haik's DespairEventHorizon, as he'd already lost a lot of OTHER family members. The trope is also PlayedWith in that Haik isn't ''dying'' so much as [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly lonely without followers,]] and constantly marginalized and abused.

* {{Deicide}}: Courtesy of the Spaniard, though it's an extreme KickTheDog moment since the goddess in question wasn't even born yet.

* AdultFear: Haik's fate as a [[DeathOfTheOldGods near-forgotten god]] [[PlayedWith plays with]] GodsNeedPrayerBadly. He doesn't literally need followers to survive, but he's [[RealityEnsues incredibly lonely and depressed without them.]]

** As with many incarnations of the Polynesian Maui, Lumawig was born premature. His parents grieve heavily and give the still-living baby a sea-funeral, since [[RealityEnsues they may have seen this as a]] MercyKill. He gets fostered by mermaids, but before they saw he was [[SuperNotDrowningSkills sleeping quietly in the water]] and therefore a god's child, [[ImAHumanitarian they were going to eat him.]]

** Mirasol feels increasing despair in the tenth chapter about how hard it is to help Haik, emotionally ''or'' physically. [[RealityEnsues She's too small to lift such a gigantic guy on her own,]] worries that he'll hurt himself when his most recent wave of depression hits, and that [[DeathByDespair he won't wake up if he falls asleep.]]

** Lola the dragon sheds light on why Haik's volcano-god grandfather was so abusive to him and Lumawig: Being one of TheOldGods who grew up with humans and spirits [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking routinely fighting and killing each other,]] you couldn't show vulnerability for too long [[RealityEnsues because it was seen as weakness,]] and the volcano-god may have thought his own grandsons were going to kill him [[DentedIron for getting too old...]] which implies that [[KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil kinslaying was NOT a special crime]] when they were young.

* EternalSexualFreedom: DownplayedTrope and [[JustifiedTrope justified]]. In the newly-colonized Philippines, the ''indio'' islanders are more relaxed about premarital sex than Christian islanders and the Spanish, partly because marriage ranges from "a formal ceremony" to just "agreeing that you're married and moving in with each other" as in cohabitation/common-law marriage (especially among the lower classes). Mirasol assures Haik that [[BeneathNotice her Spanish employers don't notice what she does outside of work,]] and while the mistress of the house worries about Mirasol having sex before marriage, Mirasol just starts taking medicinal tea to keep from getting pregnant. The REAL issue with marrying Haik is cultural, since [[RealityEnsues her master pulls a gun on him the moment he spots his extensive tattoos.]]

* FanFicFuel: InvokedTrope since Tagalog mythology was nearly obliterated in the Spanish conquest; everything Haik tells Mirasol only gives her a whole list of unanswered questions, and with ICE on the hunt for them, [[RealityEnsues they have no time to talk about everything.]]

* PowerTattoo: ImpliedTrope with Haik's crocodile tattoos, since he often turns into [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile a saltwater crocodile]] or [[OurDragonsAreDifferent a dragon.]] Also, ''all Filipino tattoos'' are spiritual links to one's community--since Haik was forced to take most of his off to avoid (even more) [[TattooAsCharacterType profiling as a criminal,]] [[RealityEnsues the other gods haven't found him for centuries.]]

** In Chapter 16, the whale-goddess summons ''a massive horde'' of sharks, seabirds, and Humboldt squid, commonly known as ''el diablo rojo.'' They're initially happy to see Haik after so long apart, but [[GaiasVengeance quickly become furious]] when they find out he's getting deported again. During a fight with the ICE officers, Haik gets thrown overboard [[MakeAnExampleOfThem to make everyone else stop protesting,]] and they assume he's a goner. They aren't far off--the wounded Haik [[RealityEnsues sparks a feeding frenzy with his blood]] and [[OhCrap starts getting dragged farther into the deep]] when a nearby mob of squid [[HorrorHunger start eating their own wounded.]] Haik [[DeathSeeker just lets himself sink]] and mostly hopes that he passes out BEFORE he gets eaten. [[spoiler: Good thing the gods' ''balangay'' showed up so Lumawig could fish Haik back to the surface.]]
** The sea in general is dangerous, and the unexplained arrival of ''many'' threatening sea-creatures is constantly [[RealityEnsues sending the immigrants into mass-panics.]]

* StarCrossedLovers: DownplayedTrope. Haik and Mirasol aren't ''prevented'' from being together, but all the traumas happening to them [[RealityEnsues seriously strain their relationship(s).]]

** In the twelfth chapter, the kraken notes that this is a problem with Haik because he's a DeityOfHumanOrigin--despite his immortality and powers, [[RealityEnsues his heart is still human.]]

