Cthulhu Mythos
By kawamata toshihisa
1) Why I’m doing this Honestly? I’ve always liked Cthulhu, and I wanted to make a series of images with a consistent format. Then it hit me: what if I build a lineup of the Great Old Ones… as dolls? Same cosmic vibe, but “safe-to-look-at” packaging. 2) Start here (links + what each one is for) H. P. Lovecraft ( Wikipedia ) The origin point. If you want the “who started this” doorway, this is it. Cthulhu Mythos ( Wikipedia ) A quick overview of the Mythos as a shared universe—more “a mood + recurring motifs” than a single strict canon. August Derleth ( Wikipedia ) Useful context for how the Mythos got organized, named, and popularized after Lovecraft—especially the post-Lovecraft era. Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game) ( Wikipedia ) The bridge from literature into “experienced horror.” Great for people who know the vibe but not the game. Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu Wiki: Sanity rules ( official ) When I talk about SAN, I want at least one anchor that’s clearly the TRPG’s own reference. 3) So what is the Cthulhu Mythos—and how did it become a game? The Cthulhu Mythos, in one sentence, is a loosely shared universe built on a simple premise: humans are not the center of reality. When people hear “mythology,” they often expect a neat family tree of gods and a clean canon. But the fun here isn’t a perfect encyclopedia—it’s the atmosphere : the world is too vast, and meaning doesn’t revolve around us trying to “understand” the unknown can damage the mind that tries the scariest part isn’t the monster—it’s that reality keeps turning, indifferent That’s why it still feels good when the same names or places show up across different stories. It’s not “everything connects!” so much as “the same cold universe is leaking through.” And it didn’t stop with Lovecraft. Other writers picked up the motifs, expanded them, reinterpreted them, and later people helped organize it into what we now casually call “the Mythos.” Now the interesting part: this “cold universe” isn’t only something you read. You can experience it through the TRPG Call of Cthulhu (CoC) . In a TRPG, you play ordinary people—investigators, journalists, academics—moving through a story by making choices, chasing clues, and occasionally… seeing something you shouldn’t. What CoC nails is that the danger isn’t only external. It’s not just “a monster hits you.” It’s: the more you learn, the more it costs. The horror isn’t only what exists—it’s what your mind can’t safely hold. Which brings us to the famous mechanic. 4) About SAN (Sanity): “If you see it, you might break” In CoC, you’ll often hear SAN : a “Sanity” meter. But it isn’t just “fear makes number go down.” SAN is the Mythos premise turned into a rule: knowledge has a price. Sometimes what you witness—or understand—doesn’t just scare you. It reformats you. In a lot of horror, danger comes from outside. In CoC, danger also enters the mind. The moment you realize what you’re looking at, your internal logic starts to fail. So if you depict the gods “as-is,” it can easily become too strong —pure shock, no playfulness, no room to breathe. Which is why I decided to take this seriously (and also not-seriously) and think hard about presentation. Because seeing their true forms may cause mental instability, we carefully considered how to depict them. 5) The Lineup (7 picks) For this series, the lineup is fixed at seven. Each one covers a different “flavor” of cosmic horror, so the set stays varied while still feeling like one series. Cthulhu — sea, sleep, dreams, drowned ruins Hastur — yellow, masks, theatre/ritual, reality slipping Dagon — deep-sea worship, coastal rot, fishlike followers Shub-Niggurath — forest, growth, swarms, horns Yog-Sothoth — gates, time/space, keys, geometry Nyarlathotep — many faces, words and persuasion, urban nightmare Azathoth — the center, blind chaos, noise, collapse of meaning Cthulhu Chunky felt tentacle fringes that read like soft seaweed, not a monster. Keep the face sleepy and oversized, with a hint of drowned-ruins texture in the stitching. Hastur “Theater prop” energy: tattered yellow hood, mask-like face panel, crisp costume seams. The uncanny comes from reality peeling, not