It's where my demons hide, oh it's where my demons hide.

[sphererpmod]

Who: Everyone
What: The August nightmare log.
When: August 13->28th
Where: All over.
Notes: Please check the plotting/notes for the plot and it's specific timing here! Also please run things by other players if you're doing them!
Warnings: Demons, creepiness, possession.

August Nightmare Log: Demons

Days 1-3

Like so many bad things, this nightmare starts in the middle of the night. It starts with the sensation that the private domes and moves outwards from there. For the first two-three days of the nightmare, you experience the sensation of being watched, even if (especially if) you happen to be alone in the space. As the feeling intensifies, characters see things out of the corners of their vision, and if they turn around, or look quickly, whatever they thought they saw is definitely not there. The things that they see are nothing more than vague shadows that could be anyone (anything) but if there ever was it’s gone when they look. As the times progress, people start to hear whisperings in guttral, perhaps dead languages but the sound is too faint for anyone with the ability to speak them to hear. It’s mostly just gibberish whispering from far away.

On the third night, something new comes along. It’s a discordant sound that has no natural reference. It’s frightening, but also beautiful somehow in it’s sound. If nothing else, it’s definitely interesting. Of course it probably gets less interesting and more annoying the longer it goes on, or if you happen to know just what exactly it is. However, the sound of it ushers something new with it on day four.

Days 5-10

Between days four and ten, the Unsound has done what it’s supposed to do, allegedly and it’s begun to summon demons into the Sphere domes that are affected with the nightmare. During the day, the Tall Pauls are more shadow than anything else, but at night they solidify. They solidify and become more frightening. For the most part, all they do is watch. Tall Pauls are described as: looking like a gnarled tree made of shadow, with large and hungry of eyes, and the twisting length of its too long arms and branch-like fingers and the crazed over-sized smile. (Basically? Slenderman. We’re kinda talking Slenderman here only with a face.) They will watch, they will loom and they will terrify and fed off that sort of fear. Tall Pauls only wanna be your friend, and sacrifice you when your ready for it! Hopefully it won’t get to the point where you’re ready for it.

Tall Pauls will particularly bother sleeping people, children and those who have seen demons before, or those with the magical ability to shove them away. Go nuts.

Night of the Tenth Day->Day 14

Beginning on the night of the Tenth day and running til the fourteenth the Tall Pauls will be joined by their more terrible cousin: The Helvation. The Helvation is described as: “It's tall, hunched and black with gnarled teeth and hair. It looks old, ancient, as it slowly tilts its head the children finally see it, drop the camera and scream. And I don't know why I didn't notice this when I first viewed the tape. Perhaps I was tired, maybe I was asleep, but the creature... it looked like one that appeared in my dream last year, one that stood at the side of my bed” With the further description of the demon in her nightmare, edited for content (dream animal death). “And there was this woman standing at the end of my bed, she had long black hair and she was hunched over. But when she turned to face me, I could see that she had this crazy maniacal smile on her face. A twisted smile that literally stretched from ear to ear as if she had no cheeks, just this mouth - a dark mouth. [...] I wanted to scream but my voice was stuck in my chest. And it looked like the woman was laughing, her shoulders were going up and down. That smile…

“But all I could hear was a baby crying. I realized she wasn't laughing, she- she was changing into something bigger. Something wet and dark and horrible was coming. And this time, it wasn't coming from under the bed. It was coming from within the old woman. She- she turned and started crawling up onto my bed. Hitting me beneath the covers, my arms to my sides. Like I couldn't move. Her mouth opened wide, peeling back and the- the dark thing started to crawl out of the old woman. And I knew with absolute certainty that once it left the old woman, it was going to enter me.”

The Helvation will start by being creepy, doing what the Tall Pauls did times a thousand. However, it’s more violent in what it does. And it’s goal is the possession of the character. However, no more than one person may be possessed in a scene due to the nature of the singlar Helvation. Fighting off the demonic possession is going to be extremely difficult, and only possible for those with magical or psychic abilities or those who are divine. However, even that fighting should only be partial, as the demon is fed by the ability of the Sphere. No one should be possessed the entire last four days, and removing someone from the affected areas will definitely remove the possession. However, the possessed can use the network if the player is so inclined.

