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

[genkireaper]

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.

[reformedsinner]

[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.

[genkireaper]

[ 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. ]

[reformedsinner]

[The man doesn't exactly look convinced, but he does appear concerned enough that -- Hakkai hopes -- he'll actually do something about it.

This kind of illness might be fatal for a mortal human, considering how badly it's affecting Hakkai. He nods in emphatic agreement with Botan.]

Please do so. I wouldn't like them to cause any problems for you.

[Eyebrows still half-raised, the monk bows politely to them.

"Of course," he agrees, and hefts the jar. "Then, shall I take care of these?"]

[genkireaper]

Please do.

[ As the monk carried the jar away, Botan takes a moment before looking back over to Hakkai. After promising to do her best on not reading the minds of others, it was times like these where the young reaper was aware of the temptation. ]

I certainly hope he'll take the request seriously and handles them right away. It's not like you could tell them that you're currently the god they're practicing under, huh?

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai chuckles, ducking his head slightly.]

No, more's the pity. I don't think he'd believe me....

[He's too young, for one thing, and he's lacking the iron crutch and medicine gourd.

He's also not nearly ugly enough to match the legends, he thinks, and glances over at Botan with an amused light still lingering in his eyes.]

In any case, I think I'll head home and rest. If that was it, I should be better soon. If not it won't hurt....

[genkireaper]

That's what I figured. It'd never be that simple...

[ She doesn't know enough about the gods in other countries to know how far off from his image that Hakkai really was. Actually- That was a good opportunity to take out her phone and do an image search, getting this particular result.

She'll only snort out a little, okay? The rest of her reaction will be properly stifled. It really is for the best that they wouldn't believe who he was representing. ]

I can stay a little longer to make sure that was it if you'd like. If that was all that needed to be done, then that weird interference from before would be gone. Better to be safe, right?

[ Honestly, she'd take more value in Jeep's response than Hakkai's currently. The dragon seemed to have quite an equitable enough amount of intelligence in comparison to your average person around here. ]

[reformedsinner]

There's really no need, thank you. Jeep and my shinki will look after me....

[Asshole is more likely just to follow orders, but Ayumu has no such compunctions.

...and from the sound of that snort, she must've found a painting of the immortal in question. Hakkai tosses her a dry glance.]

I really don't want to exhaust you.

[genkireaper]

[ At least she has enough consideration to not make any comments of comparisons, and even tilts her phone downwards to hide the image results. How many others would do the same that Hakkai knew? ]

I'm not so easy to exhaust, like I've said earlier. However, I can also understand that a guy's pride can only take so much, so I'll leave the rest in Jeep's capable hands. Same for your shinki as well, but I simply don't know them enough to include their names.

[ Especially when she doesn't know their names. ]

[reformedsinner]

I appreciate the consideration. [He could argue with her assertion that it's just his pride spurring him to reject additional help, but, on the other hand, she's right. He'll skip the argument.

Instead, he bows politely to her, smiling.]

Ayumu, and, ah, Asshole. He likes the name; I can't talk him out of it.

[genkireaper]

[ She'd question it more if there wasn't that moment of hesitation, but that second name is still a surprise. Especially when- ]

He likes being called that?

[ On one hand, that's incredibly hard to believe. On the other, she couldn't help but think there really were all types of shinki here. ]

I'm starting to see that it's more than just you about this whole thing that's unfortunate. In either case, I'll leave it in all their hands. I hope you get better, Hakkai.

[ As the oar reappeared in her hand, Botan hopped onto the side of it. Several feet in the air, Botan gives a small wave before flying back out the entrance of the temple, crossing over back to the Far Shore to return to what she was doing.

Feel even better that you didn't take the air route, Hakkai? ]

[reformedsinner]

[Much better. He doubts he could have balanced on that oar, and even with a fairly strong stomach, he might've been airsick by the time they reached the temple if she'd hung him over the oar like washing on the line.

He watches her go, smiling faintly, and returns the wave before he heads back on foot.]