018 | Season Spirits

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Season spirits and spooky things
When: IC August 1-15
Where: The Near Shore and Far Shore
Summary: It's the time for spirits to get a bit more 'lively'.



August is a spiritual season in Japan with many people preparing for the Obon festival but many others get into the spirit in another way. All across Japan, people have begun to share their favorite summer ghost stories. Movie theaters advertise the hottest horror flick of the season, teenagers challenge each other to do trials of courage, haunted houses begin to pop up, and it feels like you can't change the channel without switching to some ghost hunting urban legend special. All of this talk about spirits comes at a cost, though.

July comes and passes easily enough but it's almost as if as soon as August begins, so do the incidents. There's an increase in spiritual activity and shenanigans on both shores. Some of them are harmless spooks but others are much more sinister. Arm yourselves with all of the ofuda and omamori you can find and get out there and restore peace!



Possessed Possessions

Inhabitants of the Far Shore may awaken to find their sheets trying to strangle them and shoes stomping on the floor around them. Others may go about their day and find out their teapots suddenly only serve lukewarm tea or their weapons are trying to take swings at them. They're just playful spirits that will abandon their hosts if you shove any ofuda/omamori at them or yell loudly enough. They aren't malicious spirits... they were only just trying to have some fun.

Spirited Festivals

There's a festival every weekend and some of them have set up haunted houses for patrons to visit. You have your standard haunted house thrills... costume make up, jump scares, special effects smoke, the usual! But it looks like some real ghosts have made themselves at home here. Visitors are going in and emerging hours later absolutely traumatized. It looks like once you enter, the real spirits walk you around in circles and give you real scares. There are some spirits here just to have fun thrills and these are spirits that can be chased away with regular ofuda. But it looks like the more violent ones are actually ayakashi out for vengeance. Be careful in there!

Cursed Charms

There sure are some weird trends out there, huh? The latest one is buying cursed trinkets off the internet and passing them off as gifts to unsuspecting victims whether it be to prank a friend or get revenge on an enemy. Cursed mirrors, dolls, fake ofuda, VHS tapes, and so on are being passed around the Near Shore and spreading all sorts of curses.

• Bad luck. As long as you're in possession of the cursed item, you'll be followed by bad luck to varying degrees depending on the quality of the charm.
• Fear. Holding onto this charm results in intense, crippling fear. The fear can manifest as an intense paranoia at all times or being frozen with fear in the face of danger. Some say you can even die of fright...
• Sickness. This charm is pretty straightforward. Having this charm just makes you feel incredibly under the weather and your health will worsen the longer you have the charm.
• Evil. Holding onto this charm results in you being followed attracting evil instead of warding it. Suddenly, you feel as though you are always being followed, as if something is stalking you and clearly out to get you. You begin to run into smaller ayakashi at first but they keep growing in strength and number until you can't fight anymore.
• Bad romance. Someone's meddled with a romance charm so it ends relationships instead of making them! People stuck with this charm are suddenly hyper aware of the faults of others. Everything gets on your nerves and you can't stand being around that person because they're just that annoying. It doesn't just work on couples! It also works on friends and relatives too.
• Bears? An oddly specific curse. It looks like someone has taken a protection from bears charm and made it so now you attract bears where ever you go. Some of them are nice but others...

You can try to destroy the charms but you will find that unless you have purification powers or rend it, the effects last. It looks like most people have been able to shake off the effects by simply disposing of them at temples and buying another charm to counter the effects.

Haunting Hour

There are reports of violent attacks at night-- people being pulled into alleys and attacked, school children being chased by slashers while walking home from school, homes being broken into-- and all of it is done without a single clue left behind to explain who did it. People are warned to be careful at night and as the sun begins to set, something happens. The hour between sunset and dark is supposed to be the scariest hour them all. At this time, the shadows are suspiciously bigger and darker and you constantly see things just out of the corner of your eye. Suddenly, the wind blows cold and there's a rotten smell in the air like blood. It's Oumagatoki, the hour evil spirits meet. Small time ayakashi and spirits on the verge of becoming ayakashi spill into the streets and begin to terrorize others. Protect the people of the Near Shore and watch your own backs.*

* These are just generic ayakashi! Nothing special, nothing specific. Feel free to make up and NPC your own two-bit ayakashi.

