we coughed up honey into the air

[possessum]

<sup>Who: Peter Graham possessum + open! Anyone welcomed!
What: March catch-all ft. a bunch of Jumanji event prompts and some general ones.
When: The month of March.
Where: The jungle, and around Trench.

Content Warnings: This character comes with demonic possession by default ; Corruption / demonic attributes ; Jumanji Jungle Level warnings ; a lot of Panicked Cursing ; others to be noted in threads</sup>

EVENT — JUNGLE LEVEL

➤ ENTER THE JUNGLE

What the fuck, man? Oh what the fuuuuck?

( —Whimpers the tall and thin young man beside you, voice rising in pitch as he tries to huddle in on himself, wide-eyed and terrified. Maybe you know Peter already, or maybe you're strangers to each other, but either way it's clear that your new Jungle Adventure Partner is less than enthusiastic about this.

It's also clear that he's going to be absolutely no use. For as your journey continues, Peter not only emits a variety pack of distressed noises on the regular (shouts, yelps, moans, groans, frenzied whispers, and teary mumbling)... he also gets into a lot of trouble because it appears to be that a) he has absolutely no survival skills at all, and b) he is constantly on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Really, it seems inevitable he's just going to die at any given moment. There are general things like Peter getting hopelessly tangled up in vines, tripping and falling over large roots, and zoning out and wandering off out of sight only to start crying out for you in a panic, and once or twice he just straight-up crouches down on the ground with his arms wrapped around his head, as though he can't take anymore, but then there are also the challenges— )

➤ QUICKSAND
( It happens before he can even process it. The game spits its weird riddle, and then the ground itself seems to be folding, melting, inwards. Peter screams (take a shot every time) as he feels himself start to sink. His fingers are clawing desperate at the softened ground around him, and he suddenly understands what's going on. )

It's fucking quicksand! It's fucking!! Quicksand! It's fucking quicksaaaaand! ( He's repeating this over and over and over, panicked, aware that the game has toppled over and is starting to sink too, but Peter's not at all concerned about it, doesn't even try to grab it. Maybe you can — maybe you're not sinking, evaded it by an inch or two, or weren't with him when it started happening, and just ran up now. Or maybe you're in as much trouble as he is..... or maybe not quite as much, given Peter's flailing around has caused him to personally sink even faster, and he's now covered all the way up to his waist. It's only getting worse. )

➤ RUSHING RIVERS
( Peter, who is possessed by an ancient demon king with a lot of equally ancient abilities, can actually breathe underwater now. Peter does not currently know this.

Which is to say, when the waters come, he thinks he's going to die. He's screaming like he's going to die, from where he's clinging onto a huge, tilted tree trunk for dear life. He'd managed to scramble his way up onto it as soon as the flood broke, but now he's trapped out in the middle of the water, screaming.

Maybe you hear him and scream back, or try to make your way closer. Maybe you're caught in the merciless flow of the flood, in danger of being slammed into any number of solid objects; maybe he can actually help get you onto his tree, or maybe you manage to make your way to it yourself. Hopefully it doesn't snap. )

➤ GIANT FROGS (NOTE: ONE ATTEMPTED EATING OPTION & ONE SUCCESSFUL EATING....)
( By the time the frogs appear, Peter's very tired. He's been made to walk for longer than he's ever walked in his entire life, he's sweating through his shirt, his hair is a wreck of curls entangled with little pieces of vines and dirt and probably a spider or two... Every once in awhile he smacks at his head, like he feels something crawling on it.

He's trailing behind whomever he's with, feet practically dragging the ground, when there's abruptly a yelp and if you turn, you'll see him staring in terror and pointing at something off to the side. Two huge black eyes peek out of the brush, where something wet and swollen and big crouches.

Peter's starting to breathe funny, like his lungs are too small: sharp attempts at air intake. He sounds like he's close to hyperventilating.

That's when a thick, ropey tongue suddenly lashes out of the creature's mouth and wraps right around his middle, as firm as a python. Peter...... screams, trying to flail around, slapping at the wormlike thing that's ensnared him, but it's not letting go. Maybe you can help get him out of this before he ends up lunch.

Or maybe, he's in the middle of a rant, because he's had it. )

I've had it! ( he declares suddenly, long arms lifting into the air with exasperation. ) This is stupid. It's so fucking stupid. Why're we even doing this— this little dumb game? This sick shit?! I'm tired, and I'm hot, and we've been walking for hours. I want to go ho—

( It's at that moment that a tongue lashes out, grabs Peter, and pulls him into a nearby frog's mouth before he or anyone can say another word. All six feet of him and his spider-filled hair completely vanishes. He has been swallowed whole.

There's probably a shocked silence for a long moment or two before panicked, muffled screaming can be heard coming from the frog's swollen body, within which Peter Graham is all crammed up. Whether you were with him this whole time or happened to be close by and witness this just now, maybe you can help Peter not get digested. Please help Peter not get digested. )

➤ TROPHY HUNTER
( By the time this challenge takes place, Peter's gotten separated from whomever he's been with this whole time. In fact, this challenge isn't even one he helped to summon; he'd long ago given up on the game and has just been wandering aimlessly, trying to find his people, when he'd encountered the hunter who was summoned from someone else's game.