* OnlyChildSyndrome: AvertedTrope quite strongly. Haik starts out as TheAloner, but his main myth as the Whale Rider notes that he has a younger brother who tried to kill him. He doesn't talk about his family for a ''long'' time, but once he does, he reveals quite a healthy family of [[TheClan five cousins, an aunt and uncle, and an older sister.]] He and Mirasol also averted this in the newly-colonized Philippines--while [[AdultFear losing their first daughter]] definitely traumatized them, they didn't STOP having kids.

** Haik is called a "tricksome" god in the myth of the sambar-prince and he's been noted to TakeAThirdOption when solving problems; it's later revealed that he's a fusion of Paikea and [[TricksterArchetype Maui,]] so he probably split some of Maui's trickster aspects with his cousin Lumawig.

** In the conclusion, it's revealed that the gods' ''balangay'' mothership [[spoiler: is Lola the dragon.]]

** Mirasol's other past-life husband can't wrap his head around Catholicism's "weird" sex rules: Noblewomen CantHaveSexEver until marriage, and yet noblemen betrothed to them are [[DoubleStandard freely allowed to have sex with their maids,]] or go to prostitutes. He muses that in Tagalog culture, a betrothed couple can just have sex with each other [[CaptainObvious since they're gonna have sex anyway,]] and that regardless of social status, a man who boinks another woman during his engagement is deemed to be [[YourCheatingHeart having an affair.]]

** The sea in general is dangerous, and the st arrival of ''many'' threatening sea-creatures is constantly [[RealityEnsues sending the immigrants into mass-panics.]]

** The sea in general is a dangerous place, and the unexplained arrival of ''many'' wild and threatening sea-creatures is constantly [[RealityEnsues sending the immigrants into mass-panics.]]

''[[https://hitrecord.org/albums/3308487/ The Crocodile God]]'' is an in-progress TroperWork by {{Tropers/Sharysa}}, initially posted on [=HitRECord=], then her social-media, [[https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-crocodile-god the Inkshares website,]] and [[https://www.inkitt.com/stories/fantasy/211084?utm_source=shared_web the Inkitt website.]] Like many of her works, this is an UrbanFantasy that's ''heavy'' on the fantasy.

** Mirasol accidentally gets caught in a vision that's slightly after [[CreationMyth the beginning of the world,]] where Haik's abusive volcano-god grandfather [[UsedToBeASweetKid was once a friendly young man.]] Lola the dragon notes that [[RealityEnsues he couldn't cope with all the changes in society as he aged,]] and since they both grew up in a harsher time when TheOldGods and humans [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking frequently fought and killed each other,]] the volcano-god might have attacked his grandsons when they tried to ask for fire back because [[DentedIron he thought they were going to kill him for getting old.]] She muses that if she'd heard how he was doing in time [[TrueCompanions to help him process his feelings,]] [[ItsAllMyFault she could have stopped the family fight.]] Mirasol, who hated him in a previous chapter, now finds herself wondering if the volcano-god was actually lonely/fearful about his age catching up to him, but [[TragicVillain unable to talk about it without anger because of how he was raised.]]

** Lola the dragon tells Mirasol that she and Haik's grandfather were [[TheNameless born before humans started giving things names,]] and they are largely {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s of nature. While they enjoy worship, they don't ''need'' it nearly as much as the young gods like Haik and Bathala (seeing as Haik's grandfather took fire away from his own worshipers, due to perceived lack of respect).

** In the conclusion: After Haik has been tossed off of ICE's corvette to [[PrimalFear either drown in the open ocean]] or [[SeaMonster get eaten by hostile sea-creatures,]] he's saved [[DivineIntervention by the other gods finally reaching him.]] Once he's hauled back out of the ocean, [[TattooAsCharacterType ALL of his tattoos have reappeared.]]

** In Chapter 16, the whale-goddess summons ''a massive horde'' of sharks, seabirds, and Humboldt squid, commonly known as ''el diablo rojo.'' They're initially happy to see Haik after so long apart, but [[GaiasVengeance quickly become furious]] when they find out he's getting deported again. During a fight with the ICE officers, Haik gets thrown overboard [[MakeAnExampleOfThem to make everyone else stop protesting,]] and they assume he's a goner. They aren't far off at all--the wounded Haik [[RealityEnsues sparks a feeding frenzy with his blood]] and [[OhCrap starts getting dragged farther into the deep]] when a nearby mob of squid [[HorrorHunger start eating their own wounded.]] Haik [[DeathSeeker just lets himself sink]] and mostly hopes that he passes out BEFORE he gets eaten. [[spoiler: Good thing the gods' ''balangay'' showed up so Lumawig could fish Haik back to the surface.]]