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

[ It does seem like he's able to get into a rhythm now that they were moving, so Botan keeps pace. ]

I don't think I've heard a lot about shinki turning into gods. That sounds like it could be... awkward.

[ To say the least. Going from knowing nothing, save for the fact that you died, to being a god with knowing everything? Then in charge of someone else that was in the situation you had been. ]

It answers... some questions I've had.

[He's silent for another few steps, and then admits, eyebrows flicking up in a brief sarcastic accent:]

And it makes others much worse, of course.

[ In other words, incredibly awkward. ]

I can imagine so. What kind of god did you end up being assigned as?

[ How fitting is it for someone like you, Hakkai? ]

Li Tieguai. God of medicine, caretaker of the sick and downtrodden....

[His tone is openly ironic now.]

I'm afraid I must've caught something from a worshipper.

[He's been making the rounds enough. It's strange how many people seem to need their illnesses looked after lately. Still -- they seem pleased with his work.]

[ Really? That kind of god, and this is the situation you've ended up in? Botan isn't even sure this is all the charms' fault, either. ]

You really have unfortunate luck, Hakkai. Even more unfortunate, I'm pretty sure that my healing can't fix that.

[ Even if her abilities can purify, though Botan isn't completely aware of this past an inkling, she can't make the Fates go easy on the guy. So he gets Botan's brand of humor. ]

But I'm sure we can figure something out for whatever it is you've caught.

I have medicine at my temple. It's been helping.

[More or less. The odd thing is that the effects of the medicine seem to be temporary; it won't cure his illness, or, maybe, the illness keeps coming back worse than before. But it feels like nothing more than a bout of 'flu. Particularly unpleasant 'flu, but that shouldn't resist his medicines or his youkai constitution quite this fiercely....]

I'll just have to wait it out.

[His nose wrinkles with brief displeasure.] I skipped this afternoon's dose -- my fault.

[ She's still pretty sure that medicine can't help your fortune, but at least he's able to work around and past that. ]

I'm pretty sure there's no waiting this out if those charms are really to blame for all of this.

[ In fact, Botan wouldn't be surprised if he was better relatively soon after they've been handled. ]

After all, did you skip the dose on purpose, or because your fever had gotten so bad that it slipped your mind? If it's the latter, than you probably were only prolonging everything.

[Nothing helps his luck... but he's used to it by now. He sighs. That question leads to an unfortunate admission:]

It seems I need to take it more often today.

[So it's not so much a matter of deliberately skipping a dose as it is of needing more. And -- this part was deliberate, unfortunately -- thinking he would be fine since it hadn't been long since the last one.

He shakes his head, and points at a two-story brick building ahead of them. A high garden wall surrounds the lot, but the front of the building and its big wooden doors are right up against the path.]

That's my temple. You may be right about the charms.

... At what point is taking this medicine going to end up having the opposite effect?

[ That's a thing, right? Where too much of a medicine can be just as deadly as a poison? She's sure people have died from that before. Probably.

At least they were in sight of- Oh, good, it wasn't one of those larger temples that seemed even further out. This is far more reasonable. It also seems like it could blend in the other Shore, though maybe her perception of what could blend in is a little skewed. ]

Do you have any idea of how to deal with them? I can help, if you'd walk me through it.

[ You know, instead of trying to do it yourself and smacking your head on a countertop or table edge, because you passed out. ]

A few of the ingredients are toxic, but only in quite large quantities.

[So he's safe until he needs to take a handful of them with breakfast.

Probably. But he's not going to push his stubbornness that far, because there comes a point where even he has to admit that stubbornness becomes sheer stupidity. Attempting to dispose of the charms seems like a much better plan.

Sadly, he doesn't know how.]

I thought I might bring them by a shrine and ask advice of the attendants.

[He sighs wearily.] I have a reasonably sized one on the Near Shore, so I thought -- I'd just go there...

[Oh, that's the headache hitting again, like a knife to the head as he glances up at his temple and the sun glares off its plain tiled roof into his eye. He winces and looks back at the safer dust path under his feet. Just a few more steps.]

But if you don't mind coming with me, I'd appreciate the help.

[ For a moment, Botan's about to pause when she sees that wince. She'd been looking back up at the man relatively often, just to make sure he looked capable of making the trip. Just to make sure he didn't collapse on himself (and thus her as a result.) ]

I can certainly help, yes. It'd be more responsible than letting you do whatever you wanted while in this state.

