Work Text:
Heavenly energy is nothing like miasma. It doesn't harm anyone. So no, demons aren't weak to heaven's blessing. In fact, they might feel a little nice. Like sun on their the skin of someone especially sensitive to sunlight. So maybe it burns a little, but demons aren't exactly averse to pain.
And there are weapons, yes, but only certain angels have weilded them. Even then, demon hauntings aren't so big an issue that demon-slaying swords or exorcisms are necessary most times. Sure, there's some assholes with a lot of power who will pick a house or family and turn their life into a living hell, but humans also have serial killers killing cats for the fun of it. Who's the real asshole here?
Anyway, demons have a law system to deal with the assholes, so humans should stay in their lane.
Yeah, the mortal world isn't lacking in demons. At all, really, but most of them made fair bargains. Some suicidal teenager, or a man who just wants his wife to be happy at the cost of himself, etc. They can choose to lend their body or give it up completely, and it's completely consensual. Sometimes it's not, but those demons are better off dead as far as anyone else is concerned.
Going through the works to get a vessel is as standard as a human getting a passport. Though it is less filled with beurocracy and more wish fulfillment. It's just a matter of the right demon finding the right soul.
There are, of course, some thing demons can't do. Literally. They can't actually force someone to fall in love, for example (though maybe the person is in enough need of something to give up their body, in which case the demon might manage to bargain two bodies at once!).
Overthrowing the government is very difficult as well, and demons are unlikely to take these deals unless the human is ready to lose even after striking a bargain. George Washington, for example, made a really good deal with Beltenday who lives by the River of Sorrow. The United States owes quite a bit to Belt.
Similarly, if an actor is convinced he's going to do a terrible job on show night and tries to recruit a demon to temporarily possess him, the demon would feel a little guilty if they know their acting skills are subpar. Most decent demons would not take such deals.
So different people required different demons. Duh.
Humans are honestly so stupid sometimes. Though, understandably, horror movies wouldn't sell as well as they did if they were accurate.
More than humans, Ryan Bergara was at odds with demons. No, he wasn't an angel, angels also have their own justice system that has nothing to do with common demons. Ryan Bergara was WANTED. Caps and all.
Bergara will swear up and down and all around that he was INNOCENT, but there's little evidence to prove it. And a lot of evidence to prove his guilt.
First of all: Bergara is innocent. Believe him on this (no, really. Don't listen to other demons, he's telling the truth!). He's a victim, really, sorta.
Here the tea:
Ryan Bergara's body was borrowed directly from his mother. The kid wasn't doing anything with it, and she didn't want to waste a perfectly good corpse! Logically speaking, anyway. Bergara's mom had had more sentimental reasons for the deal.
Lady could plausibly deny it till the end of times, but Ryan Bergara had been born still, and the only reason he breathed again was because they'd been lucky enough to catch the corpse before it set.
See, children are kind of stupid. Most are headstrong and push on till they're alive outside of their mother, but if they think they're dead? They'll move on without a single consideration for their suffering parents. Children, overall, have very little consideration for other people.
Mrs. Bergara had been stricken with grief, and her nurse Ms. Anita had offered her a choice.
A changeling. (That's Ryan.)
Ms. Anita's real name shall not be disclosed, for it is actually illegal to put baby demons inside human babies to be raised as humans. Look at what happened with Merlin! He became an asshole, it really leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
(Though Merlin was technically a halfling, not a changeling, his case was still used a precedent to argue against the creation of changelings. The Fae Act of 1438 prohibits both the conception of half-human half-demon children and the bargaining of human babies.)
Anyway, Ryan was put into the child's body, and like most demons, he fully matured as a devil at the age of 13. Lucky number. Being fond of his adopted mother, he refused to move on from his body, as most changelings do.
At 15, Ryan Bergara met an owl who was interested in recruiting witches. Looking at Ryan, the owl asked if he was interested and Ryan replied that he really shouldn't. After all, demons worshipping other demons is a little tacky.
They had a conversation, and in passing, the owl asked, "How long have you been Ryan Bergara?"
"Since birth," Ryan had replied, at first thinking oddly of the question. It struck him too late that this must be a common question for demons to ask each other.
The owl had fallen silent, and while owls can't really make expressions with their faces, they do get twitchy when they feel especially disgusted by something or someone.
"Since when?" the owl asked, fruitlessly trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Well, Ryan could hardly take it back now, could he? He still tried.
"It was...a joke?"
Ryan was a bad liar.
"You snatched a child's body?" the owl screamed (it was a barn owl, the ones with those awful hoots that sound like screaming in the night).
Ryan could have easily told the owl the truth, but there is one universal law that rules pretty much every species.
Snitches get stitches.
Not that Ryan is afraid of his demon mom, she's a nice person to be around, but that just added to the reason he didn't want to snitch on her.
"Um...it was nice meeting you, bye." Very quickly, Ryan fled the scene. The next morning, his demon mom came with mail (mom was a mailman). He didn't tell Ryan what the mailman had desired even though he always did whenever he got a new vessel.
