sickboy
Blissfully Ignorant
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« Reply #105 on: August 15, 2011, 03:50:03 PM » |
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We know that they live "forever", barring accident/murder/whatever, so they don't need to reproduce very often to maintain population size. What if the interbreeding with humans is, in fact, the only breeding they do? They only breeding they can do, even. Perhaps their species co-evolved with humans, and through some evolutionary quirk over millennia they lost the ability to reproduce on their own. In which case they are completely dependent on humanity. This would explain the apparent imbalance in the "trade", where the Deep Ones receive trinkets/sacrifices/"entertainment" in exchange for swarms of fish and freaking GOLD. The Deep Ones are probably doing a lot of work to bring all the fish, let alone manufacture jewelry.
This would also explain the story's conjecture that the Deep Ones could destroy mankind but have "no interest" in doing so. Indeed, it would be completely against their own self-interest to destroy the species they need to breed with.
This even suggests a non-ritualistic use for the human sacrifices they get: Perhaps they need human bodies for surgical purposes, to heal wounded individuals or transplant organs or whatnot.
Been a while since I read this, but this is similar to how I took it. I figure the Deep Ones have evolved an inability to breed (if they ever could) amongst themselves as a way to keep their immortal population down. This leaves them reliant on interbreeding to replace those killed in accidents/fighting/etc, or indeed to boost or even modify their population. I think I'm right in saying that Shoggoth are water-based but aspire to live on land? Maybe the events at Innsmouth are based solely on them serving the Shoggoth and bringing them out of the ocean? Someone shoot me down if I'm wrong! |
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Ruth - CthulhuChick
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« Reply #106 on: August 15, 2011, 05:50:04 PM » |
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Been a while since I read this, but this is similar to how I took it. I figure the Deep Ones have evolved an inability to breed (if they ever could) amongst themselves as a way to keep their immortal population down. This leaves them reliant on interbreeding to replace those killed in accidents/fighting/etc, or indeed to boost or even modify their population. I think I'm right in saying that Shoggoth are water-based but aspire to live on land? Maybe the events at Innsmouth are based solely on them serving the Shoggoth and bringing them out of the ocean?
Someone shoot me down if I'm wrong!
What were the Deep Ones created for, anyway? I wonder if the Great Old Ones created them specifically not to be able to breed. You create enough immortal slaves and then if you need more, you create them too. But you don't want them to breed so that they don't end up overpowering the Great Old Ones somehow. With immortal beings, that could eventually happen and they have forever to worry about. However if they discovered that they could interbreed...maybe a genetic accident of their/our creators by using too much similar material...then perhaps their plan is to eventually create enough immortals who are a bit more hybridized and land-friendly and just take over everything. |
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Genus Unknown
Cultist
Committed for Life
Posts: 1185
Spam Buster
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« Reply #107 on: August 15, 2011, 05:58:26 PM » |
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Maybe the events at Innsmouth are based solely on them serving the Shoggoth and bringing them out of the ocean?
If the shoggoths want to move to land, do they really need anyone's help to do so? Who's gonna stop them? Not a bunch of feeble little monkeys, that's for sure. |
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Chad Fifer
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« Reply #108 on: August 15, 2011, 07:29:00 PM » |
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In part two when Chad said the line about "getting gods who give you good stuff" it reminded me of this song- <iframe width="425" height="349" src=" http://www.youtube.com/embed/pznQiLHvWHE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Good call! That opening sample was on my mind when I said that - my band opened for Electric Hellfire Club a lot in the 90s and we toured around the Midwest with them occasionally - the lead singer Thomas Thorne actually produced our first demo (on their second album we get a special thanks - Pitch Black Manor). Ha - never would've thought in a MILLION years that somebody would catch the reference. I know I've used one of the tracks that Thomas produced at the end of one of our episodes, can't remember which now... -Chad |
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MediaGhost
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« Reply #109 on: August 16, 2011, 06:40:10 AM » |
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"Of course I had to sweep everyone back up. It was a total bust."
Epic!  |
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------------------------- "...there's more ammo for being a meeting room smartass in Lovecraft than any other author."
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Bob Lovecraft
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« Reply #110 on: August 16, 2011, 08:24:53 AM » |
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Maybe the events at Innsmouth are based solely on them serving the Shoggoth and bringing them out of the ocean?
If the shoggoths want to move to land, do they really need anyone's help to do so? Who's gonna stop them? Not a bunch of feeble little monkeys, that's for sure. See, personally I think the Deep Ones have nothing to do with any Old Ones master plans. They are frightening monsters who worship bigger, nastier monsters, just like all of the other races in Lovecraft. Tying them all together into a master plan kind of goes against Lovecraft's "shit happens" view of the universe as a whole. Bob |
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If someone ever dares you to read the Necronomicon out loud... just say no.
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Genus Unknown
Cultist
Committed for Life
Posts: 1185
Spam Buster
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« Reply #111 on: August 16, 2011, 01:15:26 PM » |
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Agreed.
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kulain
Blissfully Ignorant
Posts: 42
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« Reply #112 on: August 16, 2011, 04:23:56 PM » |
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yeah i dont think the old ones have any plans for the deep ones. if men are accidents, so may be the deep ones. like the degenerate cultists that worship white pulpy things in the swamps they might worship dagon but that doesn't mean dagon gives 2 shits about them.
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Ruth - CthulhuChick
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« Reply #113 on: August 16, 2011, 05:42:41 PM » |
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So all they want is love and companionship? Aww.... <3
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TheMediocreYoungishOne -Tom-
Unhinged
Posts: 143
Ex Astris Scientia
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« Reply #114 on: August 16, 2011, 06:42:44 PM » |
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So all they want is love and companionship? Aww.... <3
...and fried chicken for all! Wait... That's my presidential campaign slogan. Nevermind. Vote TMYO. |
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"I never ask a man what his business is, for it never interests me. What I ask him about are his thoughts and dreams." H.P. Lovecraft - In a letter to Maurice W. Moe, January 1929
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We are the Borgcraft. Your knowledge will be correlated. Insanity is inevitable.
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MediaGhost
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« Reply #115 on: August 17, 2011, 06:12:56 AM » |
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So all they want is love and companionship? Aww.... <3
...and fried chicken for all! Wait... That's my presidential campaign slogan. Nevermind. Vote TMYO. Well, first I'd like to hear your opinion on the issue of...did you say 'fried chicken?' TMYO 4 Prez! |
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------------------------- "...there's more ammo for being a meeting room smartass in Lovecraft than any other author."
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Bob Lovecraft
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« Reply #116 on: August 17, 2011, 08:12:57 AM » |
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So all they want is love and companionship? Aww.... <3
And human nookie. Never. ever forget the human nookie. Bob |
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If someone ever dares you to read the Necronomicon out loud... just say no.
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old book
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« Reply #117 on: August 17, 2011, 12:20:44 PM » |
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"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." --Old Man Marsh's son George, 43rd president of these United States http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Jcrk6jGfo(as in, "coeds"? "Know" in the Biblical sense?) |
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We live on a placid Rhode Island and Providence Plantations of ignorance in the midst of the black seas of an infinity of dark foreigners, and it was not meant that we should voyage too far.
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Danial
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« Reply #118 on: August 17, 2011, 12:51:47 PM » |
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I created a wordcloud for this story just tonight. For those who might not know, a wordcloud takes the most common words and sizes them proportionately. This is how it looked:  |
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Ruth - CthulhuChick
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« Reply #119 on: August 17, 2011, 07:17:10 PM » |
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So all they want is love and companionship? Aww.... <3
And human nookie. Never. ever forget the human nookie. Bob "Companionship." |
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