[ Hakkai seemed to be the type that did their best when there was a babysitter of some kind around. Maybe that was different when he was healthy, but when you first see someone after they've passed out, it leaves an impression. ]

Of course, we'll be focusing on you being well enough to at least travel.

A dose should hold me for an hour or two even in this state, I promise.

[He chuckles, wearily. The front door of his temple isn't too far; it's set conveniently right up against the street, with the temple wall stretching away to either side to surround the back garden instead, and as long as he keeps looking at the road the light isn't too bad. It's fine, it really is. He'll manage just a bit further.

And if she insists, he doesn't mind the blow to his pride too badly, he thinks, and pulls away just enough to push open the unlocked door.]

The second door on the left.

[Behind that one is a large workroom, full of jars and vials of carefully-labeled dried herbs and stranger ingredients. There's a stool by the counter, and several little jars and boxes there labeled in different handwriting. One reads, For fever.]

So once it kicks in, we'll have a time limit to get this handled.

[ It's less her insisting and more that Botan seemed to have invited herself along. Maybe it was a bit of curiosity, more so than a sense of adopted responsibility.

Making sure Hakkai actually makes it to that second door, her pink eyes are wandering around to the shelves while making sure the youkai gets his butt to the stool.Whether he actually decides to sit in it or just lean is up to him. She spots the 'for fever' label, but is looking over others. Partially to see how odd they could get, and for another purpose. What she asks is mostly because it is Hakkai's temple and home ~~and for all she knew, the charms gave him syphilis.~~ ]

Is just one thing going to handle all your current issues, or am I collecting a few things for this dose?

The medicine is portable.

[She has invited herself along, hasn't she? Well, if Hakkai really minded that much, he would have told her no. He settles onto the stool and picks up the 'fever' jar, neatly popping it open and pulling a little foil twist out. It untwists to reveal a slightly uneven, homemade-looking greenish pill with a bitter herb odor, which he swallows dry as she looks around the workroom.

There are quite a variety of medicines already made up; some are labeled with specific illnesses, some with injuries ("for bruises," "for broken bones") and some with symptoms. Hakkai supposes he could take something for the headache, the joint aches and the fatigue, too, but the fever is what's really knocking him out, and so even if he still looks clammy and unwell, he's sitting straighter and appearing visibly more alert as the pill begins to take effect.]

I think that'll do.

[ She can only assume that effect beats out presentation for the purposes of all this medicine. Which makes her wonder how bad the smell and taste these treatments had for the more extreme symptoms. None of the illnesses seem to stick out to her either, but that just meant she wasn't medically inclined. Healing skills being an entire thing on their own.

Yet glancing back, she can see how quickly that seems to be working. Was it a trick of the mind, knowing that the medicine will help that produced such a fast turnaround? ]

You're the resident expert here. I thought those kinds of treatments normally took longer.

[ As she continues on by, as if that joke never happened. Maybe it was unintentional? ~~How could it be, though?~~ ]

Most do. [He watches her browse his shelves, eyebrows lifting briefly. Well, as a fellow healer, she must find this all as interesting as he had at first glance. The most interesting parts, of course, are the stack of handwritten books of notes and recipes, in a spidery old-fashioned script that matches the older ingredient labels but not the new medicine labels. Hakkai's shelved them right across the busiest work area.]

Most aren't compounded by the god of medicines, of course. It's not the flashiest divine power, but I find it effective.

I'll just head upstairs to collect those charms, then, and see you in the front hallway shortly?

[ A god of medicine? While that was convenient, Botan couldn't help but blurt something else out. ]

You really do have the most unfortunate luck, don't you? But yes, I'll wait for you back over there.

[ With realizing that she had no aptitude or innate understanding for some of the things that were on the labels, the girl wasn't really compelled to linger around. So the young reaper moseyed on back to the front hallway, curiously looking around without wandering around far from the meeting point.

Botan may have the curiosity of a cat, but she also had enough sense to keep polite in some stranger's home. ]

So I've heard.

[He bows politely, heaves himself up from his seat, and heads upstairs at a brisk, probably ill-advised walk. The faster they take care of the charms, though, the faster he'll find out if they're simply a coincidental part of all this or if they may be actually causing his illness.