Any personal abilities that characters have are turned off by the demon, instead leaving them with super strength and telepathy is based particularly about character’s guilt and things that are in their pasts. (This is something else that players choosing to do this scene should talk about in advance. It can be feelings of guilt or history of the person possessed, just spilling the character’s own guts as it were, or surface reading from a second party.)

photo inspiration

Comments

[gristle]

Beverly is smart, and she's quick, and this person doesn't move like Tommy does. It's a difference in his body, the way that it moves like it's only borrowing it, so the move is telegraphed well in advanced and Beverly just dodges his reaching out for her. Even if it's for no other reason that she's not going to let this thing hurt her using Tommy's body and leaving him to deal with it, she's not going to let it touch her.

"Tommy may be a son of Mephistopheles," Beverly counters quickly. "But he'd never hurt me. And he doesn't want to hurt anyone else. He'd be upset that you were using this to try and hurt people, but I know that's not what he wants. Maybe it's what he thinks about sometimes, but that's okay. We all have things we think about sometimes that aren't good. But Tommy wouldn't do that. He's a good person. And it doesn't matter who his father or biological family is. It doesn't make him a monster."

[doubled_speed]

"We are the monsters we come from," he hisses, and lunges again. "Damn bitch, stand still!"

All he wants to do is tear her apart, just a little is that okay? Surely it is.

"Let me show you just what I am!"

[gristle]

“It may be what you are, but it’s not what tommy is. And I’m not going to let you use me to hurt him. Get the hell out of him already. Because he’s definitely not a monster like you are.”

[doubled_speed]

"He is. I am. We are," the demon in Tommy laughs, hand grabbing once more for Bev, going for her throat this time. His hands close over her shoulders and he grips, tight. No doubt tight enough to leave marks. Wants to shake her, but instead he pulls her close and sneers.

"And you'll see it. And you'll regret even trying."

[gristle]

When the demon inside Tommy grabs her, and drags her closer to him, Bev doesn't even think. She can't think, because this is too familiar and too... Well, everything. So, what she does instead is raises her hand and she punches Tommy squarely in the face with a scream. "Get out of him!"

[doubled_speed]

The downside of possessing is that the pains of the body are the pains of the spirit. And Tommy stumbles back a step, his grip on her gone. Because, well, his hands instead are coming up to deal with the pain. Which makes sense, because his nose is starting to bleed. Didn't quite break it, but damn it hurt. But he winces for now, staring at her in shock.

"How dare you, child?" he hisses, backing away a step. Perhaps this is not the best target. Perhaps another place would be better.

[gristle]

"Fuck you!" The words are spit, and Beverly's slender shoulders are entirely square up just in case she has to throw another punch at this thing inside of Tommy's body. Because if she hurts him again then maybe... maybe Tommy will come back, and Tommy is Beverly's brother and she loves him for that. So, her eyes narrow and she steps closer to him with her fist raise. "Get the hell out of him or I'll hit you again."

[doubled_speed]

The creature sneers down at her. As if she really could do anything. But the thing is, there is a bit of extra pressure pushing back inside, and with a snarl the thing gives one last glare. And then the darkness lingering at the edges of Tommy's eyes fades and he fells to his knees, unable to help the way he's crying.

[gristle]

Beverly doesn't even have a moment of satisfaction at making the demon leave. Instead as Tommy comes back to the eyes that had been so filled with such an intense malice, she bridges the space between them. As he falls to his knees, Bev is there to fall with him, and she holds onto him gently and carefully as he cries. "It's okay. It's gonna be okay." Her voice is reassuring and calm, despite everything that just happened. "It's okay, Tommy."

