Argh. I didn’t know that, but it doesn’t surprise me. They seem to have lost anyone there with any creativity at all, doesn’t it? It’s like they only hire people who are good at business, but they became great by hiring those with great imagination, not good business sense. They’ve become totally money-obsessed, so the first people they let go were those who come up with the stories.
Michelle Schusterman on YouTube did an interesting video on how her books, which were originally published by Disney, were sold to Little & Brown because Disney doesn’t want to deal with any original characters anymore. Anyone who doesn’t write books about Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc. can no longer be published by them. It’s a small aspect of it, but reflective of the much larger problem with original stories, methinks.
I imagine PLENTY of writers want to sign with them, but only with their own original characters, and Disney doesn’t tolerate original characters anymore. So sad! Their greatest films all started as original works, so now there’s nothing original at Disney anymore. And I hard agree with you that we don’t need any more live action remakes. I can’t think of a single one that I preferred to the original. (♯^.^ღ)
Hmm, reminds me of five little monkeys jumping on the bed, and 99 bottles of pop. Not completely familiar with the second one, but it’s also a counting thing.
At the same time they’re making the animated Moana 2
Do we really need a sequel?
I wish they would stop making remakes and sequels and turn up something like the old classics.
Looks like an interesting video. I’ll have to watch that later, thanks
Same! I was excited about Lion King but then they made it so hard to distinguish the lions and there was just something odd… Mowgli was a disappointment, imo. They made King Louie look so creepy. I can’t even remember how the rest of the movie was like. I think there was a lot of talking.
I didn’t watch Aladdin (because of what they did with the genie. Robin Williams as the genie is the best) or the Little Mermaid (the controversy and I didn’t like what they did with Sebastian). I saw Beauty and the Beast, but the Beast’s singing sequence was weird.
Eh, no need to watch it. Here’s the skinny: she’s a middle grade author of a series based on original characters, and years ago Disney published her books and a lot of similar authors. Later they decided they weren’t going to have anything to do with authors of original characters, so they made a deal with Little & Brown and dumped all these authors on L&B. They simply don’t want any original stories, at least not for middle grade kids, which of course is their target audience. Weird! (♯^.^ღ)
Do the demons ever return to their home? Can they be, in a sense, unsummoned? Or do they stick around for however long they want?
Yes, essentially the soul is sent to death where Bastian greets them. The demon does keep the body alive, they inhabit the body as if it were their own, but demons have a tendency to not know their limits or treat their bodies well, especially if they’ve been demons for a long time.
For example, a demon of gluttony might eat and eat and eat until the humans stomach ruptures.
The demon could leave if they want, in which case, they return to Magma–but the humans soul cannot be returned to the body, and once the body dies it’s no longer habitable. Once a demon possesses the body they’re there until their host/husk dies.
That’s insanely cool, and macabre, I love it!
The larva looks really gross. It takes the shape of an almost blob kind of creature with tiny hands, feet, eyes, and a nose and mouth–but it doesn’t have any armor, and it’s skin is greyish. Their features are similar to that of the demon that sent them through.
OOh, that’s really cool! So, can like, lets say one personality/creature dies–does that mean the demon that replicated itself dies (or that part of themselves, anyway) or do they weaken? Does the personality return to them?
That’s awesome! So, they basically use the energies and stuff around them to become more physically present–but it doesn’t last for very long. I assume this is where the need for possession comes in if they want to stick around for longer?
Also–not exactly on-topic, but I wanted to ask how your demons become more powerful. Are they brought into existence already that way, can they go from a lesser demon into a more powerful one?
Yeah, I wanted to make it pretty miserable so the need for them to escape is more tantalizing and, in some sense, sympathetic.
No, not at all. When Bastian first took on the role as keeper of death, he once took pity on the demons and started to rely the year to them, but soon realized this was more tormenting, especially to the ones who had been there for centuries and had no idea. He realized the inability to perceive time was their one mercy.
