Breel

Breel is a supporting character in the webcomic Housepets! by Rick Griffin.
He’s a sweet pine marten who died somewhere in the 1860s and became a denizen of Heaven, where he met, guided and eventually fell in love with the wealthy ferret, Keene Milton, even choosing to reincarnate back to life to stay with his new boyfriend in his town of Babylon’s Gardens.
He's the tritagonist of the chapter ”The 4 Animals you Meet in Heaven” and of the arc "Temple Crashers 2" (as well as the book based on said arc: Housepets! Can’t Always Get What They Want) and later as a minor character in "The Hot Springs Episode", "Hot Springs Encore and the arc "My Life as a Teenage Squirrel" and, later still, as a supporting character in the arc "HECKRAISER".
He made his first appearance in the strip “The First”.
==Appearance==
Breel, like all American martens, is a small, elongated critter with a spindly, fluffy tail and brown fur all over his body, except for an ocher patch on his poofy chest.
In addition, he has a large, dark brown nose, a prominent tuft of fur for hair and ocher eyes.
When visiting Earth as a “Muse” for Keene, Breel had a bright, angelic halo hovering over his head.When baking, he has been seen wearing two distinct aprons: one yellow and plain, the other pink, with “Kiss the Dook” written on it.
In the comic’s current art-style, like all other characters, Breel no longer has visible irises, and his hues became slightly more pastel.
==Personality==
Breel is a very sweet and kind individual, as one would expect from a Saved Soul.
Specialized in making the Denizens of Heaven comfortable and relaxed, Breel is always eager to help those around him, a welcoming smile always on his face.Breel is very patient and understanding, which he proved by sticking by Keene even as the latter was walking a dark path, trying all he could to save the ferret, who he recognized as a misguided extremist rather than evil, and eventually succeeding in reforming him, forgiving the ferret even after he had been very hurtful to him just trying to help.
The marten eventually shew just how much he loves Keene when he chose to reincarnate to stay with him, literally giving up Heaven for at least a couple decades (Cerberus even noted that no one before him had ever opted for reincarnation). As Keene’s boyfriend, Breel is nothing but supportive, even when the millionaire ferret goes off on pretty peculiar initiatives.
Breel’s utter purity is both a blessing and a bit of a curse, as he will often naively see the good even in people that are actually immoral and not just misguided like Keene: for example, he, at first, tried to talks things out with a homicidal NegaBreel and he believes salespeople to be very pleasant people, whereas Keene, who witnessed the true corruption that exists in the business world, is much less optimistic.In spite of his incredibly nice disposition, even Breel is capable of annoyance, rolling his eyes when Duke used the “Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven” pick-up line on him (note that Duke, being a naïve child, actually uses pick-up lines as puns rather than to flirt) and quickly losing his patience at the Forgotten’s monotonous monologues on his nature as a being of pure nothingness.
Furthermore, when the people he cares about are the verge of doing something very stupid, Breel is willing to put his foot in the door and get a tad more strong-handed with his guidance.
Having died literal centuries in the past, Breel was a bit of a fish out of water when he was reincarnated into the XXI Century, even breaking some household appliances when trying to use them. Ironically, however, he learned to live a normal, modern suburban life faster than Keene, who had previously lived a life of pure wealth and luxury. Terrestrial food was also something the revived marten had trouble getting familiar with again and his initial attempts at cooking were subpar at best; with practice, however, Breel got the hang of it and is now a skilled baker, even using baking as stress-relief, following Maxwell’s example (even though Breel had naively misinterpreted the cat who was, in fact, using “baking” in reference to drug usage).
Although pure-hearted, Breel appears to be not-so chaste and is not above some playful flirting: for example, his unseen phone background flustered Keene, and, in Breel’s words, should have given him a hint of the marten’s plans for him, very much implying it was a lewd picture.
It has been revealed, in the latest Chapters of the comic, that Breel’s pure kindness is due to him actually being the good half of the original Breel’s soul and, in his first life, the marten may have been much more morally grey, if not immoral.
==Biography==
===First life and Death===
From what little information is given on his past, it can be speculated that Breel was first born somewhen in 1800s America, living a life of implied poverty, as he claims he spent the Winters in the cold. Other dialogue implies that, to make ends meet, the marten had to resort to living as a criminal and had possibly gone to prison at least once.
Breel died during the development of the Transcontinental Railroad, therefore in the years between 1863 and 1869; when visiting the living as a spirit, Breel told a curious Duke that being hit by a train wouldn’t hurt him anymore, possibly signifying that a train was what killed him.
Like with all souls, Breel’s was split in two as he reached the afterlife: his good half ascended to Heaven, where he took orientation and became a worker at a massage parlor for mustelids; his evil half, NegaBreel, was, instead, banished to “the Bad Place” (basically, Hell), where it was twisted into a small, black t-rex-like demon.
===Meeting Keene===
When Keene Milton, a ferret multi-millionaire who desired true equality between animals and humans, had to attend some legal proceedings to initiate his egalitarian fight, the car he was on was sabotaged by PETA, a political enemy of Keene’s, resulting in the vehicle falling from the docks and into the sea below, the ferret inside with it.
