thenearshore | 018 | Season Spirits

018 | Season Spirits

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~

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He gives a nod.]

Alright.

[Lavi tries to give her a reassuring smile.]

Stay close, okay? It'd be bad if we end up getting separated.

( The thought of being separated sends a bolt of fear coursing right through her. It's the absolute last thing she wants to have happen right now and she takes a step closer. Not too close because even now, she manages to remain as shy as ever but definitely close enough to feel safer. )

W-why did you come here, Lavi?

( She'd stumbled here on accident but what about him? )

Guess you can say I'm a bit of a thrill seeker.

[Lavi definitely has no sense of self-preservation.]

I didn't think there'd be anything really here, though. People were stumbling out of here with horrified looks so I wondered if it was really that terrifying.

( A thrill seeker? You must be one to come to a place like this of your own will, she thinks. )

Even if this place is s-supposed to be scary, I-I don't think its supposed ot be this s-scary.

( And she doesn't want to stick around to find out why exactly. )

I-I want to leave. ( That's all she wants right now. She just wants to go back home where she'll probably find a possessed koto or ceremonial drum. She has no idea where she's supposed to go right now, though. She'll follow him down the path a bit but something suddenly catches her eye-- an opening between two of the prop walls. It clearly isn't meant for anyone to go through but it's just big enough for someone to try. She grabs Lavi by the arm to stop him and points, ) There.

( They shouldn't go there. It's clear not a place they should go to. But something in the back of her head is telling her, )

I-I want to go there.

Definitely not.

[He gives her a nod.

With how Sakura is acting, leaving is definitely the best, so he starts walking. The walk is quiet, Lavi carefully keeping his eye out in case something decides to pop out at them, but he stops — mostly out of surprise — when Sakura grabs him by the arm. He looks at where she's pointing and there are some alarm bells ringing in his head.

Judging from the sight of it alone, it definitely doesn't seem like a place Sakura should wanting to be going into.]

Are you sure you want to go there?

( No. If she's being honest, she isn't sure that she wants to go in there. But there's a thought in her head now and once her mind is on something, she isn't the type to budge easily. She's quiet for a second, knowing that right now, they can probably just leave if they keep on their current path without any detours. )

If... if it it's alright with you. ( As a person without her spells or bow, she isn't able to defend herself. As a goddess who's only power is healing, she can't fight. If anything happens, there's only her healing and whatever Lavi can do. ) I-I don't want to go but th-thinking about going the other way makes me feel like I w-won't really be able to leave this place.

[Well, it's not as if he can flat out say no, right?

Besides, he has Borderlines and other fighting techniques under his sleeve if it's needed.

He gives her a nod.]

Alright, then let's go in there. [He looks at the entrance.] Looks small enough where we have to go in one at a time, though.

( Only one at a time? So one of them has to go in first?
She thinks about how she's already asked Lavi to do this favor for her and she doesn't want to trouble him more. It's her decision to go down this path so she should lead. )

I can go first.

( Without a stammer or a stutter, she's already stepping forward. )

Just um... please... stay close.

I'll be right behind you, Sakura.

[So no need to worry.]

( She'll lead the way, albeit, hesitant at first. It's like she's having second guesses just before she pushes them back and steps right on through. It's narrow and cluttered with different props behind the wall but they only need to step out a bit before it opens up some.

There are wires all over the floor and rejected props stacked on sad boxes pushed against the prop walls. She glances back at Lavi to make sure he's following and as she turns around, the cords on the floor being to shift and move, untangling to wrap around both of their ankles sloooowly. Say hey to the possessed extension cords. )

[Don't worry, Sakura, he's right behind you. At least the entrance itself is just small; there's still enough room where two of them could actually move along welle nough.

When she glances back, he gives her a bit of a smile. However, he hears something move and he jerks a bit when he feels something wrap around his ankle.]

( It's reassuring and she manages a weak smile back until he suddenly jolts. Huh? What's wrong? She looks concerned and takes a step forward, ready to ask when her foot becomes stuck. She's confused. )

A snake...? ( She's old fashioned. Her first thought isn't cords but some sort of animal. She looks down at her feet. In the dark, it's not easy to tell but she can definitely make out all of the wires. She tries to step out but the cords visibly shift, yanking her foot down when she tries to pick it up and she yelps. ) L-Lavi!

