Basic Trope: A bleak, pessimistic setting dominated by unfathomable monstrosities from outer space... and wacky heroes who fight them and even have some success.
- Straight: An ordinary Joe witnesses a cult worshiping an inconceivably hideous alien god idol and discovers that said god is about to land on Earth, driving most intellectuals on the planet mad with revelatory dreams. Very soon, however, Joe is drafted into a secret Government Agency of Fiction created and equipped specifically to destroy the alien threat.
- Exaggerated:
- The Agency kills unfathomable attacking alien gods at least once a month. When they get bored, they go after them on their own. In fact, the only one of the classical Lovecraftian deities they haven't killed yet is Azatoth... but only because he hid so well from them.
- Azatoth doesn't hide, he's the head of The Agency.
- Downplayed:
- Every victory against the Eldritch Abominations is a Pyrrhic Victory. The Eldritch Abominations deal a lot of damage with every attack and their defeats are only minor inconveniences to them.
- The humans win, but only because there was another supernatural force on their side. It's hinted that this being is similar, and help humans out of Enemy Mine situation.
- If a true Eldritch Abomination is ever summoned to Earth, humanity is entirely screwed. Humans can at least prevent cultists from ever achieving this goal, and focus relentlessly on doing so.
- Azatoth and his relatives show up every now and then, but life is pretty normal otherwise.
- Justified:
- Humans Are Special.
- Alternatively the only thing special about the alien monstrosities is causing insanity in anyone without enough willpower and the ability to grasp the alien spatial warping. If the Agency can get past that, they could kill even the strongest ones with two shots from an elephant rifle.
- Another alternative is that even though these monsters are able to eat planets and drive men insane, humanity luckily has got a few abominations of its own up its sleeve.
- Humans Are Warriors. One race of sentient's response to an Eldritch Abomination may be to curl up into a ball of crazy; humanity's is to run it over with a space station or two.
- Humans can No-Sell the alien's Mind Rape powers and Brown Note appearance because we're already crazy.
- Inverted:
- An indescribable alien god comes to Earth in order to prevent World War III, teach humans their peaceful ways, and have some tea. All the Sleazy Politicians who wanted World War III to happen and worked towards that regard these events as the worst thing to ever happen.
- Alternatively: Humans Are Cthulhu.
- A seemingly typical Cosmic Horror Story plays out... in a situation where all the Lovecraftian deities are friendly, and Intrigued by Humanity to the point that they overrun Earth in a manner not dissimilar to stereotypes of tourists that are annoying.
- Subverted:
- Joe discovers that the Agency overestimated its power. [[Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu} Big time.]]
- The battle is hard-fought, the Agency getting the upper hand by the skin of its teeth... then the alien god decides that it's grown bored playing with insects and stops holding back.
- Double Subverted: ...but the surviving humans organize a desperate defense and by joining forces with the entire humanity, Joe kills the alien with a giant Combined Energy Attack.
- Parodied: A Villain Episode reveals that to at least some of the "alien gods," Humans Are Cthulhu.
- Zig Zagged: The Government Agency of Fiction destroys a powerful abomination, only to find out that they only defeated an Avatar. However, they eventually find a way to challenge the Eldritch Abomination itself... but it fails horribly. A last minute Heroic Sacrifice allows them to seal the thing away... but nobody's sure if they'll be able to do it again if it gets out.
- Averted:
- Extra-dimensional Eldritch Abominations never appear in the story.
- A Cosmic Horror Story plays out how it usually would.
- Enforced:
- "I don't care what the original author wrote! We are making a Cthulhu Mythos cartoon for kids!"
- The story is made lighter to avoid Too Bleak, Stopped Caring that can come from making a classic Cosmic Horror Story.
- Lampshaded: "These 'alien gods' the ancients aren't so scary when you have modern firepower."
- Invoked: "You say this ancient, unspeakable monstrosity devours worlds? Call your political connections; we're gonna need funding. And guns. And some nukes."
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: The alien god has a semblance of cruel human sense of humor, so it lets humanity damage it a little before wiping it from the face of the galaxy.
- Discussed:
- "You'd think that a... thing right out of a Lovecraft book would be invincible." "Lovecraft didn't know about nukes and lasers."
- "Let's show those abominations that they shouldn't underestimate or fuck around with the human spirit."
- Conversed: "Cthulhu's fate was sealed the moment they gave him finite Hit Points. No matter how good his defenses, the munchkins will see him dead."
- Deconstructed:
- Although the Government Agency of Fiction can defeat the abominations, defeating them forces them to take morally questionable actions, and many agents get dangerously obsessed with their jobs, are Driven to Madness after a lifetime of trauma, or simply lose their lives. As a whole, they're only somewhat better than their enemies.
- Alternatively, if the story is told through the eyes of the abominations, it turns out that humanity is actually one giant Hive Mind, who lies darkly dreaming indeed...
- Reconstructed:
- The Government Agency of Fiction employs the best therapists available and is held accountable for their Dirty Business; while they may not like dealing with the Obstructive Bureaucrats they have to deal with, it keeps them from getting anywhere near the Moral Event Horizon.
- Said Hive Mind turns out to be normally peaceful, and allows it's individual selves, well, individuality. It's only if humans at large unite as one that it's power manifests.
- Implied: A Cosmic Horror Story has a "Ray of Hope" Ending that implies, but not confirms, humans will triumph.
Back to Lovecraft Lite