gore. Dagon Wet, coastal rot vibes: fishy textures suggested through quilting and scale-like embroidery. Think barnacle buttons, damp-stone patches, and a slightly saggy harbor-town silhouette. Shub-Niggurath Forest-overgrowth plush: tangled wool, horn nubs, and layered fabric “moss.” Keep it cute but crowded—multiplying life hinted through repeated tiny motifs, not explicit body horror. Yog-Sothoth A gate made soft: orb-cluster shapes, stitched rings, and keyhole-like embroidery. The design should feel geometric and “wrong,” like a plush diagram of time-space. Nyarlathotep The human-close one: a clean, almost doll-like face with a sharp mask detail and immaculate seams. Add subtle “many faces” hints (swapable panels / layered masks) rather than extra limbs. Azathoth Plush sun-core chaos: fluffy flame-like tufts radiating outward, with a bright starburst glow at the center. Minimal facial features—more meaning-collapse than expression. 6) Dollify prompt builder # dollify_prompt_builder_v1 (generic) # Fill vars for any "Great Old One" / cosmic-horror character, then an LLM compiles ONE final prompt. format: "dollify_prompt_builder_v1" version: "1.1" vars: character_name: "<CHARACTER_NAME>" # e.g., Cthulhu / Hastur / Azathoth pillar_vibe: "<PILLAR_VIBE>" # e.g., sea & dreams / yellow theater / blind chaos signature_motifs: ["<MOTIF_1>", "<MOTIF_2>"] # e.g., tentacles, mask, horns, gates, stars palette: main: "<MAIN_COLOR>" # e.g., seaweed green / sulfur yellow / ember orange accent: "<ACCENT_COLOR>" # e.g., brass-gold / soot black / bone white glow: "<GLOW_COLOR>" # e.g., warm amber / sickly neon / starlight white material_primary: "<MATERIAL_PRIMARY>" # plush / felt / sofubi / clay material_secondary: "<MATERIAL_SECONDARY>" # optional: felt / leather / knit / vinyl toy_details: - "visible seams" - "patchwork panels" - "button feet" - "embroidered sigils (non-text symbols)" face_rule: eyes: "two oversized glossy glass-marble eyes" mouth: "tiny stitched mouth (minimal)" extra: "no teeth, no gore, cute proportions" silhouette: "<SILHOUETTE>" # squat round / tall hooded / orb-body / many-limbed (cute) base_props: ["<PROP_1>", "<PROP_2>"] # e.g., tiny ruins, candles, little mask, miniature gate background: "clean pure white seamless backdrop" lighting: "studio softbox, soft shadow under the doll, crisp fabric micro-texture" camera: framing: "front-facing centered product photo" aspect: "3:4 vertical" focus: "sharp focus on toy, shallow falloff" quality_tags: - "collector toy photography" - "high-detail fabric fibers" - "glossy eye reflections" - "clean edges, no clutter" negatives: - "gore" - "realistic organs" - "photoreal monster anatomy" - "readable text" - "logos" - "watermark" - "busy background" - "cropped feet" - "extra limbs" - "deformed face" - "low resolution" atoms: subject: who: "<character_name> rendered as a cute <material_primary> collectible doll" vibe: "<pillar_vibe>" scale: "small tabletop toy, palm-sized" build: "<silhouette>, <material_primary> + <material_secondary>" design: motifs: "<signature_motifs>" palette: "<palette.main> with <palette.accent> accents, inner glow <palette.glow>" face: "<face_rule.eyes>, <face_rule.mouth>, <face_rule.extra>" toy_finish: "<toy_details>" staging: base: "<base_props>" background: "<background>" framing: "<camera.framing>, <camera.aspect>, <camera.focus>" lighting: setup: "<lighting>" emphasis: "make seams, embroidery, button feet, and glossy eyes clearly readable" style: tags: "<quality_tags>" negative: avoid: "<negatives>" compile_rules: output: target: "ONE paragraph prompt (English)" max_chars: 1200 assembly_order: ["subject", "design", "staging", "lighting", "style", "negative"] hard_must_include: - "cute collectible doll" - "clean white background" - "studio product photo" - "visible seams" - "button feet" - "oversized glossy eyes" hard_must_avoid: - "any readable text" - "any brand names" - "any gore" You can copy-paste this into your favorite LLM and let it compile a final, one-paragraph prompt for you. 7) Wrap-up Making a series around a specific character can be really fun in so many ways. Give it a try, everyone. See ya, Iä! Iä! suno.com Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn! Listen and make your own on Suno. suno.com