( She recognizes them as cords after a second but her first thought is definitely that shes' stepped into a nest of snakes. )

The floor i-is moving...!

( Between them, an extension cord with entirely too many wires attacked rises. The extra cords hang in tangled tendrils and begin to slowly (but ominously) reach for them. )

[Lavi grits his teeth when the cords pull on their ankles.]

Sakura, you wouldn't happen to know any offensive spells, do you?

[Because he knows she knows healing spells. However, his attention is quickly caught when he sees the extra cords begin to slowly aim for them and his hand outstretches, quickly making the motions for a Borderline.]

Borderline!

[A wall immediately comes up to block those cords from getting any closer to them. He jerks his ankle back when the cord pulls on it again, almost making him stagger.]

( She shares her head no. It's not true-- she does know spells but they can't do any good here without the ofuda or tomes to channel them. It's embarrassing, really, and if they weren't dealing with a vaguely ominous possessed extension cord right now, she'd be apologizing. )

I don't have my summoning charms...!

( She flinches when he yells, knowing that it isn't at her but still feeling an instinctive pang when he calls out his spell. The extension cord spirit also seems to jump back at the borderline. This pair is different from the usual people it's been picking on in this haunted house.

It tosses a knotted cord at the wall as if trying to test it out. It doesn't do much of anything at all. It pulls at both of their feet but it's pretty weak. Honestly, it doesn't look like a very dangerous spirit outside trying to trip and spook people. A lot. )

[Nothing horrible, but Lavi really doesn't take kindly to anything that causes the people he actually likes to be afraid. When he feels that tug on his feet again, he just shoots a glare at it.]

Mind letting us go? You're scaring her.

[If it was a more horrible spirit, they'd probably be fighting for their lives.

If it's just a playful one, then Lavi sees no point in actually being kind right now.]

( If extension cord spirits could squint, this one probably would. It bobs in the air, cord tendrils moving about in all directions idly. It raises one at Sakura who flinches away making her way closer to Lavi. thanks for doxxing her, Lavi.
At the very least, it appears to be the reaction it wants and it "turns" towards Lavi. It only hits against his borderline and collapses onto the ground in a clutter.

Even if it's not at her and they're in no danger, Sakura gasps, tugging at Lavi's arm as if to pull him out of the way.

But...? Oh...? )

It's... gone?

( Someone cries quietly. Look, Sakura might be afraid and on the brink of tears but she isn't quite in tears yet. And from just a little farther away, behind some of the giant wooden crates full of props.

Sakura tugs on his arm once more, silently asking if he'd heard that too. )

[Lavi looks over at her briefly when she tugs on his arm. He's not sure whether she's trying to pull him out of the way or not, but otherwise, doesn't really move.

He's tempted to try that Cutting Borderline he's heard about, but pauses when the cord drops to the ground. He stares at it for a moment, trying to decide whether it's safe or not before he drops his Borderline.]

I guess it wasn't really aiming to hurt us - just scare us.

[Which doesn't make it any better.

His defenses raise when he hears someone cry and when she tugs on his arm again, he nods. He hears it.]

I'm not sure if that's really any better...

(It's just a mutter but really, bullying people with fear is just as bad as harming others, really.

The crying continues. Maybe it's a spirit pretending to cry but Sakura is weak for those that sound like they're in need. She grips Lavi's arm, squeezing it gently before letting go and setting ahead. She steps around and over the wires and makes her way over to the source of the crying.)

Oh! (There's a child covered in loose wires and crying pitifully into their hands. ) Lavi, there's--

(She's already kneeling down to untangle all of these wires.)

It's okay, don't cry...

[It's not really a matter of it being better per se, but he does follow her.

When he sees the child covered in wires, he holds back a grimace. Who leaves a child lost in a haunted house? He crouches down, helping Sakura remove the wires.]

No need to cry, we're here to help you.