[doubled_speed]

Hard to say it's okay after that. Harder to believe it. But he just lets Bev hold him, lets her talk. Give it a long moment to breathe before trying to force confidence and amusement into his voice.

It sounds fake, or at least it does in his own ears.

"You really shouldn't punch demons in the nose, Bev. Kick 'em where it hurts."

[gristle]

Bev knows Tommy, and she knows him pretty well at this point, so his words don't just sound fake to his ears, they sound fake to hers too. But she knows it for what it is: he's trying and he's like Richie in that way, so she's going to try too. "Well, it wasn't as if I was thinking when it grabbed me." And Bev is quick and careful to say 'it' because it definitely wasn't Tommy who had done it and she doesn't want him to think that it was.

"I didn't break your nose, did I?" There's worry in her tone, and in her face when she looks at his.

[doubled_speed]

"You'd still need more power than that," Tommy promises her, a bit of a whimper in his voice still. "I'm designed to more or less handle crashes at a few thousand miles per hour. Last time someone broke my nose, they had super, super strength. But damn, you did pretty good anyway. Like, ouch."

Better to focus that. Not to think about the demon. Not to think about how he's shaking.

[gristle]

Still, even though she knows how fast Tommy can go, there's still the worry about it, and about him with everything that he's gone through and how he doesn't deserve it. If anything, Bev would like to find the demon and punch it again for the way that it's making Tommy shake like this. Tommy is a good person and her friend and fuck the demon for doing this. So, she's just gonna sit there with him, holding onto him for dear life until he's ready to move.

"I told you I was good at hitting things," she does add, though.

[doubled_speed]

"You are," he agrees, letting himself trust that hug. Just the support. He'd prefer not to do this, not to be seen someone as weak.

"You really are. Can see how you managed to take down a clown."

[gristle]

Beverly isn’t letting go of him until he lets go of her, even though she’s worried that the demon might try Tommy again. Of course this time, Bev knows how to get it out of someone so she’s going to start with that if she happens to see someone infected. They can be mad at her later if they wanna but at least there wouldn’t be a demon inside of them.

So Bev just confides something to Tommy in a low tone of voice. “It made me angry. When things make me angry then they don’t stand a chance.” Not IT and not the demon actually.

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah, I believe you," he agrees, laughing a little. Because laughing is just easier than admitting that things aren't great. It's easier to laugh. Because thinking about this sucks.

"Is... is it wrong to want my mom right now?"

[gristle]

Bev just sadly shakes her head when he says it. “No I don’t think so. I mean I would want my mom too if it were me.” And her mom hadn’t died when she was much younger than she is now.

[doubled_speed]

"Help me get there?" Tommy asks. Sure, he hasn't told Bev who his mother is, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want her help. Doesn't trust himself. "I need... I'll be safer around her."

[gristle]

Bev just blinks for a moment, and she just nods, because he's her friend and she wouldn't deny him anything. "Okay. Where are we going?"

[doubled_speed]

"Wanda. Gotta get to her dome."

He sighs and tries to stand, ready to pull her up too.

[gristle]

Bev takes his hand and moves to her feet, and she stays next to him. “Wanda’s your mom?” The question is just. So. So. So. Shocked.

[doubled_speed]

"Well, a Wanda is my mom. Of my soul. The whole demon soul thing? That was from the Wanda from my world. She's... another version of my mom. Ultron, the big robot guy? My grandfather. It's all confusing."

But she's safety, and he needs that.

[gristle]

Okay. That is just. Too damned confusing. It sounds like a soap opera. But Bev doesn't argue, and instead she just nods quickly, because she gets that it's safety and he definitely is in need of that right now. So, she just says "okay" and starts walking with him towards Wanda's dome.

[doubled_speed]

"And Bev? You're the literal best," Tommy assures her as they start walking. She's a bigger badass than he ever was at her age. Gotta respect that.

[gristle]

Bev just laughs softly. "You're just saying that so I punch you in the face if it happens again and not kick you in the nuts." It's teasing to take his mind off it, and she really just hopes that it works.