Magma was created by the god Horphain–The Creator, when a man so profoundly wicked and detestable did some really corrupt awful things (as well as some blasphemous things to the Gods themselves). This man also “corrupted” (or perhaps influenced the evils in other men) others and they created this whole group/band who went across the world committing atrocities. The Gods decided that, after these people died, there was no amount of punishment they didn’t deserve, so he created the entirety of Magma and turned them into demons–sealing them away, so they would suffer forever along with anyone else who followed their path.
So one dude ruined it all, lmaoo.
Sometimes that can be the best way of going about things, ya know? I’ve noticed that with lore that gets a little too deep or descriptive can remove the mystery behind it and the necessary cool-factor involved to keep people hooked.
I do want to ask though, you said your world has angelic beings as well as demons. Do they have their own kinds of rulers? Like do your angelic beings obey a God/Gods? And do the demons have a king of sorts?
They are! I love animal companions a lot and have always loved the idea of familiars in a magical sense. And yes, these are the familiars I spoke of before! They’re essentially one in the same.
The two animals get along fairly well, though they treat one another more like comrades than they do friends, exactly. They trust one another to get the job done and rely on the others help when necessary. They both have a great amount of fondness for Bastian as well and are very loyal to him and one another, and can communicate with both him and one another via thoughts.
Ha! That scene made me giggle. Sharing taste-buds with a demon who occasionally devours lesser-demons as a nice little snack does not sound fun at all, but I love how you’ve done a humorous scene with it, very clever.
It mentions in the scene that Richard and Charcoal are connected to one another–does this mean they share all senses with one another? I know you mentioned before that Charcoal grants Richard the power to see into bits of the future (Charcoal being much more powerful at this, iirc). Also, their relationship sounds super friendly, would it be right to say that they have a sort of fondness for one another?
Woah that’s such an in-depth world-build, and thank you for sharing it with me! I think something like that could definitely work out–but it would need to be a place within the body. Hm. Perhaps a neutral space inside the persons mind? Ahh, you got my thoughts moving, thank you <3!
As for your lore–what types of demonic beings would want to help the humans out? And the angelic beings–can they/do they make deals with humans like the demons?
Haha! Very clever!
It’s cool also how you have resurrection in your world. So, you said that resurrection can only work a short time after death–how long would you say this time period lasts?
Like, lets say some mad scientists preserves the body of someone he loves. So long as he keeps the body preserved, would he ever be able to resurrect them, even years down the line? Or does this more have to do with what the soul of that loved one does after death?
Indeed! Exactly their thinking.
Bastian himself… he’s a complicated fellow. I think, on an objective level, he completely agrees with them and thinks it’s important to keep the two domains separate. However, Bastian also disdains the Gods and a more irrational part of him seeks to rebel against any ideas they have–even the good ones.
Haha! They sound like two peas in a pod, so to speak. That’s so interesting that they’re able to develop a cohabitable kind of relationship with one another. And living in Richard’s shadow sounds like such a clever way of having Charcoal stick with Richard that doesn’t involve him, per-say, living in Richard’s mind.
Also the fact that Richard is what some would call immoral as well helps with the whole dark humor aspect of it all! I bet they have a lot of fun together.
Demons can’t go home on their own, but yes, if the human wants them to leave, they can banish them. I haven’t thought of how they would. Maybe say the ritual words in reverse? But I do know that lesser demons can be sent back by a command from their princes or higher-ranks.
That sounds horrifying.
about the game
I found the game (it’s called The Visitor and it’s a newgrounds game) and I seem to have remembered the game wrong. It’s a slightly gimmicky point-and-click that’s honestly quite gruesome. You’re this little alien worm that came down on a meteor and your goal is to first eat creatures (by going inside them and blowing them up) to take on their features, and then kill all the humans in the house (the first, is a bit confusing to figure out, but the alien creature barely does anything), and then go out into the world. That’s where the game ends.
Sounds a little like the shapeshifting shadow beasts’ first forms from the World of Elgana. They’re transparent black blobs with a mouth full of teeth and red, pupilless eyes. These aren’t demons though.
So, do these larva have any intelligence? Do they communicate with each other? Can they talk?