Having fallen asleep during the car trip, Keene, now in a state of near-death, woke up in Heaven, mistaking the realm for a fancy resort.The confused ferret then went to the Weasel Massage Parlor, where he and Breel finally met, the marten welcoming him warmly and then giving him a bizarre, but very pleasant massage. Throughout the following hours, Breel and Keene, along with the workers at the parlor, hanged out merrily, the two bonding greatly. Keene, however, still didn’t realize he was in the afterlife, and tried to make a call home and pay a baffled Breel. Understanding Keene’s confusion, Breel took him to Heaven’s orientation spot, where Keene finally learned he was dead…and didn’t take it quite well.
After Keene learned some valuable lessons on himself thanks to Breel, Cerberus and the souls of his mother and his owner, mr. Milton, the pine marten hugged his new ferret friend goodbye as the latter returned to the land of the living, where he just barely managed to escape from his sinking car.
===Temple Crashers 2===
After the mischievous demigod, Pete the Griffin was finally defeated, his Temple in the Miltons’ backyard was free for the taking, deadly traps and monsters non-withstanding.
Keene had his sights on the Temple, as he wanted to reach the Mana Pool deep inside it. The Pool, with its immense Magic(k), made any thought of those who came in contact with it into reality and Keene planned to use it to create a world of pure equality between man and animal.Keene’s plans, however, put the fate of the entire world at risk and, when the ferret ignored all warnings from the cat witch Sabrina D’Angelo, Breel himself was sent on Earth as a spirit (a muse in his own words) so as to talk Keene out his misguided endeavors.
The “angel” immediately hugged his sweetly missed ferret, before telling him the reason behind his “haunting” was to help Keene get back on the right track, even if the latter misinterprets it as Breel being there to help him with his goals.
Having failed in venturing into the Temple himself, Keene held a Role-Playing Tournament with the pretense that the Temple was a simulation of a real dungeon, the Mana Pool being the Players’ destination so they could find it for Keene; due to the strong Magic(k) within the Temple, all who enter it would gain powers based on whatever costume or headwear they wore inside. The scheme attracted Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly Sandwich, as well as their friend, the writer Res Auburn and Grape’s boyfriend Max, who competed against Joey and his group of nerds. Eventually, Sabrina and her witch friend Tarot would also enter the Temple so as to stop Keene, with the help of K9 officers Mungo and Fox Lindberg.
Meanwhile, back at the Milton Ferret’s mansion, Breel discussed Keene’s plan with the ferrets, whose ideals had now become outright Darwinistic, and worried about the well-being of the animals Keene had tricked into the Temple quest, who, indeed, were at each other’s throats in a dungeon full of dangers with only expired food as sustenance.
Breel later introduced himself and had a meal with all of Keene’s siblings, even discussing his nature as a Soul on Earth with a curious Duke who, envious of Breel’s invulnerability, wished he was dead, to Breel’s shock.
After overcoming monstrous hordes and sadistic puzzles, the RPers eventually reached the Mana Pool at the core of the Temple and as required by the game, Maxwell read a paper that was given to the players, which was actually a spell that made him switch places with Keene and Breel, teleporting them right at the Pool and waking up a sleeping Keene, who was immediately attacked by a now huge Tarot. Thanks to his sleeping cap granting him flight and superstrength, Keene put up a fight against the Pomeranian, the two eventually spilling the Mana Pool in the process.As Keene tried leaping into the Magic(k) puddle to make his dream a reality, Breel stopped him right then and carried him away from the Mana. In spite of his demands, Breel prohibited Keene from passing, trying one last time to talk some sense into him. Overcome with rage over Breel keeping him away from his life-long dream, Keene shouted at the marten to go away, breaking Breel’s heart.
Immediately remorseful, Keene tried to apologize, but Breel had enough and obliged with him, leaving with tears flowing from his eyes.
One of Breel’s tears dropped into the Mana puddle, leading to disastrous results. As the tear carried with it a heart-broken Breel’s desire to disappear into nothingness, the Pool made that wish reality by opening a portal to “the Bad Place” and summoning the Forgotten, a terrifying, giant demon with the sole goal of making the whole World equal to itself, a.k.a. destroy it into nothingness.Breel and all of the heroes tried to stop the monster, but it was far too powerful, with only a giant Res, then in his Weretiger form, being able to hold him off. Breel, however, had already been sent to “the Bad Place” by the Forgotten, Keene quickly flying through the portal to rescue him. There, the ferret met the ruler of “Heck”, Eudoant who confiscated his sleeping cap, leaving him powerless, and made him into one of his abused workers, giving the first true taste of back-breaking work in his life. When looking for Breel, NegaBreel, still in his demon form, came to Keene, struck a deal with him and later helped him get his hat back and find Breel, who was luckily unscathed since he was an immortal soul.
Breel, however, was bound to his working post by unbreakable chains and, unable to help him, Keene could only apologize to the marten, now understanding that his ambitions were not worth losing his beloved muse.Breel forgave the crying ferret and, at long last, kissed Keene passionately, the power of love dissolving his chains, freeing him.
