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~

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[And here, Mabel thought things were going to be nice and simple! Although, she should have expected this the moment they walked in but still! When she saw a hand going through the paper wall, she quickly took a step back!]

W-Whoa! What was that?

[However, despite the intial fear, she couldn't help but walked toward the wall. As she gave a small hum, she investigated the damage around it. But there was an air of seriousness around her this time around. Perhaps this was more dangerous than she thought. Either way?]

Well, I'm a shinki. That shouldn't be a problem, should it? You're going to be okay, right? [With that said, she was very carefully walking toward the next room. Although, she did turn back a little with a sad smile on her face.

...He was going to be okay, wasn't he?]

Oh, it's not a problem at all. I was just curious -- I'm a god, myself.

[He lets his hand fall to his side as he follows her. It's blighted, but the pain isn't that bad, and he can wash it clean later.]

And I'm sure I'll be fine. We'll have to watch out, though. This place is a little bit really haunted.

[To the extent, he supposes, that ayakashi count as real ghosts.]

[Despite the smile on his face, the poor girl couldn't help but be worried. It was one thing to drag another person into this maybe now somewhat haunted house but it was another when they got hurt.]

If you say so but if it starts to hurt or something, let me know! I'm sure we can find an exit around here somewhere!

[Or at least, she really hoped so. Because as she walked toward the other room, she was starting to feel just a tiiiinnnyyy bit anxious.]

But seriously though, those teenagers sure are good at hiding!

Do you suppose they've been spirited away?

[She's starting to look worried, which, Hakkai hopes, means she's taking him seriously about being careful. He's had worse blight -- he's had much, much worse blight -- but she's young, and he doesn't like the thought of seeing her hurt when she'd approached this as a game.

The next room is back to classically spooky, with what looks like a pile of furniture in the corner draped in billowing white sheets, and paper hanging from the ceiling to brush against their faces and hair. Hakkai eyes the pile of furniture thoughtfully.]

Or they could be hiding under there. Hello! Is anyone here?

If they are, the least they could have done was leave a message! Don't they know it's rude to keep us waiting?

[She said with a nervous smile. While she was trying her best to keep a positive attitude, she can't deny that this was getting much more serious than she thought.

As she bit her bottom lip, she looked around the room hoping to find the missing people quickly. So far, nothing screamed too scary just yet. However...!]

I don't know, if they're hiding now, they must be masters at playing hide and seek! [She said before picking up on the furniture] Especially if they're doing their best at keeping still!

There are other ways to make someone stay quiet.

[Does it help or hurt to be in a scary haunted-for-real house with a guy who's just as creepy himself?

Hakkai's not sure which, but at least being creepy makes him feel more cheerful about the situation. He heads for the pile, brushing back the sheets with one hand.

Beneath it lurks a little creature, shapeless and dark, with oversized arms thrust elbow-deep into the floor. It stares at him for a long moment before licking its lips and whispering,

Smells so good. Smells tasty....]

Ah, keep back, please, Ms. Mabel.

[It pulls both of its arms out of the floor, long, long arms, longer than a human's, and clutches hungrily for him.]

Then they sure are really good at it!

[That's when Mabel couldn't help but wonder if the people they were looking for were truly gone for good. Or worse, maybe they were dead. What other ways were there to make someone stay quiet for that long?

As she tried to shake those thoughts out of her head, that's when she also realized that something seemed quite off about that pile in the corner. Before she could say anything else though?]

Whoa, watch out!

[She shouted when she saw the creature's limbs appearing from under the sheets. In that split second, she started to panic. Whatever that thing was doing there, they needed to think of something quick and fast!

...Which was why she grabbed the nearest stick and tried to pull Hakkai away from it.]

[Hakkai is just beginning to gather energy in his palm, ready to strike out at the ayakashi before it attacks, when a stick hits him in the stomach and he loses his concentration entirely.]

I'm fine, please step back--!

[Ah, and there's the ayakashi, bouncing eagerly forward as Hakkai resists Mabel pulling him away. He turns to swat it accurately with one outstretched palm, sending it flying into the opposite wall, and winces at the blighted burn that sets in across his hand an instant later.]

-- I'm afraid we can't destroy it right now. While it's distracted, let's move on, hm?

[And if it's using the house to slip its hands out of walls, Hakkai thinks, they're going to have to watch where they step, too.]