It's only a few minutes before he returns to the front hallway with a jar half-full of little charms in embroidered bags and a small white dragon looped comfortably around his neck. Jeep raises his head as he sees Botan and chirps a greeting, wings half-spread for balance.]

Shall we go?

[ Her eyes are almost immediately on the dragon, just a little distracted and fascinated by him. ]

Oh, how gorgeous.

[ She does eventually realize that they were supposed to be on their way, so she playfully knocks at the side of her head- a visual admittance of having been distracted for just a bit. ]

Right, sorry. I've just never seen anything like him (her?,) in my short time here. But yes, I'm ready- you said you had a specific place in mind, right?

Him. This is Jeep; Jeep, this young woman is Botan, and she helped me back to the temple.

[Jeep peers at her, then ducks his head in something that looks remarkably like a bow before he settles back against Hakkai's shoulders. His chirp sounds pleased.]

-- and yes. My temple. We just have to go from here to the Near Shore.

[Temples connect to temples; he's not trusting himself to teleport even with the medication keeping his fever down and his headache mostly at bay, but stepping into the human world is a different and simpler process. He disappears from the front hall without fanfare, and squints at the rain-streaked courtyard of a modestly sized Taoist shrine. There's no one out in the courtyard, but it's only a summer squall; the priests must have taken temporary refuge in the main building, where it won't be hard to find them. For the moment, he waits for Botan to join him, as Jeep complains about the weather and snuggles up closer for protection against the rain.]

So polite.

[ She wasn't really expecting the dragon to bow his head like that. Trained or not, Jeep had to be smart to decide that was the time to do so.

However, before Botan really gets to voice any concern about 'from here to the Near Shore,' Hakkai had already crossed over. There's some hesitation as a kind of nerves fluttered around in her stomach. She hadn't really done that before, or not since waking up as a shinki. There was so much to get used to and learn about the Far Shore, after all. It's just one step to the other- from Hakkai's home temple to Iron Crutch Li's...

It's about a second or two before Botan finally joins the two, flinching inwards at the sudden rain hitting her. ]

Right- some cover before anything else? I suppose we should be checking weather apps before crossing.

Or bringing an umbrella...

[He glances down at his jar full of charms, frowning a little. Too bad his hands are full, but he should get rid of these as soon as possible. Winding up soaked to the skin isn't good for his health as it is.

He heads for the temple's side building at a very brisk walk. There's an indistinct figure in there, kneeling in meditation, shadow picked out against the rice-paper of the door by some light on their other side.]

Excuse me!

Pardon the intrusion!

[ No worries about having your hands full, Hakkai. Someone was keeping just as brisk a pace up to the building. Given the situation, Botan also has no qualms about just opening the sliding door. With a light tap on the man's shoulder, the message was clear; 'in with you, before your condition worsens.' ]

We're going to be needing your services today. So please cooperate with us.

[The man jolts right out of his meditative trance, almost falling off the cushion as he swings around to stare at Botan. He clears his throat.

"I'm so sorry. I must not have heard... how can I help you?"

A few seconds later, he starts again as he spots Hakkai standing less conspicuously just inside the open sliding door. Hakkai offers him a polite bow and holds out the jar of charms.]

These need to be gotten rid of, I'm afraid. They are bringing ill fortune.

[The man rises to his feet, moving a little stiffly. He's at least fifty, with a shaved head and a beard that only has a little gray visible among the black. He blinks at the jar, pats his robes, extracts a pair of thick glasses and slides them on before looking at the jar again.

"I can dispose of them with the other old charms we see return," he offers. "Unless you think this is more serious?"]

It is very bad fortune.

[ Startling him was a little unavoidable, given how things were between the living and Far Shore people. From what she learned, you almost always had to jolt them into being aware of you- this first time on the Near Shore only seemed to prove such.

It seems her curiosity doesn't go so far as to wonder how long the monk had been practicing and serving at this temple. If he was here now, and looked to be meditating, all that mattered was that he took this seriously enough. For that meant he should be able to help out right away. ]

I'd say it's almost the exact reverse to what people would hope to get with these charms. You'll want to have these properly dealt with as thoroughly and quickly as possible.

[ Maybe with help from a good fire? That's what she's thinking. ]

018 | Season Spirits

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