What happens to the literal personality split
Thanks The part that dies just goes back to the demon and can always be replaced. It’s not a replication, but a manifestation of the personality. Or maybe you can say it’s a personification So, imagine if your personality is kind, funny, but short-tempered. You can create a creature that is only kind, or only funny, or only short-tempered and send them off to the land of the living.
Yes, exactly They need a host in the land of the living in order to stay there. If they can’t find one, they would become too weak to retain their bodies, and soon their time would be up and they will be forcefully sent back to the land of the dead. It pulls them back like a magnet.
Good question. I’m not sure if a lesser demon can rise in ranks (can yours?). What I do know is that demons don’t have a childhood and don’t grow up. They come into existence as is. So maybe, in terms of power, they’ve had it from the beginning.
In some sense, yeah, unless they were a terrible criminal Do the demons remember what they did as humans even after centuries have passed? Do the demons remember what being human was even like? Or, do they start to forget after a while?
And that’s how it all began! I like a good “how was it made” story
Well darn. Is that guy still there? Do the other demons know him and what he did?
I mean, you can go really deep if you wanted to. You just don’t tell the readers much of it How a demon comes to be isn’t talked about in detail in my story. While talking to a boy, Charcoal casually mentions demons don’t have a childhood, so that’s why he’s asking what it’s like.
who rules and about angelics
The demon world is ruled by the one and only Lucifer, of course I couldn’t not make him the king. He’s pretty cool. He can actually replicate himself so that he can go up to the mortal world and mess around if he wanted to.
The angelics’ lore is really, really underdeveloped I think they follow a god. Like…a good, godly god Angelics are even more like ethereal energy compared to demons. Many can’t talk. Lesser angelics are just white or cream-colored light shaped like humans with really thin, dragonfly-like wings or transparent feathers. High-ranked ones can communicate telepathically to their humans. Many angelics choose a human to protect and this is at random. Angelics have no clear facial features.
Just like demons give humans powers, a human protected by an angelic can get some of their powers. Humans are often not aware of their angelics. So, there’s a detective, Mallord, who can also glimpse the future like Richard. Mallord is protected by an angelic.
That’s nice I bet you have a lot of fun writing their scenes?
Yes! Awesome
what do Richard and Charcoal share?
Taste buds and some emotions.
They also share energy, sort of. When Charcoal eats a tasty, juicy human soul, it gives him adrenaline and a feel-good energy which also translates to Richard. This doesn’t happen to any other human (as far as I know). Richard has always been kind of vampiric in that human blood gives him adrenaline, and energy for his supernatural powers
They’re definitely like brothers I just love putting tiny little banter scenes in the story.
Tiny little banter scene
At long last, hat and cane for affluent statement, Richard made his way down the lane. Around the bend came rural Tupper.
“Tupper before supper. Tupper supper,” Richard whispered, smirking at the rhyme.
“Sometimes you are such a child,” Charcoal whispered.
“Shut up, C.”
Heh You’re welcome
do demons help humans?
Humans are really a lost cause They’re pretty much on their own. Demons get themselves involved in various ways which might not always be helpful. It depends on the human they contracted with. Richard’s ultimate goal is to get rid of filthy greedy rich people…by murder Yay Good old murder. Richard’s specialty. Charcoal helps him and in the process gets to eat some sweet, sweet corrupt souls. It’s part of the deal.
I already talked about angelics above, so I’ll just move on
Idk if I said that. Did I? I meant more like there’s a very, very, very narrow window where a person with the power to resurrect can resurrect someone who has just died. So, there’s a really low chance for resurrection to be successful.
Do you have any possibility of resurrection in your lore or is it just completely impossible for a soul to return to the body once the soul moves on?
ah, is that where his story is?
Ah, thanks Actually, lesser demons can live in minds, but usually they would rather do a full body possession for their entertainment and shove the person’s self aside. The person will be fully aware they are devouring human flesh and the demon gets a kick out of this.
Higher ranks are more sophisticated and will never do this.
Do you have differences between high ranks and lesser ranks?