[Mabel wasn't even sure if she was doing the right thing or making it worse. All she could do was just follow her gut instinct and hoped for the best. But as she saw the ayakashi landing on the wall, she too winced a little at his hand]

Y-Yeah, we should! C'mon, we need to find those teenagers and fast! Those things sure are little dangerous creatures, aren't they?

[Once again, she said with a nervous smile before looking to see if the coast was clear. Although, before she could say anything else, she just looked back at him with an apologetic look]

...You're not mad at me, are you?

No, it'll wash off. [Hakkai closes his hand into a loose fist to remind himself not to touch anything -- blight is annoying enough on a hand, and worse if he spreads it with an incautious touch -- and heads swiftly away from the ayakashi. Belatedly, he offers her a small polite smile.]

They are a bit dangerous, I'm afraid. Ah, thank you for the attempt, but next time if you could call out first...

[There's a thumping noise from the other side of the wall in the next room, and Hakkai looks up, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.]

Hello?

[Indistinctly, a girl's voice yells something, and he glances down at Mabel.]

-- Let's check that out, shall we?

[Despite his words, it didn't change the fact that she rushed into the house without thinking how dangerous it was. She figured those teenagers really weren't hiding, they were just playing a practical joke on their friends. But now that she kept her eye on the injury, she mumbled to herself a little.

Oh man, oh man, what has she done now?]

Yeah but I still got you hurt though...

[She said to herself before it got cut short. As she listened to the sounds on the wall, she hoped that maybe she could redeem herself! Granted, it was scary to hear a scream on the other end but if she could rescue her, things should turn out for the better!

Feeling a lot more confident, she put on a smile as she walked toward that room!]

You got it! Let's see exactly where she is and teach that monster a lesson! I don't know about you but when Mabel gets mad, she gets really mad!

My, my. Don't be too hard on our poor monster!

[He shadows Mabel, watching the walls cautiously as they move into the next room. There are no hands appearing just yet, but there are cabinets in this room, lining all of the walls. They're solid-looking wood, with padlocks on the doors. Hakkai raises his voice again.]

Hello? Is anyone there?

[Another outburst of banging breaks out, and a girl's voice calls, "Help!" It sounds like it's from one of the cabinets at the end of the row. Hakkai starts for it.]

[Just like Hakkai, Mabel quickly starts running toward the cabinets. "So far, so good!" She thought to herself. "Keep this up and she'll have this done in no time!"

By the time she was close to it, she slowly tiptoed quietly. After all, any sudden movements might let the creature know that they were coming!]

Are you in here?

[She said before knocking on one of the cabinets] Olly olly oxen free...!

[Someone knocks back from inside the cabinet Mabel had knocked on -- and then keeps banging, louder and louder, until the door of the cabinet is vibrating and splinters begin to break free from the wood around the hinges and the padlocked doors. A girl's voice screams, but not from inside the cabinet that's banging. It's two cabinets down, and after a second, another girl's voice joins hers, from the same door.

"Help! Help! Get us out!"

Hakkai reaches to pull Mabel back from the cabinet -- still rattling with the force of the blows, rocking away from the wall now -- and hurry to the end one. The padlock is heavy metal, and the cabinet construction solid. He frowns at it. He could break the doors... but can he do it without hurting the girls inside? He glances at Mabel.]

Do you have a hair pin? Or a paper clip?

[Whatever was going on, Mabel needed to act quickly! As she flinched from the splinters, she was starting to panic again. However, she knew she had to keep moving forward!

Calm down, she told herself, she needed to impress Hakkai here! She needed to act cool and awesome around him! Even though she can't hide the fact that the more the girls were screaming, the more she got worried. Biting her bottom lip, she sure hoped that she had a hairpin or a paper clip! As she started to dig around her hair, she simply shook her head]

Uh...I don't think so but you think we can break my headband into something smaller? Would that work? [She said before handing him her pink accessory. It might not work but at least it was worth a shot?]

[Hakkai takes it, turning it over in his hands with a thoughtful look, but it's plastic; it'd break, but he doesn't think it could break into pieces the right size and shape without being too weak to work as a lockpick.]

No, I'm afraid not... Mabel, I'm going to have to try something. Please don't be worried, and can you hold my earcuffs for me?

[He reaches up to slip the thin silver pieces of jewelry off his left earlobe. As the metal slides free, his ears lengthen, growing delicate elfin points, and dark green patterns like vines curl out over his skin. His left eye turns yellow and slit-pupiled, his right remaining the same glass-green, and his fingernails lengthen into dangerously sharp claws.

