History Literature / TheCrocodileGod

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Haik's titular epithet of "the crocodile-god" isn't exactly warm and fuzzy (though see DarkIsNotEvil above). "Haik, who breaks the ships in his teeth" is even less so.

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: DownplayedTrope. After their whale-daughter died, Haik and Mirasol's next two children grow up serious, angry, and overprotective of Mirasol before they hit twenty years old, which causes their parents ''more'' distress.

* TheIllegal: Haik is an undocumented immigrant, and ICE officers head to Mirasol's house since the hospital can't find any records of him after a week. Mirasol gets a PropheticDream where her neighbor Claire (who is white) calls ICE on Haik ''again.'' That night, Mirasol's Latina neighbor Imelda warns Mirasol that [[TheInformant Claire either made the first call or she's gonna snitch on them later on.]]

** Nobody holds any illusions that the government will let [[{{Profiling}} "a brown guy with tattoos"]] stay in America, even if he hasn't done anything to anyone. Moreover, Mirasol's Latina neighbor Imelda [[GenreSavvy immediately suspects]] that their Caucasian neighbor Claire [[TheInformant either snitched on Haik to ICE the first time, or is going to do it soon.]]

* NamesTheSame: InvokedTrope. Haik the Whale-Rider shares an origin-myth and title with [[UsefulNotes/NewZealand Paikea of New Zealand,]] but has become an extremely different figure in the story's interpretation of Tagalog mythology. Moreover, Haik ''the crocodile-god'' is not to be confused with [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Sobek of Egypt.]]

** Nobody holds any illusions that the government will let [[RacialProfiling "a brown guy with tattoos"]] just stay in America, even if he hasn't done anything to anyone. Moreover, Imelda [[GenreSavvy immediately suspects]] that their Caucasian neighbor Claire [[TheInformant either snitched on Haik to ICE the first time, or is going to do it soon.]]

** Haik is an undocumented immigrant, and ICE officers head to Mirasol's house after the hospital can't find any records of him. Moreover, Mirasol gets a dream where her own neighbor Claire (who is white) calls ICE on Haik ''again.'' That night, Mirasol's Latina neighbor Imelda warns Mirasol that [[TheInformant Claire either made the first call or she's gonna snitch on them later on.]]

** The Spaniard shot Mirasol despite her loyal service, because even if he didn't believe Haik saying he was a god, he couldn't just let an ''indio'' man go around talking like that, so [[RevengeByProxy he shot Mirasol to make him shut up.]] MORE reality ensues when [[BerserkButton the enraged Haik turns into a gigantic crocodile]] ''[[PrimalFear and eats him.]]''

* TheAloner: Haik has slowly become the "other people technically exist, but he can't reach them" variant over the centuries, thanks to losing so many followers. Joined with TheLastManHeardAKnock, seeing as Mirasol is still with him.

* BroughtDownToBadass: After Haik was forced by the Spaniard to take back his claim that his children with Mirasol would be gods, their next two children are mortals... Who shapeshift and had SuperNotDrowningSkills from infancy/childhood.

* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: PlayedWith--it's not so much literal prayers that Haik needs, but ''followers'' to foster relationships with. He also points out the distinct difference between people ''believing in'' him, and people ''believing him'' when he says he's Haik.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Haik is a pretty cool guy, and frequently stated as sweet and gentle with Mirasol. He also destroyed a pirate ship by turning into a SeaMonster, [[HulkOut turned into a normal crocodile to EAT the man who shot his pregnant wife,]] and [[GoodIsNotDumb immediately goes into hiding when he realizes the ICE department is looking for him.]]

** The Spaniard shot Mirasol despite her loyal service, because even if he didn't believe Haik saying he was a god, he couldn't just let an ''indio'' man go around talking like that, so [[RevengeByProxy he shot Mirasol to make him shut up.]] MORE reality ensues when [[HulkOut the enraged Haik turns into a gigantic crocodile]] ''[[PrimalFear and eats him.]]''

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: After their whale-daughter died, Haik and Mirasol's next two children grow up serious, angry, and overprotective of Mirasol before they hit twenty years old, which causes their parents ''more'' distress.

* NamesTheSame: Haik the Whale-Rider is not to be confused with [[UsefulNotes/NewZealand Paikea of New Zealand.]] Moreover, Haik ''the crocodile-god'' is not to be confused with [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Sobek of Egypt.]]

* TattoosAsCharacterType: Haik's covered with indigenous Filipino crocodile-themed tattoos, with a full sleeve on one arm and extensive back tattoos (and this may be ''toned down,'' since Mirasol dreams of a past-life where he had his whole torso and his face tattooed as well). Mirasol and her friend Rahil [[EatingTheEyeCandy mightily appreciate looking at him]] in current times, but it [[RealityEnsues bit him hard in the ass in the colonial-era Philippines,]] since Mirasol's Spanish employer immediately recognized him as a non-Catholic ''indio.''