Oh definitely. And so do I XD Most of the murder scenes, I try to make them sound ridiculous despite being horrifying.
after a murder scene
With a sharp turn, he spotted Richard on his hands and knees, making like a cat, trying to lap the blood. Charcoal shot his snake-like tail out, wrapping it around Richard’s body, pulling him upright.
“Do not stoop so low! It is incredibly unbecoming.”
Mostly I’m happy that I don’t have to worry about anything I like these days getting into the hands of Disney outside of distrubution. I’ve never heard about them remaking any of the Ghibli movies, for example.
In reverse would be cool, especially since it’s somewhat difficult to speak backwards, so not only would you have to have the ritual down fairly well you’d have to know how to chant backwards. Maybe it would be like they do the entire ritual backwards?
Ooh, so it ends on a sort open-ended way, to maybe rise questions for the viewer: does the alien intend to go out to destroy the world, do they wish to be normal and just did this gruesome thing to do so? Also probably to leave it open-ended enough for future installments if they ever wished to continue.
They sound super cool, and scary. The sort of thing that would provoke the thought of “I don’t know if this is kind of cute, or ugly.” lmao.
They can really only communicate with the demon who sent them through, and the demon only sends one through at a time, so it doesn’t work as a hive-mind thing–although, now that you say that, it may be more interesting for them to be a hive-mind. It would certainly make the demon’s goal of finding a sutible host far less strenuous and, logically, if they could send more than one through then they would. Hmm… you have given me new ideas! Thank you!
Ahh, so it’s not like they’re a fully-formed individual then, interesting.
So, when they return to the demon, do they return with their new experiences/memories? Does that affect the demon at all–like, is he able to gather new information, or perhaps reflect differently on experiences the personification of themselves experienced? Or does the information gathered by the personification sort of die with them?
Ahh, I see! So, is it Lucifer who sort of magnetizes them back to the land of the dead? Or is it more ancient than that?
That’s pretty cool–especially since your beings are considered ageless and sort of form due to energies and magic. Do demons ever come about for a particular reason? Does someone create them, or do they appear as they are?
Yes, through battle and sort of learning the ropes of magic, the demons gain in power and become stronger. It’s thought of as a natural evolution and devolution. Like, a lesser demon can become powerful (takes centuries though, depending on where they started out), and a more powerful demon can lose power if they–say–enter the mortal plane, are defeated, and sent back. They used a good amount of power not only to escape Magma, but also to possess a living host so they’re particularly drained.
Remembrances of their human life tend to stick with them, but the particulars often fade away, especially when faced with the torment they receive down in Magma. This is especially so because they are removed of most emotions, except for desire. They may not, for example, remember that they were a serial killer–but they remember the thrill of the kill, so to speak.
As for being human, kind of. They remember more so the emotions of being a human being, even if as a human they were more apathetic. They remember feeling pain, and pleasure, of anger and desire. For a being who is now faced with feeling nothing except for basic desires and not even physical pain, they long for a life when they felt these sorts of emotions–for anything except the abyss inside them.
Thank you!
Yeah, he’s still kicking around down there, he’s actually in the deepest pit of Magma (even other demons resent him) so they threw him down there and nobody really talks to him at all except to shout verbal abuse or throw some spears in his general direction. He’s probably the one that suffers the most down there, honestly.
This is a really good point I hadn’t really considered in depth!
Ooh! I like this! It sort of reminds me of how biblical angles are depicted as–sort of incomprehensible and if seen by mortal eyes even more baffling.
Interesting! So, you said before that Charcoal will stick around so long as Richard doesn’t find his angelic. Do all people have angelics? Do some die before meeting their angelic? Is there a sort of “battle” or antagonism between angelics and demons? Or do they kind of try to avoid one another?
Haha! I have fun writing their lore, but to be honest, they aren’t really mentioned too much in the actual story–sometimes they’re mentioned, but no-one really knows their intentions and most think of them as purely evil and sinful as the perception around them and Bastian is fairly… uh, negative.
One of my characters has a sort of casual relationship with the dog familiar, but they’ve never spoken prior to the events of the story (and when they eventually do speak, it’s fairly short). The dog familiar seeks to check up on her and protect her as per Bastian’s orders.
