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

Cursed Charms- Fear

[Cardia had refused the special one time sale on handmade accessories the old woman had been so eagerly pushing. They were lovely, but she has to be careful with jewelry. But when the peddler moved on she noticed that one of the hairpins had fallen off the woman's cart. By the time she picked it up though, the woman and her cart had disappeared into the crowd.

And soon after that, Cardia has more important things to deal with. She's normally nervous in crowded places, but only because people might accidentally get hurt. But now she's starting to feel a growing sense of paranoia. Of danger. It feels as if everyone's eyes are on her, like they all know what she is, and any minute now they're going to turn on her. She's had to flee from torch mobs before and is not eager to see another one. She has to escape. To get away. From everyone. They could all be dangerous. They are all dangerous!

This is how she came to be huddled in the corner of a darkened alley, watching the entrance warily. Anyone who gets close will hear a frightened gasp.]

St-stay away from me!

Then Who Was Phone?-

[Cardia was glad to get rid of the cursed hairpin that caused her so much trouble. But... who made all these items? And why? And who sent that message? What reason did they have to conceal themselves? She looks at the message again.]

They said they wanted to talk to us so they must be here somewhere...

[ A swirl of cape in the shadows. It seems someone was out and about in preparation for a grand event. Green eyes gleam behind a gold mask, and a floppy hat is pushed up on a head. ]

Bonjour, mademoiselle.

[ A pleasant, even kind smile. This gentleperson may be a Phantom Thief, but they're not without sensitivity to others' moods.

Entirely. ] We meet again.

Edited 2017-07-05 02:37 (UTC)

Oh!

[Cardia lets out a small surprised gasp at the sudden appearance of the familiar figure. Oddly the trappings of a phantom thief are somewhat comforting to Cardia. But not quite enough to override the curse of the hairpin she's clutching tightly.]

I... I'm sorry but..

[She swallows and her eyes dart to the end of the alley nervously.]

You should go. It- it isn't safe here.

[Whether it's not safe because of her or because of some unknown threat is unclear. Even to Cardia.]

Then I can hardly leave you stranded, can I?

[ This smile is effortlessly patient. Phantom Thief Genius remembers how skittish this young lady had been before, and it seems time has not improved that.

Phantom Thieves are nothing if not gallant. ]

Tell me what troubles you.

[She takes a shaky breath, trying to calm down enough to explain.]

That's just it. I don't know what's wrong. I just... suddenly felt.... afraid. Of everything.

[As if to illustrate the point, a small clatter is heard as a cat darts out from behind a trash can in the alley. Cardia cringes and whimpers.]

Then, shall I escort you home?

[ This person has never known fear in their life, you see. Or, at least, they save their distaste for things that truly deserve it, like sentence enders and making a mess after eating curry udon.

That or they want to know more about you. But who could suspect such a trustworthy person of an ulterior motive? They even have a gloved hand over their heart! ]

Perhaps familiar surroundings will soothe your soul.

[Lavi doesn't attach himself to Cardia for several reasons.

But after losing her in the crowd earlier, it made him a little worried. Hearing the people whisper about a girl who kept freaking out whenever she ran into someone only made him more concerned that he quickly tried to find his goddess.

So, when he hears her, he stops.]

Cardia?

Lavi...?

[Upon hearing his voice she relaxes. Just slightly. She can still feel the fear and paranoia clawing at her mind but... this is Lavi. He wouldn't hurt her. She believes that. So for the first time the fear starts to feel unnatural. Like it belongs to someone else.

Even so, she still can't make herself leave the tiny corner she's wedged herself into. Instead, she calls out. For him though, the message is different than the one she's been giving everyone else.]

Please don't go...

[He carefully comes closer, not wanting to spook her out.

It's not exactly a big area to walk in, but he doesn't keep his eye off of her. There's something almost unnatural about the way she's acting, almost like a reminder of how afraid she was when they first met and she hesitated on talking to him about her acid.

However, he gives her a smile, crouching down in front of her.]

I'm not going anywhere, Cardia.

Thank you...

[She's relieved, but still on edge. There is definitely something unusual about the fear she's feeling, but Cardia doesn't know what she can do about it. If she could only think straight!

She takes a shaky breath, trying hard to control her emotions.]

I- I think something is wrong with me. I'm just.... so scared.

[She's still clutching the cursed hairpin in one hand. By now she's forgotten she even has it.]

[That makes sense and he notices the hairpin she's holding. It makes him furrow his eyebrows, somewhat confused as to where she could have gotten it before he looks back at her.]

Hey, it's okay. There's no reason to be.

[...Not when you can melt anything with a touch.

But:]

It's easy to become scared when you end up being scared.

I know. I know there isn't any reason, but.... it won't stop.

[If it wasn't so scary she might be frustrated.]

I don't know what to do...

[He reaches out his hand towards her.]

One thing we can do is get you out of this alley.

[A smile.]

We can get rid of that hairpin, too.

[After a moment of hesitation, she nods. She doesn't quite manage a smile, but does carefully take his hand.

When he mentions the hairpin though, she suddenly remembers that she's holding it in her other hand.]

This..? But this is just...

[She'd just been going to return it to the old woman who dropped it. Right before.... before all this started. Oh.]

With how things are lately, some cursed items are being passed around.

[He helps her up, eying the hairpin warily.]

Did you get scared after holding it?

Sorry! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.

[Tsuzuki stops, wide-eyed, several steps away, and holds his hands up to show they're empty.]

I was just wondering --

-- Are you okay? Is somebody after you? I can help.

[She cringes further back, shrinking into the corner as much as she can.]

No, I- I don't know. Just please.... don't come any closer.

[Cardia isn't even sure what she's scared of at this point. She's quite forgotten the hairpin that she's still clutching in her gloved hands.]

I won't hurt you.

[He's obediently staying still, with his hands still raised and empty. See, he's harmless!]

What's your name? I'm Asato.

C-Cardia....

[He does seem harmless, but she still can't manage to quell the fear within her. It's completely illogical. But knowing that doesn't seem to help.]

I'm s-sorry. I don't... know what's wrong with me...

[He smiles, dropping down onto one knee to get a little closer to her level instead of looming. (He's tall. It's tough not to loom over someone who's curled up in a panicked huddle.)]

It's okay. I want to help.

Did anything funny happen? There's a....

[He makes a vague gesture with one upraised hand, forgetting his care not to make sudden movements as he focuses on trying to pick up on anything that might be different around her. There's something magical in the area, all right. But is it just him? Or her -- she can see him, after all. Or it could be something causing her fear, maybe.

He's got to get a better handle on what he's doing, he concludes, and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.]

... I mean, it seems weird for this to happen out of the blue, right?

[Cardia's fear is infectious, but not in that the charm's effect was passing on. Rather, Celty had just parked her bike with the intent of walking into a nearby store, but as she walked past the alley and the shout rang out she leaped a clear foot in the air, arms flailing in panic.

Her helmet turns this way and that to try to find the source of the voice before settling on Cardia. Unfortunately, a woman dressed all in black and wearing a motorcycle helmet isn't the least intimidating look out there, and it doesn't help that Celty can't call out to her either.

But she tries. She waves her hands, trying to use simple gestures to ask if Cardia needs help.]

Edited 2017-07-17 18:44 (UTC)

[Well, look who it is. Chikusa's head falls back a bit as he watches Cardia walk around, his own body sprawled along the ground away from the fire.]

That isn't necessarily true...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

018 | Season Spirits

Cardia | ota

charms

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Fear

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Cursed Charms

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Charms

phone