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

[priforprince]

[ And Hibiki slips back into the lead, instantly filling herself out again into a whole, vibrant, overwhelmingly perfect human being. ] Your dance style is intriguing. Instead of cooperation, competition. Dance as a battle of wills between partners.

[ She has since come to see the merits of cooperating, but there was a time where she would be down on one knee, proposing, by now.

Let them spin. ] The friction by which a jewel is polished.

[redmare]

[It was like watching a deflated balloon fill up with air again.]

Can that even be considered dancing/

[She laughs dryly. Her movements get larger, not feeling comfortable or satisfied with how she's moving just yet.]

[priforprince]

You tell me.

[ Hibiki loosens up accordingly, allowing Chinatsu some room to improvise if she wishes. Is this how to resound with the young lady...? ]

[redmare]

[How was she supposed to answer that? She moved along with Hibiki, but the way she gave her so much leeway..]

Hibiki-san...did you want me to lead again? I'm kind of confused since you're..kind of holding back.

[If she was going to be lead, she wanted to be lead.]

[priforprince]

[ No. No, it was not the way to resound with the young lady.

Hibiki smiles. ] Perfect instincts.

[ Their next steps are the sort that might sweep a lesser woman off her feet. But in a good way. Hibiki is a very good dancer, and fully intends to both overwhelm while showing off her beautiful partner. ] Is this more to your liking?

[ She's just about got all the information she needs from this dance, now, but she wants to find the perfect resonance with her partner first. ]

[redmare]

[Ah-- this felt better. More structure. She could definitely feel the confidence in her moves.]

Yeah, better.

[The corner of her lip tugs into a smile as they got more into it, but the more they got into it, the more Chnatsu would lose that mindfulness of her partner and start to push against her hold.]

[priforprince]

[ There she goes again. Hibiki smirks knowingly. ]

You were made for the spotlight.

[ They keep turning, Hibiki refusing to relinquish that lead, just to see what Chinatsu would do. Almost...there.... ] Your heart longs for it. Secretly.

[ She says this with absolute confidence. ]

[redmare]

[When Hibiki stops her from taking control, that's when Chinatsu catches herself trying to grab the reins again.]

That's..I don't think I really..

[Is that how Hibiki saw her? It almost felt like Hibiki knew her better..Because Chinatsu wasn't so sure about that. It's not like she hated it...]

[priforprince]

[ She doesn't care to admit it, even to herself? That's fine. Hibiki leans in. ]

Only I can satisfy that longing.

[ And she twists her body, lets go, hoping to propel Chinatsu to the actual center of the stage. ] To a revolution that unleashes your full brilliance!

[redmare]

...You lost me--

[Suddenly she's spinning, and suprised she's not tripping on her own feet. She stops center stage, facing the audience. Her hands feel a bit awkward on the sides, like she wasn't completely sure what to do with them. The beating of her heart was loud against her chest, and she felt a weird chill run down her spine.]

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki watches Chinatsu's expression - no, her whole body - with a knowing smile. Her feet know what to do. Good.

Coming up to Chinatsu, she puts a hand on her shoulder. ] Well?

[ What do you feel, looking out at those seats? Can you hear them calling your name?

Spurring you to revolutionize yourself? ]

[redmare]

[She snaps out of her thoughts, relaxing her arms.]

It..was fun? I guess?

[Chinatsu still wasn't sure what Hibiki was trying to do.]

[priforprince]

I can make it so you experience that, and more, again and again.

[ But the lady seems perplexed. Hibiki supposes the scene has progressed enough for the climax. ]

Will you listen to my proposal?

[redmare]

[Now she was even more perplexed.]

What do you mean..?

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki spreads her arms, as if to encompass the whole theater and beyond. ] I'm inviting you to join CelePara Talent Agency. And spur a revolution in the name of entertainment!

[ She very nearly generates the illusion of confetti but holds herself back at the last second. That, she suspects, would misread her audience.

The sparkles, however, happen on their own. This is permissible. Always. ]

[redmare]

[Join the what now?]

Um...thanks but...I dunno, Hibiki-san...

[It felt bad to turn her down completely though, since she looked so enthusiastic about it.]

Let me...think it over?

[priforprince]

[ Ah. Well, that is understandable. Hibiki turns off the light show, but not her smile. ] Of course. Take your time.

I'll await your reply, mademoiselle.

[ The fledgling lacks confidence in her wings, but Hibiki knows it will someday be drawn to fly towards the sun. ]