There may be more scenes with them in later installments, but as of right now there’s no set plans for them in particular.
Ooh, interesting, so is Richard himself a little inhuman? Does he get somewhat addicted to the feelings Charcoal and he share?
My apologies, I think I misunderstood or perhaps jumped thoughts too quickly ahh DX. I see, so when someone is resurrected it’s a pretty big deal–I like that, it keeps people guessing!
Resurrection is possible, but it’s super rare and can only be done by Bastian/other Gods. For example, the MC’s mother was resurrected by Bastian but he had ulterior motives for doing so, and did it in complete secrecy. The Gods frown upon resurrection because they believe life must have an end and working against that end is the antithesis to human existence.
Haha! It’s a huge part of where the story is. There’s somewhat of a tone-shift between the first and second books. The first is a build-up to the culmination of Bastian’s goals–which is, essentially, mired in his disdain for the Gods and works directly against them but this isn’t entirely revealed until the events of the second book transpire, in which shit kind of hits the fan.
Oof that is DARK, I love it <3
Haha, I like that they’re a little more polite. It paints an interesting contrast between the two groups. While they’re the same type of creature, they’re on entirely different levels. That’s very clever!
Yes, other than power differences, lesser demons are far more closer to their human selves than higher-ranked demons for example. They remember more of their life before, and are, for the most part, more startled to their chaotic surroundings. Some may even feel in denial, thinking they don’t deserve this path of death.
Their intense vulnerability, combined with their ignorance towards their own powers, makes for easy prey. Lesser demons are fodder for the more powerful demons, who take delight in torturing and harming them. It’s kind of like a resentful/cycle sort of deal. Every demon has been a lesser demon and had the same torture and horror inflicted upon them, and delight on inflicting that upon other demons–especially the weaker ones who can’t (and don’t know how to) fight back.
But there’s not any level of sophistication from one group to the next. Some of the more powerful and ancient demons might be bored by the constant stream of torture/battle, so they may hang around in high-places because they feel themselves above it all–but that’s about the only difference.
Ahh, I love dark humor like this!!
Haha! I love it. It’s not only humorous but also helps to characterize the level of indifference they both have towards bloodshed.
Favorite duo. My boyfriend and I have this saying called “bee farm” when we want two characters (who could be morally bad, could be morally good, but are always a duo) to basically live happily ever after together, constantly engrossed in their chaos. And I’m getting definite bee farm vibes from them haha.
I did think about that, but if the ritual involves a sacrifice, what would be the opposite of that? XD You can’t un-sacrifice something
There was a sequel but it was just the same game in a different setting. I guess they could have made an actual sequel. I haven’t seen it though.
lol, definitely XD Yours’ and mine
Didn’t mean to, but you’re welcome
Right, in terms of personality, they’re extremely specific. I have this one called Nightingale and she’s the personification of the “seductive / blood-lust” side of the original demon (who is also female). And Nightingale’s whole thing is to go crazy with hunting human souls which helps feed the original.
And about information gathered, the original can choose to look through the eyes of the personification and see, hear, and feel everything at the same time. They can also choose to wait until the personification returns and is sucked back into the original which does give the original everything the personification experienced or saw or felt or whatever. I’m thinking they see it in a near-realistic dream or vision or something.
Well, Lucifer goes to the land of the living and struggles to stay up there without a host. He’s so extremely weak because he’s being pulled. I’m thinking maybe it’s not a magical thing but more like gravity. Demons are resisting gravity.
Demonic gravity. Idk XD
This is where I have no idea. I haven’t done much research in demonology on this either to get any inspiration for anything. What’s it like for your demon lore?
I remember reading this manga series about demons and there was something interesting. So, there was this story of some lesser demons combating a problematic greedy human who was abusing their magical items. The demons spread a rumor about some powerful demon. The demon wasn’t real at all. But so many people began to believe to the point where the demon actually came into existence. Then it punished the greedy human.
I thought that was pretty cool.
So, lesser demons have some amount of power to start off with?
Are there certain things (like quota to meet?) a lesser demon needs to do in order to rise in ranks?