And now here he is, running up to you, some wild-eyed, dirty young man with hair all over the place who appears from the brush. He seems unhinged. )

He's crazy! He's fucking crazy!

( You might be thinking yes, you are fucking crazy, when there's the loud crack of a gun from the depths of the jungle, and Peter flinches violently, ducking downwards and grabbing for your arm, voice a hushed, strained whisper. )

We have to run! He'll kill us, don't you get it?! He wants to kill us!!

( Maybe you're already well-aware of the trophy hunter and the fact he wants to kill you; maybe you were trying to hide, already. Or maybe this is brand new information to you. Either way, you're going to have to work with Peter to survive this.

.....You might die. )

GENERAL — THE MONTH OF MARCH CW: PHYSICAL DEMONIC ATTRIBUTES, RECREATIONAL DRUG MENTION

^{NOTE — As a Darkblood, this month Peter has the ability to see energy / auras / life force around living things, so feel free to include what colour your character would emit!}

( March is a blossom of strange things growing all over, and new worries bumping up against all the old ones. Peter largely remains a recluse, staying safely tucked away in the townhouse he shares with Luna Lovegood. There are things he has to protect: her, and a fresh new bond, and a young boy named Falco Grice who shows up trembling against the flickering ghosts at the corner of his vision. The boy stays with them for awhile as Corruption grows, spreads. Peter's kept busy in the early days of March, and will rarely be seen. But those who visit the townhouse will be invited in or met out in front of the house.

It's towards the middle of March that his own budding Corruption makes its appearance known again. This time, it's not so much a mental change as a physical one... Peter doesn't become some snarling thing the way he was back in December. He maintains his lucidity, his identity, everything that makes him Peter.

It's just that now he has a pair of large black horns sprouting from his head, as well as a long, thin, scaly black tail.

....It's alarming, to be sure, but at this point, Peter's... tired. Sure, this happened. Why the fuck wouldn't it?

And so, the boy who doesn't act like a demon this time but looks like one just kind of... continues on with his life. He's still mainly to be found at the townhouse, for any visitors, but on occasion he might be spotted around the city. He goes shopping for clothes, perusing various shops: a tall, gloomy-eyed young man with sharp horns and a tail curled shyly against his leg. He's... looking for shirts that button up instead of have to be pulled over the head.... He doesn't know how long he's going to be looking like some sort of Teenage Hellspawn, but until this goes away, he needs some more clothes that he won't destroy.

Or maybe you spot him crouching down near cobblestoned streets, looking about as depressed as anyone can, gazing listlessly across the street, one elbow folded over a knee. He's holding a joint to his mouth but not actually smoking it yet; however, when he notices you nearby, he tilts his head up at you (with some difficulty; the horns are... heavy), and gives a slight nod. )

Want one? Got extra. ( —Then, he'll be fishing through his hoodie pocket, drawing out a little bag of sour gummy candies (drug-free). Where'd he even get those... He has his ways. And apparently, he's willing to share. ) Got these, too.

( Or he can sometimes be found sitting outside under the shade of a tree, long legs curled into a crossed position, a number of books spread around him. It seems like some sort of study session, and closer inspection will show that they probably came from the Arcane Archives: ancient-looking texts bound in thick leather. Peter's thumbing through them, a pair of reading glasses pressed to his face. If you're willing to approach the person with the demon horns and tail, it's actually a pretty serene display. Flowers have popped up from the ground and a few haphazard other things can be found in little patches nearby: apples and bananas and.... a cabbage? Is that a coconut, too?? It's weird. This place is weird.

But maybe not as weird as the sight of Peter Graham actually willingly reading a book.

Or the sight of him... being so seemingly at ease about his demonic parts. He's even using his tail to his advantage, the scaly black thing poking through a book or two, slithering snake-like through the grass to find the pencil he dropped and returning it to his hand as he jots down some notes.

But he often does look up, people-watching, and if you're passing by, his eyes might drift to you — or maybe it's more at you. He sees something; there's some curious attentiveness, and he hesitates only a moment before asking, a little shy— )

Hey, uh, this might sound weird, but do I have like... a colour around me?

( If you're a fellow Darkblood, his own energy is a very dark, smooth green — something of phthalo and hunter and forest — rich and somber and quiet, and maybe a little uncomfortable, like the dark part of the woods. Anything could be looking out.

A second pulse is there up under the first: a second colour, or a cacophony of them. Flashes of gold amongst iridescent shine, alien colours that are difficult to truly pinpoint, flickering from those dark woods. If you look too long, too close, it hurts.

But maybe you can't see it. Peter wonders why he welcomed anyone to in the first place. )

---

WILDCARD / ETC

^{ooc ➤ plurk (skeletals) / discord (large bat#2354) / pm / Peter's plot post
As a note, I'm definitely open to the mosquito challenge or the perking up one despite not having prompts for them up. If you'd like to toss one of those at me, feel free!
Also, respond in prose if that's your preference, and I'll gladly follow suit.}

Comments

[opress]

We all can be violent. It depends on the power to exert, but power is strength.