Things get complicated when Haik is revealed to be an undocumented immigrant, and [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly intensely traumatized from his lack of followers.]] Plus intensely traumatized from a LOT of other things, with the biggest source being Spain's colonization of the islands.

* BroughtDownToBadass: After Haik was forced by the Spaniard to take back his claim that his children with Mirasol would be gods, his next two children are mortals... Who shapeshift and had SuperNotDrowningSkills from infancy/childhood.
* DarkIsNotEvil: It's repeatedly stated that crocodiles weren't a bad symbol in native Tagalog society, as they were thought to be [[DinosaursAreDragons dragons]] or [[OurGodsAreDifferent gods.]] Moreover, Haik not being the whale-rider anymore and only answering to his "crocodile" aspect doesn't mean he's not a good person anymore--he's just [[DespairEventHorizon extremely depressed and traumatized.]]

* GoodIsNotSoft: Haik is frequently stated as sweet and gentle with Mirasol, and generally a decent guy. He also destroyed a pirate ship by turning into a SeaMonster, and [[HulkOut he turned into a normal crocodile to EAT the man who shot his pregnant wife.]]

* StarCrossedLovers: DownplayedTrope. They aren't ''prevented'' from being together, but numerous traumas [[RealityEnsues seriously strain their relationship.]]

* BroughtDownToBadass: After Haik was forced by the Spaniard to take back his claim that his children with Mirasol would be gods, his next two children are mortals... Who shapeshift and have SuperNotDrowningSkills.
* DarkIsNotEvil: It's repeatedly stated that crocodiles weren't a bad symbol in native Tagalog society, as they were thought to be [[DinosaursAreDragons dragons]] or [[OurGodsAreDifferent gods.]]

* NeverSmileAtACrocodile: Haik has crocodile tattoos and is frequently addressed as the titular crocodile-god.

** Haik is an undocumented immigrant, and ICE officers head to Mirasol's house after the hospital realized they couldn't find any records of him. Moreover, Mirasol gets a dream where her own neighbor Claire (who is white) calls ICE on Haik ''again.'' That night, Mirasol's Latina neighbor Imelda warns Mirasol that [[TheInformant Claire either made the first call or she's gonna snitch on them later on.]]

-->''Children should not feel the need to protect their parents. Not at their age.''

** Haik is an undocumented immigrant, and ICE officers head to Mirasol's house after the hospital realized they couldn't find any records of him.

* IHaveManyNames: "Haik, the crocodile-god, son of voyagers, who breaks the ships in his teeth."

** [[AdultFear The loss of his and Mirasol's whale-goddess baby]] traumatized both of them, and their subsequent children grew up deeply affected by both their parents' grief and [[TheOtherworld their spirit-sister's constant pain.]] Haik is so affected that [[ThatManIsDead he refuses to answer to his title of the Whale-Rider anymore.]]
** The Spaniard shot Mirasol despite her loyal service, because even if he didn't believe Haik saying he was a god, he couldn't just let an ''indio'' man go around talking like that, so [[RevengeByProxy he shot Mirasol to make him shut up.]] MORE reality ensues when [[HulkOut the enraged Haik turns into a crocodile]] ''[[PrimalFear and eats him.]]''

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: After their whale-daughter got shot in the womb, Haik and Mirasol's next two children grow up serious, angry, and overprotective of Mirasol before they hit twenty years old, which causes their parents ''more'' distress.

* AdultFear: In one lifetime, Mirasol's Spanish master [[ImperiledInPregnancy shot a pregnant Mirasol]] after Haik revealed his divinity and told him that their unborn child would be a god. Their later children grow up angry, warlike, and far too protective of their mother.
* DarkIsNotEvil: It's repeatedly stated that crocodiles weren't a bad symbol in native Tagalog society, as they were thought to be [[DinosaursAreDragons dragons]] or [[OurGodsAreDifferent water-gods.]]

* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: PlayedWith--it's not so much literal prayers that Haik needs, but ''followers'' to foster relationships with. He also points out the distinct difference between people ''believing in'' him, and people ''believing him'' when he comes up and says he's Haik.

** The Spaniard shot Mirasol despite her loyal service, because even if he didn't actually believe Haik when he said he was a god, he couldn't just let an ''indio'' man go around talking like that, so [[RevengeByProxy he shot Mirasol to make him shut up.]]