Is there a limit to how much power a top demon can have?
Speaking of power, does possessing adults, children, or babies require different amounts of power?
Are there people who are susceptible to possessions but can actively resist it?
Huh. If they remember the thrill, how is it a punishment for them to be a demon? I just wondered I think Richard would enjoy being a demon in your lore, to be honest XD He wouldn’t see it as torment. He would be thrilled. He doesn’t really care about the land of the living anyway.
This is probably bad, but it made me laugh XD It’s the perfect scene to make a dark humor one out of. I imagined demons casually chucking spears over their shoulders without a thought: “The demons strolled down the burning path, passing the pitiful pit where, supposedly, the guy lived out the rest of his death. Everyone hated the guy. He let all hell break loose, quite literally, to be honest. Nobody, rather, no-soul, would be here if it wasn’t for him. The passing demons chucked a few spears in his general direction, not caring if they all missed the lip of the pit (which they did), and went on their merry way. Just another day in Magma.”
Sorry, couldn’t help myself Hope you didn’t mind that.
Enjoy going deep into the pit of your lore
Thank you!
Okay, so it might be a little confusing, but people either have a demon or angelic or nothing. Richard has a demon only. He doesn’t have an angelic. Mallord has an angelic only. He will never have a demon (not to say he’s not super flawed, which he is). A demon in the land of the dead has its counterpart in the heavens, always. Even lesser demons have lesser angelics.
If they meet, they will have to fight. Even if both resist, they will be forced to fight. Now that I think about it, maybe it’s kind of like two energies clashing.
So, they avoid each other. Demons, who are more like animals, will avoid in an instinctual way. Angelics, who are more like an energy, will feel a threat towards them and would know that this threat could kill them, so they avoid it as much as possible.
So, these familiars go off to do things in the mortal world? Do they eat anything?
What if the familiar is ordered by Bastian and resists? Or maybe they can’t resist orders?
Yep, well, Richard was human fully at some point in one of his lives. Idk where it changed, but he’s practically magical now. He does enjoy the adrenaline Charcoal experiences after eating a soul. He says he could run laps around the neighborhood. Idk if he’s addicted. I would say he’s more focused on achieving his goals rather than these one-time feelings.
What’s Bastian like?
Just a fun question, what do you think Bastian would think of Richard?
Ah, so it is possible…Hmm, how do you resurrect in secret? Won’t the gods know when someone has died?
Speaking of secrets, are there any such things as wandering souls that are not demons but have not completely moved on yet either and continue to roam the land and possibly evade Bastian?
Are there more books or is it a duology? Mine’s a duology Richard was a minor villain in another book, and the duology more heavily focuses on him.
lol, thanks XD
Thank you! I just personally like the idea of sophisticated demons And I always imagined Charcoal to sound like a British elite gentleman with good manners and sarcastic humor.
That’s interesting! So all the demons have had a past of being a lesser demon and tortured. That means they can sort of get revenge. Is there ever a case where they get bumped down to lesser-demon status again?
Yay! I’m glad you do It’s a part of the book no one has seen yet
lol, I like that XD Richard and Charcoal definitely plan to live far, far into the future together
They love each other and despise each other, but it’s all good between them. I do like this type of love-hate relationship, so I have a few others. It’s not chaotic, but Mallord’s got one. I also have these policeman twins, nicknamed Spanky and Cricket, who are like that as well. They actually might be a little chaotic
That sounds horrifying.
So, imagine if your personality is kind, funny, but short-tempered. You can create a creature that is only kind, or only funny, or only short-tempered and send them off to the land of the living.
Do the demons remember what they did as humans even after centuries have passed? Do the demons remember what being human was even like? Or, do they start to forget after a while?
I think they follow a god. Like…a good, godly god 
Angelics are even more like ethereal energy compared to demons. Many can’t talk. Lesser angelics are just white or cream-colored light shaped like humans with really thin, dragonfly-like wings or transparent feathers. High-ranked ones can communicate telepathically to their humans. Many angelics choose a human to protect and this is at random. Angelics have no clear facial features.
Yay 