Pursued by Eudant and his demons, the mustelids, along with NegaBreel, finally escaped from “the Bad Place”, allowing Res to kill the Forgotten and seal the portal. The Temple, however, soon started crumbling, Breel and all the others visitors from Heaven being unable to help due to the proximity to “Heck” weakening them, while NegaBreel just teleported away. When the situation seemed desperate, Keene used the power from his sleeping hat to “wake up from the dream”, teleporting all the heroes and himself to the safety of his bed.Having survived the adventure, Breel and Keene finally spent time together as newly engaged lovers, but, soon enough, Cerberus arrived to retrieve Breel to Heaven where he belonged.
Breel, however, decided he wants to live with Keene and, in spite of Keene’s worries and Cerberus’ surprise, chose to get reincarnated back into a living marten, postponing his return to Heaven out of love for his boyfriend. After getting used to having a heartbeat and various other bodily functions again, Breel embraced Keene, both of the mustelids tearing up with joy…up until Maxwell barged in and ruins the mood.
===Living with Keene===
Having learned his lesson, Keene made amends with Sabrina and the other Pets, left the Equal Chance Program in the hands of Lana, his most responsible sibling and retired to a quiet and “normal” suburban life in Babylon’s Gardens with Breel as his partner.
The two now live together, with all the troubles that come with adapting to the life of a common XXI Century couple when you’re a marten who died in the XIX and a ferret millionaire respectively.
One, cold Winter, Keene even decided to rent an Hot Spring truck for him, Breel and all the other animals to use, getting in trouble with the police for having said truck obstructing the road, resulting in Keene and a distraught Breel almost being arrested.Later, in spite of no longer running it, troubles from the Equal Chance Program still caught up with Keene, who was assaulted by Marion Ward and Lois, two transformed human teens who (falsely) accused Keene of turning them into animals to empower the ECP. Luckily for Keene, Breel had prepared cookies, with which he pacified the two teenagers. The four later visited the Great Kitsune to find some answers and eventually found out that Herman Steward, Keene’s disgruntled former assistant, was the one transforming humans into animals with a cursed coin from the Temple, the magpie Trinket helping him.
Later, Steward would ally himself with NegaBreel to open up a portal to “the Bad Place”, letting Eudoant into Babylon’s Garden, which was swiftly quarantined and evacuated by the forces of Heaven, where all the inhabitants were put for the time being, safe for Craig and Draig, the reincarnated forms of Demigods Pete and Dragon, and Breel. Worried over his boyfriend, Keene volunteered to go back to Earth to search him, eventually finding him safe and sound, baking in the Milton mansion’s kitchen. Keene then (badly) drove the two of them back home.In the meantime, NegaBreel was given a fraction of Steward’s cursed coin as his reward for helping Eudoant, allowing him to finally change back into his original form, Breel’s evil doppelganger. In order to become “whole” again, NegaBreel set off to find and kill his good counterpart.
After various failed attempts at killing Breel stealthily, the evil marten forwent subtlety and just gave chase to the Breel and Keene with murderous intent, the two running off to Kitsune’s house in need of divine help.
==Trivia==
*Since Breel died somewhere in the mid 1860s, as the transcontinental railroad was being constructed, and one reference in the comic to the videogame Fortnite implies thatHousepets! takes place in 2017 or after; Breel is technically around 150 years old, if one counts the centuries he spent being dead.
**This makes him the oldest living character in the comic that is neither a celestial nor a demon.
*Since, upon being arrested for Keene’s blatant infringement of traffic laws, Breel worried over “relapsing” by going to jail, it’s possible Breel had lived a life of crime when alive.
*Breel and Keene were the second same-sex couple to appear in the comic, after the Zoo Kangaroos Bruce and Roosevelt.
*Strangely enough, Breel chooses to not cover his neck, even though a naked neck is the one form of nudity the Pets in the comic deem as taboo.
*His first meeting with the Milton Ferrets is a clear reference to The Last Meal by Renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci.
*Breel being in charge of the Weasel Massage Parlor made various fans mistake him for a weasel himself, when he’s, in fact, a pine marten.
*Breel being noticeably taller than Keene and his siblings is zoologically accurate, as, tail lengths excluded, an adult American marten’s body length is between 1.5-2.2 feet (50-70 cm), while adult ferrets usually measure no more than 20 inches (50 cm).
*when getting reincarnated, Breel claims he’ll live around 50 more years before returning to Heaven; in real life, the average lifespan of pine martens is 15 years.
*Breel is actually a French woman’s name, as it’s a shortening of the name Gabrielle. Fitting Breel’s pure-hearted nature as a denizen of Heaven, the original meaning of the name Gabrielle is “Woman of God”.
*Since he’s implied to have been hit by a train when he died, and his first question about the modern world is if the Transcontinental Railway had been finished, it’s possible that Breel worked at a railway, or at least had a train-related hobby.
*Breel is quoted among the testimonials of Housepets! Can’t Always Get What They Want. His testimonial reads: "A little piece of heaven on earth!"
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