[He didn't even pretend to understand how much damage a demon could do; all he saw right now was a humanling who had been wheezing and terrified to be faced with him. Certainly, this could be a ruse and the kid was actually just waiting to stab him in the back, but that was unlikely. There was a strong power that lurked under the surface, but it didn't seem to be stirring.

Ah, so Peter was still learning how to cope with such new power? Savage knew what that was like, learning a new element of one's body, experiencing a swell of power. At least Peter knew he was being controlled; he had not and still to a degree didn't believe that he was.]

Is the demon going to split you like a melon at some point then? Or you're stuck like this?

[Curiosity caused him to search for answers. He was unbothered by the scene, the dead frog, the fact that they could be attacked at any moment. The whole scenery could change and it might not matter at all to him. Peter was still on the ground anyway.]

I know what it's like to be owned. [He did; Maul did not.] Perhaps you should invest in being stronger so you're a better pet.

[possessum]

( The guy has a point. As much as Peter wishes he could feel otherwise, he can't. He's known violence long before the demon was forced inside of him. Humans can be violent enough, and no matter how much time passes, the thing he'll always fear the most is that violent, cruel part of his mother. )

His power... is strong, ( Peter admits, brow furrowing. ) But it's really... unpredictable. ( ...Like Maul's seems to be, actually. Peter can't help wondering if his younger brother has any more control over his own temper or not.

The question has him almost laughing, but it's more of a startled, anxious sound. It's such a horrible thought — but not one that's new to him. Not at all. There've been many nightmares about such things. About the seams of himself splitting right open from the impossibly bright being trapped within. Or Paimon blowing his mind apart in less literal ways — frying Peter's mental state until he's some mentally charred, unstable thing. )

I uh, really hope not. ( He winces, rubbing his forearm with his opposite palm. Learning how to adjust to life with this entity is still something he's having to do on all levels, including physically. Peter's still often... sick from the possession. ) But as far as I know, we're stuck like this. We did get separated once, back in Deerington, but.... it couldn't stay permanent.

( Peter's voice becomes quieter as he reflects back on it, before he looks back up at Savage with some surprise. He knows what it's like to be owned....? Was he manipulated and mistreated by the same Master as Maul? Or was it something else? )

I'm kind of... trying to. Not to be a better pet, but... ( Peter sighs softly. ) So I can work with him better. And... help people here, you know?

( As uncomfortable as it is to work with this thing at all, it's become painfully clear that Peter's going to have to. If he and Paimon can learn to work together...they can protect people. )

Your brother, uh... wants to help us with that. But I'm still not so sure it's a great idea.

[opress]

[Unpredictable power? Savage made a soft rumbling noise in his throat at the thought. That description was a good one to tell him that Paimon was even more dangerous. Like a kit who had an ability they hadn't learned when and where to apply their use it.] Can you tap into that power or have it lent to you?

[He wasn't so certain how the possession worked, since it did sound like a sort of potentially hostile living situation. His brother certainly seemed interested enough after all, which meant there had to be something worthwhile discovering about the two entities trapped in the same body.]

You two need each other for survival then. Perhaps you should concentrate on that aspect of this situation. It might keep you out of a carnivore's mouth now and again.

[He hummed and shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't big on helping people, though when he did, it was more because he had little else to do rather than a striking need to want to. He believed people needed to struggle and survive after all. It's how he had to live his life.]

My brother is a good tactical mind, and he does like to help in certain situations. You can usually trust him up to a certain point. [Maul wanted certain outcomes, and he wasn't about to suggest that Peter question his brother's line in the sand. Where he stood, Maul's goals were paramount.]

Paimon seems to like my brother. You clearly don't, as you likely shouldn't. He doesn't like to work around weakness much.

rolling around to my backtags, apologies! No worries if you prefer to let this go!

[possessum]

( Peter hesitates, still unsure how much he should be divulging, here. But again, there's really no point in telling anything other than the truth, is there? If this guy wants to harm him, he'll find a way. Peter's learned that well enough by now.

So, after a lingering pause, he finally answers, quietly. )

No, it's just... his. I think I'm kind of just the.... vessel. ( That word Paimon always uses to describe him. The container, the means through which the demon can function and exert his power. It's not like Peter can use these demon powers by himself. As to whether he potentially could someday...? Peter has no idea. He's kind of terrified of the thought. )

Yeah, I uh. I guess you're right. I should've tried to get him to take control or something as soon as I showed up in this place. He could've dealt with it... ( The demon king could probably easily handle the jungle on his own, with his plethora of abilities.

Peter's not even about to argue about the weakness bit. He knows how Maul thinks of him, and he's never tried to counter that. He just... doesn't want anyone he loves to get hurt by the Sith Lord, which is something that seems painfully inevitable.

But maybe he can find out a little bit more about Maul, since he's talking to his brother. ....He's also trying to steer the conversation away from Paimon before the demon starts wanting to come out and talk to this guy himself. )

From what I've uh, heard about his— I mean you guys' planet.. it sounds like a pretty brutal place. Is that just... how everyone is, there? Are there ever any periods of like... peace?