The ocean remains to be the greatest mystery left unsolved in the world. Intent on cracking the case wide open, Professor Moondancer took it upon herself to figure it out, following in the first steps of so many who had failed to do so before her. As the questions began piling in and all seemed lost, however, there came a miracle, and with it, comes knowledge that had never seen the light of day.
With it, comes the answers she needs to understand everything.
With it, comes the only truth left worth knowing.
WARNING: this story goes into much darker, much grosser, much weirder and, on all aspects, more graphically descriptive in later chapters. If the idea of Lovecraftian body horror alone, among many other grotesque things, does not appeal to you, then I advise you to stay far, far away from this story.
This story is Cthulhu-free, despite it seeming otherwise.
What's a panthalassa?
I haven't read any of Lovecraft's work, but I have been suggested some, and have felt a strange calling towards them. Horror of that sort borders cathartic release of existential dread, I would imagine for some, and perhaps that is why some have said I ought to read that sort of style of writing. Plus, it helps that he was a prominent science-fiction writer, if a bit unorthodox (to put it lightly), and essentially created the first ever "fanfiction community" between himself and fellow writers.
I also haven't played Bloodborne, which draws parallels and comparisons to Lovecraft very nicely, but if I had a system that could handle it, I would definitely give it a go.
I also admit to not being much of a horror reader. It has never been a genre for me, not because I hate horror, but because it is rare for something of that genre to get my attention. And the horror of the unknown, the worst horror, as Lovecraft once postulated, is not a personal fear of mine.
That said, this story has me roped very much into the idea that I should give any of the above a chance. Usually dark fics are a huge hit-or-miss for me, but I'm willing to give this one a chance.
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Spoilers
8903641
Having read a bit of your stuff, I can definitely see why recommendations were made. There were some similarities in the ideas I've perceived floating around in your stories with Lovecraft's work from what I've read, with the only main difference being the direction that the stories eventually wound up in.
I'm not much of a horror reader myself, mostly cause the horror that I constantly found myself reading, both on this site and in the local bookstore, never really goes beyond the monster and the scares, and if they did weave out a lesson for the reader, it's usually a lesson that really can be told in other genres better than horror. On the contrary, I believe that the best horror stories would pose a great question with multiple answers, and it's something I'm trying my best to achieve with this story.
For now, I'm glad you gave it a chance, though keep it mind that it goes to really, really, really weird places in later chapters. There's no heavy violence, gore or graphic depictions of sex whatsoever, yet despite that, I initially set its rating to 'Mature' because of how grotesque I envisioned some of the upcoming parts would be. Here's hoping I wouldn't freak you out then!
8906630
Well, color me crimson, I've somehow landed on your radar long enough for you to actually read some of my (eh-quality) stuff!
Well, the disturbing and macabre are fascinating, if, well, dark. I'm in a forensics class right now and we've seen some pretty gruesome stuff so far. I'm sure a little bit of grotesque prose (by that I mean content, and hopefully not the actual words on the page) won't send me screaming off into the horizon.
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Yeah, I've technically just started reading your stuff a few days before putting this story out, since I'm juggling between writing Chapter 2, preparing a musical, a performance on Saturday to promote said musical and a general election. Anyways, I'm of the view that the quality of the story rests on its ideas, and you've got some that I found intriguing — March Street in particular stuck with me the most out of everything I've read so far — so don't sell yourself short!
Still keeping my fingers crossed on that one, to be honest. Here's hoping you're right!