Leave Cthulhu Alone.

[Realitycrash]

I'm a fanboy. Let's get that out in the open right away. I can take some humor in knowing this, and I'm aware how silly we can be. So, try to take all things I say with a pinch of salt concerning this topic.
NowI got something to say; Would you, all of you, leave Cthulhu alone?
I'm getting sick and tired of having to read about Cthulhu here, Cthulhu there, Cthulhu saves the world, Cthulhu can be summoned in fucking Little Big Planet, Cthulhu in South Park, blah blah.
How about Yog-Sothoth? Or Shub-Niggurath? How about everyone start learning the god-damn mythology of H.P Lovecraft, perhaps also actually reading a novel or two (for yes, I seriously doubt that most of you who have ever heard of big C have ever, ever read a single one of his works), instead of parroting Cthulhu into yet another internet-meme.

In short: Shut up, read more books, and stop throwing around a mythos you know nothing about (especially considering that Cthulhu isn't even the most frequently mentioned Great Old One, not by far).

 

[Mr Somewhere]

Now, Lovecraft wasn't the strongest writer in the world, but there's still something to be said about his works. He's had an undeniable influence on not just fiction, but popular culture. He's pretty much a joke now, thanks to the internet. It's a sad but true.

 

[Fat Hippo]

Hey, look on the bright side: Cthulhu's new memedom has surely gotten SOME people to read Lovecraft. I'll give you a good example: yours truly.

So yeah, some people will just throw his name around, while others will actually read about him. And as an admitted fanboy, shouldn't that make you happy?

 

[Brandon237]

instead of parroting Cthulhu into yet another internet-meme.

Now you know why people do this.
Now you also know why they will never, ever ever totally stop doing it.

Just look at the damn page for TvTropes Cthulhu Mythos! [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CthulhuMythos]

Remember these words or Cthulhu is gonna come for us all.
[small]That was kinda mean, I'm sorry.[/small]
[sub]But Cthulhu won't be...[/sub]
[sub][sub][small][small][small]Sorry[/small][/small][/small][/sub][/sub]

 

[Realitycrash]

Hey, look on the bright side: Cthulhu's new memedom has surely gotten SOME people to read Lovecraft. I'll give you a good example: yours truly.

So yeah, some people will just throw his name around, while others will actually read about him. And as an admitted fanboy, shouldn't that make you happy?

Actually, I started reading Lovecraft back in 2001, but I do get your point.
Mine, however, is that repeating something over and over will make it stale and bland. I wish people would make an effort to understand more of the mythos.

 

[PinkiePyro]

Hey, look on the bright side: Cthulhu's new memedom has surely gotten SOME people to read Lovecraft. I'll give you a good example: yours truly.

So yeah, some people will just throw his name around, while others will actually read about him. And as an admitted fanboy, shouldn't that make you happy?

seconded all the throwing about of cthulhu's image also got me to read Lovecraft's stories and I am hooked

 

[Suicidejim]

To be fair, if you reference Shub-Niggurath in a random TV show or game or something along those lines, you probably won't get many people who get the reference in the first place, since Cthulhu is indeed the most widely recognized figure on Lovecraft's Mythos.

Also, it really doesn't help that a lot of the creatures in Lovecraft's stories were indescribable monsters who could drive any man insane almost immediately upon looking at them. Makes them a bit hard to design. Cthulhu was one of the few creatures he went into extensive detail about.

Besides, I've been playing Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor lately, and while there are no Cthulhus in sight, you do get to control Nyarlathotep, so there's one non-Cthulhu reference for you.

 

[JCD2k4]

Why does this remind me of the unspeakable vault [http://www.goominet.com/unspeakable-vault/vault/1/]?

 

[Crazy]

Cthulhu doesn't have an ounce of the power I can muster in my lowest of days. He's just a gigantic squid.

 

[DJ_DEnM]

What I'm currently reading:

http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/103250000/103251003.jpg

Now I'm not too far in, but I do believe there are better stories than the Call of Cthulhu, like The Cats of Ulthar. One of my favorites so far.

 

[Realitycrash]

I'm a fanboy.

Aaaaaand that immediately invalidates anything you say as far as I am concerned.

If you know you are a fanboy then stop. What is wrong with just being a fan? Fanboy is an insult, I don't see why you would label yourself with that.

Because it was part of a semi self-depricating joke that you apparently didn't get. By calling yourself a fanboy before anyone else have a chance, you rob them of that rather childish argumentum ad hominem (which you used, despite me even putting a joking facade up. Good job, son!)

 

[MercenaryCanary]

ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu The Escapist wgah'nagl fhtagn!

 

[Realitycrash]

I'm a fanboy.

Aaaaaand that immediately invalidates anything you say as far as I am concerned.

If you know you are a fanboy then stop. What is wrong with just being a fan? Fanboy is an insult, I don't see why you would label yourself with that.

