Howard Phillips Lovecraft

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (ハワード・フィリップス・ラヴクラフト,) is a former member of The Guild.

Appearance
Lovecraft superficially appears to be a tall, gaunt man with very emaciated features and dull, blank, dark gray eyes. He has dark navy, slightly wavy hair that reaches well past his waist, and is always seen pulled back so that it all falls behind him.

Clothing-wise, Lovecraft wears a white dress shirt and dark gray slacks, as well as a thin black belt around his waist. He wears a long tie, which is depicted as black in the anime, but patterned with a design of circles and diagonal lines in the manga. He wears a pair of dark gray loafers. Overall of this, Lovecraft wears a long, dark brown trench coat with three buckles towards the middle on each side. However, the most distinguishing feature of this coat is that it is in tatters, appearing nearly shredded at the bottom of the coat and at its cuffs.

When using his "Ability," Lovecraft sprouts numerous tentacles dotted with suction cups and holes along their surface at random intervals, and is undefined in length. In the anime, these tentacles are portrayed as a shade of dull green.

Personality
Howard appears to be a fairly odd person, for example, as he and John Steinbeck were chasing after the Armed Detective Companies Clerk's he was seen counting the wood grains before being told they weren't real. He also appears to be fairly nonchalant to battle, as he apparently fell asleep after being shot in the back by Kunikida.

After the Guild war, his oddness shows itself even more. As he states that since his Contract with Fitzgerald is null that he'll be going to sleep, and thus he walks into the ocean.

Ability
Great Old One (旧支配者,) is an ability that allows Lovecraft to transform either a part or his whole body into a monster with lots of tentacles. And in this state, he is only vulnerable from the inside. In addition, even after being destroyed from the inside by Chūya and Dazai, he eventually regenerates.

It is later known that Great Old One is not an ability as Dazai is unable to nullify it.

The Guild Arc
Lovecraft first appears with Steinbeck when he crashes his truck. He then, later on, appears with Steinbeck and the other Guild members during the conflict with the Armed Detective Agency and the Port Mafia.

Lovecraft then goes on to appear with Steinbeck after accepting the Mafia's proposal to capture the clerks of the Agency as bait, despite knowing that it was a trap. While chasing, Naomi and Haruno, Lovecraft, and Steinbeck are stopped by Tanizaki and Kunikida. They are later on seen fighting against Kunikida and Tanizaki but end up surrendering to the local police.

While in the city, he encounters Q on the streets by chance. He was then asked by Q to play with them. Thinking of a clown's balloon trick, he tries to give Q a dachshund in the form of his ability. Disgusted by what Lovecraft gave him, Q marks him using their ability. Lovecraft then transforms into a giant monster, scaring Q.

Lovecraft, together with Steinbeck, makes an appearance again where they both ambush Dazai who came to rescue Q. However, Chūya makes an unexpected appearance, resulting in their defeat and Q's rescue.

When the other Guild members were discussing the fate of the Guild, Lovecraft appears, mentioning something about a "contract" before walking into the ocean and disappearing.

Appearances
{{Appearance
 * Chapters =

The Guild Arc

 * Chapter 18 - Flowers and Autumn Leaves, Snow and Gold
 * Chapter 22 - The Strategy of Conflict
 * Chapter 23 - The Grapes of Wrath Ripen in His Eyes, Part 1
 * Chapter 24 - The Grapes of Wrath Ripen in His Eyes, Part 2
 * Chapter 26 - Will of Tycoon (image)
 * Chapter 27 - Upon the Shattering Shores
 * Chapter 30 - The Silent Tower and the Raven's Feast
 * Chapter 31 - The Twin Darkness
 * Chapter 37 - Closing the Party
 * Episodes=

The Guild Arc
}}
 * Episode 17 - Three Companies Conflict
 * Episode 18 - The Strategy of Conflict
 * Episode 19 - Will of Tycoon
 * Episode 20 - Though the Mind May Be Wrong
 * Episode 21 - Double Black
 * Episode 24 - If I May Shed Away My Burden Now

Trivia

 * His ability, The Great Old Ones is a reference to Cthulhu's origins, a 'Great Old One' is a God of extra-dimensional origins.
 * It is heavily implied by his dialogue about a "contract" with Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald that he actually is the "Great Old One" he transforms into, particularly due to him disappearing into the sea at the end of The Guild Arc.