He holds the earrings out to Mabel, eyeing the thumping and splintering cabinet door.]

Yeah, of course! You don't even-

[Before Mabel could say anything else, that's when her eyes widen to see what was before her. For a moment, she could have sworn she saw a normal looking human but now? Seconds later, she found herself staring at a creature of sorts.

Well then! It was enough to see one creature for today but two? Perhaps she has seen everything that she needed to see around here!

Although, she didn't say anything. Instead, her body did the talking for her as she held her hands out and simply nodded. But when she finally spoke?]

...I'm guessing it's not something you do often, is it? Because it'll be quite the party conversation, huh?

Edited 2017-08-03 19:15 (UTC)

It does startle people.

[Luckily, Mabel seems to be staying calm. For a child her age, she's adventurous, Hakkai reflects, drops his earcuffs into her hands, and turns to grab one handle of the cupboard. Even in his youkai form, he can't rip a heavy padlock apart with his bare hands, but the cupboard handles and hinges, while strong, are only held on with screws in the wood.

And those he can pull free.

He braces the toe of his shoe against the bottom of the cupboard, his free hand against the frame halfway up, and tears the door off with a single smooth movement. Inside, a couple of girls -- middle school, he thinks, fourteen at the oldest -- shriek and flatten themselves against the back of the cupboard.

Hakkai smiles at them, lips closed to avoid flashing his fangs.]

Are you all right? It seems the door stuck.

[Mabel had to admit. Even though Hakkai was a little scary looking, she was impressed at how strong he was! Did those ear cuffs have some kind of hidden ability that can give someone some sort of superhuman powers when they're taken off?

She wasn't sure but all she knew was that she wanted one right now!

Although, that would have to wait as there were more important things at hand. The moment that the door opened, Mabel wasted no time in rushing over toward the girls. With a friendly smile, she wanted to make sure they felt safe. After all, if she was scared, then they would probably feel the same thing too!]

Don't mind him, he might seem super scary looking but he's just your friendly neighborhood demon lurking around! Just make sure sit back, relax, and listen to him because he'll make sure things will get all better!

[Just saying]

That's exactly correct!

[Hakkai laughs merrily. Friendly neighborhood demon, indeed. He could get used to that description. The girls do look terrified, but they're relaxing as Mabel -- comfortably human-appearing, cheerful, outgoing Mabel -- dashes up to them with her reassurance.]

Now, why don't we all get back outside? Mabel here and I can help you to the exit.

[And help them avoid ayakashi, or whatever else had frightened them into the cupboard and locked them in afterwards. Hakkai may have to revisit the place with one of his own shinki for a proper house-cleaning, but not while he has two frightened teenagers and a young shinki who isn't his in tow.]

I'm afraid this place is a little too spooky!

[As Mabel lend a hand out to them, she hoped that they would take it. The faster they do, the faster they could get out of this place. It was starting to make her worried just what this house has in store of them. Especially with the ayakashi roaming around the area.

With him being the only one who could do much of anything, she didn't want to drag him down. Granted, she still wanted to impress him somehow...]

Yeah, let's go! This place is definitely not for the faint of heart! I know that you guys don't want to get lost in here again!

[...Was it too soon to make a joke like that?

Either way, as the teenagers glanced back at her hand and then back at Hakkai? They eventually did take her hand. Although, now came the problem of getting out here quickly. ]

Ha ha, indeed not.

[The girls aren't laughing. They're clinging to Mabel's hands, instead, and Hakkai turns to lead the way back to the entrance.

Technically, he supposes, they should head through the haunted house to the exit. The staff will just have to deal with a party emerging from the wrong door.

As he steps back into the previous room, ayakashi-purple fingers punch up through the floor and close around his feet.]

[Holding onto the girl's hand as much as she could, she wasn't going to let them out of her site. It was difficult enough finding them, they didn't need to go through that process again!

However, as they headed toward the exit, Mabel saw a certain colored hand popping on the floor]

Whoa, Hakkai, be careful! I think I see something! [She shouted before attempting to push him to the side!]

[This time, Hakkai's not caught by surprise -- he goes with Mabel's shove, and the effort does break the ayakashi's weak grip on his feet. It's even before the blight has time to work its way through his shoes.]

Ah -- good catch!

[He catches his balance as the hands disappear rapidly back down into the floorboards, and flashes Mabel a fanged grin.]

But be careful, Mabel, you wouldn't want it to grab you next.

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018 | Season Spirits

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