Because it was part of a semi self-depricating joke that you apparently didn't get. By calling yourself a fanboy before anyone else have a chance, you rob them of that rather childish argumentum ad hominem (which you used, despite me even putting a joking facade up. Good job, son!)

"I'm a fanboy. Let's get that out in the open right away. I can take some humor in knowing this, and I'm aware how silly we can be. So, try to take all things I say with a pinch of salt concerning this topic."

Doesn't sound like a joke, just sounds like you know you are a fanboy.

..And "aware how silly we can be". Geeze, it was a self-aimed joke. But fine, go ahead and don't get it, and ignore whatever I said. You're right as a forum-user.

 

[repeating integers]

ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu The Escapist wgah'nagl fhtagn!

I agree with this guy. Pure truth.

 

[OneCatch]

I'm a fanboy. Let's get that out in the open right away. I can take some humor in knowing this, and I'm aware how silly we can be. So, try to take all things I say with a pinch of salt concerning this topic.
NowI got something to say; Would you, all of you, leave Cthulhu alone?
I'm getting sick and tired of having to read about Cthulhu here, Cthulhu there, Cthulhu saves the world, Cthulhu can be summoned in fucking Little Big Planet, Cthulhu in South Park, blah blah.
How about Yog-Sothoth? Or Shub-Niggurath?

Sorry, its not going to happen. Same way that people aren't going to start talking about Darth Bane instead of Vader when it comes to Star Wars jokes..

How about everyone start learning the god-damn mythology of H.P Lovecraft, perhaps also actually reading a novel or two (for yes, I seriously doubt that most of you who have ever heard of big C have ever, ever read a single one of his works), instead of parroting Cthulhu into yet another internet-meme.
In short: Shut up, read more books, and stop throwing around a mythos you know nothing about (especially considering that Cthulhu isn't even the most frequently mentioned Great Old One, not by far).

I read plenty of books, but I really can't be bothered with Lovecraft just yet. It's on my list, but I've got another four Peter Hamilton books to get through, followed by The Complete Asimov.
I can't guarantee that I'm not going to make a Cthulu joke in the meantime. Don't let it bother you so much!

 

[Thaluikhain]

(especially considering that Cthulhu isn't even the most frequently mentioned Great Old One, not by far).

Yeah, I don't get this. Cthulhu didn't actually do much of anything, but gets all the fans. Though, that's only for Lovecraft, the followers tend to like Cthulu for some reason, and that would snowball.

 

[Zantos]

I would read more into Lovecraft's work, but... I can't read :'(. I just recognised the logo.

 

[Doclector]

The frog people of innsmouth are pretty interesting, although seemingly linked in with cthulhu. Their influence on popular culture is alot vaster, if you think about it. Resident evil 4's village? Innsmouth. Alan wake's Bright falls? Innsmouth. It's practically a trope of it's own, the town with a dark secret, a secret that demands blood and sacrifice. Personally, I'm a fan of the rats in the walls. A terrifying beast is one thing...

Spoiler

finding out you are the monster is altogether another.

I think what attracts people to Cthulhu is that it's plausible. We know less about the depths of our oceans than we do about the surface of the moon. Who's to say something isn't down there, something ancient, massive, and evil? Matter of fact...look up "the bloop" if you feel like questioning reality.

 

[Thistlehart]

This reminds me of a humorous anecdote from a few months ago.

I had purchased the Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft (because I would finally be able to read The Dunwich Horror). It is a gorgeous book, leatherbound with gold-trimmed pages and some trippy inkwork on the covers.

Well, I took it with me to read while at the laundromat since it generally takes about an hour. My roomate was with me, also with a big fancy book to read. Out of nowhere, this grubby old fellow came up to us and spoke a few words. Since I had my MP3 player going, I only caught a brief snippet of what he said and it didn't really catch until a minute or so later. It seemed mostly positive, though. I nodded and smiled at him and he smiled back and waved as he left.

After the aforesaid minute, I pulled out my earbuds and asked my roommate, "Did he just say, 'it's good to see two young men reading the Bible?'" To which my roommate responded, "Eeyup."

"Why would he think we're reading the Bible?"

"Well, for some people, it's the only big black book they've ever seen being read in public, and we're reading big, black books."

I couldn't quite process this, so I just chuckled and went back to reading about the demise of Wilbur Whately.

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

I recently bought a big ass hardback copy of H.P's (mostly) complete works, and it's awesome.
I was first introduced to his writing through The Nameless City, and while I had heard of Cthulhu before, I only discovered they were connected after looking into the rest of his stories.
While I agree with you that more people should study the history of characters before making fun of them, Cthulhu has been written and re-written by dozens of authors as both a serious threat and as a gag character for decades. He's slowly become a literary in-joke.