THEN WHO WAS PHONE?

In the evening, everyone will receive a set of coordinates and a message from an Anonymous sender,

I want to talk about the
mysterious things that have been happening
lately.
OF course, i
NEED
EVERYONE to come. so don't be
late! see
yoU.
:)

Everyone receives it and there is no way to track where the message came from. If you follow the directions, you'll arrive at a small temple on the outskirts of a city. A sacred fire is lit on the grounds for people to dispose of any cursed or old charms they may have collected. Hang around a bit and it'll become obvious that no one knows who has gathered all of you here tonight. The only ones around are gods and shinki. It doesn't look like any evil spirits are around so other than being invited to the middle of no where at night... there's nothing to worry about. If you wait around, nothing will happen. So while you're here, you might as well discuss the strange happenings! Or tell ghost stories around the fire.

Wildcard

Choose your own adventure! Feel free to make up your own prompts. Ronald Knox's player (diehardreaper) has offered up their temple as a test of courage in the Far Shore for those who want to try their luck. Check out their description under the Baron's manor.

In Summary:

• Beat the heat by feeling a scary chill
• Deal with cursed and spirit-imbued items
• Keep the Near Shore people safe
• Chat about your scary encounters
• Have fun~

Comments

[thevanguard]

[ The voice coming from behind him makes him yelp and jump to spin around quickly, because his week had been weird, thanks. Luckily there's no bears, or ghosts, or worse lurking behind him.

Just a familiar blond that he blinks at in surprise for a moment before jabbing a finger at him. ]

Oh. It's you!

[redstray]

[ He pockets his phone, wincing a bit at the shout. He saw him, great, just something he doesn't want to deal with. He turns and looks at him, none too happy. ]

What of it, Chihuahua?

[thevanguard]

Eh?!What did you call me? [ Yata is instantly indignant. ] I'm not a chihuahua!

[redstray]

Sure yap like one.

[thevanguard]

I'm not yapping!

[ Even if he is a little.

That's beside the point. he waves his phone at the other guy, the text from earlier still up on the screen. ]

Are you the reason I'm here?

[redstray]

[ He shows his phone, the same text being displayed. ]

I got it too, as did most people here, probably.

[thevanguard]

[ That really wasn't the answer he was hoping for, as his deep sigh probably attests. ]

Dammit. This woulda been easier if you were the asshole responsible.

[redstray]

Sorry to dissapoint. It's either a prank or they have yet to show up.

[thevanguard]

So is that why you're here?

[ He jabs a finger in the direction of Eric's phone. ]

[redstray]

Yeah?

[ What else would he be here for? ]

[thevanguard]

That mean weird things were happening to you all week too?

[ Yata squints at him curiously a moment. ]

[redstray]

[ He tilts his head trying to think before he shakes his head. Nothing strange has happened to him since last time they met. ]

Can't save they have. You?

[thevanguard]

Everything is weird!

[ He looks pretty put out about it, too. ]

I swear, everything is turning out to be haunted or cursed this week.

[redstray]

Maybe you're just cursed. Haunted by poor decisions.

[thevanguard]

[ Yata gives him a dry look. ]

Now you're just making shit up. My decisions aren't cursed.

[ Although secretly, he was really beginning to wonder. ]

[redstray]

What happened to you this week that makes you think you're haunted?

[thevanguard]

These, for one.

[ Yata shakes the remainder of the charms he'd somehow ended up with this week at him before abruptly tossing the entire handful into the sacred fire. ]

I swear, I'm like a magnet or something. Oh, and I had another god up and poof on me again, does that count?