Instead, he handed Mrs. Bergara a magazine and said, "Our son and I need to have a little talk."
Mrs. Bergara knew better than to join the demon talks. Especially if the mailman was as angry as his facial contortions made him seem.
Ryan started, "I can explain," but never got to explain before his mom snatched his ear and pulled him into an adjacent room.
"Since birth?" he hissed.
"It just came out!"
"Do you understand the consequences of snatching a human child's body?"
"But I didn't snatch it," he argued.
"He was recording you, Bergara! You have already been convicted as of last night!"
Ryan's brain was turning in human circles so fast, the only thing he could process was the timeliness of it all.
"That was fast."
The mailman hit the side of his head, clearing it enough for the panic to set in.
"Am I going to die?"
"So help me, you are going to stay alive, you little idiot. Why didn't you just say you were a changeling?"
"But then the owl would have asked me who did it..."
There was little the mailman could do against such loyalty. He slapped Ryan upside the head again and then hugged him.
"Silly human child," he said.
"I'm an adult, mom, stop." Ryan tried pushing himself off, but the mailman beat him in strength. He wasn't getting out of this one until his mom let him go.
When he finally did, the mailman said, "This might be the last time we see each other in a while."
Ryan gaped. "What?"
"It's terrible timing. I'd have bargained for a longer vessel, but this mailman was the quickest one I could find. There's a new law."
"Demon law."
"Yes. It seems the Exorcist Act has finally been passed. Demons aren't allowed entry to the human world for an indefinite amount of time."
"That's idiotic," Ryan exclaimed, grabbing the mailman's hand. "So, what? You're just leaving once you're done with this body? I thought you'd-" He hesitated, not knowing what he thought his mom could do. He released a frustrated growl. "Why did that stupid movie have to exist?"
"It wasn't the movie, Bergara. It was the asshole that decided to haunt it." The mailman said the word haunt with visual disgust, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, child, but I'm afraid you're going to deal with this on your own. Once I pass, I'll likely be put on probation for getting a vessel after the Act."
When Ryan looked panicked, he spoke faster. "It'll be a light sentence. After all, the act was only just passed. Instead of worrying about me, you should start figuring out how you'll escape the others if they find you."
Ryan paused. "Others?"
"To some demons, there are worse crimes than haunting or killing adults. Snatching children is one of those crimes."
"You don't mean-"
"I think you know that even human murderers commit crimes for the sake of justice." Sure he knew. Just the other day he'd read in the newspaper that a convicted murderer had killed a rapist after finding out the rapist would get out 40 years before him. The murderer's sentence had been extended again, for the same reason he'd been sentenced in the first place.
"I'm going to get haunted, then?" Ryan asked, not feeling up to it.
"No, child. You're going to be hunted."
Oh.
Oh. That was much worse.
"I- I thought I was going to be treated like a criminal, not- not an OUTCAST," Ryan yelled the last word, already seeing a future of running and running and running.
"Which is why I told you, you should have said you were a changeling. You could try to explain, but now I fear you'll meet a demon who won't want to listen."
The worry in his voice made Ryan squirm, feeling plenty afraid for himself, the mailman's fear piled atop his own.
"How am I going to live now?"
The mailman grabbed his cheeks and smooshed them together, forcing him to meet his eyes. "Like you have been. Don't let this stop you from enjoying the human lifestyle, Bergara. It's so much kinder in many ways."
Ryan didn't understand, for his mom had never explained to him why exactly being human was better than being demon. He may never find out. He searched the mailman's eyes, but found few answers save for his emotion.
"If someone finds me," he said, not finishing the sentence.
"You escape. You can run. You can hide. You didn't tell that snitch your last name, and there's millions of Ryans in the world. At least thousands in this region alone."
"There's only two Ryan Bergaras, though," he answered absentmindedly.
"No one knows your last name. Unless someone manages to find you first, you...should be fine."
Ryan released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, a nervous laugh escaping as well. "Why then...why did you get me all riled up and panicked. I'll be- I'll probably be fine, right?"
His mom looked at him dubiously. "I'll cross my fingers."
"Sacrilege," Ryan said.
"You're a very silly demon," the mailman said. He gave Ryan one last hug and said his farewell.
"Bye, mom. I'll miss you."
And like that, Ryan would not see his demon mother for...probably quite a long time. A few decades, at least. Possibly until his body expired, though that could take a while what with the demonic vitality and all that.
Ryan stared at his bedroom wall for about an hour that evening, imagining what would happen if a demon recognized him. He shuddered at the thought, knowing some horror movies are not wholly inaccurate.
But he'd be fine. Right?
(He would. For about a decade.)
So there you have it. Ryan Bergara is an adopted changeling. It was all very consensual and all that. No lying was involved in gaining his body whatsoever (though perhaps Mrs. Bergara lies to herself every day, but that's an issue she should talk about with their local demon psychologist).
But he's innocent! That's the important part. But now he's on the run and YouTube famous for a show that could very well cause his identity to be revealed, putting his life at stake. You'll forgive him if he's a litter jittery.
Okay, a lot jittery.
And people think Shane is the demon. Ha.