[He shoots the child a comforting smile as they get rid of the wires on him.]

( The child keeps crying and between sobs, they can figure out the story here. They'd come to the festival with their older brother. Their brother ran into some of their friends who wanted to go into the haunted house. They'd wanted to go with them but they didn't want to bring a child along so they'd tried to drop them off at a game stall. It didn't work and the child had tried to follow them into the haunted house only to get lost... And then weird things began to happen and they'd tried to hide here.

Once the wires are completely off and the child's more or less confessed their problems to them, Sakura reaches out to help the child back on his feet. There's a lot of cooing and shushing as she tries to get the kid to calm down. She's not bad with people when they end up being in need. Her experience as a healer in a war has taught her to stay calm in moments like this and it shows, )

We'll take you back to your brother. Won't we, Lavi? See? This is my f-friend he's really... uhm, cool, don't you think?

( Help encourage the kid, Lavi. She's already taking the kid's hand in her own and getting ready to leave this place. )

I think... we should go back.

( That feeling she had earlier-- the one that led them here in the first place-- is gone. )

[He's not good with kids, Sakura, sorry. But he will do what he can to help the kid calm down.]

Nice to meet you. [He gives the kid a comforting smile.] Don't worry, we'll definitely take you back to your brother. So, no need to cry.

[Lavi gives Sakura a look, however, before he gives a nod.]

Sounds like a good plan.

( Then she's got you covered, Lavi. For all of her anxiety around people, she isn't too bad with them at the end of the day. She begins to lead the way, keeping the child close behind her as she slips through the narrow entrance and out into the main route.

A group of teens runs past them, shrieking about how exit is up ahead and they can't wait to get out. Sakura yelps as one of them bumps into her as does the child but they're otherwise fine. She looks back at Lavi. Did he hear what they said? )

W-we're almost out of here. ( She squeezes the child's hand gently and presses on, carefully but steadily. Then, there it is. The exit they'd been looking for. As soon as they're outside, they're greeted by the bright lights and music of the festival and heavy summer night air. It's completely different from the cold and dark haunted house that they'd just been it. Really, it feels like a whole new world outside. The child looks around, spots a familiar face, and cries, "Big brother!" before pulling free from Sakura and dashing away.

As soon as the child is gone, Sakura let's out a sigh, leaning against the wall of the haunted house as she tries to breathe again. She'd kept her breath held for so long inside and hadn't noticed until now. She's so relieved, she could cry, really and her voice shakes, ) We did it, Lavi.

( Be still, beating heart. )

Thank you so much f-for helping me.

[As they begin to head out, Lavi keeps close to Sakura and the child. It's a sad attempt of being a bodyguard for them really, but he'd rather be some form of protection for them than without if he could help it.

When one of the teenager bumps into Sakura and the child, he immediately reaches out to steady them before Sakura looks back at him. He gives a nod. The exit it almost there, almost to be had. Heading outside, it seemed almost like taking a breath of fresh air and Lavi allows himself to put some proper distance from Sakura and the child.

With so many humans around this time, at least they weren't trapped.

So, he stays with Sakura a bit longer as she tries to breathe, watching the teenagers exit the haunted house. He glances over at her as she speaks, part of him hoping that she doesn't cry.

He smiles.]

You're welcome, Sakura. Though, try not to get caught in a haunted house again? [His voice is a bit teasing at the end, hoping it'd make her calm down more or even laugh.]

(She isn't going to cry... but she wipes at her eye with her hands and nods. She knows that he's teasing her right now and she knows that he wouldn't do that to be mean so... She manages a laugh. It's weak and a little forced but it's real.)

I will. (She looks up at him, shy,) Are you... going to go back?

(Inside the haunted house? Lavi had been looking for spirits inside they only found that one.)

[He gives her a soft smile. It might look a bit more real than some of the ones she's seen before.

Lavi shakes his head.]

Nah, I'd rather not get lost in there again. If I want to look for spirits, I'll try my hand outside of a haunted house.

[Besides, he'd rather not get caught by any mischievous wires again.]

What are you going to do, Sakura?

018 | Season Spirits

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