[ He huffs out a sigh before crouching down in front of the fire to stare in the flames again. ]

[redstray]

[ He watches as Yata burns all those charms. Were they just bad luck charms? This place really liked screwing with people. But at the part where his god left again he shuffled a bit on his feet. ]

Ah..sorry...

[ He hasn't lost his god, he wouldn't be sure how he would feel if Ren decided to leave, but it wouldn't be good. But wait...last time that happened... ]

You're not staying with Mikoto again?

[ Please don't ]

[thevanguard]

[ Yata just snorts. ]

Don't worry, I'm not gonna start 'stalking' you again, if that's what you're worried about. I'll camp out at abandoned temples if I have to. At least I know a little more about this place this time around that I can probably fend for myself alright.

[ At this rate, he was getting more adept at it than he cared to be.

Then again, he'd taken to avoiding his new temple a lot once he'd found out Hibari was also sharing it with him. ]

Is this ironic that Eric is the one picking up the strays now?

[redstray]

[ Eric didn't even want to be a shinki knowing how much Hibari hated him for sharing the same god. ]

Ren's place has extra rooms. He's like a mom, loves having people over. He also won't name you you if you don't want to.

[ Basically he's inviting you over. Although he fidgets with his sleeves a bit at this next part. ]

Nanako also has her place open up to anyone...

yes, yes it is

[thevanguard]

Your god?

[ Yata just shoots him a bewildered glance at that, surprised by the offer. ]

I thought you didn't want me anywhere near your temple.

[ And he tries to hide the uncomfortable surge of nerves and dread at just the mention of being named if he didn't want to. That entire incident was something he was trying very hard not to think about, because he still broke into a cold sweat anytime he did.

He quickly averts his gaze back to the fire, shoulders hunched in a little defensively. ]

Nanako? That the little kid who's always hanging around Izumo and Goten?

Fuji would be proud

[redstray]

That's the one.

[ He shrugs ]

You're not stalking me, or being my bodyguard anymore. Makes it a bit easier.

[ He nods at the question, Nanako might be better since she...seemed very prepared to deal wit hothers, if she could handle him, she could handle this guy. ]

Yeah. She...likes to help people out, calls her temple a shelter.

he would be :D

[thevanguard]

[ He blinks. ]

Huh. That's a surprise. Thanks, though. I'll keep it in mind. [ He glances back to the fire. ] There've been a couple abandoned ones I've been staying at. Plus, even when my god

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<small>[ He blinks. ]</small>

Huh. That's a surprise. Thanks, though. I'll keep it in mind. <small>[ He glances back to the fire. ]</small> There've been a couple abandoned ones I've been staying at. Plus, even when my god <i.was</i> here.... things were pretty awkward at his temple anyway. I wasn't staying there much anyway.

<small>[ He'd even been considering asking to be released, as much of a knot of guilt and uncertainty that had caused in his stomach. But something about sharing the temple with Hibari of all people had left him feeling anxious and paranoid and unable to settle comfortably. This had settled the issue, if not in any better way. ]</small>

Shelter, huh? I'll have to look her up, maybe. But I don't want to bother anyone, either. <small>[ That hasn't been his intent, despite how he'd originally met Eric.

But that reminds him, and he glances up at the other guy with a curious look. ]</small> Hey, you been doing alright? The last time I saw you...

[redstray]

Up to you.

[ He won't push, and at least temples have places to sleep, regardless of people being in there or not.

Sounds like when he first got here and for the same reason too, Hibari. If only they knew they had the same share phobia shinki.

He freezes when he hears that small, simple, question. The one thing he had been hoping wouldn't come up. Of all the people that had seen him like that....at least it hadn't been Mikoto. He shoves his hands into his pockets and looks down and away from Yata. ]

...Fine...

[ Totally the truth. ]

dammit html

[thevanguard]

[ Yata's gaze narrows on him for a moment. ]

You didn't look all that fine.

Was it someone here?