Ideals of evil shadowy ghosts real forms.

[ShadeZ]

So in one of my WIPS I have an group "The Beloveds" who are able to see a whole second world overlaping the normal human world and function as super soldiers of a sort within both worlds. You have evil invading spirit like beings which the humans of the world call the shades. If a shade wants too it can choose to be visible, it can polymorph to hide its true form and appear very pleasant. A beloved however can see them if they don't want to be seen, can see their true form, can sense them, can see if they are attached/anchored to a person, animal, or object. Their purpose is to fight these shades. If a shade consumes enough negative emotions and/or the hosts mind gives up and surrenders power to the shade then the shade can gain a tangible and often quite dangerous forms that look like rabid and sick animals, human corpses, and dragons covered in a jet black color that consumes normal light with eyes that glow any of a variety of colors EXCEPT blue. This is where you get the whole dragons razing villages from normally.

My question. What should the real forms of these beings look like? Should it look like their physical manifested forms? I kind of like the idea that no one knows how bad it could be if they manifest a body. So if you have one manifest its a roulette if you're going to get anything from a massive dragon to an evil demon ferret.

 

[Finchbearer]

The shades sound like parasites to me, and what use does a parasite have when it has no host? None.

To me it would be more appealing for them to not take any tangible form that we would recognise, like the djinn, who are like the wind, and therefore can’t really be seen by human eyes.

Omitting information can be just as powerful as lots of it, in my opinion.

 

[ShadeZ]

The shades sound like parasites to me, and what use does a parasite have when it has no host? None.

To me it would be more appealing for them to not take any tangible form that we would recognise, like the djinn, who are like the wind, and therefore can’t really be seen by human eyes.

Omitting information can be just as powerful as lots of it, in my opinion.

True but its told from the pov of several different beloved so they could see them? They also could be vague though "a shadowy figure" "a lovecraftian horror too terrible to be described in earthly terms" etc. Maybe the real form even has a sort of shock effect on humans because its that terrifying?

 

[BearBear]

It depends on their physical dimensions. If they're of a higher dimensional form, then they can pretty much look like anything. Same if they shape-shift comfortably.

So it could be like spirit guides and they come in any form the viewer expects, in that, the mind of the viewer makes it up because any 3D form they have is just like a silhouette of a higher order shape. Like a 3D form casts a shadow of somewhat arbitrary derivative shape, a 4D form casts a 3D form of derivative shape.

Otherwise if you want me to be specific in choosing one, then a fluff ball or orb of arbitrary color.

 

[Finchbearer]

I would also say that it would be interesting for them to appear differently to those who view him.

 

[ShadeZ]

I would also say that it would be interesting for them to appear differently to those who view him.

Theres a fear one that looks like a black vapor with white eyes and ears/horns but to humans appears as thinks they fear or dread at the time. So one may see a clown where another would see a spider etc being it feeds on fear mainly its form is conductive to produce "food" for it.