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LooseTimber
Super-Earth
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2013
The succubus is always portrayed as a beautiful creature, using it's allure to attract victims, draw them away to a secluded place with the promise of sex, and then feed on them in some manner or another, hopefully after intercourse, but perhaps before/instead of as well. The method of feeding or what is being fed on is of little consequence, as in most cases, their partners do not survive.
However, I have always felt as though demons were supposed to be inherently fearsome and hideous creatures. They are beings of absolute evil, and as such, it seems that an appropriate curse would be for their physical appearance to reflect their minds and souls (or lack there of), aka, ugly inside, ugly outside.
Where then, does this leave our succubus?
The logical choice would be to give the succubus shape-shifting and/or illusion abilities. This further helps the succubus, as it is able to take on a variety of forms and appearances, allowing it to move seamlessly from race to race, culture to culture, and keep up with the changing standard of beauty from era to era. It would also allow the creature to change from gender to gender, or at least create the facsimile of gender. (I have often preferred demons to be born unto the pit, rather than unto the womb, meaning demons, like angels, have no true gender, and no means or need to breed. The exception to this would be certain Fornication-aspect lust demons, who's sole purpose would be to create more demons in lieu of a pit.)
Ok, we've established that the Succubus can change it's appearance. Is there an unchanging aspect within this form, some identifying feature that remains consistent from body to body, face to face? We will leave this question for another time.
What then, does the beast's true face look like? Beastial, perhaps? A reflection of natural predators who's own techniques may be compared to that of the succubus?
In that light, two options present themselves.
One, the spider. The succubus would have an arachnid appearance, large, bulbous sets of eyes, prehensile jaws, long, spindly limbs (possibly more than a humanoid), and sections covered in protective chitin. Perhaps webbing, and venom could also play a part in it's hunt, ensnaring and paralyzing prey, once so willfully lead into the beast's trap.
Two, the serpent. A more reptilian appearance, perhaps similar to the naga, perhaps with or without legs. Venom could also play a role, slowing down and/or paralyzing prey.
Another option for the creature's appearance would be that of mockery. A creature being the physical representation of beauty corrupted, would have the physical appearance of those same aspects corrupted. Deflated, withered breasts, pustulating, mangled genitalia consisting of both sexes, scaly, putrid skin, and a horrid face, discolored, squashed and stretched in all the wrong ways.
Perhaps the variant I prefer the most is to draw from older sources, and base the succubus off the Gorgon's of Greek myth. As humans, the Gorgons were a group of sisters of awe-inspiring beauty. In their vanity, they claimed to be even more beautiful than the goddess Aphrodite (Venus). As punishment, the Goddess cursed them to hold hideous forms, with scaly skin, gaping jaws and tusks, wings emerging from their backs, claws, serpents for hair, and eyes so horrible that gazing into them would turn a person to stone.
While I might drop the serpents' hair and petrifying eyes, I think all other aspects are one's I would prefer to keep in the succubus' true form. Perhaps mix a little harpy in there, and add bird's feet, giving the Succubus more dangerous talons.
That of course, covers pit-born Succubi.
I still have fallen angels that became demons of lust to consider. However, it is conceivable that such beings would retain some or all aspects of their angelic beauty. The question that remains is, what are such creatures capable of?
Listening to - Clarence Yapp - Forging a New Blade
However, I have always felt as though demons were supposed to be inherently fearsome and hideous creatures. They are beings of absolute evil, and as such, it seems that an appropriate curse would be for their physical appearance to reflect their minds and souls (or lack there of), aka, ugly inside, ugly outside.
Where then, does this leave our succubus?
The logical choice would be to give the succubus shape-shifting and/or illusion abilities. This further helps the succubus, as it is able to take on a variety of forms and appearances, allowing it to move seamlessly from race to race, culture to culture, and keep up with the changing standard of beauty from era to era. It would also allow the creature to change from gender to gender, or at least create the facsimile of gender. (I have often preferred demons to be born unto the pit, rather than unto the womb, meaning demons, like angels, have no true gender, and no means or need to breed. The exception to this would be certain Fornication-aspect lust demons, who's sole purpose would be to create more demons in lieu of a pit.)
Ok, we've established that the Succubus can change it's appearance. Is there an unchanging aspect within this form, some identifying feature that remains consistent from body to body, face to face? We will leave this question for another time.
What then, does the beast's true face look like? Beastial, perhaps? A reflection of natural predators who's own techniques may be compared to that of the succubus?
In that light, two options present themselves.
One, the spider. The succubus would have an arachnid appearance, large, bulbous sets of eyes, prehensile jaws, long, spindly limbs (possibly more than a humanoid), and sections covered in protective chitin. Perhaps webbing, and venom could also play a part in it's hunt, ensnaring and paralyzing prey, once so willfully lead into the beast's trap.
Two, the serpent. A more reptilian appearance, perhaps similar to the naga, perhaps with or without legs. Venom could also play a role, slowing down and/or paralyzing prey.
Another option for the creature's appearance would be that of mockery. A creature being the physical representation of beauty corrupted, would have the physical appearance of those same aspects corrupted. Deflated, withered breasts, pustulating, mangled genitalia consisting of both sexes, scaly, putrid skin, and a horrid face, discolored, squashed and stretched in all the wrong ways.
Perhaps the variant I prefer the most is to draw from older sources, and base the succubus off the Gorgon's of Greek myth. As humans, the Gorgons were a group of sisters of awe-inspiring beauty. In their vanity, they claimed to be even more beautiful than the goddess Aphrodite (Venus). As punishment, the Goddess cursed them to hold hideous forms, with scaly skin, gaping jaws and tusks, wings emerging from their backs, claws, serpents for hair, and eyes so horrible that gazing into them would turn a person to stone.
While I might drop the serpents' hair and petrifying eyes, I think all other aspects are one's I would prefer to keep in the succubus' true form. Perhaps mix a little harpy in there, and add bird's feet, giving the Succubus more dangerous talons.
That of course, covers pit-born Succubi.
I still have fallen angels that became demons of lust to consider. However, it is conceivable that such beings would retain some or all aspects of their angelic beauty. The question that remains is, what are such creatures capable of?
Listening to - Clarence Yapp - Forging a New Blade