* ShoutOut: To ''Film/WhaleRider,'' through Haik's shared title with the Maori figure Paikea, and both stories' themes of (almost-)lost traditions.
* StarCrossedLovers: DownplayedTrope. They aren't ''prevented'' from being together, but there are numerous traumas [[RealityEnsues that seriously strain their relationship.]]
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: After their whale-daughter got shot in the womb, Haik and Mirasol's later two children grow up serious, angry, and overprotective of Mirasol before they hit twenty years old, which unintentionally causes their parents ''more'' distress.

''[[https://hitrecord.org/albums/3308487/ The Crocodile God]]'' is a TroperWork by {{Tropers/Sharysa}}, initially posted on [=HitRECord=] (where many of her written works are) and then to her Tumblr and Facebook pages. Like many of her works, this is an UrbanFantasy that's ''extremely'' heavy on the fantasy half.

* {{Mythopoeia}}: Not only in-story, as the tagline notes that the author is explicitly attempting to rebuild native Filipino traditions.

** The Spaniard shot Mirasol despite her loyal service to him, because even if he didn't actually believe Haik when he said he was a god, he couldn't just let an ''indio'' man go around talking like that, so [[RevengeByProxy he shot Mirasol to make him shut up.]]

** [[AdultFear The loss of his and Mirasol's whale-goddess baby]] traumatized both of them, and their subsequent children grew up deeply affected by both their parents' grief and [[TheOtherworld their spirit-sister's constant pain.]] Haik is so affected that [[ThatManIsDead he refuses to answer to his title of the Whale-Rider.]]

* ShoutOut: To ''Film/WhaleRider,'' both with Haik's shared title with the Maori figure Paikea, and both stories' themes of (almost-)lost traditions.

* DivineDate: Between Haik and Mirasol, across [[ReincarnationRomance numerous of Mirasol's lifetimes.]]

** [[AdultFear The loss of his and Mirasol's whale-goddess baby]] traumatized both of them, and their subsequent children grew up deeply affected by both their parents' grief and [[TheOtherworld their spirit-sister's constant pain.]]
* RuleOfSymbolism: Haik and Mirasol's unborn daughter was an extremely scaled-down whale calf, and their other children were shape-shifters who preferred to be crocodiles.

** [[AdultFear The loss of his and Mirasol's whale-goddess baby]] traumatized both of them, and their subsequent children grew up deeply affected by both their parents' grief and [[TheOtherworld their almost-sister's constant pain and sadness.]]
* RuleOfSymbolism: Haik and Mirasol's almost-daughter was an extremely scaled-down whale calf, and their other children were shape-shifters who preferred to be crocodiles.

* AdultFear: In one lifetime, Mirasol's Spanish master [[WouldHurtAChild shot a pregnant Mirasol]] after Haik revealed his divinity and told him that their unborn child would be a god. Their later children grow up angry, warlike, and far too protective of their mother.
* {{Deicide}}: Courtesy of the Spaniard in Mirasol's past life.

->'''''“I am the whale-rider,”''' he tells her, with the low engine-growl of a crocodile. '''“I am the son of voyagers, the crocodile-god, I break the ships in my teeth. Do you remember me?”'''''

The story begins when Mirasol, a Filipino-American young woman, finds a Filipino-Australian man called Haik half-dead on the beach, and takes him in after his emergency-room stay in the hospital is finished. She soon finds out that he's the Tagalog sea-god Haik, and not simply named after him, and that has had a relationship with her [[ReincarnationRomance across many, many lifetimes.]]

* RealityEnsues: It's bad enough to be a god suffering the effects of colonization, but when a god from an intensely communal culture as the Philippines [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly loses almost all his followers,]] the result is [[HurtingHero an extremely depressed and lonely deity.]]

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: After their whale-daughter got shot in the womb, Haik and Mirasol's later two children grow up extremely serious, angry, and overprotective of Mirasol before they hit twenty years old, which unintentionally causes their parents ''more'' distress.

** Moreover, [[AdultFear the loss of his and Mirasol's whale-goddess baby]] traumatized both of them, and their subsequent children grew up deeply affected by both their parents' grief and [[TheOtherworld their almost-sister's constant pain and sadness.]]

-->''An attempt to repair my people's shattered history.''

-->'''''“I am the whale-rider,”''' he tells her, with the low engine-growl of a crocodile. '''“I am the son of voyagers, the crocodile-god, I break the ships in my teeth. Do you remember me?”'''''
--Haik

--The tagline.

''The Crocodile God'' is a TroperWork by {{Tropers/Sharysa}}, initially posted on HitRECord (where many of her written works are) and then to her Tumblr and Facebook pages. Like many of her works, this is an UrbanFantasy that's ''extremely'' heavy on the fantasy half.