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

[smilingbullet]

Chi, like the life force stuff in Chinese culture? Um, medical and martial arts parts of it, right?

[ It's not that a strange concept once you're dead and living among gods, he supposed. ]

It must be particularly effective if you know what you're doing.

[reformedsinner]

Exactly like that. I've studied qi gong for a long time -- and now that I'm a youkai it's quite a bit more directly effective....

[Both for medical applications and for martial arts ones.

He'd certainly never been able to use it for energy attacks at a distance when he was human. His smile is a little distant; he's feeling better, but he's still distracted and feverish enough not to realize he's just told D2 he wasn't always youkai.]

[smilingbullet]

[T hat's a pretty big fact to just drop so randomly. "Now" that he's a youkai? Which means that he was something different before. Human, probably? But he's not completely sure. Does it have any connection with his name change? He shifts on the couch, as he watches Hakkai curiously. But those sort of things is probably pretty big to him, so he'll let him tell him if and when he wants to tell him, so at least he won't outright ask "you weren't always a youkai?" right away. ]

So... Does being a youkai give you more energy to use?

[ If it's different from before he was a youkai. Qi is life energy and youkai probably has more than humans.

In the end Hakkai is almost as big a mystery as a god as he was as a shinki. ]

[reformedsinner]

It's a different kind of energy.

["More"... well, that's a tricky question. His gaze shifts thoughtfully down to his hands, and after a moment, he concedes:]

It's possible there's more, too.

[Youkai do tend to be stronger, faster and more resilient than humans. Most youkai have more noticeable energy than humans, too, for that matter -- although Hakkai doesn't have the information to answer the question directly. He hadn't had the same ability to detect it before.]

[smilingbullet]

Hmmm.

[ Okay, so, different on what level? ]

Different like milk and sour milk, or like flour and bread?

[reformedsinner]

So, have I baked, or rotted?

[Neither of those analogies are very flattering.

Hakkai's laugh is a little off-kilter, but after a moment he glances over at D2 again.]

Like cats and dogs.

[smilingbullet]

Huh? Sour milk is fermented, not rotted. And it’s popular in some parts of the world. Freshly baked bread smells amazing though, and as far as I know you don’t smell bad.

[ He meant the energy stuff, not Hakkai himself. How do you read that as “I have rotted or baked”? ]

Like cats and dogs is pretty different.

[reformedsinner]

They're both small carnivores with sharp teeth, four legs, tails and claws....

[It's a valid point about the fermentation, though. Hakkai doesn't argue.]

But different species. So... not so different, and it can accomplish some similar things. But it's different in kind, not--

[This is really a conversation that's too technical to be having while he's feverish and exhausted, but, on the other hand, it's the sort of fascinating question he really enjoys discussing. Don't mind his falling silent with a thoughtful squint while he considers the right analogy, though, D2.]

-- not like one thing in two different states.

[Even for a youkai who was once human.]

[smilingbullet]

[ He could mention that in some parts of the world, sour milk is very popular.

And of course he doesn't mind, he'll wait until he finishes his thought. And at least he's staying on the couch while they're having this conversation, which is good. ]

I more or less get it. So are you a cat or a dog?

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai chuckles again, and settles further into the cushions, putting a hand over his eyes.]

Oh, definitely a cat. Youkai are less likely to run in packs, and humans have them outnumbered.

And then there are the claws, of course....

[smilingbullet]

Hmmm. I guess humans generally are pack animals.

[ He grins at him, as he leans back a little where he sits. ]

Right now it doesn’t look like you have much claws though.

[reformedsinner]

Hmm... I'll leave my limiters on.

[Hakkai's smile is faint.] It's better I don't overexert myself today, don't you think?

[Or, at least, overexert himself beyond trying to walk home from the school and winding up face-down in a dusty road.]

[smilingbullet]

Limiters?

[ Clearly there's more things he don't know about Hakkai and youkai than he knew. (Not that he knows much either way.) He can sort of figure out what these limiters are supposed to do, at least. ]

Yeah, it's better if you don't. [ He's done enough today. ] Does that mean that it's tiring to take them off? Or what happens when you take them off happens?

[reformedsinner]

These.

[Hakkai shifts his hand to tap a fingertip against the three metal cuffs spaced along the shell of his left ear. One, two, three: his nails are trimmed short, and don't ring against the metal, but he still feels its chill. It's partly physical and partly -- not. Their magic has a chill of its own, dulling his perceptions and his power.]

It's more tiring to put them back on. When they're off, I look youkai.

[smilingbullet]

Oh.

[ That seems reasonable. It's totally gotta be magic involved to make it work, or very futuristic technology, though magic seems more likely to him. ]

Would you mind showing me how you look without them some time?

[reformedsinner]

... Maybe.

[On the other hand, maybe he wouldn't. He'd gone months without wearing them here, and it had been -- fine, he supposes.

He hadn't remembered his reasons for keeping them on, then, either.]

Ask me again when I'm feeling better.

[smilingbullet]

Alright.

[ Maybe is enough. He’s really curious, but it’s not like he’ll try to take them off. It’s all up to Hakkai. ]

Can I ask something different though? Before I leave and let you get some proper sleep.

[ Because he does need proper sleep. D2 shouldn't keep him awake for too long. ]

[reformedsinner]

[Something different? Hakkai blinks at him, and tilts his head in reserved agreement.]

You can ask.

[...answers, as always, are contingent on just what the question is.]

[smilingbullet]

[ He did try to ask before but they were interrupted. And gained another question about it. ]

That shinki, why’s he called that? He was staring at me like I had two heads.

[ That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but he did stare. ]

[reformedsinner]

Oh, that.

[His laugh is soft.]

His first god called him that, and he won't answer to anything else now. Perhaps he's stubborn....

[smilingbullet]

Being stuck on being called that is a pretty odd thing to be stubborn about.

[ He can’t imagine it actually being fun to be called “Asshole”. Is it a soulless thing?

D2 gets to his feet, but leans forward above Hakkai with a smile. ]

Now rest well and don’t go up running around before you should, okay, Hakkai?

[reformedsinner]

Isn't it? He is odd. [Hakkai laughs softly, and waves a hand in reassurance at D2.]

Please don't worry. I promise I don't want to make anyone else carry me home.

[smilingbullet]

If you say so. [ But then, Hakkai is an odd person as well. ]

You sure? Well, either way, if you do end up needing someone to do that, you’re free to call me.

[ Then it’s much easier for him to go through with that threat of his, too. But also, he'd simply want to know. ]