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

[mithrarin]

No. [Dust frowns as he comes around to take a seat next to her.] Probably for the best. I think I wouldn't take to it as well as you did.

[declamando]

[There's a laugh from Maria edging on the bitter, though not bitter enough to not still be somewhat amused.] I don't think I'd say I took to it "well". The effects have worn off now, but trust me, I was much worse off earlier in the day.

[mithrarin]

I didn't say you took it well. Honestly, you look terrible. [This may not be the best thing to say to a young woman, but Dust isn't here to lie to her.] I said you handled it better than I would have.

[declamando]

[That seems to amuse Maria more than anything. She's pretty used to looking terrible.] You seem like the kind of person who would handle it better than that, but I suppose it's hard to judge until it actually happens. I'm just happy it's over.

[mithrarin]

[Not that Dust is qualified to offer an opinion, but he's pretty sure most people would disagree with that sentiment.]

I'm good at handling things I can hit with a sword. [Honest truth; Dust knows his own strength and has no lack of confidence when it comes to being a warrior, but...] You need anything? I think I saw some people bringing food and stuff.

[declamando]

Well, you can still try to hit the cursed objects with a sword, I suppose... [It's a joking comment more than anything, though, as amusing as the image is.

Holding her head a little, Maria offers a somewhat thin smile.] Perhaps some water, if you don't mind.

[mithrarin]

[Request made, request granted. Dust gets to his feet as smoothly and quick as he'd sat down, stalking off towards the crowd at large in a flurry of cape and tail. The simple mission only lasts a moment before he returns, offering her a large plastic cup.]

[declamando]

[Once Dust comes back, Maria gives a grateful nod and takes the cup.] Thank you. I didn't realise being afraid all the time could be so draining, but here we are.

[Taking a sip, she looks back to Dust a moment later.] So is it just the curses you haven't brushed with? I know there have been a few possessions of objects going on recently as well.

[mithrarin]

You don't seem like you have a ton of experience with fear. [Dust lowers himself back down, faintly amused at her question.] I just had a bear show up. Apparently that happened... a lot.

[declamando]

I've had my fair share, but it's been a little while. [Honestly, she had much more exposure to that sort of thing in her world than she's had here. Though Maria takes another sip of water, she lowers her cup pretty quickly after Dust says that.] Bears? I'm glad I didn't have to deal with that, then. You'd be worrying they'd go for someone else.

[mithrarin]

They didn't seem hostile or angry, more lost and confused than anything. That's still a bad recipe, though. Luckily... animals seem to like me.

[No idea why.]

[declamando]

That's reassuring. If they were coming into populated areas, if they were hostile it could cause a lot of harm. But it's good to hear they didn't cause you much trouble.

[Sounds like Dust's gotten off pretty easy, considering what else Maria's seen in this season.]

[mithrarin]

Not much, no. [His smile is more than a little wry, but in good humor nonetheless.] And ayakashi in a haunted house. It was a good workout.

[declamando]

Yes, I heard a bit about those earlier in the week. And the ones that seem to have been lurking around at sunset. It's a bit upsetting that they're ruining things that are meant to be fun.

[Though Maria sounds a bit troubled by the whole thing, it's not by too much. There are definitely people handling it, after all.]

[mithrarin]

You can laugh at me for this, but I never find them showing up to be a bad thing for me specifically. Fighting them is... comfortable.

[declamando]

[A somewhat troubled look crosses Maria's face at that, but at least it doesn't sound like that's what he completely dedicates himself to, so it fades off quite quickly as she gives an understanding nod.] I imagine it would be like that for more people than you. It's familiar fighting them for me, but I don't know if comfortable is the right word.

[mithrarin]

That's because you're better at the whole... socializing thing. [Straight-up truth. Dust feels at home in battle, while in festivals and parties and the like he feels out of his element.]

[declamando]

Less so than you might think. [Maria offers a smile somewhere between amused and wan.] I am now, certainly, but for a lot of time before this, it was really more "fake it until you make it". I wasn't very honest with myself or others.

[mithrarin]

Then take it as a compliment that it's hard to believe. I don't see that in you now.

[declamando]

Well, that's the point of faking it, isn't it? [Maria winks somewhat mischievously. It really could be hard to tell if she wanted to hide it.] But even if you're a reserved person, you're quite easy to get on with when you do decide to talk to people.

[mithrarin]

[He isn't immune to the compliment, even as he tries to put it aside.] Talking to people isn't so hard. But I think I've proven pretty adequately that sleepover parties aren't quite my usual style.

[declamando]

I must not have been there for the conclusive proof, though it's mostly the younger ones who hold sleepover parties here. [There's something a bit wistful about that. At 21, Maria is hardly old, but it still feels a bit like imposing to come to a party full of 16 year olds.]

[mithrarin]

Feeling old at heart, huh? [No way Dust is going to think she's old. In terms of appearance, he guesses she's younger than he is. How old he is, though, he has no idea -- some days he feels like a teenager, some days like a weary old veteran.]

[(He has no idea how accurate and yet how wrong all these feelings are.)]

[declamando]

Well, younger as in not adults. It's hard not to feel a little old comparing yourself to that. [Maria seems more amused by it than anything right now, though. She still has a good long time ahead of her before she can really be called old.]

[mithrarin]

I can't argue with that. ...Not that I'm sure how old I am, but I get the feeling I'm just a bit older than you?

[If she can't tell, that's fine -- they ARE different, after all.]