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

[Meanwhile, Davesprite is just going to saunter vaguely upwards and not actually touch the bridge at all. Such is the advantage of having levitation powers and also wings.]

Seems like wings should be standard-issue equipment for anyone having to cross this thing. Or at least the same pass to violate the laws of physics.

I don't suppose you're delivering that kind of thing, are you? I wouldn't say no.

[Wings would be so much better than this dang bridge...]

[In the meantime, this means that Davesprite will get to see the temple before Garry does, although it's not a new sight to him. While it's the standard Greek temple layout, it seems strictly divided in terms of 'era'. One half looks as if it's shiny and brand new, where togas wouldn't be out of place. The other half? Well, the other half looks like the natural progression of time told it to go fuck itself, to put it politely.]

[Don't ask where all the palm trees came from.]

Would if I could, but I'm pretty sure the levitation deal isn't actually infectious. [Or the wings, as cool and potentially horrifying as that would be.

As Garry crosses the bridge the mundane way, Davesprite just floats ahead, waiting for him and also deadeying the temple in front of them.]

So basically your temple can't decide whether it's nice beachfront real estate or the setting for the next inevitable shit movie about how existence is futile and everything we create will just be fucked over by the innumerable arms of time in the end.

Pity.

[They're in a place as weird as this, but no wings or levitation for sale. Well, at least the bridge is good for his calves or.... something.]

[Davesprite's description earns a breathless bark of laughter from Garry as he manages to reach the summit of the bridge. Now for the part where he might end up falling and crashing as he tries to make it down...]

If you think it looks weird now, the inside is just as confusing, honestly. How normal are weird temples around here?

[At least Davesprite is floating slightly ahead as he reaches the summit, so Garry might be able to score a dramatic save if he falls down the other side. Maybe. Right now, Davesprite's just slowly drifting backwards along the path of the bridge, towards the temple.]

This weird is a little rarer, but there's still no shortage of weird. Trust me, I scope this place out every other fucking day just by virtue of getting around it. I've seen just about every variety of weird it currently has to offer.

[One of the few advantages of being a bird person.]

[He can make it! Probably. Hopefully. Although it means less walking and more climbing, now...]

So what's the weirdest thing you've seen, then?

[Aaaaaaaaaand ground. Thank goodness.]

There's not that many weird ones left, but there's still a couple of creepy as shit abandoned tower deals that I have to wonder how anyone can even live in without giving themselves a serious re-evaluation of exactly how generic a supervillain they're aspiring to be.

[Not that he actually knows any of the people who own the towers he's seen, but he can still totally comment on them as if he has any idea about that.]

Maybe that's the point. IF you're a generic supervillain, you don't have to worry about living up to a really great one. Low expectations, I suppose?

Anyway, welcome to the temple. [Opening the door, he peeks his head in.] Komaeda?

[Nothing.]

Ah, well, I guess you won't be meeting him this time...

Yeah, but if they're supposed to be gods the real question is which heavenly architect is responsible for making temples that might as well be supervillain lairs in the first place. [Asking the important questions, as always.

Davesprite kind of peers in after Garry, but since his god doesn't seem to be here, that's one less concern on the table for right now.] I'll have to come driveby introduce myself if I ever see him hanging out on that shitty bridge. Maybe via impromptu rap battle if I really want to leave an impression.

Is there a god of cliches...?

[That sounds too modern of a thing, really, but it's still a thing to ponder as Garry guides Davesprite through the entrance to another room.... which is a complete and total ruined shitshow. Garry grimaces a little bit.]

I mentioned the randomly horrible rooms, right?

Ask one of the theatre or writing gods, that'd probably fall under their purview. [It is an interesting thought, but a god of exclusively cliches probably wouldn't last long.

As they pass through into a completely trashed room, Davesprite just looks around with a faint quirk of the brow.]

I think you need to have a serious talk with your interior decorator.

Wonder how many are theater kids....

[Anyway. Garry huffs out a defeated sigh at the commentary.]

Does Heaven actually have someone I can complain to? Half of the house is fine, but.... The other half is more than a little bad.

We just don't know, sometimes this place makes accurate god assignments and other times it's basically the dartboard method.

[He'd kind of like to see that dartboard given the range of worlds they must have represented here, but that's a thought for later.]

I think there's supposed to be some kind of shinki committee or some shit, so maybe them, I dunno.

Glad to see the Heavens are taking it all seriously. Well, if worse comes to worse, I can always make my own committee and complain to myself...

[All he has to do is write 'committee' on a box and put a note in it. Bam, done.]

[Either way, the next step is into a room that looks decent and not fucked up, which is good because it's the kitchen. Garry promptly heads over to the fridge, glad that he stocked up earlier before getting chased by a hoard of monsters.]

Do you like soda?

I mean, they're getting people rolling in every other week to fill the roles of gods, so it's kind of a thing that's hard to find a serious way to deal with. If you made a committee that was open you'd probably get good business, though.

[To a certain value of the term, since "business" would just be complaints.

At least the next room is halfway decent, and Davesprite looks around for a moment before the question comes.]

Yeah, soda's fine.

[Good thing he said that, because there was a sale and Garry admits that he might have helped get him and Komaeda a bit more than they needed, but listen... Sometimes you have to take advantage of what outrageously cheap things are available. So he pulls out a small can from the fridge and sets it out on the counter.]

That reminds me.... You mentioned a bar or something that you worked at, right?

[Davesprite flicks the can open rather casually as he answers the question.] Yeah, Double Cross. It's run out of...I'm pretty sure it's someone's temple up here, but that's mostly just because there's not a hell of a lot of buildings up here that aren't someone's temple.

[Izumo may not be a god, but it seems like the logical guess to go with here.]

[Well... He guesses that makes sense. Home of the gods and all- Garry doubts that they were thinking of business opportunities when everything was first happening.]

Are shinki-run businesses common...?

Business run by us aren't that common anyway, but I'm pretty sure another shinki I know runs a talent agency or some shit. Or co-runs it. I don't really know.

[It's been mentioned once or twice before, as he recalls, but he never really got details.]

Huh.... There really are all sorts around here.

[Sitting at a stool by the counter, Garry taps his fingers against it.]

Still, a talent agency.... when shinki are hard to see and get forgotten...

[That sounds... hard. To say the least.]

Yeah, I never really asked for details, but it's a thing. Apparently. I think there's actually two, some other chick keeps going on about hers on the network.

[It makes it really tempting to grab one of her songs and spin out an embarrassing remix of it sometime.]

I'd offer my services, but I dunno how much they smile on the flagrant spitting of rhymes in groups like that.

What- like a rapper?

[Somehow, that's the strangest thing about Davesprite- or something that tips the scale to properly weird instead of just. "this is sure a thing" weird.]

Exactly like a rapper. Also, I could've been talking about slam poetry, but you picked the right door.

[Though that's probably mostly because most people's minds don't immediately jump to slam poet hearing something like that.] I had some turntables turn themselves up in my room the other day, just need to work on getting an ad for my services out there.

Well, if it ends up being flyers or something... I could help get them around.

I mean, I do owe you now, don't I? [Even if he did give him a soda, but that's still not much compared to the event they just had to run from.]

Nah, I was gonna do an online announcement first, see what the interest levels were like to start with. It's not like people here hold parties all the time, unless it's the heavenly higher-ups.

[He waves a hand as if he doesn't really think much of owing him.] All I really did was throw some borderlines while you ran anyway.

018 | Season Spirits

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